PaperTrace Light Table vs Drawluma
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
PaperTrace Light Table
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PaperTrace turns your iPhone or iPad into a light table. Pick a template or a photo, put a sheet on the screen, and trace. How to trace Pick a template, a photo from your library, or take a picture. Place a sheet on the screen, then tap Lock. The picture stays still, and the screen stays in that orientation. Press + or β two times on the side of the phone to open. You can also hold a corner. That works with paper still on the glass. PaperTrace remembers your last pictures. Save a drawing to keep it in History. For kids In iOS Settings, turn on Guided Access and turn Touch off. That stops the screen from reacting at all. Templates Twenty simple line drawings: animals, vehicles, nature, fantasy, and fun. Ready to trace in pencil. Your own pictures Choose from the photo library or photograph a drawing you want to trace. Brightness, contrast, outline, and invert help the picture show through the paper. Light table A blank white screen at full brightness when you only need the light. History Recent pictures stay ready. Save the ones you want to come back to. PaperTrace is free. No account, no cloud. Pictures stay on the phone.
Drawluma
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Drawluma is a drawing assistant that lets you draw on real paper while following a reference. Import your photo, let the app turn it into a clean contour drawing, then draw it on your own paper. THREE WAYS TO DRAW β’ Draw with Camera Rest your phone on a glass, tripod, or stack of books. The template overlays the live camera feed; you watch the screen and draw on paper. This is the most stable method. β’ Draw with AR Hold your phone. The template is anchored to the paper on your table and stays in place as you move. β’ Draw with Screen No camera at all. Lay your phone flat, place thin or tracing paper directly on the screen. The screen works like a light box and you trace the glowing lines. This mode asks for no permissions. PHOTO TO LINE ART Import your own photo and the app extracts a traceable contour using edge detection. Adjust detail, threshold, contrast, line weight, and noise reduction live β see the change instantly. Presets for portrait, general, and graphic subjects. WHILE YOU DRAW β’ Drag the template with one finger, pinch and rotate with two β’ Lock it once aligned β your hand can rest on the screen without shifting it β’ Set opacity so you can see both your paper and your hand β’ In camera mode: toggle the torch, switch to 0.5x ultra-wide, lock focus and exposure β’ True size: draw at an exact centimetre width β’ Change the line color β red reads far better over an existing pencil sketch β’ Left-handed mode moves the controls out of your drawing hand's way DON'T LOSE YOUR WORK Every drawing is saved. A portrait can take days; resume from your gallery whenever you want. ADS AND DRAWLUMA PRO Drawluma is free and the number of drawings is unlimited. In the free version you see one full-screen ad after you finish a drawing and leave the canvas β never while you are drawing. Drawluma PRO removes the ads. It locks nothing else: all three drawing methods, unlimited drawings and every setting are open in the free version. β’ Drawluma PRO β $0.99 per month (charged in your local currency) β’ Auto-renews; it renews unless you cancel before the period ends β’ Cancel in iPhone Settings β Apple Account β Subscriptions β’ Payment is charged to your Apple Account on confirmation Terms of Use (Apple standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://alperensaglam.github.io/drawluma-site/privacy.html PRIVACY Your photos and the line art you create stay on your device β they are never sent to a server. No account needed. The app itself collects nothing. Google AdMob, which serves the ads, processes a device identifier, advertising data and coarse location derived from your IP in order to show them. Before the advertising identifier (IDFA) is accessed, the app asks for your permission through App Tracking Transparency: if you allow it, ads are personalised; if you don't, you see non-personalised ads and nothing else changes. You can change your choice anytime in Settings β Privacy & Security β Tracking. Going PRO disables the ad layer entirely. NOTES β’ AR mode requires an ARKit-capable device. On unsupported devices, camera mode gives the same result. β’ In screen mode, don't press hard on the display; use thin or tracing paper.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: PaperTrace Light Table at none against Drawluma's shown. PaperTrace Light Table also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 8 days). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
PaperTrace Light Table ships an update every 2 days, Drawluma every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PaperTrace Light Table | Drawluma |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days β better | Every 8 days |
| Ads | No β better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad β better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.0 β better |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Michael FurΓΈ | Alperen Saglam |
In-app purchases
PaperTrace Light Table
No in-app purchases
Drawluma
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is PaperTrace Light Table free?
Is Drawluma free?
Do PaperTrace Light Table or Drawluma have ads?
Which is updated more often, PaperTrace Light Table or Drawluma?
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