# PainterAR vs Art Grid Drawing

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Art Grid Drawing at 80% against PainterAR's 33%. Art Grid Drawing also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.4) and in-app purchases (none vs 12). PainterAR's advantage is price (Free vs $2.99) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

PainterAR is free to download; Art Grid Drawing costs $2.99 up front. PainterAR sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per 7 days. Art Grid Drawing asks for nothing beyond the download.

Art Grid Drawing holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PainterAR has 662 ratings behind it against 52, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of PainterAR's written reviews are positive against 80% of Art Grid Drawing's.

PainterAR ships an update weekly, Art Grid Drawing every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PainterAR | Art Grid Drawing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $2.99 |
| Rating | [4.4 (662 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/painterar-ar-trace-drawing/id1491111657/reviews) | **[4.9 (52 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/art-grid-drawing/id6475680414/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **662** | 52 |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews | **80.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | **#40** |
| Size | 188 MB | 6 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Painter AR Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1896290460) | [DAVID CROOKS SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT LIMITED](https://appshunter.io/developer/1654030206) |

## What reviewers say

### PainterAR

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/painterar-ar-trace-drawing/id1491111657)

Transform your paper sketches into digital art with augmented reality projection and advanced tracing tools. This app offers a complete workflow from initial drawing to digital inking and coloring, with professional layering and a curated inspiration library.

**Highlights:** AR drawing with stable projection, Advanced AR anchor mode for free movement, Smart plane detection for instant surface recognition, Import sketches for digital inking, 30+ professional brushes, Infinite layers system for complex edits, Curated inspiration library and courses

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (12)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| PainterAR-PRO | $8.99 | per 7 days |
| First 3-Day Free | $8.99 | per 7 days |
| Painter PRO | $8.99 | per 7 days |
| PainterAR-PRO | $9.99 | per month |
| 1 Month | $9.99 | per month |
| PainterAR-PRO | $9.99 | per month |
| PainterAR PRO | $29.99 | per 3 months |
| Special Offer | $29.99 | per year |
| 1 Year | $29.99 | per year |
| PainterAR-PRO | $29.99 | per year |
| First 3-Day Free | $39.99 | per year |
| PainterAR PRO | $79.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎨 Helpful for drawing and improving art skills
- ⏱️ Saves time in the drawing process
- 📚 Provides useful tutorials and guides

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Overly restrictive free trial and paywall for full features
- 🐛 Crashes and bugs that disrupt the drawing process
- 🔍 Difficult to use own photos without paying
- 🤖 AR mode is not very responsive or accurate

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes frequently during use
- Issues with loading own photos and images
- AR mode is unreliable and hard to control

**Requested features**

- Add more free drawing options and templates
- Improve the ability to use own photos and images
- Provide better instructions and tutorials for new users
- Fix crashes and stability issues


### Art Grid Drawing

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/art-grid-drawing/id6475680414)

**Currently charting:** #40 Top Paid · Graphics & Design (US App Store)

Easily transfer photos or sketches to your canvas with customizable drawing grids. Zoom in on details for precision and apply filters to simplify references. Spend less time measuring and more time creating art.

**Highlights:** Create accurate drawing grids from photos, Customizable grid colors and spacing, Zoom for detail and precision, Crop and apply filters to references, Calculates exact spacing for any canvas size

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PainterAR free?

PainterAR is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Art Grid Drawing free?

Art Grid Drawing costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, PainterAR or Art Grid Drawing?

Art Grid Drawing is rated higher. PainterAR averages 4.4 out of 5 from 662 ratings, while Art Grid Drawing averages 4.9 from 52 ratings.

### Do PainterAR or Art Grid Drawing have ads?

Neither PainterAR nor Art Grid Drawing shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, PainterAR or Art Grid Drawing?

PainterAR ships an update weekly, and Art Grid Drawing every 3 weeks. Most recently, PainterAR was updated on September 25, 2026 and Art Grid Drawing on September 23, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*