Morpholio Trace
iPad-native sketch and overlay markup app that layers freehand drawing and annotation over imported PDFs, photos, and 3D models at true drawing scale with DXF export.
3.8 /5 composite score
Solo-friendly and genuinely affordable -- the best iPad tool for architects who redline over PDFs or sketch trace overlays at scale; exports DXF back to AutoCAD, Revit, or Rhino; not the right choice for structured multi-party drawing review or set comparison.
Rubric Scorecard
| Criterion | Score | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Maturity | 4/5 | Morpholio Trace launched on the App Store around 2012 and has a 4.7/5 rating across 10,200+ reviews; maintained by a dedicated AEC-focused developer team. |
| AEC Specificity | 4/5 | Built for architects: draw-to-scale grids and rulers, layer-based overlay over PDFs and 3D models, Smart Fill area calculation, designer stencils, AR LiDAR perspective detection; DXF export compatible with major CAD platforms. |
| Integration | 3/5 | Integrates with SketchUp and Shapr3D for 3D model overlays; exports DXF, PDF, and PSD; iPad-only, so it sits outside Windows-centric office workflows. |
| Value / Pricing | 5/5 | Free tier covers 5 projects; Pro Annual at $24.99/year is among the lowest-cost AEC-specific markup tools available; a B2B perpetual seat license is also available at $199.99. |
| Evidence | 3/5 | 4.7/5 on the Apple App Store from over 10,200 ratings; featured in AEC-focused roundups by Revizto and other independent architecture technology publications; no Capterra or G2 listing. |
How we verified this: we checked Morpholio Trace against its live site and an independent source — revizto.com. Nothing on this page is listed from memory. See how we review.
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