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CodePen VS OnlineGridMaker

Compare CodePen VS OnlineGridMaker and see what are their differences

CodePen

A front end web development playground.

CodePen Landing page
Rating
0 reviews
Alternatives Is it good?
OnlineGridMaker

Add a precise grid overlay to any image for drawing and sketching. Customize rows, columns, line color and thickness. 100% free, no signup, no upload.

OnlineGridMaker screenshot
Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Free Free trial
Alternatives Is it good?
Kanera
Plan work on flexible boards, connect projects through Global Work and Portfolio, and keep reporting, notes, automation, API, and AI access together. sponsored
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, CodePen seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 513 times since March 2021.

social mentions
513 vs 0
Text Editors popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
240+ vs 11

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

CodePen
OnlineGridMaker
Website codepen.io onlinegridmaker.com
Pricing —
Free Free trial
Platforms —
Web
Company — Startup from China · 1 - 9 employees · 2026
Listed in
Software Development Text Editors Programming Programming Tools +1
Design Tools Free Tools Image Editing Productivity Tool Graphic Design Software Website Design Art Tools +5

About CodePen and OnlineGridMaker

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

CodePen
OnlineGridMaker

No description of CodePen yet.

OnlineGridMaker is a free browser-based tool that adds customizable grid overlays to any image — designed specifically for artists, illustrators, art students, and anyone who practices drawing from reference photos. Why OnlineGridMaker? Most grid tools are either too basic (fixed grid size, no...

Read more about OnlineGridMaker

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

CodePen 6 features
OnlineGridMaker 8 features
  • Real-time Collaboration
    Developers can collaborate with others in real-time, making it easy to work on projects with teammates or seek help from the community.
  • Immediate Visual Feedback
    CodePen allows you to see the results of your code as you write it, which is highly beneficial for learning and debugging.
  • Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
    CodePen provides a comfortable and feature-rich online IDE environment with syntax highlighting, autocomplete, and more.
  • Community-Driven
    Users can share their work with the CodePen community, receive feedback, and explore a wide range of projects created by others.
  • Extensive Resources
    CodePen offers a wealth of examples and templates for various web development tasks, making it a useful resource for learning and inspiration.
  • Cross-Device Accessibility
    Being an online platform, CodePen can be accessed from any device with an internet connection, making it convenient for developers on the move.

Possible disadvantages

  • Limited Offline Functionality
    Since CodePen is primarily an online tool, it requires an internet connection for most of its features to work, limiting its usefulness in offline environments.
  • Performance Constraints
    Complex or resource-intensive projects may not perform as well on CodePen as they would in a full-fledged local development environment.
  • Subscription Costs
    While many features are free, advanced functionalities and additional storage options require a paid subscription, which may not be ideal for all users.
  • Limited Backend Capabilities
    CodePen is primarily designed for front-end development, so it offers limited support for backend technologies, making it less suitable for full-stack or server-side development.
  • Dependency Management
    Managing dependencies and libraries can be cumbersome compared to local development environments which have better tools for this purpose, like npm.
  • Security Concerns
    Sharing projects with the public can expose your code and assets to unauthorized use, posing potential intellectual property and security risks.
  • Grid Overlay
    Add customizable grid on any image with adjustable rows and columns
  • Perspective Guide
    1-point and 2-point perspective grid for drawing practice
  • Customizable Lines
    Adjust line color, thickness, and opacity to your preference
  • Cell Labels
    Optional A1, B2 style labels for precise reference
  • No Signup Required
    Open and use immediately, no account needed
  • 100% Local Processing
    All processing happens in your browser, no uploads to any server
  • Download Options
    Export as PNG or print directly
  • 100% Free
    Completely Free — no signup, no premium version, unlimited use

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

CodePen
OnlineGridMaker

Overall verdict

  • Yes, CodePen is considered a good platform for web developers, both beginners and experienced. It offers a wide array of features that facilitate creative development and community engagement.

Why this product is good

  • CodePen is a popular online code editor and community platform for front-end developers to experiment with creating and sharing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript snippets. It provides an easy-to-use interface and real-time previews, making it a valuable tool for learning, prototyping, and sharing web development work. It also fosters a community where developers can showcase their projects, receive feedback, and learn from each other.

Recommended for

  • Front-end developers who want to quickly prototype and test web designs.
  • Beginners in web development looking to learn and receive feedback from the community.
  • Educators and students interested in a platform to showcase projects and collaborate.
  • Developers who want to explore creative coding and share their work with a community.

