Comparison

Brushes Redux vs Tayasui Doodle Book

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Brushes Redux

This app offers a powerful and responsive painting experience on iOS devices. Create large, detailed artwork with a versatile brush engine, layer management, and import/export options. Relive your creative process with step-by-step playback.

Highlights
  • OpenGL-based painting engine
  • Record and replay paintings
  • Up to 10 layers
  • Import/export JPEG, PNG, PSD
  • Simulated pressure
  • Unlimited undo/redo
Features
Read full description

Brushes Redux is a painting app designed exclusively for iOS. Rewritten from the ground up, Brushes Redux is universal — the same version runs on both your iPhone and your iPad. Move paintings between your devices and keep working wherever you go. An accelerated OpenGL-based painting engine makes painting smooth and responsive — even with huge brush sizes. Brushes also records every step in your painting. Show off your creative process by replaying your paintings directly on your device. General Features: – Create paintings with dimensions up to 4096x4096 – Full support for all Retina devices – Background autosave – Unlimited undo and redo – Simple and approachable interface Painting: – Full screen painting – Record and replay paintings – Ultrafast OpenGL-based painting engine – Huge brush sizes up to 512x512 pixels – Simulated pressure – 64-bit painting on the latest hardware – 14 parameterized brush shapes – Adjustable brush settings (spacing, jitter, scatter, etc.) – Adjustable color opacity – Invert color and desaturate – Flip and arbitrarily transform layers – Adjustable color balance (iPad only) – Adjustable hue, saturation and brightness (iPad only) Layers: – Create up to 10 layers – Lock and hide layers – Lock layer transparency – Adjust layer opacity – Duplicate, rearrange, and merge layers – Change blending modes: normal, multiply, screen, exclude Import and Export: – Integrated with Dropbox – Import native Brushes 3 files, JPEG, and PNG files – Export as native Brushes 3 files, JPEG, PNG, and Photoshop files (with layers) – Place images from your photo album into paintings – Copy paintings to the pasteboard Gestures: – Zoom with two finger pinch – Zoom in with two finger double tap – Zoom to fit with two finger double tap – Toggle interface visibility with a single tap (this can be changed to a two finger tap in the app settings) – Tap and hold to access eyedropper tool Screenshot credit: "Portrait of Ally" by John Bavaro (http://johnbavaro.com)

About

Tayasui Doodle Book

Unleash your creativity with a digital sketchbook offering a variety of patterns and smart tools. Doodle freely or create intricate masterpieces with an expansive range of artistic possibilities. Enjoy moments of relaxation or intense creative expression.

Highlights
  • Dozens of original patterns
  • Smart drawing tools
  • Optional soothing sounds
  • Freehand drawing
  • Pattern-based doodling
  • Creative relaxation
Features
Read full description

Just want to doodle like crazy, and no pen and paper in sight?! Here comes Doodle Book! Ease your itch with its dozens of original patterns and smart tools (with optional soothing sounds), and doodle like there’s no tomorrow or draw with no fear of the daunting blank page! Open the app and choose a pattern that suits your mood. And just doodle carelessly, improvise a collection of bearmojis, make fish and sweets rain altogether… Or free your drawing spirit and let your imagination run wild: festive crowd, glorious architecture, futuristic microcosm… there’s no limit! Extravagant doodling or intricate masterpiece, enjoy a moment of pure relaxation or intense creativity! Subscribe to access to premium app features; subscription details are the following: - Length: monthly, yearly - Your payment will be charged to your iTunes Account as soon as you confirm your purchase - You can manage your subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal from your Account Settings after the purchase - Your subscription will renew automatically, unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the end of the current period - The cost of renewal will be charged to your account in the 24 hours prior to the end of the current period - When canceling a subscription, your subscription will stay active until the end of the period. Auto-renewal will be disabled, but the current subscription will not be refunded - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when purchasing a subscription Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Brushes Redux4 screens
Tayasui Doodle Book4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Tayasui Doodle Book at 4.5 against Brushes Redux's 3.6. Tayasui Doodle Book also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 9 months). Brushes Redux's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 11) and ads (none vs shown). On price, ratings volume and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Tayasui Doodle Book sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Brushes Redux asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Tayasui Doodle Book holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 303 and 126 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 63% of Brushes Redux's written reviews are positive against 47% of Tayasui Doodle Book's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Brushes Redux ships an update every 9 months, Tayasui Doodle Book fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Brushes Redux versus Tayasui Doodle Book: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrushes ReduxTayasui Doodle Book
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (303 ratings)4.5 (126 ratings) — better
Positive reviews62.8% of reviews — better46.6% of reviews
Number of ratings303 — better126
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB84 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChristoffer HoelSKETCHES SRL

