Is Da Vinci Eye free?
Da Vinci Eye is free to download but not fully free to use. You can install it at no cost, trace from its community and stock photo library, and follow its built-in lessons for free. The catch — and the thing most people are actually asking about — is that tracing your own imported photo requires the Pro subscription. As of June 2026 the published price is around $7.99 per month or $29.99 per year with a seven-day free trial, and it is not a one-time purchase. Below is exactly what the free tier includes, what is paywalled, the current pricing, and a genuinely free alternative if tracing your own photo is what you came for.
By Sujith Puthran · Published 30 June 2026 · This page is by Grid Maker Pro and reflects our perspective; we link to Da Vinci Eye throughout so you can verify the pricing independently.
The short answer
Yes and no. Da Vinci Eye is free to install from the App Store and Google Play, and the free tier is genuinely usable for some things — you can trace from its built-in community and stock image library, and you can work through its guided lessons without paying. But the headline feature people install it for — importing and tracing your own photo — sits behind the Pro subscription. The company's own pricing FAQ acknowledges this, and "you can't use your own photos without the subscription" is the most common complaint in its reviews. So if your question is really "can I trace my reference photo for free," the honest answer is no. As of June 2026, always confirm the current terms on the official Da Vinci Eye listing before deciding, since app pricing drifts.
What the free tier actually includes — and what is paywalled
It helps to separate the two clearly, because Da Vinci Eye markets itself as "free" while the part most artists want is the paid part.
- Free on the free tier: installing the app, tracing photos from its community and stock image library, following the built-in lessons, and trying the core AR projection on those provided images. This is real value if you want to learn or trace existing reference art.
- Paywalled behind Pro: importing and tracing your own photo — your reference, your sketch, your client's portrait. This is the function most people are searching for when they ask whether Da Vinci Eye is free, and it is exactly the function that is not.
The crux: a tracing app that can't trace your own photo for free isn't free for the use case most people have in mind. That mismatch is why this question gets searched so often.
How much does Da Vinci Eye cost?
Da Vinci Eye uses an auto-renewing subscription. As of June 2026, the published marketing pricing is around $7.99 per month or $29.99 per year, with a seven-day free trial before the first charge. The live in-app purchase tiers vary by store and region and can run higher than the marketing figures, so the number you see at checkout may differ. Subscription pricing drifts over time — treat these as a guide, not a guarantee, and confirm the current price on its App Store or Google Play listing before you subscribe.
| Plan | Da Vinci Eye | Grid Maker Pro app |
|---|---|---|
| Install | Free | Free |
| Trace your own photo, free | No — Pro only | Yes — 3 traces of your own photo every month |
| Monthly | ~$7.99/mo (published; store tiers vary) | $6.99/mo |
| Yearly | ~$29.99/yr (published; store tiers vary) | $29.99/yr |
| One-time / lifetime | No — subscription only | $79 Lifetime, no subscription |
| Free trial | 7-day trial before first charge | Free tier is permanent, no trial needed |
Da Vinci Eye pricing above is the published marketing pricing as of June 2026; live in-app tiers vary by store and region. Confirm the current price on the official Da Vinci Eye listing before subscribing.
Is there a one-time Da Vinci Eye purchase?
No. Da Vinci Eye moved to an auto-renewing subscription model in 2023. Before that it was sold as a one-time purchase, which is why you may still see older articles or app-listing caches quoting a single price like "$6.99, one-time." That information is out of date — do not rely on it. Today there is no permanent one-time unlock for Da Vinci Eye; if you stop paying, access to the Pro features stops. If a one-time price is specifically what you want for AR tracing, you'll need to look elsewhere, which leads to the next section.
If the price or the own-photo paywall is the issue, here is a free alternative
If you came here because you want to trace your own photo without paying a subscription, the Grid Maker Pro app is built around exactly that. It is free to install, and the free tier gives you three AR traces of your own photo every month — your reference, not a stock library — plus all 82 professional composition overlays (golden ratio, Loomis head, dynamic symmetry, perspective, and sacred geometry). That lets you do real work on your own images before paying anything, which is the opposite of the bait-and-switch complaint that dogs the category.
