Comparison

PainterTool vs A Starting Point

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

Head to head
About

PainterTool

This app helps artists of all levels improve their drawing skills by comparing their work to reference photos. It offers tools like customizable grids and transparent overlays to assist with proportions, colors, and shading throughout the creative process.

Highlights
  • Reference photo comparison
  • Customizable grid overlay
  • Transparent overlay
  • Real-time color and shading comparison
  • Progress video creation
  • Automatic photo saving
Features
Read full description

Master the art of drawing with PainterTool - the ultimate learning companion for artists of all levels. Take a photo as your reference model, create your sketch, then use PainterTool to compare your work with the original. Adjust and refine until you achieve perfection. Perfect for beginners learning to draw, students developing their skills, and professionals seeking precise proportions. Practice with photos of friends, from the internet, or magazines. As your skills grow, you'll draw longer before comparing, eventually creating art without any digital assistance. Professional artists, illustrators, sculptors, designers, and art students use PainterTool for exact proportions before applying their unique style and materials. Unlike simple image projection, PainterTool works throughout your entire creative process, helping you compare colors, shading, and expressions in real-time. Add a customizable grid overlay for methodical square-by-square drawing, or work freely with the transparent overlay. All your model and artwork photos are automatically saved to your Photos app for easy sharing. You can also create and share video of your progress. Transform your drawing skills with PainterTool - where digital precision meets artistic creativity. PainterTool is a rare app that will let you use a digital tool to create a physical object. Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

A Starting Point

This app provides a bipartisan platform for Americans to communicate with their elected officials. It offers concise, video-based explanations of current issues to foster a more informed electorate.

Highlights
  • Bipartisan communication channel
  • Connect with elected leaders
  • Video-based issue explanations
  • Understand issues in under 2 minutes
  • Informed electorate creation
Features
Read full description

A Starting Point is a civic engagement app that creates a clear and bipartisan channel of communication and connectivity between Americans and their elected leaders. The video-based platform helps voters better understand the issues of the day in less than two minutes. Our goal is to create a more informed electorate.

Screenshots

PainterTool4 screens
A Starting Point4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: A Starting Point at Free against PainterTool's $0.99. A Starting Point also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On review sentiment, update cadence and device support 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

A Starting Point is free to download; PainterTool costs $0.99 up front. PainterTool sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per 3 months. A Starting Point asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

A Starting Point holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: A Starting Point has 757 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of PainterTool's written reviews are positive against 95% of A Starting Point's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PainterTool ships an update every 3 weeks, A Starting Point every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
PainterTool versus A Starting Point: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPainterToolA Starting Point
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (2 ratings)4.9 (757 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better95.3% of reviews
Number of ratings2757 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.612.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB38 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperDemagic ABA Starting Point Llc

Customer experience

PainterTool

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

A Starting Point

All ratings757 ratings
Positive97.8%
Neutral0.8%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews128 reviews
Positive95.3%
Neutral1.6%
Negative3.1%

Bugs and requests

PainterTool

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

A Starting Point

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Login screen not functioning properly
  • Video playback issues and stuttering

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add dark mode option
  • Implement a way for users to submit questions
  • Provide a filter to view content by home state
  • Expand the range of topics and issues covered

In-app purchases

1 purchases

PainterTool

Subscriptions1
  • PainterTool$1.993 Months
None

A Starting Point

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PainterTool free?
PainterTool costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is A Starting Point free?
A Starting Point is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PainterTool or A Starting Point?
A Starting Point is rated higher. PainterTool averages 4.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while A Starting Point averages 4.9 from 757 ratings.
Do PainterTool or A Starting Point have ads?
PainterTool shows ads; A Starting Point does not.
Which is updated more often, PainterTool or A Starting Point?
PainterTool ships an update every 3 weeks, and A Starting Point every 5 weeks. Most recently, PainterTool was updated on October 16, 2026 and A Starting Point on October 22, 2026.

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