Comparison

Painter Eye vs Calca app

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

Head to head
About

Painter Eye

This app transforms your iPhone into a drawing canvas, offering a variety of brushes and stencils. It utilizes augmented reality to let you trace real-world images directly on your screen, making complex drawing accessible and portable.

Highlights
  • Augmented reality tracing
  • Built-in brushes and canvases
  • Image parameter adjustment (rotation, size, transparency)
  • Color and style customization
  • Monochrome masterpiece creation
  • Stencil creation from photos
Features
Read full description

Turn any photo into art on real paper with Painter Eye — your AR art projector and portable tracing studio for iPhone and iPad. HOW IT WORKS Painter Eye works like an art projector, light box, and AR tracing tool in one. Open your reference, point your camera at paper or canvas, and see the image overlaid with accurate proportions. Prop your phone on a glass, tripod, or stack of books — then adjust size, rotation, and transparency with intuitive sliders at the bottom of the screen. Trace with pencil, pen, or brush on real surfaces, not only on the display. FOUR CREATIVE MODES • Camera — live-camera tracing: move and resize your reference while you draw • AR — track an anchor image on a real object so your sketch stays aligned when you move the phone • Board — sketch on a digital canvas with built-in brushes and tools • Paint — color and finish your artwork SKETCHING & TEMPLATES Import photos from your library or explore stencils and categories inside the app. Apply filters, turn pictures into outlines, build compositions step by step, and transform portraits into expressive sketches. Painter Eye: Canvas Creator adds colors, drawing styles, and monochrome looks for both on-screen and on-paper workflows. AI & MORE Create line-ready references faster, browse templates, and go from idea to finished sketch in minutes — whether you love anime, portraits, or everyday subjects. WHO IT'S FOR Beginners learning proportions, hobbyists, students, and artists who want accurate tracing on real paper with their own photos — without expensive projector equipment. Experience the joy of artistic expression where augmented reality and creativity meet. Terms of Use - https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy - https://www.notion.so/Privacy-Policy-371324c3d26880a5961eea460064aa99?source=copy_link

About

Calca app

This app allows you to project any image from your device or camera onto a surface for drawing or tracing. It offers customization options for fonts and colors, and can even capture web pages. Tutorials are available to help users get the most out of its features.

Highlights
  • Image projection for drawing
  • Camera lucida functionality
  • Customizable fonts (1550+)
  • Web page capture
  • 3D effect option
  • Multicultural language support
Features
Read full description