Customer experience

Brushes Redux

All ratings297 ratings
Positive62.0%
Neutral8.8%
Negative29.3%
Written reviews288 reviews
Positive62.8%
Neutral12.8%
Negative24.3%

Tayasui Doodle Book

All ratings109 ratings
Positive86.2%
Neutral9.2%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews337 reviews
Positive46.6%
Neutral13.6%
Negative39.8%

User reviews

Brushes Redux

From 303 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🎨 Great for drawing and painting
  • 💯 No ads or in-app purchases
  • ⭐ Excellent for beginners
  • 🎨 Customizable brushes

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes frequently
  • 🔍 Limited selection of tools (no blending, fill, etc.)
  • 🔍 Pixelated output when zoomed in
  • 🔍 Inconsistent color output
  • 🔍 Difficulty using with Apple Pencil

Tayasui Doodle Book

From 126 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💫 Relaxing doodling experience
  • 🎨 Satisfying drawing tools
  • 👍 Simple and intuitive interface
  • 🎨 Realistic paper and pencil sounds
  • 🎨 Variety of background patterns

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy page navigation
  • 💰 Limited free features, requires paid upgrade
  • 🖌️ Lack of customization options (pen size, color, etc.)
  • 🤔 Confusing tutorial
  • 🤔 Unclear access to paid features

Bugs and requests

Brushes Redux

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Drawings disappearing or unable to open
  • Color picker issues causing unintended color changes
  • Dropbox integration problems
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add blending tool
  • Increase layer limit
  • Implement video export
  • Add text tool
  • Improve Apple Pencil support
Show 1 more
  • Add color stabilizer

Tayasui Doodle Book

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes on launch for some users
  • Inability to progress through tutorial
  • Drawings not saving properly
  • Paid features not unlocking as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Option to disable finger input when using stylus
  • Ability to save and view past drawings
  • More background options, including blank pages
  • Easier page navigation and management
  • Color palette and brush customization

In-app purchases

None

Brushes Redux

No in-app purchases

11 purchases

Tayasui Doodle Book

Subscriptions10
  • Weekly premium$2.997 Days
  • Weekly premium7 Days trial$2.997 Days
  • Monthly premium$2.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • Monthly premium7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Weekly premium7 Days trial$3.997 Days
  • Weekly premium$3.997 Days
  • Yearly premium$9.991 Year
  • Yearly premium7 Days trial$9.991 Year
  • Yearly premium7 Days trial$69.991 Year
  • Yearly premium$69.991 Year
One-time1
  • Doodle Book Pro$1.99

Questions

Is Brushes Redux free?
Brushes Redux is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Tayasui Doodle Book free?
Tayasui Doodle Book is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Brushes Redux or Tayasui Doodle Book?
Tayasui Doodle Book is rated higher. Brushes Redux averages 3.6 out of 5 from 303 ratings, while Tayasui Doodle Book averages 4.5 from 126 ratings.
Do Brushes Redux or Tayasui Doodle Book have ads?
Tayasui Doodle Book shows ads; Brushes Redux does not.
Which is updated more often, Brushes Redux or Tayasui Doodle Book?
Brushes Redux ships an update every 9 months, and Tayasui Doodle Book fortnightly. Most recently, Brushes Redux was updated on October 22, 2026 and Tayasui Doodle Book on November 2, 2026.

Other comparisons