# Camera Lucida™ vs Smarty Paints

The clearest difference is price: Smarty Paints at Free against Camera Lucida™'s $14.99. Smarty Paints also leads on update cadence (every 11 days vs every 4 months). Camera Lucida™'s advantage is ratings volume (2K vs 48) and chart position (#6 vs unranked). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Smarty Paints is free to download; Camera Lucida™ costs $14.99 up front. Camera Lucida™ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Smarty Paints sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Camera Lucida™ against 4.7 for Smarty Paints. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Camera Lucida™ has 2K ratings behind it against 48, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 89% of Camera Lucida™'s written reviews are positive against 79% of Smarty Paints's.

Camera Lucida™ ships an update every 4 months, Smarty Paints every 11 days. Both last shipped on October 27, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Camera Lucida™ | Smarty Paints |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $14.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.8 (2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/camera-lucida-ar-drawing/id362499096/reviews)** | [4.7 (48 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smarty-paints/id6472111419/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **2K** | 48 |
| Positive reviews | **89.4% of reviews** | 78.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Every 11 days** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Freemium** |
| Best chart rank | **#6** | — |
| Size | 55 MB | 111 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Camera Lucida](https://appshunter.io/developer/1738527998) | [Neural Appworks LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1671246020) |

## What reviewers say

### Camera Lucida™

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/camera-lucida-ar-drawing/id362499096)

**Currently charting:** #6 Top Paid · Graphics & Design (US App Store)

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:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Auto-Correct For Perspective | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
- Occasional crashes or freezes

**Requested features**

- Ability to draw larger images
- More camera settings and controls
- Integration with other art apps


### Smarty Paints

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smarty-paints/id6472111419)

This app helps watercolor artists manage their paint collections, find substitute colors, and match tutorial supplies. It simplifies tracking what you own, identifying dupes, and ensuring your paints align with class or tutorial requirements.

**Highlights:** Track watercolor paint collections, Find close-enough paint dupes, Match tutorial supplies to your stash, Compare paint properties across brands, Create digital palette layouts, Searchable paint database

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro | $12.99 | per year |
| Unlock Premium Features | $39.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Camera Lucida™ free?

Camera Lucida™ costs $14.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is Smarty Paints free?

Smarty Paints is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Camera Lucida™ or Smarty Paints?

Camera Lucida™ is rated higher. Camera Lucida™ averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2K ratings, while Smarty Paints averages 4.7 from 48 ratings.

### Do Camera Lucida™ or Smarty Paints have ads?

Neither Camera Lucida™ nor Smarty Paints shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Camera Lucida™ or Smarty Paints?

Camera Lucida™ ships an update every 4 months, and Smarty Paints every 11 days. Most recently, Camera Lucida™ was updated on October 27, 2026 and Smarty Paints on October 27, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*