Comparison

Sketch Steps vs Drawing Grid Guide

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

Head to head
About

Sketch Steps

This app offers two AI-powered drawing tools to help users learn and practice. Generate step-by-step guides for portraits or trace photos and templates with customizable references. Build a consistent drawing habit with guided learning.

Highlights
  • Generate 8-step AI Loomis portrait breakdowns
  • Practice facial structure with guided steps
  • Trace photos and custom references
  • Explore ready-to-trace templates
  • Create AI-styled tracing references
  • Save references and tutorials
  • Build a consistent drawing habit
Read full description

Learn to draw portraits step by step. Sketch Steps turns your portrait photos into drawing guides based on the Loomis method, and gives you a full tracing studio for practicing on real paper. AI LOOMIS STUDIO Upload a portrait photo and get a construction guide that starts with simple shapes and builds up to a finished drawing, from the first forms to the final shading. Choose the drawing mode that fits the look you want. Follow one step at a time, or scroll through the whole breakdown. Zoom in to check proportions, crop your photo before you generate, and leave the screen while your guide is being created. It will be waiting on Home when it is ready. TRACING STUDIO Put any reference on paper, two ways: • Draw with Camera: prop your phone above your paper and see the reference over the live camera view while you trace • Draw on Screen: turn the brightness up, lay paper over the screen and trace directly Adjust opacity, size and rotation, flip the image, add a grid, or switch on the flashlight. Take a photo of your finished drawing or record a video of the session. REFERENCES FOR EVERY MOOD • Ready-to-trace templates: animals, anime, cars, fruits and vegetables, portraits • Your own photos from the camera or library • AI styles that turn a photo into a tracing reference: pencil sketch, line art, charcoal, colored pencil, cartoon and watercolor SAVE AND DRAW AGAIN Save your Loomis guides to your collection and return to them whenever you want to practice. AI tracing references are saved automatically, and you can favorite the templates you like. Individual steps or the full guide can be saved to Photos. MADE FOR LEARNING Sketch Steps is for beginners, hobby artists and anyone who wants a more approachable way to study drawing fundamentals. No account is needed to start, and the app is available in 11 languages. AI-generated guides can occasionally be imperfect, and results vary from photo to photo. SUBSCRIPTION AND COINS AI generation requires an active subscription or coins. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and can be managed in your App Store account settings. Coins are offered as in-app purchases. Privacy Policy: https://sketchsteps.app/ios-privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Drawing Grid Guide

Features
Read full description

Drawing Grid Guide Improve your drawing accuracy by overlaying a customisable grid onto any reference photo. Whether you're sketching portraits, landscapes, animals or still life, Drawing Grid Guide makes it easy to break complex subjects into manageable sections and achieve more accurate proportions. Designed for artists of all skill levels, the app provides a clean, distraction-free workspace that lets you focus on your artwork. Features • Import any photo from your photo library • Overlay an adjustable drawing grid • Choose grid sizes from 2×2 up to 20×20 • Customise grid line thickness • Adjust grid opacity • Choose from multiple grid colours • Optional row and column numbering • Pinch to zoom and reposition your reference image • Hide controls for an uncluttered drawing reference • Automatically remembers your preferred grid settings Perfect For • Portrait drawing • Figure drawing • Landscapes • Animals • Still life • Architecture • Traditional and digital artists Whether you're learning to draw or refining your technique, Drawing Grid Guide gives you a fast, simple way to create accurate reference grids whenever inspiration strikes. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Sketch Steps4 screens
Drawing Grid Guide4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is chart position: Sketch Steps at #208 against Drawing Grid Guide's unranked. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Sketch Steps sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per 7 days and Drawing Grid Guide sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sketch Steps ships an update fortnightly, Drawing Grid Guide every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 10 level
Sketch Steps versus Drawing Grid Guide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSketch StepsDrawing Grid Guide
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (168 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews51.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings168 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#208 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS1817.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size111 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRecep Can AkdemirWarren Peters

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Sketch Steps

Subscriptions3
  • SketchFlow Pro Weekly$8.997 Days
  • SketchFlow Pro Monthly$19.991 Month
  • Sketch Steps Pro Yearly$79.991 Year
One-time4
  • 10 Credits$3.99
  • 25 Credits$8.99
  • 60 Credits$19.99
Show 1 more
  • 150 Credits$39.99
1 purchases

Drawing Grid Guide

One-time1
  • DrawingGridGuide Pro Unlock$2.99

Questions

Is Sketch Steps free?
Sketch Steps is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Drawing Grid Guide free?
Drawing Grid Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Sketch Steps or Drawing Grid Guide have ads?
Neither Sketch Steps nor Drawing Grid Guide shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sketch Steps or Drawing Grid Guide?
Sketch Steps ships an update fortnightly, and Drawing Grid Guide every 10 days. Most recently, Sketch Steps was updated on October 31, 2026 and Drawing Grid Guide on October 25, 2026.

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