When you outgrow three traces a month, unlimited tracing is $29.99 per year, $6.99 per month, or a $79 one-time Lifetime unlock with no subscription — the one-time option Da Vinci Eye no longer offers. The reference photo is processed on your device, and there is no account required to start. It is built by Sujith Puthran, a working artist of 15 years, rather than a software company. The app is on Android via Google Play today, with iOS planned.
Worth saying plainly: the free Grid Maker Pro web tool at gridmakerpro.com stays free forever and browser-only. The AR app is a separate, optional product that adds the one thing a browser cannot do — projecting your reference onto real paper or canvas.
Should you still consider Da Vinci Eye?
Honest credit: Da Vinci Eye is a mature, polished app and the established name in AR tracing. If you are on iOS or Apple Vision Pro, if value-layer separation and a Classic projection mode matter to you, if you mainly want to trace from its lessons and community library, or if you don't mind a subscription, it is a strong, well-reviewed choice — and its free tier is a fair way to try the projection experience. The honest comparison comes down to one question: do you need to trace your own photo for free? If yes, the Grid Maker Pro app's free monthly traces and one-time lifetime price are built for that. If no, Da Vinci Eye's broader projection toolkit may suit you better. Either way, for a fuller side-by-side see our Grid Maker Pro vs Da Vinci Eye comparison and the Da Vinci Eye alternatives roundup.
Frequently asked questions
Is Da Vinci Eye free?
Da Vinci Eye is free to download and install, but it is not fully free to use. The free tier lets you trace community and stock images and follow built-in lessons. Tracing your own imported photo — the reason most people install it — requires the Pro subscription. As of June 2026 there is no permanent free tier for your own photos, and there is no one-time purchase. Confirm the current terms on the official Da Vinci Eye listing before you decide.
How much does Da Vinci Eye cost?
Da Vinci Eye is free to install with an auto-renewing subscription. As of June 2026 its marketing pricing is around $7.99 a month or $29.99 a year with a seven-day free trial, though the live in-app purchase tiers vary by store and region and can run higher. Always check the current price on its App Store or Google Play listing, since subscription pricing drifts.
Can I use my own photo for free in Da Vinci Eye?
Not on the free tier. Da Vinci Eye lets free users trace community and stock images and follow built-in lessons, but importing and tracing your own photo requires the Pro subscription. Its own pricing FAQ acknowledges this, and it is the most common complaint in its reviews. As of June 2026, confirm the current terms on the official Da Vinci Eye listing before you decide.
Is there a one-time Da Vinci Eye purchase?
No. Da Vinci Eye moved to an auto-renewing subscription model in 2023, so the old one-time purchase is no longer offered. Any listing still quoting a single one-time price is out of date. If you want a one-time price for AR tracing, the Grid Maker Pro app offers a $79 lifetime unlock with no subscription.
Is there a free alternative for tracing my own photo?
Yes. The Grid Maker Pro app is free to install and gives you three AR traces of your own photo every month at no cost, plus all 82 composition overlays. Unlimited tracing is $29.99 a year, $6.99 a month, or a $79 one-time lifetime unlock with no subscription. The separate Grid Maker Pro web tool at gridmakerpro.com stays free forever and browser-only.
Does the Grid Maker Pro app cost money?
The app is free to install and free to use for three AR traces of your own photo each month plus all 82 composition overlays. Unlimited tracing is $29.99 a year, $6.99 a month, or a $79 one-time lifetime unlock. The free Grid Maker Pro web tool stays free forever and browser-only; the AR app is a separate, optional product that adds tracing onto real paper and canvas, which a browser cannot do.
References
- Da Vinci Eye: AR Trace & Draw. davincieyeapp.com. Da Vinci Eye LLC (Samuel Gherman). Primary source for Da Vinci Eye's pricing, subscription model, and free-tier limits — verify current terms at davincieyeapp.com and its App Store / Google Play listings.
- Da Vinci Eye pricing FAQ. davincieyeapp.com/how-much-is-the-da-vinci-eye-app. The vendor's own page on cost, subscription, and the own-photo limitation. Re-verify before relying on any specific number.
- Alberti, Leon Battista. On Painting (Della Pittura, 1435). Penguin Classics. ISBN 978-0-14-043331-3. The foundational text on the squared "veil" — the proportional-transfer ancestor of every tracing and grid method.
