Softwr
Tilt Brush logo

Tilt Brush

Paint in 3D space with VR

As of 30 August 2026, Tilt Brush has a free plan and paid plans start at $19.99/one-time. Tilt Brush is Google's VR painting application that lets artists paint in 3D space with virtual reality. Softwr lists it under AR VR. Tilt Brush is made by Google, launched in 1998, available on VR and AR.

Overview

What Tilt Brush does

Tilt Brush is Google's VR painting application that lets artists paint in 3D space with virtual reality. It features a variety of brushes, effects, and environments for creating immersive art experiences. Now open-source as Open Brush.

What people use it for

  • VR Gaming
  • AR Marketing
  • Virtual Training
  • 3D Visualization
  • Immersive Experiences

The honest half

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Tilt Brush.

  • No longer actively developed by Google since January 2021; future updates and support are not guaranteed
  • Limited editing capabilities with no layers system and no 3D brushes for precise refinement
  • Not designed for professional branding or marketing work; better suited for creative expression than practical design
  • Tool limitations make it difficult to move, cut, or rearrange grouped elements after creation
  • VR hardware costs are high relative to software cost, and can cause motion sickness in some users

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of Tilt Brush

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

  • Tilt Brush logo
    Tilt Brush
    vs
    Quill logo
    Quill

    Quill: Professional VR painting and animation tool with frame-by-frame and keyframe animation capabilities for creating immersive VR films and storytelling.

  • Tilt Brush logo
    Tilt Brush
    vs
    Medium by Adobe logo
    Medium by Adobe

    Medium by Adobe: VR sculpting tool acquired by Adobe, now part of Substance 3D suite with professional 3D modeling capabilities alongside VR input.

  • Tilt Brush logo
    Tilt Brush
    vs
    Procreate logo
    Procreate

    Procreate: Professional digital painting app for iPad with 3D painting capabilities, though not VR-based.

  • Tilt Brush logo
    Tilt Brush
    vs
    ZBrush logo
    ZBrush

    ZBrush: Professional 3D sculpting software for creating detailed digital art and models, desktop-based alternative to VR sculpting tools.

Pricing

What Tilt Brush costs

Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.

Google Tilt Brush

$19.99 /one-time

  • VR painting and creative tools
  • Available on VR app stores

Open Brush (open-source)

Free

  • Free open-source version
  • Available on Steam and Meta Quest

Capabilities

Features

  • 3D painting

  • Dynamic brushes

  • Environment selection

  • Animation

  • Google Poly

    Integration with Google Poly

  • Sketchfab

    Integration with Sketchfab

  • YouTube VR

    Integration with YouTube VR

  • Vr support

    Available on vr

  • Pc support

    Available on pc

  • Quest support

    Available on quest

Answered, with sources

Questions people ask

Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

Is Tilt Brush still available to use?

Yes. Although Google ended active development in January 2021, Tilt Brush remains available on VR app stores and continues to function. Google also open-sourced the code, enabling community-maintained alternatives like Open Brush to provide free versions for PC VR and Meta Quest.

Source
Is there a free version of Tilt Brush?

The official Google Tilt Brush costs $19.99. However, Open Brush (the open-source community version) is completely free and available for PC VR via Steam and on Oculus Quest.

Source
What VR headsets does Tilt Brush support?

Tilt Brush works on HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, Windows Mixed Reality, Valve Index, and PlayStation VR. The open-source Open Brush version also supports PC VR.

Source
Can I export my Tilt Brush creations?

Yes. Tilt Brush creations can be exported as room-scale VR pieces or animated GIFs to share with others. The app does not support direct export to 3D model formats like OBJ or FBX.

Source
Is Tilt Brush good for professional 3D design work?

Tilt Brush is primarily a creative expression and painting tool rather than a professional 3D design tool. It lacks features like layers, editable 3D brushes, and precise refinement controls needed for professional workflows. For professional VR sculpting, Adobe Medium or Quill are better choices.

Source

Behind it

Who makes Tilt Brush

Company
Google
Based in
Mountain View, California

Timeline

Tilt Brush over time

  1. Licence change2021-01-26

    Google open-sources Tilt Brush under Apache 2.0 license and ends active development

    Source
  2. Launch2016-01-01

    Google launches Tilt Brush VR painting application

    Source
Share

Keep looking

Where to go from Tilt Brush

Best AR VR software for

Compare Tilt Brush with

Other AR VR software

  • VR illustration and animation tool

    From $24.99/one-time7 researched notes
  • Sculpt in VR with intuitive tools

    From $9.99/mo4 researched notes
  • Collaborative 3D sculpting in VR

    From $9.99/mo4 researched notes
  • Powerful 3D engine for the web with WebXR

    Free plan8 researched notes
  • JavaScript 3D library for WebGL and WebXR

    Free plan9 researched notes
  • Stream your PC to VR wirelessly

    From $19.99/one-time9 researched notes
  • Create AR experiences for Snapchat and beyond

    Free plan15 researched notes
  • Work from anywhere in VR

    Free, then $5.99/mo13 researched notes
  • Apple's framework for iOS AR development

    Free plan14 researched notes
  • AAA-quality VR development with Unreal Engine

    Free plan7 researched notes
  • Cross-platform AR SDK for mobile applications

    From €2,490/yr12 researched notes
  • VR illustration and animation tool

    From $24.99/one-time7 researched notes
  • Sculpt in VR with intuitive tools

    From $9.99/mo4 researched notes
  • Social VR platform for events and meetups

    Free plan7 researched notes
  • JavaScript 3D library for WebGL and WebXR

    Free plan9 researched notes

Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Tilt Brush, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.

More on Tilt Brush

Best AR VR software alternatives

Watch movies and hang out in VR

one-time

Google's platform for building AR experiences

free

Browser-based VR for collaboration and events

freemium

Apple's framework for iOS AR development

free

VR platform for education and enterprise

freemium

Social VR platform for events and meetups

free

Powerful 3D engine for the web with WebXR

Compare Tilt Brush with alternatives