Comparison

Camera Lucida™ vs Sketchar

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

Head to head
About

Camera Lucida™

This app uses your device's camera to superimpose a reference image onto your drawing surface, guiding your hand to create detailed art. It offers advanced features and tools to enhance your sketching and painting skills, making art creation easy and fun.

Highlights
  • AR image superposition for drawing
  • Advanced image filters
  • Zoom lock for detail
  • Session save and restore
  • Time-lapsed recording
  • External USB camera support
Features
Read full description

Draw Like a Pro with Camera Lucida™: AR Drawing One-Time Purchase: No subscriptions! Buy it once and use on your devices. Enhance Your Art Skills: Whether you're sketching with a pencil or painting with a brush, Camera Lucida™ helps you become a better artist. Unmatched Functionality: With 12+ years of development, Camera Lucida™ offers features that no competitor can match. Create stunning physical art using your iPhone or iPad's camera. Simply point your device at your drawing surface, and watch the screen to see your reference image superimposed over your work. It's more versatile than a light table, better than a projector, and easier to use than a traditional Camera Lucida™. How It Works: Place your iPhone or iPad between your eyes and your drawing surface. The app shows a virtual image on your screen, guiding your hand as you draw. This clever method makes it easy and fun to create detailed art. Top Features: • Buy it once for lifetime use. • Advanced Image Filters: See with an artist's eye. • Zoom in Lock: For ultra detailed drawing. • Session Save & Restore: Automatically realign your camera, sketch, and reference image. • Full Color Palette Control: Use your own paints, markers, and more. • Camera Adjustments: Use your device camera and adjust for different setups manually or with an in-app purchase to auto-adjust. • Time-Lapsed Recordings: Share your drawing process on social media. • Advanced Tools: Vertical split screen sliders, timed image fading, and more. • Video Tutorials: Watch tutorials within the app or on YouTube. • Comprehensive User Manual: Accessible from within the app. • Reliable Customer Support: Plus, an active user community for inspiration. • External USB Camera Support: For USB-C equipped iPads running iOS 17. Easy Setup: Secure your iPhone or iPad above your drawing surface using common household items like a stack of books or a vase. Tutorials are included to help you get started. Contact: For any questions or support, email cameralucida@bigidesign.com.

About

Sketchar

Learn to draw with augmented reality and AI-powered lessons. This app offers a comprehensive drawing tool, community contests, and personalized learning plans to enhance your artistic skills. Practice art to relieve stress and impress others with your creations.

Highlights
  • Augmented Reality drawing guidance
  • AI-powered personalized learning plans
  • 550+ drawing lessons
  • Comprehensive drawing toolset
  • Community contests and collaboration
  • Stress relief through art practice
Features
Read full description

Sketchar is for you if you want to improve your drawing skills, express yourself through art, impress friends and family with stunning artwork, collaborate with peers, relieve stress, or become a Pro. We have merged AR and AI together to speed up your learning experience and make it more entertaining.  Here are the unique features that can only be found on the Sketchar app:  1.COURSES 550+ drawing lessons based on characters you love. You can start with a beginner set or delve deeper into a specific topic to improve your artistic skills, for example, in creating portraits or anime.  2. PERSONALIZED PLAN Based on AI to speed up your creative growth 3. DRAWING TOOL Powerful toolset to create stunning art in minutes. 4.CONTESTS Join the community to collaborate with peers. 5. AUGMENTED REALITY for drawing  We invented that in 2012. Through your smartphone camera, you can see an AR sketch on the surface in front of you. Just take a pencil and follow the virtual lines on the paper step-by-step. This function is also employed by professional artists to scale sketches onto surfaces like walls. Use carefully and follow the video guide. and many other features.  Btw, practicing art helps relieve stress. Download Sketchar now and learn to draw like never before. ---  In-app purchases: Sketchar offers four paid auto-renewable subscription options that give you unlimited access to the app's premium content and features.  1-Week Subscription - $7.99 / Week 1 -Month Subscription – $14.99 / Month  1-Year Subscription with 3-Day Trial – $69.99 / Year  1-Year Special Offer Subscription – $34.99 / Year  Prices may vary across countries. Prices are equal to the value that Application Store Matrix determines as the equivalent of the subscription price in USD.  We are always interested in your opinion, so please email us at hi@sketchar.io.

