Comparison

SketchGrid vs SketchLab

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

Head to head
About

SketchGrid

Transform any image into a drawing guide with customizable grids. This tool helps artists improve accuracy, proportions, and placement when drawing or painting from reference photos. Break down complex images into manageable sections for detailed artwork.

Highlights
  • Customizable drawing grids
  • Draw from reference images
  • Flexible image controls
  • Practice drawing/painting various subjects
  • Improve proportions and accuracy
  • Learn by doing
Features
Read full description

Turn any image into a drawing guide with SketchGrid. SketchGrid is a drawing tool for artists who want to improve proportions, placement, and accuracy when drawing or painting from a reference image. Import a photo, add a customizable grid, and use it as a guide while you draw. Break complex images into manageable sections, focus on individual details, and build your artwork one part at a time. Whether you're sketching a portrait, painting a landscape, drawing an animal, or practicing a new technique, SketchGrid gives you a simple way to work from your own reference images. FEATURES • CUSTOM DRAWING GRIDS Add a grid over your reference image to help with proportions, spacing, and placement. • DRAW FROM YOUR REFERENCE Use your reference image and grid as a guide while creating your drawing or painting. • FLEXIBLE IMAGE CONTROLS Zoom, move, resize, crop, and adjust your reference image to create the ideal drawing setup. • DRAWING & PAINTING PRACTICE Practice with your own photos and reference images: * Portraits * Animals * Landscapes * Objects * Characters * Still life * Illustrations • IMPROVE YOUR PROPORTIONS Use the grid method to compare sections of your reference and reproduce shapes and details more accurately. • LEARN BY DOING Whether you're a beginner learning to draw or an experienced artist practicing a new subject, SketchGrid helps you focus on the process instead of guessing at proportions. SketchGrid is made for artists, illustrators, painters, students, and anyone who wants to draw from reference images with greater accuracy. Choose your image. Set your grid. Start drawing.

About

SketchLab

Transform any photo into a personalized, step-by-step drawing lesson. Trace outlines, build up color layer by layer, and learn artistic techniques with guided instructions and a built-in drawing coach. Offers a full toolset for creative freedom.

Highlights
  • Photo to step-by-step drawing guide
  • Traceable outlines with progress slider
  • Layered color application
  • Full drawing toolset (pen, pencil, marker, etc.)
  • Live camera tracing
  • On-device drawing coach
  • Grid overlay for proportions
Features
Read full description

Got a photo? SketchLab can teach you how to draw it — literally. Pull any picture from your camera roll, and SketchLab turns it into a personal, step-by-step drawing lesson built just for that image. It doesn't matter what's in the photo or what style it's in — photorealistic portraits, anime, cartoons, landscapes, pets, your own artwork, anything. If you've got a picture of it, SketchLab can show you how to draw it. SketchLab breaks your photo down into a clean, guided outline you trace stroke by stroke, then teaches you how to build up color the way real artists do — layer by layer, one color at a time, until the full picture comes together. HOW IT WORKS -Choose any photo from your camera roll -SketchLab automatically converts it into a clean line-art outline -Watch the outline draw itself stroke by stroke in real time, or scrub through it manually at your own pace with the progress slider -Step forward and backward through the drawing one stroke at a time whenever you want to slow down -Turn on the grid overlay to keep your proportions accurate, with a standard grid or a finer 2x grid for detailed work — the classic grid drawing method artists have used for centuries A REAL CANVAS, NOT JUST A TRACING LAYER The canvas is yours to use however you want — it's not locked to just tracing over the reference sketch. Freehand a sketch from scratch, add your own shading and details on top of a guided drawing, or use it as a standalone space to draw whatever you want. Your full toolset includes: -Pen — two tip styles, including a tapered fountain-pen stroke -Pencil — two tip styles, including a soft, fuzzy-edge realistic pencil texture -Marker -Highlighter -Paint bucket — flood-fill any enclosed area with a single tap -Eraser Every tool supports adjustable stroke width and full color selection, so you're never locked into one look. TRACE OVER YOUR OWN CAMERA Switch on the live camera view and trace your outline directly over a real-time feed — perfect for working on paper or another physical surface while SketchLab guides your hand in real time. LEARN COLOR LIKE AN ARTIST SketchLab extracts every color from your source photo and walks you through applying them one at a time. Sort your color steps the way that makes sense to you: -Light to dark -Dark to light -By dominance (biggest color areas first) -By hue family Each layer builds on the last, so you see exactly how real depth, shading, and blending come together — the same way traditional layered coloring works. BUILT-IN DRAWING COACH Stuck on a step? SketchLab's on-device coach gives short, specific tips for exactly what you're drawing right now — pressure, blending, and edge control tailored to the exact color and region you're working on, not generic advice. SAVE AND DOWNLOAD YOUR WORK Every project saves automatically, so your canvas, color progress, and tool choices are all exactly where you left them next time you open the app. When you're ready, download your original sketch or your finished canvas artwork straight to Photos — completely free, no limits, no watermarks. Free to start: turn any photo into a guided grayscale sketch and use the full drawing canvas, completely free. SketchLab Pro ($4.99, one-time): unlock full color sketching — extract, sort, and layer every color from your photos, forever. One purchase, no subscription, yours for good.

Screenshots

SketchGrid4 screens
SketchLab4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SketchGrid at none against SketchLab's 1. SketchLab's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs fortnightly). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. SketchLab sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. SketchGrid asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for SketchGrid against 5.0 for SketchLab. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 3 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SketchGrid ships an update fortnightly, SketchLab every 3 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
SketchGrid versus SketchLab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSketchGridSketchLab
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings23 — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.6 — better18.5
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRicardo MironConnor Champane

Customer experience

SketchGrid

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

SketchLab

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

SketchGrid

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

SketchLab

One-time1
  • Pro Unlock$4.99

Questions

Is SketchGrid free?
SketchGrid is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SketchLab free?
SketchLab is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SketchGrid or SketchLab?
SketchGrid and SketchLab are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 3 ratings respectively.
Do SketchGrid or SketchLab have ads?
Neither SketchGrid nor SketchLab shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SketchGrid or SketchLab?
SketchGrid ships an update fortnightly, and SketchLab every 3 days. Most recently, SketchGrid was updated on October 31, 2026 and SketchLab on October 31, 2026.

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