TatToolkit vs Photorealism
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TatToolkit
This app provides tattoo artists with a suite of tools to streamline their design and stencil creation process. It offers features for image enhancement, color palette generation, and seamless workflow integration, helping artists create precise tattoos more efficiently.
- Multiple stencil creation methods
- Image enhancement and refinement
- Color palette generation with ink matching
- Layer management for composition
- High-resolution export for printing
- Background removal
Read full descriptionHide full description
TATTOOLKIT: THE ALL-IN-ONE STUDIO FOR TATTOO ARTISTS Everything between a client's idea and a finished stencil, in one app: Stencils, references, drawing and printing. TatToolkit is built for the way tattoo artists actually work, so you spend less time on your iPad and more time tattooing. STENCILS IN SECONDS - Classic stencil methods: QuickLine, Sketchy, and Trace - API-powered TrueLine and PowerLine for clean, accurate linework - Stack and combine stencil layers over your reference to get exactly the look you want - Adjust levels, add noise, and draw or erase directly on the stencil A REAL DRAWING & PAINTING ENGINE - Custom engine built for tattoo design, made for Apple Pencil - Brush Yard: build, organize and import custom brushes and brush sets - Smudge, Wet Mix, Dodge, Burn and Blur tools LAYERS & PROJECTS - Start from a blank canvas at any size, or from a photo - Groups, blend modes, clipping masks, merge, duplicate, rename and reorder - Projects save automatically, so you can pick up right where you left off TRANSFORM & SELECT - Move, Select and Auto-Select - Scale, rotate, distort and warp one layer or many at once - Guides and grids for precise placement PERFECT YOUR REFERENCES - Filter gallery with fast filters - Curves, Color Balance, Colorize, Temperature & Tint, brightness, contrast and more - Gaussian, Motion and Radial Blur, plus Depth of Field - Remove backgrounds in one tap - Convert to grayscale with custom channel controls COLOR PALETTES - Generate palettes from any reference - Find the closest ink matches for each color - In-cap mixing suggestions to hit the exact tone you need PRINT-TO-SIZE - Print at the exact dimensions you need, even across multiple sheets for large pieces - Export stencils and references in high resolution, straight to your printer FAST, NATURAL GESTURES - Pinch, rotate, three-finger tap to redo - Radial menus for quick tools like copy, cut and paste - Quick shape corrections and color sampling with a long press SUBSCRIPTION & CREDITS TatToolkit requires a monthly subscription of $9.99 to access all features, with a 1-week free trial for new subscribers. Your subscription automatically renews each month until canceled. The subscription includes 50 credits per month for API-powered cloud stencils; additional credit packs are available as in-app purchases. ABOUT US TatToolkit is built by a working tattoo artist who knows the challenges of the craft firsthand. We keep improving the app based on feedback from the artists who use it. Questions, ideas or feedback? Reach us at support@tattoolkit.com. Whether you're a seasoned artist or just starting out, TatToolkit gives you the tools to design, stencil and print with confidence. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.tattoolkit.com/pages/tracerTOS
Photorealism
This drawing app helps artists create photorealistic artwork by using a custom grid and layer separation on reference images. Track progress, compare your work to the original, and identify errors to improve your drawing accuracy.
- Upload reference images
- Apply custom grids
- Separate reference into layers
- Track drawing progress
- Compare drawing to photograph
- Mark errors
Read full descriptionHide full description
Designed entirely by photorealist Dylan Eakin, Photorealism Studio is a comprehensive drawing app that gives you the ability to upload a reference, apply a custom grid, and separate the reference into its essential layers. Keep track of how many squares you've finished, effortlessly compare your drawing against the photograph, mark errors, and more. The all-in-one drawing tool to make your own photographs. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://realismdrawing.com/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Photorealism at 4.9 against TatToolkit's 3.0. Photorealism also leads on review sentiment (88% vs 50%) and monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription). TatToolkit's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. TatToolkit sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per month and Photorealism sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Photorealism holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Photorealism has 76 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of TatToolkit's written reviews are positive against 88% of Photorealism's.
TatToolkit ships an update every 2 days, Photorealism every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TatToolkit | Photorealism |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (3 ratings) | 4.9 (76 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 88.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 76 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days — better | Every 4 days |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.7 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 224 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jonathan Holbert | Dylan Eakin |
Customer experience
TatToolkit
Photorealism
In-app purchases
TatToolkit
- TatToolkit Standard Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
Photorealism
- Remove Ads$9.99









