Comparison

Grid Painter vs DrawinGrid

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

Head to head
About

Grid Painter

Easily overlay a customizable grid onto your images to aid in accurate drawing and painting. Select photos from your library or camera, choose grid styles and sizes, and utilize various image filters for reference. Save, print, or share your projects.

Highlights
  • Overlay customizable grids on images
  • Select photos from library or camera
  • Choose grid styles and sizes
  • Image filters (grayscale, Notan, etc.)
  • Customizable canvas size
  • Save, print, and share projects
Read full description

GridPainter is the premium application to use compose your next masterpiece. It lets you quickly and easily place a grid onto an image for the purpose of using the grid technique of drawing and painting, the same method even Leonardo da Vinci used in his work. With the portability of our devices and access to thousands of images at our fingertips, more artists than ever are using them as a reference for drawings. With GridPainter, the process of drawing accurately from your device is easier than ever. Simply select the photo you wish from your photo library or using the "Open In" functionality in Messages or email, and the app will scale your image and place the "fourths" style grid over the top. From the toolbar on top you will find easy to use controls. -Select a standard canvas or customize your canvas size. -Customize your grid pattern from several different styles. -Crop We have also integrated some basic functions from our sister application NotanIzer so now you can -Look at you image in color, gray scale, Notan, 3 Level, 4 level, or Levels Everything is saved and you can work with your image in the app, or using the share menu, print, email, or export it to your photo library. To create a drawing from the photo, simply draw a grid of the same proportions on your drawing material as your selected final project size and grid size. From there you can easily transfer the image by drawing whats in each square, letting the grid take care of the proper scaling and framing within your picture. Great for when you need to draw a large drawing from a small reference photo, or for drawing complicated imagery. Features: -Select an image from your camera roll , import, or take a photo directly from the app -Choose final image size -Place a grid over the image using different grid types -Change the grid size -Change the grid color for best visibility over the image -Select any canvas size or automatically choose the aspect ratio or use the Golden Ratio -Scale and move your image to fit exactly where you want -Save the project for later revisions -Print or share your project with others

About

DrawinGrid

Easily create custom grids over reference images and drawing surfaces. This tool simplifies image enlargement and transfer for artists, ensuring accurate proportions with every stroke. Achieve professional results with an intuitive interface.

Highlights
  • Custom grid creation
  • Image enlargement tool
  • Reference image overlay
  • Drawing surface grid
  • Precise detail transfer
  • Proportion accuracy
Features
Read full description

DrawinGrid is a drawing companion and project manager built for artists who work from reference photos. Overlay an adjustable grid on any image, size and position it exactly how you need, and use it to keep proportions and perspective accurate as you sketch — on paper or digitally. Beyond the grid tool, DrawinGrid helps you manage your art from first reference to finished piece, so your projects, progress, and portfolio all live in one place. GRID & REFERENCE TOOLS - Load and crop any reference image - Adjustable grid settings — size, spacing, and style to match your workflow - Full-screen zoom and drag for close, accurate work - Export and save your gridded reference for later or for printing TRACING - AR Sketch — float your reference over the camera view and trace it straight onto paper - Trace on Screen — draw over your reference on the screen with a finger or stylus - Move, pinch and zoom the reference to line it up exactly where you want it - Undo and redo every stroke while you work - Export your finished tracing to save, share, or add to a project PROJECT MANAGEMENT - Organize your artwork into a personal project library - Track project timelines and hours spent, piece by piece - Sync and store your projects securely in the cloud AI-ASSISTED WORKFLOW - Let AI suggest project titles so you can spend less time naming files and more time drawing SHARE YOUR WORK - Publish a public gallery to showcase finished pieces - Optionally list and mark artwork as sold to share your work with buyers Whether you're a hobbyist filling a sketchbook or a working artist managing a full slate of commissions, DrawinGrid gives you the drawing aids and the organization to see every project through. Some features, including cloud sync, AI-assisted tools, and the public gallery, require an account and are intended for users aged 13 and over. In-app purchases are available for these pro features. EULA: https://drawinggrid.app/eula.html

