Paper vs Proref
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Paper
Create intricate 3D models with a tactile, paper-art feel. This app offers unparalleled spatial freedom, allowing you to draw directly into 3D space without a canvas. Sculpt complex shapes using intuitive tools and realistic materials.
- Zero-canvas 3D drawing
- Intuitive OmniJoystick control
- Tactile drawing and geometry tools
- Realistic material library
- Cinematic lighting presets
- Professional export options (USDZ, OBJ)
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3D Paper Studio: The Most Tactile Modeling Experience on iPad. Step into a digital atelier where the precision of CAD meets the soul of hand-crafted paper art. 3D Paper Studio is a first-of-its-kind creative suite designed specifically for iPad and Apple Pencil, allowing you to build complex 3D structures as easily as drawing on paper. Draw freely in 3D space and use any 3D stroke as a canvas to draw over as well to enhance your ideas and creative expressions. INFINITE SPATIAL FREEDOM: NO CANVAS REQUIRED Forget everything you know about 3D drawing. Unlike other apps that force you to create a canvas surface or plane before you draw, 3D Paper Studio gives you total spatial freedom. Start your stroke anywhere in 3D space and let it flow. Our engine handles the complex coordinate math so you can focus on the form. Draw in thin air, bridge gaps, and weave intricate 3D webs without ever feeling "stuck" to a 2D surface. THE OMNI-JOYSTICK: CONTROL DEPTH WITH ONE THUMB Experience the revolutionary OmniJoystick—the heart of our interaction model. While your Apple Pencil handles the art, your other thumb controls the universe. The same joystick becomes an object controller when any object/s is selected. No need to draw complicated canvases; Simply long press on the ground or any other stroke to set the precise drawing position and start painting in 3D space. Real-time Depth Control: Glide through the Z-axis as you draw to create sweeping 3D curves. Precision Snapping: Use the joystick to "Lock" to specific axes or snap to existing 3D "Magnets" for perfect alignment. Tactile Feedback: Feel the "click" of the grid as you navigate through your 3D studio. BEYOND DRAWING: TRUE 3D GEOMETRY Don't just sketch—extrude, revolve, and sweep. Use our advanced geometry engine to create ribbons, tubes, and complex lathes with a single stroke. The Bridge Tool: Connect two existing points with a sinuous paper ribbon that respects the surface normals of both objects. The Revolve Tool: Turn a single profile into a 3D vessel, bowl, or column in seconds. Edge Perturbation: Choose between "Clean" or "Torn" edges to give your models a raw, hand-crafted aesthetic. PHYSICAL MATERIALS & CINEMATIC LIGHTING Watch your creations come to life with our high-end material library. Choose from Smooth Bristol, Cold-Press Watercolor, Crumpled Foil, Corrugated Cardboard, and more. Use Cinematic Looks to light your scene with professional studio presets like Golden Hour, Midnight, and Vaporwave. KEY FEATURES: Zero-Canvas Drawing: Draw directly into 3D space with no setup required. OmniJoystick Workflow: Master depth, rotation, and snapping with a single, intuitive control. Tactile Tools: Draw, Bridge, Arc, and Revolve to create complex 3D meshes. Advanced Deformers: Warp, Twist, and Liquify your 3D geometry in real-time. Symmetry Engine: Mirror and Radial symmetry for intricate architectural patterns. Professional Export: Save your work as USDZ for AR, or OBJ for professional 3D pipelines. Camera Tours: Create cinematic fly-throughs and export them as high-quality video. UNLEASH YOUR CREATIVITY IN 3D. Join a new generation of designers who are redefining what it means to create on iPad. 3D Paper Studio—where paper becomes infinite. The app supports finger touch drawing but we recommend using apple Pencil for the best drawing experience and to access pressure sensitivity features. No subscriptions - Ever! Once you purchase the app, thats it. No additional in-app purchases, no subscriptions ever again. Every future update will be free for the life of the app.
Proref
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Proref is where your references live while you draw — and where the finished piece goes afterwards. GATHER YOUR REFERENCES Drop everything you're looking at onto one huge canvas and arrange it into a board. Import from Photos, your camera, Files, a web link, the share sheet, or by dragging straight in from Safari. Zoom from 2% to 25,600%, so the board grows with the project. WORK BESIDE THEM Proref is built for Split View: your references on one side, your drawing app on the other. Sketch and annotate over them with Apple Pencil, with pressure. Tune brightness, contrast and saturation, or crop non-destructively — the original is always recoverable. A minimap shows where you are, and saved views jump you back to any spot in one tap. KEEP THE PIECE, AND THE LESSON When something's finished, keep it. Attach a piece to the board it came from, open it full screen, and see everything you've made on a dated timeline — as a gallery to swipe or a list to scan. Note what worked and what didn't while it's fresh, star the things to carry forward, and those notes sit in a pane on the board while you draw the next one. If you'd rather Proref stayed purely a reference app, turn the art journey off in Settings and it does. PRIVATE BY DEFAULT No accounts. No sign-in. No server. No tracking, no analytics, no ads. Your boards, your artworks and your critique notes stay on your device. FREE, WITH A ONE-TIME UNLOCK Proref is free to use with 2 boards, 10 images per board, 3 saved views, 5 finished artworks, and 3 focused critique notes per piece. Proref Pro removes those limits and unlocks every feature — a single one-time purchase, not a subscription. Buy it once and restore it on your other devices.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Proref at Free against Paper's $6.99. Proref also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.4). Paper's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On update cadence and ads 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
Proref is free to download; Paper costs $6.99 up front. Proref sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Paper asks for nothing beyond the download.
Paper ships an update every 9 days, Proref every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Paper | Proref |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $6.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.4 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 44 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Imran Gul | John Oliver Atienza |
In-app purchases
Paper
No in-app purchases
Proref
- Proref Pro$7.99









