Free tracing apps, compared honestly.
Every app here calls itself free. They mean different things by it: some are free to download and then ask for a subscription, some give you a few traces a month, and one is free with nothing behind it.
- Free forever
- No account
- Nothing to install
- Your images never leave your device
The short version
Art Overlay is free with no paid tier — that is the whole product, and it is the only one here with nothing to install. Da Vinci Eye is the most capable, and costs $29.99 a year once you pass the free version. Grid Maker Pro gives you three AR traces a month for free on Android. SketchAR runs a trial and then a subscription. If you just want to put a photo on your paper and draw, start with the free one; if you need layers, saved projects or stylus work, pay for Da Vinci Eye.
Side by side
| App | Where it runs | What it costs | What free gets you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art Overlay | Any phone browser. Nothing to install. | Free. No paid tier. | Everything it does: camera overlay, opacity, corner placement, curved surfaces. |
| Da Vinci Eye | iOS and Android apps. | $29.99 a year or $7.99 a month. No one-time purchase. | A free version you can keep using; the full feature set is behind the subscription. |
| Grid Maker Pro | Android app; free grid tool on the web. | $29.99 a year, $6.99 a month, or $79 once. | Three AR traces of your own photo per month, plus the grid overlays. |
| SketchAR | iOS and Android apps. | From $9.99 a month or $34.99 a year, after a trial. | A trial rather than a free tier. |
| "AR Drawing" apps | iOS and Android. Many near-identical apps. | Free to download, with ads and in-app purchases. | Varies by app and changes often — check the store listing before trusting it. |
Prices checked on 16 September 2026, in US dollars, and they belong to other people — they move without telling us. Sources: Da Vinci Eye pricing · Grid Maker Pro · SketchAR on Google Play
When one of the others is the right answer
A comparison that only flatters the author is not worth reading.
You want to draw on the screen
Art Overlay shows you where the lines go and you draw on paper. If you want layers, a stylus and a saved file, you want a real drawing app.
You need it to work with no signal
An installed app opens on a dead connection. A web page has to load first.
You want grids as well as AR
Grid Maker Pro is built around composition grids, and its web grid tool is free.
You want lessons and guided drawing
SketchAR and Da Vinci Eye both bundle teaching features. Art Overlay does one thing and stops.
Questions
Which one is actually free?
Art Overlay, with no paid tier and no ads. Da Vinci Eye has a free version with the full features behind a subscription. Grid Maker Pro gives three AR traces a month. SketchAR is a trial.
Is there a free tracing app with no ads?
Art Overlay has no ads and nothing to buy. Free apps on the stores usually carry ads or in-app purchases, because that is what pays for them.
Do any of these work without installing an app?
Art Overlay runs in the phone browser. Grid Maker Pro has a free web grid tool, but its AR tracing is the Android app.
Which works on iPhone?
Art Overlay in Safari, Da Vinci Eye and SketchAR from the App Store. Grid Maker Pro is Android for now.