Overall verdict

  • OnlineGridMaker is a solid, no-frills tool for quickly creating grid layouts, graph paper, and grid-based designs directly in the browser without needing to install design software.

Why this product is good

  • Free and easy to access online without registration
  • Simple interface that lets users generate custom grids quickly
  • Useful for printable graph paper, layout planning, and design mockups
  • No steep learning curve compared to full design software
  • Lightweight and fast-loading tool

Recommended for

  • Students needing graph paper for math or art projects
  • Designers sketching quick layout grids
  • Teachers preparing printable grid worksheets
  • Hobbyists working on cross-stitch, pixel art, or similar grid-based crafts
  • Anyone needing a fast, free grid-generation tool without installing software

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

CodePen 3 videos + Add
OnlineGridMaker 1 video + Add

What Is Codepen?

More videos

  • Review - Learn to use CodePen from a co-founder of CodePen
  • Review - Using CodePen For Inspiration & Learning

OnlineGridMaker — Free Grid Overlay Tool for Artists

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
CodePen
OnlineGridMaker
100% 100%
Text Editors
0% 0%
0% 0%
Design Tools
100% 100%
100% 100%
Programming
0% 0%
0% 0%
Image Editing
100% 100%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing CodePen and OnlineGridMaker.

What makes your product unique?

OnlineGridMaker's answer:

-Unlike most grid tools that only offer basic square grids, OnlineGridMaker combines customizable grid overlays (adjustable rows, columns, color, opacity) with perspective guides for 1-point and 2-point drawing. It also offers optional cell labels (A1, B2 style). Everything runs 100% locally in the browser — no image uploads, no signup, no data ever leaves your device.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

OnlineGridMaker's answer:

-Most alternatives either require installing software, force you to create an account, or upload your images to a server. OnlineGridMaker is completely browser-based, free forever with no premium tier, and processes everything on your device. Just open the page, upload a reference image, and start gridding in seconds. It's faster, more private, and zero friction compared to desktop apps or account-gated web tools.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

OnlineGridMaker's answer:

-Artists, illustrators, art students, and hobbyists who practice drawing from reference photos — especially those learning proportion, composition, and perspective. Also useful for architects, designers, and educators who need quick grid overlays for teaching or planning purposes.

What's the story behind your product?

OnlineGridMaker's answer:

-Built by an independent developer who noticed that most free grid tools were either too basic (fixed grids only) or required downloading software. The goal was simple: a professional-grade, free grid overlay tool that respects user privacy by processing everything locally in the browser. No tracking, no uploads, no strings attached.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

OnlineGridMaker's answer:

-Pure HTML, CSS, and JavaScript — no frameworks, no backend, no dependencies. Hosted as a static site on Cloudflare Pages for global CDN delivery. The tool uses the HTML5 Canvas API for rendering grids and generating downloadable PNG images client-side.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

OnlineGridMaker's answer:

·Art students using it for figure drawing and still life proportion practice

·Freelance illustrators who need quick grid references before starting digital paintings

·Art teachers incorporating it into classroom demonstrations

·Comic artists using perspective guides for background layouts

User comments

Share your experience with using CodePen and OnlineGridMaker. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

Log in or Post with

Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

CodePen no reviews yet
OnlineGridMaker no reviews yet

View more

We have no reviews of OnlineGridMaker yet. Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

CodePen 513 mentions
OnlineGridMaker 0 mentions
  • CSS Properties You Should Know for Better Text Designs
    > I vividly remember IE and many hacks to have css elements properly working in it… The common advice now is to only use CSS that is supported in the last two major versions of each major browser. You can check any css property's support... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • Ambient Website Background Clouds
    Thank you, heartfelt... For sharing an artwork, a miracle! Just in case, have you considered publishing the work at platforms as CodePen, where genius Artists/People express their art, too, as you?: // https://codepen.io/. - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • Haunted Loop: A Pure-CSS Halloween Scene
    Embed on DEV: If you prefer CodePen embed, create a Pen with that HTML and add to the post as: {% codepen https://codepen.io//pen/ %}. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago

View more

Tracking OnlineGridMaker since May 2026.

Alternatives to CodePen and OnlineGridMaker

When comparing CodePen and OnlineGridMaker, you can also consider the following products.

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