Simple Trace vs Ricalko
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Simple Trace
This app helps beginners practice drawing and painting by allowing them to trace over photos and images. Load pictures from your camera roll and use a stylus to learn basic line drawing techniques. Save your traced creations as JPG files.
- Trace photos and pictures
- Practice drawing and painting
- Load images from camera roll
- Adjust image transmittance
- Zoom in and out
- Save drawings as JPG
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Simple Trace makes it easy to trace photos and pictures by hand. The concept is to be able to practice painting. Once you've loaded the image from your camera roll, it's easy to get started with Apple Pencil. By tracing the original picture, you can practice basic drawing such as how to draw lines in the illustration. Feature - Change of transmittance - Zoom in and out of the drawing area - Images can be saved as jpg
Ricalko
Transform photos into traceable art projections using your device's camera. Ideal for both aspiring artists and experienced creators, this tool offers features like layer separation and perspective correction to help you achieve stunning results on any surface.
- Project photos for tracing
- Layer separation for detailed drawing
- Perspective mode for angled projection
- Augmented reality tracing with markers
- Creative filters for art styles
- Zoom for precision drawing
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Ricalko lets you create incredible artwork, see how your drawings take shape, like magic! It is great for beginners who want to learn drawing and it is perfect for advanced users who want to improve even more! Ricalko has many smart features that let you achieve the results your aiming to, but in few words it is able to virtually project photos, so you can trace them on a paper sheet, an easel or on any other surface! You don't have to be a professional artist to reach amazing results. How is it able to do that? In normal mode you have to put your device onto a stand (DIY works too, like a simple glass), with the camera pointing to a sheet of paper below for example. On your screen an overlay will be shown and you will be able to see both the photo and your hand below so you can trace it! See below for more details... CRAFT REALISTIC ARTWORK FROM ANY PHOTO You can choose any photo and then create art from it. Pencil and paper? Brush and watercolours? You choose! LEARN TO DRAW AND SEPARATE LAYERS Split photos to different layers, in colors or grayscale, see them one by one individually and trace them on your art to create the final result. Perfect for learning! CREATIVE FILTERS Turn your photo into a drawing, a comic or apply a posterisation, Ricalko filters are great for creativity. PERSPECTIVE MODE You don't have to keep your device perpendicularly if you don't have a stand, you can also keep it angled, perspective mode will remove any distortion and you will be able to create your artworks without any particular effort. You just have to set it with the guidelines helper image! AR MODE Don't like keeping your device still? You don't have to with the augmented reality. You can select a marker, the app will recognise it and place your photo virtually next to it, so you can trace it! USE ANY CAMERA You can use any camera on your device, wide angle, zoom lens, ultra wide angle or even the front camera, this one with the perspective mode and a reflector (to be purchased in online stores, such as OSMO and not included). ZOOM TO BE PRECISE After you have setup your environment you can zoom on the area where you are drawing to see even more clearly, with natural gestures like pinch to zoom or by moving your device closer in AR Mode. PREMIUM CUSTOMER SUPPORT Need help? Have a suggestion? See it included in future releases and drop an email to support@genovasoftworks.com REQUIREMENTS Ricalko does not have any particular requirement since supports iOS 14+ devices only. If you can download it, it will work on your device. A printer is suggested in order to print markers for AR Mode and the guidelines image for Perspective mode, even if they could also be displayed on an additional supporting device. A subscription is required. Terms and Privacy Policy can be found at https://www.genovasoftworks.com/terms.php. For any question or help drop an email to support@genovasoftworks.com.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Ricalko at 4.1 against Simple Trace's 1.5. Ricalko also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (83 vs 2). Simple Trace's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 months). On price and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. Ricalko sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Simple Trace asks for nothing beyond the download.
Ricalko holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ricalko has 83 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 33% of Simple Trace's written reviews are positive against 11% of Ricalko's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Simple Trace ships an update every 2 weeks, Ricalko every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Simple Trace | Ricalko |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.5 (2 ratings) | 4.1 (83 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews — better | 11.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 83 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.2 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 40 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kazuaki Matsuda | GENOVA Softworks |
Customer experience
Simple Trace
Ricalko
In-app purchases
Simple Trace
No in-app purchases
Ricalko
- Weekly Unlock3 Days trial$2.997 Days
- Premium Ricalko 1 Month$4.991 Month
- Premium Ricalko for 1 Year$19.991 Year
Questions
Is Simple Trace free?
Is Ricalko free?
Which has better reviews, Simple Trace or Ricalko?
Do Simple Trace or Ricalko have ads?
Which is updated more often, Simple Trace or Ricalko?
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