Mural Trace vs Trace Drawing
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mural Trace
Easily transfer and enlarge any image onto surfaces like walls or canvas using a phone camera and the grid method. Simplify colors, create grids, and trace sections with AR overlay. Perfect for murals, art projects, and DIY décor.
- Image posterization with color simplification
- Customizable grid system for tracing
- AR camera overlay for real-time tracing
- Color palette extraction
- PDF export of grid reference
- Project management and progress tracking
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Paint any image - no artistic skill required! Transfer and enlarge any photo onto walls, paper, canvas, or any large surface. Perfect for DIY home murals, street art, classroom projects, and professional installations. Use the classic grid method to divide your image into squares and trace one section at a time, using your phone's camera as a guide. Brought to you by Ctrl V Art Studio (ctrlvartstudio.com) WHY Ctrl V Art Grid? - No projector required - just your phone - Works in any lighting conditions - No artistic experience needed - Works on any wall size - Portable - take it anywhere - Much cheaper than projector setups HOW IT WORKS: 1. CHOOSE YOUR IMAGE Select any photo from your library - portraits, landscapes, logos, or artwork. 2. SIMPLIFY THE COLORS Use powerful posterization tools to reduce your image to paintable color zones. Adjust levels, contrast, and even extract a color palette to know exactly which paints to buy. 3. CREATE YOUR GRID Divide your image into a grid of squares. The app calculates the exact size each square should be. 4. TRACE WITH YOUR CAMERA Hold your phone up and use the AR camera overlay to trace each square. Pinch, zoom, and rotate to align perfectly. 5. COMPLETE YOUR PAINTING Track your progress as you paint. Mark squares complete and watch your masterpiece come together. KEY FEATURES: SMART POSTERIZATION • Reduce images to 2-10 colour levels • Multiple presets: Bold, Pop Art, Stencil, Vintage • HSB color mode for advanced control • Extract color palettes from your image • Custom color replacement FLEXIBLE GRID SYSTEM • Customizable rows and columns • Wall size calculator • Alphanumeric square labels (A1, B2, etc.) • Visual progress tracking AR CAMERA OVERLAY • Real-time image overlay on camera • Pinch to resize, rotate to align • Adjustable opacity • Position lock to prevent accidents • Built-in torch for low light PDF EXPORT • Print your grid as a reference guide • Perfect for planning large projects PROJECT MANAGEMENT • Save unlimited projects • Resume anytime • Track completion progress PERFECT FOR: • Painting portraits & landscapes • Bedroom & living room accent walls • Children's room murals • Garden walls and fences • Garage and basement art • Restaurant & café décor • Office and workspace murals • School art projects • Community murals • Street art and graffiti • Canvas enlargements • Stage backdrops • Shop signage SUBSCRIPTION Try Ctrl V Art Grid free, then unlock all features with a subscription or one-off payment: • Unlimited projects • All posterization styles • PDF export Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage subscriptions in Account Settings. Privacy Policy: https://barrelofsunshine.com/art-grid-privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Questions or feedback? We'd love to hear from you! hello@barrelofsunshine.com www.barrelofsunshine.com www.ctrlvartstudio.com Start your masterpiece today - download Ctrl V Art Grid now!
Trace Drawing
Transform your device into a drawing aid. Practice tracing and painting using photos, grids, templates, and augmented reality. Offers various modes to help beginners and experienced artists improve their sketching and accuracy.
- Camera Trace
- AR Trace
- Light Table mode
- Grid assist
- Outline conversion
- Perspective guides
- Template library
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Turn your iPhone or iPad into the ultimate drawing assistant. Practice drawing, tracing, and painting directly on paper using pictures, grids, templates, outlines, and AR. Modes included: • Camera Trace – Overlay any picture with your phone’s camera and trace it step by step. Perfect for portraits, sketches, and objects. • AR Trace – Anchor images in real space using AR for hands-free drawing and painting. • Light Table – Place paper on your screen and trace images just like a real light box. • Grid – Improve proportions by copying drawings accurately with customizable grids. • Outlines – Automatically turn photos into bold outlines, making it easier to trace and paint. • Perspective – Learn perspective drawing with guides and lines to improve accuracy. • Templates – Start practicing with included drawings of animals, objects, and more. Why choose DrawLens? • Easy for beginners: Learn to draw by tracing pictures and drawings with simple tools. • Great for practice: Improve skills in sketching, outlining, perspective, and painting. • For all artists: Customize opacity, grids, outlines, perspective, and more tools. Perfect for anyone who wants to: • Learn to draw portraits, animals, cartoons, and everyday objects. • Use tracing, grids, templates, outlines, and AR to practice drawing faster. • Turn any picture into a guide for sketching and improve drawing accuracy. A DrawLens Pro subscription is required to import and trace your own photos. Download now and start your journey to better drawing and painting today. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Mural Trace at 5.0 against Trace Drawing's 3.9. Mural Trace also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 67%). Trace Drawing's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (32 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Mural Trace sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Trace Drawing sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Mural Trace holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Trace Drawing has 32 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Mural Trace's written reviews are positive against 67% of Trace Drawing's.
Mural Trace ships an update every 2 months, Trace Drawing every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 7, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mural Trace | Trace Drawing |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 3.9 (32 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 32 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 39 MB | 19 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Barrel of Sunshine | Enid Hadaj |
Customer experience
Mural Trace
Trace Drawing
In-app purchases
Mural Trace
- Monthly - Ctrl V Art Grid$3.991 Month
- Annual - Ctrl V Art Grid$19.991 Year
- Lifetime Access - Ctrl V Art Grid$9.99
Trace Drawing
- Pro Weekly$1.997 Days
- Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
- Pro Yearly$19.991 Year
- Pro Lifetime$49.99









