Sotheby's vs ArtPlacer AR
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sotheby's
Access extraordinary art, precious objects, wine, and jewelry from auctions worldwide. Track bids, register for auctions, and explore past and upcoming sales with expert insights.
- Bid in live and online auctions
- Track bids and registrations
- Browse open, upcoming, and past auctions
- Search past and present lots
- Manage profile and view purchases
- Access favorite auctions and lots
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Extraordinary auctions. Exceptional finds. Anytime, anywhere. The Sotheby’s iOS app provides collectors with exceptional access to the world’s most extraordinary art, precious objects, wine and jewellery, together with the unparalleled expertise of our world-class specialists. Track your bids and registrations effortlessly. Bid in live and online auctions. Browse open, upcoming, and past auctions. Browse fixed price retail items in search results. Quickly access your favorite auctions and lots. Search past and present lots. Manage profile, view purchases, and customize your settings.
ArtPlacer AR
Visualize artworks and photographs on your walls at true scale using augmented reality. Upload your own art or explore pieces from partner artists and galleries. This tool helps art businesses grow by allowing customers to see art in their own spaces.
- View art at scale in AR
- Upload and display own art
- Explore partner artists and galleries
- Integrate with websites/e-commerce
- Contact galleries directly
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ArtPlacer AR is the augmented reality art app built for artists, galleries, art dealers, and curators who want to show their work the way it deserves to be seen: at scale, on real walls, from anywhere. Point your phone at any wall. See your artwork appear in your actual space, true to size, in seconds. No guesswork, no setup, no staging. Just your art, placed exactly where it would hang in real life. Visualize Art in Your Space, Or Your Collector's ArtPlacer AR lets you present art in 3D on real walls using your phone's camera. Whether you're an artist preparing for a studio visit, a gallerist meeting a collector, or an art advisor helping a client decide, you can show any piece at its actual dimensions in any room, instantly. True-to-Scale AR Placement Every artwork renders at its real physical dimensions. Your collector sees exactly how a 48" x 60" canvas fills a wall, before it ships, before a decision is made, before doubt can set in. Discover Art from Top Artists and Galleries Browse and visualize artworks from ArtPlacer's curated network of partner artists and galleries. Use AR to place any piece on your walls and contact the artist or gallery directly when you find the one. Part of the ArtPlacer Platform The AR app connects to ArtPlacer, the all-in-one marketing and sales platform for art professionals. Upload your catalog once and use it across AR visualization, Room Mockups, Virtual Exhibitions, website integrations, and collector presentations. Ready to show your work at its best? Sign up at artplacer.com and bring your full catalog to life in AR. KEY FEATURES ● Augmented reality art visualization on real walls ● True-to-scale artwork placement using your phone camera ● Present art in 3D to collectors, clients, and galleries ● Browse and visualize artworks from the ArtPlacer Discover network ● Connect to your ArtPlacer account to access your full catalog ● Integrate with your website to let visitors preview your art in AR ● Built for artists, galleries, art dealers, curators, and art advisors ABOUT ARTPLACER ArtPlacer is the marketing and sales platform designed for art professionals. Manage your catalog, create room mockups, build virtual exhibitions, and integrate AR previews directly into your website, all from one place. Learn more at http://www.artplacer.com.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: ArtPlacer AR at 65% against Sotheby's's 24%. ArtPlacer AR also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (3.7 vs 3.4). Sotheby's's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 weeks). 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
Both are free to download. ArtPlacer AR sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Sotheby's asks for nothing beyond the download.
ArtPlacer AR holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 96 and 49 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 24% of Sotheby's's written reviews are positive against 65% of ArtPlacer AR's.
Sotheby's ships an update every 2 weeks, ArtPlacer AR every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on November 2, 2026.
| Parameter | Sotheby's | ArtPlacer AR |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.4 (96 ratings) | 3.7 (49 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 24.0% of reviews | 65.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 96 — better | 49 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.4 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 54 MB | 84 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Sotheby's | ARTPLACER NA INC |
Customer experience
Sotheby's
ArtPlacer AR
User reviews
Sotheby's
From 96 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ✨ Beautiful photography and content
- 👍 Easy to navigate (for some)
- ✅ Great for browsing and viewing auctions
- 🤩 Interactive and engaging
- 🖼️ Elegant design
Room to improve
- ❌ Core functionality missing
- 📉 Poor user experience
- 🚫 App is useless for many
- 😵 Confusing new format
- 📱 Not compatible with older phones
ArtPlacer AR
From 49 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💡 Innovative AR feature
- 👍 Easy and intuitive to use
- 🖼️ Great for visualizing art
- 🎨 Helpful for artists and buyers
- ✨ Useful for interior design projects
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes
- ⚠️ AR not working for some users
- ⚫ Grey rectangle with logo displayed
- ❌ App keeps crashing
- 🪲 Bugs constantly
Bugs and requests
Sotheby's
Reported bugs
10 issues- Cannot sort auction lots
- Cannot follow, view, or bid
- App crashes on launch
- ID verification camera not focusing
- Photo upload issues
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- Saved objects not displaying correctly
- App freezes or crashes during use
- Lot details never load
- AppleTV app fails to open
- App thinks it's on an iPhone on iPad
Requested features
8 requests- Allow sorting of auction lots
- Improve search functionality
- Enable calendar integration
- Make app landscape compatible
- Simplify personalization options
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- Improve account integration
- Allow file uploads for ID verification
- Fix AppleTV app issues
ArtPlacer AR
Reported bugs
18 issues- App is buggy
- Current version doesn't work
- Only displays a non-scaled grey rectangle with logo
- AR not working on iPhone 13 or iPad Pro
- Crashes
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- App crashes multiple times
- App constantly crashing on client phones
- Crashes when visualizing art with AI
- Keeps crashing the app each time
- Cannot update account from phone app
- Copies clipboard to the app on startup
- Cannot open camera in AR mode
- Screen is black and loading bar spins in AR mode
- Crashes when trying to add a room
- Crashes when trying to add custom art image
- App crashes when choosing an image from photo album
- Library option not possible on mobile
- No login on mobile
Requested features
7 requests- Allow preview of multiple art pieces
- Add skew correction for photos
- Grid overlay on camera
- Improve AR functionality for all devices
- Fix account update issues
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- Provide clear instructions for use
- Integrate desktop and mobile libraries
In-app purchases
Sotheby's
No in-app purchases
ArtPlacer AR
- Get Full VersionFree








