Comparison

Translucent vs Papercopy

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

Head to head
About

Translucent

This app transforms your device into a digital light box, offering a premium library of over 220 professional tracing images. It provides advanced camera overlay and drawing tools to help artists of all levels improve their skills and create detailed artwork.

Highlights
  • Premium image library with 222+ curated tracing images
  • Adjustable opacity camera overlay
  • Pinch-to-zoom with 20x capability
  • Grid overlay and filter modes
  • Import own images and reference photos
  • Lifetime access to new images
Features
Read full description

TRACE ANYTHING ONTO REAL PAPER. YOUR PHONE IS THE LIGHT BOX. Hold your phone over a sheet of paper and the drawing appears on the page through the screen. Trace what you see. No printer, no carbon paper, no taping a page to a sunny window. YOUR OWN PHOTOS ARE FREE. FOREVER. Import any picture from your camera roll, set the opacity, trace it. The light box, zoom, rotate and your own photos are not behind a paywall and never will be. That is the whole point of the app. HOW IT WORKS 1. Pick a drawing from the library, or import a photo of your own. 2. Hold your phone over your paper, or pin the drawing to the page with AR. 3. Trace the lines you see through the screen. 400 DRAWINGS, 104 OF THEM FREE Animals, Anime, Architecture, Cartoon, Fantasy, Food, Nature, Objects, People, Tattoo and Vehicles, at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. Real line art drawn for tracing, not photos run through a filter. 348 STEP-BY-STEP LESSONS Every lesson is built out of the drawing itself: big shapes first, then structure, then detail. You watch a face or a dragon assemble one stage at a time instead of copying a finished picture and hoping. AR ANCHORING Pin the drawing to your paper and it stays there. Move your phone, tilt it, set it down and pick it up, and the drawing is still exactly where you left it. No more propping your phone against a coffee cup. EVERY TOOL - Opacity, zoom, rotate, pan - Canvas lock, so your palm cannot knock the drawing out of line - Hands-free mode - Grid overlay, flip and mirror - Contrast, brightness and color filters for difficult light - Torch for tracing in the dark - Line art: turn a photo of your own into clean traceable outlines - Layer breakdown: a drawing split into its build-up stages - Strobe: the reference blinks off so you can see your own lines - Practice timer and daily streaks - Time-lapse: record a session and share it - Kid Mode: the whole library, none of the clutter - Works offline. No account, no sign-up. PERFECT FOR Artists learning proportion and perspective. Anime and manga. Tattoo artists transferring flash. Embroidery, quilting and cross-stitch patterns. Calligraphy and hand lettering. Woodworking and pyrography templates. Classroom and homeschool. Kids learning to draw. Anyone who was ever told they cannot draw. Tracing is not cheating. Artists have traced for centuries to study proportion and build the hand-eye coordination freehand drawing needs, which is why the lessons here take a drawing apart instead of just showing you the answer. FREE - The light box: opacity, zoom, rotate, pan, grid, filters, torch - Your own photos, unlimited - 104 drawings - 3 saved projects, 3 guided lessons, 3 strobe sessions - Canvas lock, hands-free, AR anchoring, practice timer - Supported by ads PREMIUM - All 400 drawings and all 348 lessons - Unlimited saved projects - Unlimited line art, layer breakdown and strobe - Time-lapse export with no watermark - No ads Already bought the Premium Library? You keep it, and you will never be asked to pay again. PREMIUM PLANS Premium Weekly - $6.99 per week Premium Yearly - $39.99 per year, after a 3-day free trial Premium Lifetime - $69.99, one payment, does not renew Prices are shown in your own currency before you confirm. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is switched off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of that period. Manage your subscription or switch off auto-renew in your device Settings after purchase. Any unused part of a free trial is forfeited when you buy a subscription. Terms of Use (EULA): https://aylan-apps.com/privacy/translucent-tracing/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://aylan-apps.com/privacy/translucent-tracing/privacy-policy

About

Papercopy

Transform your device into a precision tracing tool. Import any image to use as a drawing guide, adjusting its visibility and position to sketch and improve your artistic skills with ease.

Highlights
  • Import images for tracing
  • Adjust brightness and contrast
  • Rotate and position references
  • Customize outline colors
  • Intuitive user interface
Features
Read full description

Turn your phone into a tracing lightbox. Open any image, lock the screen, put paper on top, and draw. Papercopy makes it easy to copy a picture from your screen to paper with a pencil or pen. No printer, no lightbox, no special tools — just your phone or tablet and a sheet of paper. HOW IT WORKS 1. Pick an image from your gallery, camera, or the built-in Explore library 2. Zoom, rotate, and move it until it sits exactly where you want 3. Lock the canvas so the screen doesn't shift while you draw 4. Place your paper over the display and trace the lines through it FEATURES - Lock screen – blocks touches so the image stays put under the paper - Precise zoom, rotate and pan – size the image to fit your paper - Brightness and contrast controls – makes lines visible through thicker paper - AI trace-ready images – describe what you want and get a clean outline to trace - Explore – hundreds of ready-made drawings, animals, characters, patterns and lettering - Works on phones and tablets WHO USES PAPERCOPY - Kids learning to draw and parents who want an easy, screen-light activity - Artists and illustrators transferring sketches, references and outlines - Hand-lettering, calligraphy and tattoo stencils - Teachers, crafters, embroidery, woodworking and cake decorating templates - Anyone who wants to copy a photo, logo or drawing to paper quickly Tracing is one of the oldest ways to learn to draw — it trains your hand and eye before you draw freehand. Papercopy just removes the friction. Have a suggestion or a problem? Email us from the app and we'll reply. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://papercopy.web.app/policy

Screenshots

Translucent4 screens
Papercopy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Papercopy at none against Translucent's 1. Papercopy also leads on rating (3.3 vs 3.0) and update cadence (every 11 days vs every 3 weeks). Translucent's advantage is review sentiment (20% vs 0%) and ratings volume (17 vs 3). On price, ads 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. Translucent sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Papercopy asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Papercopy holds the better App Store score, 3.3 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Translucent has 17 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 20% of Translucent's written reviews are positive against 0% of Papercopy's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Translucent ships an update every 3 weeks, Papercopy every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Translucent versus Papercopy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTranslucentPapercopy
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (17 ratings)3.3 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews20.0% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings17 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 11 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.2
Further details — not scored
Size101 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developermounir tajaouartMilos Micunovic

Customer experience

Translucent

All ratings17 ratings
Positive47.1%
Neutral5.9%
Negative47.1%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive20.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative80.0%

Papercopy

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative80.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Translucent

One-time1
  • Premium Library$2.99
None

Papercopy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Translucent free?
Translucent is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Papercopy free?
Papercopy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Translucent or Papercopy?
Papercopy is rated higher. Translucent averages 3.0 out of 5 from 17 ratings, while Papercopy averages 3.3 from 3 ratings.
Do Translucent or Papercopy have ads?
Both Translucent and Papercopy show ads.
Which is updated more often, Translucent or Papercopy?
Translucent ships an update every 3 weeks, and Papercopy every 11 days. Most recently, Translucent was updated on October 3, 2026 and Papercopy on October 8, 2026.

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