Comparison

Tracer vs Grid Maker

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

Head to head
About

Tracer

Features
Read full description

Tracer turns your iPhone into a tracing tool. Pick any image, anchor it onto a real surface in augmented reality, and trace over it by hand — on paper, on canvas, or on a wall. No projector. No light box. No printing and taping. Your first 5 images are free. After that, Tracer unlocks with a Tracer Yearly subscription — $9.99/year, auto-renewing, cancel anytime in Settings. HOW IT WORKS Point your iPhone at the surface you want to draw on. Pick a reference image from your photos. Tap the surface to anchor it in place. The image stays locked to that exact spot in the real world while you draw. DIAL IN THE OPACITY Slide from barely-there to fully opaque. Keep it faint to check your proportions, or bring it up to follow every line. You see exactly what you're tracing, and exactly what you've already drawn. POSITION IT EXACTLY Pinch to scale, twist to rotate, drag to move. Once it's where you want it, lock it — your hand can rest on the phone without knocking the reference out of alignment. BUILT FOR LONG SESSIONS The screen stays awake while you trace, so it won't sleep mid-drawing. Close the app and come back later: Tracer remembers your reference, its position and your opacity setting, and puts everything back where you left it. Working in low light? There's a built-in flashlight. MADE FOR • Illustrators working from reference • Tattoo artists placing a stencil • Muralists scaling a design up to a wall • Lettering and calligraphy • Anyone learning to draw PRIVACY Tracer has no servers, no analytics, no accounts and no ads. The camera feed is processed on your device and never recorded. Your reference image never leaves your iPhone. Tracer doesn't even ask for photo library permission — it uses Apple's system picker, which hands over only the single image you choose. Requires an ARKit-capable iPhone running iOS 16 or later. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://tracer-privacy.vercel.app

About

Grid Maker

Features
Read full description

Draw from photos with better proportions. Grid Maker adds an adjustable drawing grid to your reference so you can transfer shapes to paper, one square at a time. From a portrait sketch to a painting on canvas, break a complex image into smaller, easier-to-study sections. Keep your reference beside you while you draw. DRAWING TOOLS • Import your own image from Photos or Files, or capture a reference with the camera. • Adjust rows, columns, line color, thickness and opacity. Add and manage grid overlays. • Zoom into a cell, subdivide it for details and mark finished cells. Labels such as A1 help you keep your place. • Add freehand annotations, sample colors and use composition guides. • Save unlimited projects and share your reference as a PNG, with or without the grid. GO FURTHER WITH GRID MAKER PRO • Canvas Match: set paper or canvas dimensions and cell size to prepare a reference in the proportions you need. • Value Study: simplify light and dark areas before planning your shading. • WIP Compare: overlay a photo of your drawing on the reference to spot differences. • Perspective Correction: adjust an angled reference photo. • Projector Mode: display a full-screen grid on black, with an optional faint reference image. • Keep unlimited projects and export labeled PDFs for sharing or printing. YOUR FIRST DRAWING 1. Import a photo and choose a grid. 2. Draw a matching grid lightly on your paper. 3. Copy the shapes in each square, then refine the details. Image editing happens on your device. You can begin without creating an app account. Access to the drawing tools requires an in-app purchase. Available plans and prices are shown before purchase. Eligible users can start a 3-day free trial on the subscription shown in the app. After the trial, the subscription renews automatically at the displayed price unless cancelled. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple Account settings. Choose a photo and start your next drawing. Privacy Policy: https://app.notion.com/p/Privacy-Policy-for-Grid-Maker-Drawing-Reference-3e41e95b550680699ff9d4db53953ca0?source=copy_link Support & FAQ: https://app.notion.com/p/Grid-Maker-Drawing-Reference-Support-FAQ-3e41e95b5506809eba7bc559bde64a77?source=copy_link Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Tracer4 screens
Grid Maker4 screens

Verdict

The call

Tracer and Grid Maker are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Tracer sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year and Grid Maker sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Tracer versus Grid Maker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTracerGrid Maker
PriceFreeFree
Update frequency—Every 11 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better17
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFacundo De LimaRedouan Afoulous

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Tracer

Subscriptions1
  • Tracer Yearly$9.991 Year
3 purchases

Grid Maker

Subscriptions2
  • Grid Maker Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Grid Maker Pro Yearly$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Grid Maker Pro Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is Tracer free?
Tracer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Grid Maker free?
Grid Maker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Tracer or Grid Maker have ads?
Neither Tracer nor Grid Maker shows ads.

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