Comparison

Ink Marbling vs Traceline

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

Head to head
About

Ink Marbling

Explore the ancient Japanese art of suminagashi on your iOS device. Create unique marbled patterns by interacting with a digital canvas, simulating ink on water. Save your designs as high-resolution digital art.

Highlights
  • Simulate ink flow on water
  • Multiple interaction modes
  • Customizable brush sizes and colors
  • Dynamic visual effects
  • Save and share creations
  • High-resolution image export
Features
Read full description

Description: Ink Marbling brings the ancient Japanese art of suminagashi (floating ink) to your iOS device. Create stunning marbled patterns by interacting with a digital canvas, simulating the delicate movements of ink on water. Whether you're an artist, a hobbyist, or just looking for a relaxing creative outlet, SuminagashiPainting lets you design unique patterns and save them as digital art. * Note that the first time you open the app after download the initial screen may remain for several seconds as the app loads key components. * Features: Free Flowing Creativity: Simulate the natural flow of ink on water with taps, drags, and swirls on the canvas. Multiple Interaction Modes: Single Tap: Drop ink of one color to create concentric ripples. Double Tap: Add secondary colors for dynamic designs. Tap and Drag: Draw flowing lines of ink using a simulated rake with one tine. Customizable Tools (select the "Gear" icon on the upper-left of the screen): Adjust brush sizes to control the impact of ink drops. Choose from a palette of vibrant colors or create your own. Choose how to initialize your canvas. Dynamic Effects: Watch as blobs and lines interact to produce beautiful marbled patterns. Experiment with adjustable ink viscosities and flow velocities. Save and Share: Export your creations as high-resolution images to your Photos library. Share your designs directly to social media or with friends. COMING SOON: Ad-Free Premium Version: Unlock an ad-free experience and exclusive brushes, effects, and colors with the premium upgrade.

About

Traceline

Features
Read full description

Prop your phone above a sheet of paper and the drawing appears on it. Follow the lines with your pencil, and a portrait, a lettering piece or an Ottoman ornament takes shape under your hand. Trace on paper Pick a template or a photo and see it over your paper through the camera. Set the line opacity, move, scale, rotate or mirror it, then lock the screen so a stray touch never shifts the drawing. Hold the lock badge to unlock. Handheld with AR On iPhone and iPad, AR pins the drawing to the paper's surface, so it stays in place even when you hold the phone in your hand. Light box Lay thin paper on the screen and trace the glowing lines. Brightness goes up while the light box is on, and the camera is not needed. Your photos as sketches Turn any photo into clean line art on your device: Outline, Detailed, Shading or Grid, with adjustable detail and line weight. Remove the background to keep only the subject. Templates from pattern books Nearly a thousand line drawings traced from public-domain ornament books: tezhip and rumi scrolls, Islamic star and girih geometry, moresque and Cairo plates, borders, rosettes, Celtic knots, Gothic tracery, Renaissance and Baroque ornament, Byzantine and East Asian motifs. Each one shows its difficulty and roughly how long it takes. Step by step Step mode splits a drawing into stages, so you trace the big shapes first and the details last. Lettering Type a word, choose a typeface, bend it along a curve and trace it for a poster, a card or a cake. Timelapse Record your session and get a short video of the drawing coming together, cropped to the paper, with a before and after reveal at the end. Also in Traceline • Projects keep your finished pieces with a photo and the timelapse • Share an image from Photos or Safari straight into Traceline (iPhone and iPad) • Template of the day widget, a Live Activity timer and a Control Center button • Works on iPhone, iPad and Mac, in light and dark mode Traceline needs no account. Camera frames and photos are processed on your device. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://apps.cihat.dev/traceline/privacy-policy/

Screenshots

Ink Marbling4 screens
Traceline4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Ink Marbling at none against Traceline's 3. Ink Marbling also leads on iOS requirement (17.5 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, 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. Traceline sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Ink Marbling asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ink Marbling ships an update every 4 days, Traceline weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Ink Marbling versus Traceline: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInk MarblingTraceline
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.5 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB61 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMatthew SzenherCihat Salik

In-app purchases

None

Ink Marbling

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Traceline

Subscriptions2
  • Traceline Pro Weekly3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Traceline Pro Yearly$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Traceline Pro Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is Ink Marbling free?
Ink Marbling is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Traceline free?
Traceline is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Ink Marbling or Traceline have ads?
Neither Ink Marbling nor Traceline shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ink Marbling or Traceline?
Ink Marbling ships an update every 4 days, and Traceline weekly. Most recently, Ink Marbling was updated on October 30, 2026 and Traceline on November 12, 2026.

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