Screenshots

Camera Lucida™4 screens
Sketchar4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Camera Lucida™ at 89% against Sketchar's 33%. Camera Lucida™ also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.2) and chart position (#7 vs #128). Sketchar's advantage is price (Free vs $14.99) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). On ads, in-app purchases 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

Sketchar is free to download; Camera Lucida™ costs $14.99 up front. Camera Lucida™ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Sketchar sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Camera Lucida™ holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2K and 9.9K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of Camera Lucida™'s written reviews are positive against 33% of Sketchar's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Camera Lucida™ ships an update every 4 months, Sketchar every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Camera Lucida™ versus Sketchar: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCamera Lucida™Sketchar
Price$14.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (2K ratings) — better4.2 (9.9K ratings)
Positive reviews89.4% of reviews — better33.4% of reviews
Number of ratings2K9.9K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#7 — better#128
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB227 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperCamera LucidaSketchAR

Customer experience

Camera Lucida™

All ratings1,947 ratings
Positive95.9%
Neutral1.2%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews273 reviews
Positive89.4%
Neutral1.1%
Negative9.5%

Sketchar

All ratings9,830 ratings
Positive79.7%
Neutral5.6%
Negative14.7%
Written reviews1,295 reviews
Positive33.4%
Neutral12.1%
Negative54.5%

User reviews

Camera Lucida™

From 2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great drawing aid
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 💡 Helpful for improving drawing skills
  • 🚀 Saves time in drawing
  • 👍 Accurate proportions and perspective

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Difficult to set up and use at first
  • 🐛 Occasional issues with image alignment
  • 🐛 Needs a stand or mount to work properly

Sketchar

From 9.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great for projecting digital art
  • 🚀 AR technology makes a superior stencil
  • 👍 Helpful for learning to draw
  • 👍 Amazing app, game changer

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Glitchy AR tracking and detection
  • 🐛 Laggy and unstable performance
  • 💰 Overly restrictive free version
  • 💰 Expensive subscription model
  • 🔒 Difficult to cancel subscription

Bugs and requests

Camera Lucida™

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
  • Occasional crashes or freezes

Requested features

3 requests
  • Ability to draw larger images
  • More camera settings and controls
  • Integration with other art apps

Sketchar

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • AR tracking frequently loses paper
  • App crashes and resets progress
  • Ads disrupt drawing and cause loss of work
  • Brightness/lighting issues affect performance

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more free drawing lessons and content
  • Improve AR tracking and stability
  • Allow drawing without full page detection
  • Add more drawing tools and brushes for free users
  • Improve organization and navigation of lessons

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Camera Lucida™

One-time1
  • Auto-Correct For Perspective$4.99
10 purchases

Sketchar

Subscriptions9
  • 1 Week$7.997 Days
  • Sketchar PRO$10.991 Month
  • 1 month$17.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • 1 Year$34.991 Year
  • 1 Year1 Year trial$44.991 Year
  • 1 Year3 Days trial$69.991 Year
  • SketchAR PRO$69.991 Year
  • Sketchar: Learn to Draw7 Days trial$69.991 Year
  • 1 Year3 Days trial$79.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$149.99

Questions

Is Camera Lucida™ free?
Camera Lucida™ costs $14.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Sketchar free?
Sketchar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Camera Lucida™ or Sketchar?
Camera Lucida™ is rated higher. Camera Lucida™ averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2K ratings, while Sketchar averages 4.2 from 9.9K ratings.
Do Camera Lucida™ or Sketchar have ads?
Neither Camera Lucida™ nor Sketchar shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Camera Lucida™ or Sketchar?
Camera Lucida™ ships an update every 4 months, and Sketchar every 3 weeks. Most recently, Camera Lucida™ was updated on November 6, 2026 and Sketchar on November 7, 2026.
Which is more popular, Camera Lucida™ or Sketchar?
Camera Lucida™ currently peaks at #7 in the App Store charts, and Sketchar at #128. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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