Comparison

Tracing Buddy vs AR Drawing Sketch

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

Head to head
About

Tracing Buddy

Easily transfer images to a drawing surface using a grid system. Create drawing illusions with perspective distortion and anamorphic images. Offers various image filters and grid customization options.

Highlights
  • Drawing grid with customizable lines and subdivisions
  • Perspective distortion for anamorphic illusions
  • Image filters: line art, black & white, background removal
  • AR-guided distortion process
  • Manual distortion control
  • Save grid settings in projects
Features
Read full description

Tracing Buddy is a drawing grid and anamorphic images creation tool. Built for simplicity, Tracing Buddy allows you to easily transfer pictures to a drawing surface Using the perspective distortion functionality, now you can enter the world of drawing illusions. First, apply the distortion to your images and then transfer them to a drawing surface with a grid The app is optimized for both iPhone and iPad use, including Dark Mode support Grid Features: - Square divisions or choose the preferred aspect ratio - Change color and transparency of grid lines - Choose from four subdivision styles and change color and transparency as you wish - Change the grid background color and the transparency of your image - Change the scale and position of your image relative to the whole grid - Save grid settings in projects Image Features: - Choose from a regular image, line art style, black & white values, or remove backgrounds with the person detection filter -With the B&W and values filter you change your image to black & white, adjust shadows and highlights to you liking with the included tone curve and reduce the number of values in the picture to a more manageable amount. With the value selection tool you can inspect where values are placed in your image - Use the person detection filter to remove the backgrounds of pictures with people in them, change to a transparent or solid color background instead Anamorphic images: - Add perspective distortion to your images choosing from two method: AR or using a picture - In AR method let Tracing Buddy guide you through the whole process, you only need an iOS device equipped with AR capabilities - If you need more control about the distortion, you can take a picture from your phone or with external camera and apply the distortion manually, for this method to be effective, you need to know the dimensions of the surface you want to transfer your picture to Premium Features Add-on (either by subscription or lifetime purchase) required for: - Ad removal - Premium Image filters - Multiple Project management - PNG type export Privacy Policy: https://lafappbrica.com/tracing-buddy-privacy-policy Terms of use https://lafappbrica.com/tracing-buddy-terms/

About

AR Drawing Sketch

This app uses augmented reality to project images onto paper for tracing, offering guided lessons and real-time feedback to improve drawing skills. It's designed for artists of all levels, from beginners building fundamentals to experienced artists refining their techniques.

Highlights
  • AR tracing projection
  • Guided drawing lessons
  • Real-time feedback
  • Stroke quality assessment
  • Skill-based trainers
  • Image filtering for tracing
Features
Read full description

Introducing the new and improved AR Sketch Drawing, now enhanced with powerful learning features of guided drawing to offer the ultimate drawing experience for artists of all levels. 

Augmented Reality Drawing Meets Guided Learning 
AR Sketch Drawing’s core strength—using your phone’s camera to project traceable images onto real-world surfaces—remains at the heart of the app. Now, it’s supercharged with Guided, step-by-step tutorials and real-time feedback. Whether you're tracing anime characters, sketching animals, or exploring creative templates, you'll receive guidance and performance evaluations to help you improve. Guided drawing becomes your personal drawing coach.
It helps you learn to draw through a fun, game-like experience while analyzing your progress. 
How is it different from other apps? * It tracks your drawing accuracy
• It assesses the quality of your strokes
• Well-structured lessons that combine a little theory with plenty of practice
• More than just line tracing – try skill-based trainers with instant feedback Beginners can build strong fundamentals and improve gradually.
Experienced artists can use this as a daily warm-up to refine and sharpen their skills. It’s a true Drawing guide:
 - Engage your creative muscles!
 -It’s interactive, motivating, and enjoyable. 

AR Sketch Drawing app is a tool that allows users to take a photograph or image and trace over it to create a sketch or drawing. It typically has features such as adjustable line thickness, different brush styles, and an eraser tool. To use the app, the user first selects an image to trace or takes a new photograph.
Place phone about 1 feet above and look into the phone and draw on paper. So how does it work? * Select an image from the app or gallery and apply a filter to create a traceable image. After that, you will see that image on the camera screen with transparency & you have to put drawing paper or book anything on which you want to trace and draw. Your image will not appear on paper but a transparent image with camera so that you can trace it on paper. * Draw on paper by looking at the phone with a transparent image. * Select any image and convert it to a tracing image. AR Sketch Drawing Premium Subscription: * With AR Sketch Drawing Premium Subscription, you will have access to all premium features like get access for drawing lessons, explore more creative images with an Ads-Free experience. * AR Sketch Drawing Premium Subscription is billed monthly and annually at the rate corresponding to the selected plan. * Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. * Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before * Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. 
Key Features * AR Tracing: Project images onto paper using your camera and trace with precision. * 2,500+ Guided Lessons: Learn to draw with bite-sized tutorials covering doodling, sketching, painting, and handwriting. * Stroke Evaluation: Receive instant feedback on line accuracy and stroke quality to track your progress. * Creative Templates: Access a vast library of traceable images, including animals, cars, nature, and more. * Apple Pencil Support: Enhance your digital drawing experience on iPad. * Stress-Free Learning: Enjoy a game-like, relaxing environment suitable for beginners and pros alike. 
Terms of Use :- https://drawtraceandsketch.blogspot.com/2026/02/ar-drawing-ar-sketch.html Privacy Policy :- https://drawtraceandsketch.blogspot.com/2023/06/draw-trace-draw-trace-sketch-app.html

