Comparison

TraceArt vs Tracing projector & Lightbox

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

Head to head
About

TraceArt

Transform your smartphone into a drawing tool. Trace photos and illustrations onto paper with adjustable outline thickness and screen brightness. Perfect for aspiring artists of all skill levels.

Highlights
  • Trace photos and illustrations
  • Adjust outline thickness
  • Adjust image size
  • Screen lock with maximized brightness
  • Save unlimited sketches
Features
Read full description

Anyone can easily draw a good picture!! TraceArt is an app that allows you to trace photos and illustrations on your smartphone. You don't need talent for painting, all you need is a paper and pencil! *How to use the app 1.Select your favorite photo or illustration from the album. 2.Adjust the thickness of the outline and adjust the size of the image. 3. Lock the screen with the screen lock button (At the same time, the screen brightness is maximized) 4. Place the paper on the screen and draw a picture. You can save as many sketches as you like. *Others Use thin, transparent paper as much as possible. Photos and illustrations with clear boundaries are recommended. *Advertisements will be displayed in the free version. ICONS by icons8(https://icons8.com)

About

Tracing projector & Lightbox

Easily learn to draw by tracing images from your phone onto paper. Superimpose any picture from the app's catalog or your gallery onto your camera view, adjust transparency, and redraw with augmented reality. Perfect for beginners and experienced artists alike.

Highlights
  • Image tracing via smartphone camera
  • App catalog and phone gallery image import
  • Adjustable image transparency
  • Augmented reality drawing effect
  • Combine multiple images on one canvas
  • Save and share drawings
Features
Read full description

Application's functionality resembles transferring an image to paper with the help of tracing paper or carbon paper. We can say that this is a digital carbon copy of the modern world. Camera Lucida and Camera Obscura are also great for explaining the principle of the operation of the application. To start drawing, point your smartphone camera at a piece of paper. Choose a picture you like from the application catalog or your own phone gallery, it will be superimposed on top of the camera image. Set the necessary transparency and get creative! This app is for you if: • You want to learn how to draw as a professional artist, but you have little experience • Just starting the path of creativity and experiencing problems with the proportion of the image • Do not get smooth beautiful lines in the picture • You want to draw something beautiful but there are few ideas for creativity • You want to surprise your friends with a beautiful drawing • You need to copy the image exactly from the original to paper without a printer • You need to redraw the original image at a different scale Everyone will find something to their liking, install the app and start your journey of the artist now! You will be able to learn how to draw by copying any images and achieve really impressive results in a short time. The application catalog has a large selection of the images on various topics: cute animals, beautiful calligraphic fonts, nature, superheroes, comics and much more. You can select your image from the phone gallery. The drawing you want to draw is superimposed on the image coming from the smartphone camera, forming an augmented reality effect. Adjust the parameters of the drawing location, turn on the "ripple" mode of transparency of the original image and start drawing. Save the result, share it with your friends and enjoy the process. Place your smartphone on a mug, a stack of books, or place it on a tripod over a piece of paper or a notepad for a better result. Application functions: • Many categories and a large selection of images in the catalog • Select an image from the catalog or the gallery of your smartphone • Add your favourite images to favourites to hone your skills • When starting to draw, change the size of the image, the angle of rotation and the position of the drawing • Choose a comfortable transparency of the image, for a clearer display on top of the smartphone camera • You can turn on a "ripple" mode of image transparency, this will help to achieve a better result when redrawing • Enjoy the drawing process! • You can combine several images on one canvas by drawing them sequentially, creating unique drawings • When you finish drawing - save the result and share it with your friends Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

TraceArt3 screens
Tracing projector & Lightbox4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Tracing projector & Lightbox at none against TraceArt's shown. Tracing projector & Lightbox also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months). TraceArt's advantage is ratings volume (82 vs 11). On price, rating, review sentiment and in-app purchases 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. TraceArt sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Tracing projector & Lightbox sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.49 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 — 2.1 for TraceArt against 2.0 for Tracing projector & Lightbox. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TraceArt has 82 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 14% of TraceArt's written reviews are positive against 12% of Tracing projector & Lightbox's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TraceArt ships an update every 3 months, Tracing projector & Lightbox every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on November 7, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
TraceArt versus Tracing projector & Lightbox: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTraceArtTracing projector & Lightbox
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.1 (82 ratings) — better2.0 (11 ratings)
Positive reviews14.3% of reviews — better12.0% of reviews
Number of ratings82 — better11
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS14.213.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKENICHI YAMAMOTOAlexey Goryachev

Customer experience

TraceArt

All ratings73 ratings
Positive23.3%
Neutral2.7%
Negative74.0%
Written reviews28 reviews
Positive14.3%
Neutral3.6%
Negative82.1%

Tracing projector & Lightbox

All ratings11 ratings
Positive27.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative72.7%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive12.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative84.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

TraceArt

One-time1
  • Remove ADs$2.99
5 purchases

Tracing projector & Lightbox

Subscriptions4
  • Weekly Subscription3 Days trial$3.497 Days
  • Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Monthly Subscription3 Months trial$9.991 Month
Show 1 more
  • Yearly Subscription3 Days trial$79.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium+$199.99

Questions

Is TraceArt free?
TraceArt is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Tracing projector & Lightbox free?
Tracing projector & Lightbox is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, TraceArt or Tracing projector & Lightbox?
TraceArt is rated higher. TraceArt averages 2.1 out of 5 from 82 ratings, while Tracing projector & Lightbox averages 2.0 from 11 ratings.
Do TraceArt or Tracing projector & Lightbox have ads?
TraceArt shows ads; Tracing projector & Lightbox does not.
Which is updated more often, TraceArt or Tracing projector & Lightbox?
TraceArt ships an update every 3 months, and Tracing projector & Lightbox every 2 weeks. Most recently, TraceArt was updated on November 7, 2026 and Tracing projector & Lightbox on November 7, 2026.

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