CalcaApp: Your Customizable Tool for Transferring Images to Paper Welcome to the latest CalcaApp update! Overview: CalcaApp is an innovative, customizable tool that allows you to transfer any image from your device or captured with your camera to paper, acting as a camera lucida or projector. With a wide selection of features and tools, CalcaApp is designed to inspire you and facilitate your artistic creations. You can draw on a table on a paper yes, but you can also make a small mural on the wall if you hold your phone upright and looking through it at the image you have chosen on the wall. 3D effect: You can use a basic stand to support the device with a 45 degree tilt or those you choose, and you can make a 3D effect on the drawing. examples with videos and images at CalcaApp.com. Free for Everyone: I'm excited to announce that CalcaApp is now completely free for all its users - enjoy all the features at no cost! Earn Points, Remove Ads: Coming soon, you'll have options that will require more than ten points. With an active subscription, you'll have access to everything unlocked at the same special price. Annual Subscription: If you've noticed that CalcaApp is continually developing and implementing new features, you'll now have access to everything unlocked at the same price. Multicultural Languages: We've added new languages, including Italian, plus Russian, French, Indonesian, German, Arabic, English, Spanish and Portuguese, so you can enjoy CalcaApp in your preferred language. Customize with 1550+ Fonts: Choose from a wide selection of over 1550 fonts to give a unique touch to your texts and designs. In addition, CalcaApp is customizable in various colors for easy inspiration when using the app. Improved Web Capture: Now, capturing web pages is easier than ever. Turn your favorite websites into images with just one tap. Learn with Our Tutorials: Explore our tutorials on CalcaApp.Com to get the most out of all the features and tools available. Follow me on the Networks: Ask us for new features from our social networks and get to know them on ApliArte.Com. Recommended supports: Use supports recommended by CalcaApp or, failing that, something suitable, such as a glass, a jar or a box, to hold the device horizontally or vertically depending on where you want to make the drawing, but it is important that the device is fixed. Tips and Recommendations: Consider using a stand recommended by CalcaApp for a better experience. Consider choosing a color of your liking for a better user experience. Consider using relaxing music and make sure you have enough lighting to enjoy the experience. Remember that CalcaApp is not magic and requires practice. You can find demonstration videos on our website for best results. IMPORTANT: -You must give permission to the camera of your device, to be able to see through it, the image chosen or captured in the area where you are about to draw. -This app is not magic (It needs practice, there are demonstration videos to see results). -Your device MUST FOCUS ON THE DRAWING AREA, whether it is paper, wall, floor, etc... FOR ITS CORRECT FUNCTIONING. -You can search with the app from the web for any drawing to color and thus start practicing. -You can remove advertising with a point system and at no cost. -It does not project the image (For this you need a projector). -To avoid autofocus you have to prevent the hand from passing under the camera (It is explained with images in CalcaApp.com). -You do not need to register in the app. -This app is under continuous development, we appreciate and value your comments and suggestions at erbolamm.com or apliarte.com. Is there anything else I can help you with?

Screenshots

Painter Eye4 screens
Calca app4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Painter Eye at 4.6 against Calca app's 4.0. Painter Eye also leads on review sentiment (75% vs 48%) and update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly). Calca app's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Painter Eye sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and Calca app sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Painter Eye holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Painter Eye has 6.2K ratings behind it against 91, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of Painter Eye's written reviews are positive against 48% of Calca app's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Painter Eye ships an update every 2 days, Calca app fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Painter Eye versus Calca app: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPainter EyeCalca app
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (6.2K ratings) — better4.0 (91 ratings)
Positive reviews74.6% of reviews — better48.0% of reviews
Number of ratings6.2K — better91
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterFortnightly
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.116.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size189 MB65 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperIvan HulidauFrancisco Mateo Marquez

Customer experience

Painter Eye

All ratings6,192 ratings
Positive88.3%
Neutral3.8%
Negative7.8%
Written reviews639 reviews
Positive74.6%
Neutral7.4%
Negative18.0%

Calca app

All ratings88 ratings
Positive73.9%
Neutral4.5%
Negative21.6%
Written reviews50 reviews
Positive48.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative44.0%

Bugs and requests

Painter Eye

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Drawing screen appears black
  • Tracing feature is not working as expected
  • App crashes or freezes occasionally

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more drawing templates and options
  • Implement a search feature
  • Improve offline functionality
  • Provide more customization options
  • Enhance the drawing tools and precision

Calca app

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Painter Eye

Subscriptions4
  • 1 Month3 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • 3 Months$16.993 Months
  • 1 Year$19.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • 1 Year$39.991 Year
4 purchases

Calca app

Subscriptions3
  • One-year subscription$2.991 Year
  • Monthly Advanced Founder Plan2 Months trial$4.991 Month
  • Yearly Basic Founder Plan1 Year trial$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • Permanent License$149.99

Questions

Is Painter Eye free?
Painter Eye is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Calca app free?
Calca app is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Painter Eye or Calca app?
Painter Eye is rated higher. Painter Eye averages 4.6 out of 5 from 6.2K ratings, while Calca app averages 4.0 from 91 ratings.
Do Painter Eye or Calca app have ads?
Both Painter Eye and Calca app show ads.
Which is updated more often, Painter Eye or Calca app?
Painter Eye ships an update every 2 days, and Calca app fortnightly. Most recently, Painter Eye was updated on October 29, 2026 and Calca app on October 30, 2026.

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