Trace vs TroveSkin
Both apps put AI on your selfie. They answer different questions. TroveSkin asks how your skin looks today. Trace asks whether your routine is actually changing it.
What each app is trying to do
TroveSkin scores your face from a single selfie and lets you log products in a diary. The score gives you a quick read on where your skin sits today. Trace measures four specific skin metrics on every scan and tracks how those metrics change over a thirty day single-product test. The score is not the point. The trend is.
What each one measures
TroveSkin outputs a single composite skin score and several aesthetic ratings (acne, wrinkles, dark circles, hydration). Trace measures four clinically rooted metrics with separate trend lines:
- Acne: detects and counts comedones, papules, pustules, and nodulocystic lesions, plus an IGA grade (0 to 4) used in clinical trials.
- Redness: quantifies erythema using the Lab a* color channel, the same channel dermatology research uses for redness measurement.
- Pores: measures pore-level texture across forehead, cheeks, and nose using CLAHE plus black-hat differential.
- Spots: tracks luminance evenness and post-inflammatory marks.
How each handles change over time
A single score on Sunday compared to a single score the following Sunday is not a measurement, it is two readings with a lot of noise in between. TroveSkin shows you a chart of past scores. Trace standardizes capture (forced flash, distance window, front camera 12 MP) so each daily scan is comparable to the previous one, then fits a trend across the thirty day window so you can see whether the change is real or just day-to-day variation.
Pricing and data handling
TroveSkin is freemium with a paid tier for fuller features. Trace is free with no subscription, no paid tier, and no upsell to a product line. Both apps store your data, but Trace runs all AI inference on-device. Photos never leave your iPhone for analysis.
Side by side
| TroveSkin | Trace | |
|---|---|---|
| Core unit | A composite skin score | Four trend lines on four metrics |
| Time horizon | Per-scan rating, optional history | Thirty day single-product test |
| Acne taxonomy | Composite acne rating | Comedone / papule / pustule / nodulocystic + IGA grade |
| Redness method | AI rating | Lab a* channel quantification |
| Standardized capture | Selfie | Forced flash, distance window, 12 MP |
| Recommends products | Yes, in some markets | No, brand neutral |
| Pricing | Freemium with premium tier | Free, no subscription |
| Photo upload | Cloud processing | On-device inference |
Who each fits
Pick TroveSkin if you want a fast aesthetic read on how your skin looks today and a casual diary to flip back through. Pick Trace if you are trying to answer one specific question: is the retinol (or tretinoin, or azelaic acid, or new moisturizer) you started actually changing your skin in a measurable direction over thirty days. The two apps are not really competitors, they are tools for different jobs.
Disclosure, since this is our site: Trace is the free iOS app described above. We tried to compare TroveSkin fairly based on its publicly stated features as of mid-2026. If anything is out of date, email us and we will fix it.
Frequently asked
Is Trace a TroveSkin alternative?
Trace is in the same general space (AI on a selfie for skincare) but it solves a different problem. TroveSkin is a daily diary plus single-image rating. Trace is a thirty day measurement designed to answer 'is the single product I am testing actually moving my skin.' If you want the former, TroveSkin is fine. If you want the latter, Trace was built for it.
Does Trace recommend products like TroveSkin does?
No. Trace is product neutral. It measures, it does not sell. You bring the routine, Trace tells you whether the metric moved over thirty days. We do not want our incentives to drift from yours.
Is Trace free?
Yes. Trace is free on the iOS App Store. No subscription, no upsell, no paid tier.