Comparison

Tracing Board | Lightbox vs Mockuply

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

Head to head
About

Tracing Board | Lightbox

This app transforms your iPad into a portable light box for artists. It allows you to trace over sketches, drafts, or fonts to refine your work, make variations, or create new typographical designs. Save your progress and adjust image settings for an optimal tracing experience.

Highlights
  • Portable light box functionality
  • Trace sketches and drafts
  • Create typographical designs
  • Save tracing progress
  • Adjust size, brightness, saturation, and contrast
  • Lockable menu to prevent accidental input
Features
Read full description

Tracing Board converts your iPad into an on-the-go light box. This is a tool for those of us who draw daily (wherever we are) and sometimes need to re-draw sketches until we are pleased with the results. ▶ USES • Use it to clean-up or fix mistakes in your drafts. • Make hand copies of your originals with small variations. • Combine drawings you’ve done in separate places. • Make your own typographical creations by combining and tracing inspirational fonts. ▶ ADVANTAGES • Use it on the go • Menu can be locked to avoid accidentally tapping any controls or leaving the app while tracing. • Save your boards to finish tracing later. • Adjust Size, Brightness, Saturation & Contrast to make tracing easier. ▶ HOW IT WORKS Before using the app app, go to your iPad’s Settings and “Turn OFF Multitasking Gestures”. Read the “Tips & Tricks” section displayed automatically on the first run (you can access it again later by tapping on the lightbulb icon) to get the most of this app. Choose the drawing you want to trace and either take a photo of it, select a photo from Camera Roll or simply tape the drawing you want to trace over the white screen and add a white paper on top. Tracing board does not condone copying original works from other artist and claiming them as yours. It is merely a tool to improve your own creations, practice or for going from a draft to a final piece. We recommend using a soft lead pencil and tracing with minimum pressure to avoid damaging your device.

About

Mockuply

Quickly transform your ideas into visual mockups with intuitive drawing tools and AI-powered generation. Effortlessly create, edit, and share designs for apps, websites, or features. Your work automatically syncs across devices via iCloud.

Highlights
  • Intuitive scribble and shape tools
  • AI-powered idea generation
  • Text insertion and styling
  • Element selection, drag, and resize
  • Add notes to designs
  • Export and share as images
  • Automatic iCloud synchronization
Features
Read full description

Mockuply - Simple Mockups, Anywhere Turn your ideas into visual mockups in seconds. Whether you're designing an app, planning a website, or sketching a new feature, Mockuply makes it effortless to create and share your vision. Create with Ease - Draw freely with our intuitive scribble tool - Add rectangles, circles, and lines with a tap - Insert and style text anywhere on your canvas - Select, drag, and resize any element perfectly - Add notes to capture important details AI-Powered Enhancement - Transform rough ideas into mockups with our Generate feature. One tap turns your notes into quick wireframe. Share Instantly - Export your mockups as images and share them anywhere using iOS's built-in share sheet. Send to colleagues, save to photos, or drop into your favorite apps. Always in Sync - Your mockups automatically save to iCloud - work on your iPhone, continue on your iPad. No account creation, no sign-ups, no passwords. Just open and create. Perfect For: - Product managers sketching new features - Designers exploring quick concepts - Developers planning interfaces - Anyone who thinks visually Start creating mockups the moment inspiration strikes. With Mockuply, your ideas are always just a few taps away from becoming shareable designs.

Screenshots

Mockuply4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Mockuply at 5.0 against Tracing Board | Lightbox's 4.5. Mockuply also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 67%) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 18 months). Tracing Board | Lightbox's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (40 vs 7). On ads, monetization model 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

Tracing Board | Lightbox costs $2.99 and Mockuply $4.99 up front. Mockuply sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Tracing Board | Lightbox asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mockuply holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tracing Board | Lightbox has 40 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Tracing Board | Lightbox's written reviews are positive against 100% of Mockuply's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tracing Board | Lightbox ships an update every 18 months, Mockuply every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and July 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Tracing Board | Lightbox versus Mockuply: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTracing Board | LightboxMockuply
Price$2.99 — better$4.99
Rating4.5 (40 ratings)5.0 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings40 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 18 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank—#187 — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS9.0 — better18.5
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPablo PacielloElliot Nash

Customer experience

Tracing Board | Lightbox

All ratings40 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral2.5%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative25.0%

Mockuply

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Tracing Board | Lightbox

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Mockuply

One-time1
  • 100 Credits$3.99

Questions

Is Tracing Board | Lightbox free?
Tracing Board | Lightbox costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Mockuply free?
Mockuply costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Tracing Board | Lightbox or Mockuply?
Mockuply is rated higher. Tracing Board | Lightbox averages 4.5 out of 5 from 40 ratings, while Mockuply averages 5.0 from 7 ratings.
Do Tracing Board | Lightbox or Mockuply have ads?
Neither Tracing Board | Lightbox nor Mockuply shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tracing Board | Lightbox or Mockuply?
Tracing Board | Lightbox ships an update every 18 months, and Mockuply every 3 days. Most recently, Tracing Board | Lightbox was updated on September 18, 2026 and Mockuply on July 25, 2026.

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