Comparison

Simple Trace vs DrawBuddy

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Trace photos and pictures
  • Practice drawing and painting
  • Load images from camera roll
  • Adjust image transmittance
  • Zoom in and out
  • Save drawings as JPG
Features
Read full description

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

About

DrawBuddy

Learn to draw with step-by-step tutorials and guides designed for artists of all levels. Enhance your digital art skills using Apple Pencil with a variety of drawing categories. Practice on the go with quick draw options and create masterpieces.

Highlights
  • Step-by-step drawing tutorials
  • Digital art creation
  • Apple Pencil support
  • Quick draw practice
  • Multiple drawing categories
  • Skill enhancement for beginners and professionals
Features
Read full description

This drawing app for iPad is the perfect tool for artists of all the levels to create a stunning digital art. With the use of the Apple Pencil, users can easily learn how to draw and develop their skills with the help of the art drawing tutorials and step-by-step guides. The app also features quick draw options for those who want to practice their skills on the go. Drawing lessons are available for users to improve their techniques and create masterpieces. Whether you're a beginner or a professional, this digital drawing app will provide everything you need to enhance your artistic abilities. The app offers a range of categories for drawing, including: • Architecture • Home Interior • Celebrities • People • Artists • Animals • Landscapes • Nature • Dinosaurs • Children • And others Download our drawing app for iPad and don’t forget to share it with your friends on social media or messengers. The app contains the following subscription options: • A 1-month membership costs from $6.99 • A 3-month membership costs from $12.99. • A 1-year membership costs from $29.99 after a 7-day free trial. The price is for US customers. Pricing in other countries may vary, and actual charges may be converted to your local currency, depending on the country of residence. Payment will be charged to the iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. The account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period and will identify the cost of the renewal. Subscriptions may be managed by the user, and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of the free trial will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription. • Privacy Policy: https://tappa.tech/drawbuddy/privacy-policy • EULA: https://tappa.tech/drawbuddy/eula • Terms of use: https://tappa.tech/drawbuddy/terms-of-use

Screenshots

DrawBuddy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: DrawBuddy at 4.4 against Simple Trace's 1.5. DrawBuddy also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (479 vs 2). Simple Trace's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 11) and review sentiment (33% vs 19%). On price, update cadence and device support 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. DrawBuddy sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days. Simple Trace asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DrawBuddy holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DrawBuddy has 479 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 19% of DrawBuddy's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simple Trace ships an update every 2 weeks, DrawBuddy every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Simple Trace versus DrawBuddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimple TraceDrawBuddy
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.5 (2 ratings)4.4 (479 ratings) — better
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews — better19.0% of reviews
Number of ratings2479 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterSubscription
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS13.2 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB42 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKazuaki MatsudaBohdan Hlushko

Customer experience

Simple Trace

All ratings2 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%

DrawBuddy

All ratings479 ratings
Positive83.5%
Neutral4.4%
Negative12.1%
Written reviews21 reviews
Positive19.0%
Neutral9.5%
Negative71.4%

Bugs and requests

Simple Trace

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

DrawBuddy

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Video not playing during free trial
  • Payment pop-ups prevent drawing
  • Charged full month instead of trial

Requested features

4 requests
  • More drawing options
  • More pictures/drawings
  • Make the app free
  • Add pencil tool back

In-app purchases

None

Simple Trace

No in-app purchases

11 purchases

DrawBuddy

Subscriptions10
  • Weekly subscription$6.997 Days
  • Monthly subscription3 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • Weekly subscription3 Days trial$9.997 Days
Show 7 more
  • Monthly subscription$12.991 Month
  • Three month subscription7 Days trial$19.993 Months
  • Monthly subscription1 Month trial$19.991 Month
  • Annual subscription7 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Annual subscription$39.991 Year
  • Annual subscription7 Days trial$69.991 Year
  • Annual subscription14 Days trial$69.991 Year
One-time1
  • Unlimited Access$79.99

Questions

Is Simple Trace free?
Simple Trace is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is DrawBuddy free?
DrawBuddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Simple Trace or DrawBuddy?
DrawBuddy is rated higher. Simple Trace averages 1.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while DrawBuddy averages 4.4 from 479 ratings.
Do Simple Trace or DrawBuddy have ads?
Simple Trace shows ads; DrawBuddy does not.
Which is updated more often, Simple Trace or DrawBuddy?
Simple Trace ships an update every 2 weeks, and DrawBuddy every 3 weeks. Most recently, Simple Trace was updated on September 27, 2026 and DrawBuddy on October 7, 2026.

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