Choose Reference Board
Reference Board vs PureRef
PureRef keeps images nearby.Reference Board makes them private, searchable, and yours.
PureRef is useful when you need a desktop reference viewer. Reference Board is the better fit when you want a local-first Apple app, one simple App Store purchase, no subscription, no separate commercial license flow, and a searchable visual library across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Choose PureRef
When you need a desktop reference viewer.
PureRef is excellent for keeping images visible beside desktop creative software, especially if you need Windows, Mac, and Linux support or always-on-top overlay behavior.PureRef is a desktop reference viewer. Reference Board is the stronger Apple-native visual library.
PureRef solves a real desktop problem: it lets artists, illustrators, designers, and 3D creators keep reference images visible beside the software they are working in. If you need an always-on-top image board on Windows, macOS, or Linux, PureRef is practical and familiar.
Reference Board is built for a different kind of creative workflow: the reference board as a long-lived visual library. It is not just a floating surface beside another app. It is a private, local-first Apple app for collecting images, videos, YouTube links, notes, quotes, sources, colors, faces, visible text, locations, camera details, and related ideas across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
The pricing difference should be very clear. Reference Board is a one-time App Store purchase: $2.99 once. No subscription. No monthly plan. No seat pricing. No business tier to manage. No separate commercial license purchase. PureRef can be a strong desktop tool, but its personal, small business, and business use cases are separated through licensing. Reference Board keeps the decision simple: buy it once and use it.
The local-first model is also a major advantage. Reference Board is a private app on your Apple devices, with iCloud when you choose to sync. That makes it feel closer to Photos, Notes, Files, Shortcuts, and Spotlight than to a web workspace or a license-managed team product. Your reference boards stay close to your creative process.
Reference Board also fits better with modern native iOS and Apple Intelligence-era expectations. It understands references instead of only displaying them: OCR, generated descriptions, custom tags, learned tag suggestions, color search, face names, object and scene signals, source links, YouTube metadata, camera metadata, similar images, Spotlight, widgets, Shortcuts, App Intents, Apple Pencil, and named regions all help the board become searchable memory.
That is the real difference. PureRef is a good way to keep images nearby on a desktop. Reference Board is the stronger choice when you want a local-first, one-time-purchase, Apple-native visual library that helps you collect, understand, search, and reuse the references that shape your work.
Comparison Overview
The difference is a desktop viewer versus a local-first Apple library.
PureRef is fast for arranging images beside desktop software. Reference Board is built to win on ownership, price clarity, native iOS workflows, Apple Intelligence-era search, and long-term visual memory.
Topic
Reference Board
PureRef
Reference workflow
A private, local-first visual reference library for Mac, iPad, and iPhone: collect images, videos, links, notes, quotes, source details, tags, OCR, colors, and board structure in one place.
A focused desktop reference viewer for keeping image boards close at hand while painting, modeling, designing, or gathering visual inspiration.
Local-first ownership
Reference Board is built as a private Apple app. Your boards live in the app on your devices, with iCloud when you choose to sync, instead of being managed like a team workspace.
PureRef also keeps image data out of an online account model, but its workflow is desktop scene files and commercial/business use is handled through PureRef licensing.
Canvas and layout
Infinite boards stay useful as they grow with named regions, region thumbnails, minimap navigation, previous and next region controls, and board archive import/export.
A fast canvas for placing images, grouping items, using grids and snapping, optimizing the canvas around content, and keeping references visible beside other apps.
Importing images
Import with drag and drop, clipboard, Share Sheet, Shortcuts, browser extension, right-click image import, selected web text, URLs, YouTube links, files, and Continuity Camera.
Paste images, drag and drop from a computer or browser, import local images, and paste or drop URLs so PureRef can pull images from the page.
Finding references again
Search by board, title, description, custom tags, learned tags, face names, detected objects, visible text, color, camera metadata, YouTube metadata, source terms, and Spotlight.
Excellent when the board is visually arranged and nearby, but public PureRef material is centered on viewing and arranging images rather than semantic search across a library.
Automatic understanding
Built for the Apple Intelligence era: generated descriptions, OCR, tags, dominant colors, object and scene signals, face naming support, similar-image suggestions, and editable reference details.
Keeps the tool lightweight and manual: you arrange, group, annotate, crop, draw, and organize the scene yourself.
Keeping context
The inspector keeps source links, recognized text, YouTube title and channel, tags, colors, location, resolution, camera data, dates, and similar images attached to each item.
PureRef can show useful item info such as image source and size in the hierarchy, and it can keep images embedded or linked in a .pur scene.
Notes and drawing
Sticky notes, quote cards, Apple Pencil annotation on iPad, two-finger undo, and mixed media stay part of the board and remain searchable through the broader library.
Strong desktop annotation basics: rich text notes, links and checklists in notes, freehand drawing, rectangles, circles, straight lines, eraser, groups, and hierarchy.
Always-on-top workflow
Reference Board is built more as a library and canvas you return to across Apple devices, widgets, Spotlight, Shortcuts, and shared iCloud boards.
One of PureRef's clearest strengths: the window can stay always on top, attach above a specific app, become click-through, or act like a lightweight reference overlay.
Native iOS and Apple Intelligence
Designed specifically for iPhone, iPad, and Mac with a native iOS, iPadOS, and macOS workflow: Share Sheet, Apple Pencil, Shortcuts, App Intents, Spotlight, widgets, deep links, iCloud, and intelligent image understanding.
Available on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with a desktop-first workflow and recent Apple silicon support on Mac.
Cross-platform use
Best when your creative workflow lives on Apple devices and you want one native reference library across Mac, iPad, and iPhone.
Best when you need the same reference viewer on Windows, Mac, and Linux, especially beside desktop creative software.
Pricing and licensing
$2.99 once on the App Store. No subscription, no monthly plan, no seat pricing, no separate commercial license purchase, and no renewal admin.
Personal use is handled separately on PureRef's download page, while commercial and business use has license options including one-time and subscription pricing.
No subscription
Reference Board is simple to understand: buy it once through the App Store and use it across your Apple devices. No subscription funnel, no business tier, no license page to decode.
PureRef separates personal, small business, and business use, so teams and commercial users need to think about the right license model.
Export and files
Board archives can preserve the board, media, captions, tags, OCR, colors, locations, analysis, and source-aware structure for later import.
PureRef saves scenes as .pur files and can export the scene, selected area, all images, or selected images.
Automation
Apple-native automation through Shortcuts and App Intents lets you create boards, add images, import from URLs or clipboard, and open recent boards.
Command-line automation can load files, export images, export scenes, save, clear scenes, and exit.
Best fit
Long-lived moodboards, visual research libraries, source-heavy art direction, searchable inspiration archives, local-first Apple workflows, and one-time-purchase creative tools.
Fast desktop reference viewing, drawing from references, 3D or painting workflows, overlay use, cross-platform desktop boards, and lightweight image arrangement.
Bottom Line
Use PureRef for a desktop image board. Use Reference Board for the better Apple-native reference library.
If you want local-first boards, one-time pricing, no subscription, no separate commercial license flow, native iPhone, iPad, and Mac workflows, and searchable Apple Intelligence-era visual memory, Reference Board is the better choice.