Screenshots

Grid Painter4 screens
DrawinGrid4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: DrawinGrid at Free against Grid Painter's $2.99. DrawinGrid also leads on ratings volume (4.9K vs 393). Grid Painter's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ads (none vs shown). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence 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

DrawinGrid is free to download; Grid Painter costs $2.99 up front. DrawinGrid sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $8.00 per month. Grid Painter asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Grid Painter against 4.7 for DrawinGrid. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DrawinGrid has 4.9K ratings behind it against 393, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 81% and 82% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Grid Painter ships an update every 3 weeks, DrawinGrid monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Grid Painter versus DrawinGrid: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGrid PainterDrawinGrid
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (393 ratings) — better4.7 (4.9K ratings)
Positive reviews81.5% of reviews81.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3934.9K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#66 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerbigpantsgroup LLCBUTTERFLYRAY LIMITED

Customer experience

Grid Painter

All ratings393 ratings
Positive96.4%
Neutral1.3%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews54 reviews
Positive81.5%
Neutral5.6%
Negative13.0%

DrawinGrid

All ratings4,941 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral3.1%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews141 reviews
Positive81.6%
Neutral4.3%
Negative14.2%

User reviews

Grid Painter

From 393 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use and navigate
  • 🎨 Great for drawing and painting accuracy
  • 📐 Helpful for grids and composition
  • 💡 Useful for value study and grayscale conversion
  • ⏱️ Saves time for artists

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Grid lines too thick
  • 🔄 Rotation issues with square photos
  • 🗂️ Cropping feature uses absolute values, not ratios
  • 🚫 Inability to print with grid
  • ⚠️ Cropping feature can freeze

DrawinGrid

From 4.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Completely free and easy to use
  • 👍 Handy for drawing and art
  • 👍 Simple and effective
  • 👍 Helpful for improving drawing skills
  • 👍 No subscription trap

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy image loading and grid application
  • 🐛 Limited functionality (e.g. no ruler, unable to specify grid size)
  • 🐛 Clunky and not user-friendly for some
  • 🐛 Incompatible with older devices (e.g. iPhone SE)

Bugs and requests

Grid Painter

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • Cannot upload photos from desktop
  • Grid width too thick even at lowest setting
  • Photo library update message with no update available
  • Grid would not reset
  • App crashes when changing canvas to Landscape
Show 9 more
  • Resizing won't maintain aspect ratio and image disappears
  • Stop work after last update
  • Annoying bug: rotates square format photos with Notan/grayscale
  • Cropping feature only allows absolute values (inches), not ratios
  • Cropping feature freezes the page
  • Cannot get saved images back
  • Inability to print image with grid
  • Email developers function freezes
  • Crop feature does not work

Requested features

10 requests
  • Allow uploading photos from desktop directly
  • Lock canvas size and adapt photo to fit
  • Approximate color in levels section for palette preview
  • Sort projects
  • Different grid styles (isometric, diagonal)
Show 5 more
  • Select grid opacity
  • User-selectable number of rows and columns for grids
  • Add movable lines for grid customization
  • Combine multiple grids without screenshots
  • Geometrically sound grid drawing method (X through corners, etc.)

DrawinGrid

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Images not saving properly
  • Ads not removed after paid upgrade
  • Unable to load images from gallery

Requested features

4 requests
  • Allow specifying number of rows and columns
  • Add more grid customization options
  • Provide instructions and definitions of terms
  • Improve image loading and grid application reliability

In-app purchases

None

Grid Painter

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

DrawinGrid

Subscriptions2
  • Pro$8.001 Month
  • Pro$86.001 Year
One-time1
  • Remove Ads$10.00

Questions

Is Grid Painter free?
Grid Painter costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is DrawinGrid free?
DrawinGrid is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Grid Painter or DrawinGrid?
Grid Painter is rated higher. Grid Painter averages 4.8 out of 5 from 393 ratings, while DrawinGrid averages 4.7 from 4.9K ratings.
Do Grid Painter or DrawinGrid have ads?
DrawinGrid shows ads; Grid Painter does not.
Which is updated more often, Grid Painter or DrawinGrid?
Grid Painter ships an update every 3 weeks, and DrawinGrid monthly. Most recently, Grid Painter was updated on September 26, 2026 and DrawinGrid on September 25, 2026.

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