Screenshots

Tracing Buddy4 screens
AR Drawing Sketch4 screens

Verdict

The call

Tracing Buddy and AR Drawing Sketch both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 77% of AR Drawing Sketch's written reviews are positive against 62% of Tracing Buddy's. AR Drawing Sketch also leads on chart position (#201 vs unranked). Tracing Buddy's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Tracing Buddy sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.49 per month and AR Drawing Sketch sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Tracing Buddy against 4.6 for AR Drawing Sketch. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 935 and 1.2K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 62% of Tracing Buddy's written reviews are positive against 77% of AR Drawing Sketch's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tracing Buddy ships an update every 6 weeks, AR Drawing Sketch every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Tracing Buddy versus AR Drawing Sketch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTracing BuddyAR Drawing Sketch
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (935 ratings)4.6 (1.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews62.3% of reviews76.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings9351.2K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#201 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB89 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperLa FáppbricaKetanbhai Khokhani

Customer experience

Tracing Buddy

All ratings935 ratings
Positive88.4%
Neutral4.0%
Negative7.6%
Written reviews53 reviews
Positive62.3%
Neutral3.8%
Negative34.0%

AR Drawing Sketch

All ratings1,226 ratings
Positive90.4%
Neutral4.1%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews278 reviews
Positive76.6%
Neutral3.6%
Negative19.8%

User reviews

Tracing Buddy

From 935 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fantastic app
  • 👍 Great app
  • 👍 Versatile and easy to use
  • 👍 Cheap and has just the perfect amount of help
  • 👍 Awesome app for pencil drawing and watercolor

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Zoom feature not working
  • 🐛 Grid feature not working as expected
  • 🐛 Lock feature not working properly
  • 🐛 Instructions and customer support not helpful
  • 🐛 Ads cover drawing area

AR Drawing Sketch

From 1.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Helps improve drawing skills
  • 🚀 Easy to use interface
  • 💡 Useful drawing lessons
  • 🎨 Variety of drawing options
  • 🤩 Impressive art results

Room to improve

  • 🤬 Too many ads
  • 💰 Paid features required
  • 🐛 Tracing issues and inaccuracies
  • 🔍 Difficult to navigate

Bugs and requests

Tracing Buddy

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Zoom feature not working
  • Grid feature not working as expected
  • Lock feature not working properly
  • App only works once, can't reuse

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to crop photo inside the app
  • Easier way to start a new drawing
  • Ability to rotate image
  • Grid with numbered overlay and adjustable starting point
  • Grid size based on specific measurements

AR Drawing Sketch

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Pencil placement issues
  • App crashes and freezes
  • Ads blocking drawing area

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to upload own images
  • Zoom and pan functionality
  • Less intrusive ads
  • More free drawing tools

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Tracing Buddy

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$0.491 Month
  • Yearly subscription7 Days trial$3.991 Year
One-time2
  • Premium Features$9.99
  • Premium Features$12.99
7 purchases

AR Drawing Sketch

Subscriptions4
  • AR Drawing Premium$5.997 Days
  • AR Draw Weekly Plan7 Days trial$5.997 Days
  • AR Drawing Premium3 Days trial$24.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • AR Draw Yearly Plan3 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time3
  • 50 coins$1.99
  • 150 coins$4.99
  • 350coins$9.99

Questions

Is Tracing Buddy free?
Tracing Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is AR Drawing Sketch free?
AR Drawing Sketch is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Tracing Buddy or AR Drawing Sketch?
AR Drawing Sketch is rated higher. Tracing Buddy averages 4.5 out of 5 from 935 ratings, while AR Drawing Sketch averages 4.6 from 1.2K ratings.
Do Tracing Buddy or AR Drawing Sketch have ads?
Both Tracing Buddy and AR Drawing Sketch show ads.
Which is updated more often, Tracing Buddy or AR Drawing Sketch?
Tracing Buddy ships an update every 6 weeks, and AR Drawing Sketch every 3 weeks. Most recently, Tracing Buddy was updated on September 21, 2026 and AR Drawing Sketch on September 24, 2026.

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