Comparison

Pixel Art Effect vs Glitch Art Studio

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Pixel Art Effect

Transform your photos into retro or modern pixel art with customizable effects. Adjust pixel size, edge thickness, and choose from various pixel shapes. Add text and crop images into different shapes before or after applying the pixel art effect.

Highlights
  • Convert photos to pixel art
  • Adjustable pixel amount
  • Customizable edge thickness
  • Multiple pixel designs (square, hexagon, triangle, torn)
  • Add text to photos
  • Crop photos into shapes
Features
Read full description

The Pixel Art Effect app lets you turn your photo into video game pixel art. The effect ranges from modern pixel art which has a more subtle pixelated effect (many small pixels) to retro pixel art which is made up of fewer larger pixels. You can control the amount of pixels you want. There 6 designs to choose from which differ in color etc. You can control the edge thickness. This is the outline of the artwork. There are also 4 pixel designs to choose from. These pixel designs are standard square, hexagon pixels, triangular pixels and torn pixels. See the screenshot for a visual example. No internet connection is required! Step 1: To convert your image to pixel art! Simply tap the "Add a Photo". You will be presented with the option of choosing a photo from your photo library or taking a picture with your camera! Step 2: Tap the "Apply Pixel Effect" button. Step 3: Save your pixel art to your photo library or share it to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, VK or any other social network, forum or site and set the picture as a profile picture, cover photo etc. As of version 2.2, Pixel Art Effect allows you to do a lot more with your photos! The effects are endless because you can mix and combine the features and effects. You can also add text to your photos before or after applying the pixel effect! Add the text before applying the pixel effect if you want the text to become pixelated as well! You can also crop your photos into various shapes. Choose from a circle, flag, heart, star, square or rectangle.

About

Glitch Art Studio

Transform your photos and videos with a vast collection of exclusive glitch art effects. Apply analog and digital noise, VHS distortions, datamoshing, and more. Customize your edits with a range of adjustments and blend modes for unique visual creations.

Highlights
  • Extensive library of exclusive glitch effects
  • Apply effects to photos and videos
  • More than 30 presets
  • Save edits as animated GIFs
  • Mask mode for selective filter application
  • Adjustments for blur, color, and more
  • 20+ original color filters
Features
Read full description

Add glitches to your photos and videos! Glitch Art Studio offers an extensive library of exclusive effects to distort your photos and videos in creative ways. Effects: • Analog Noise • Digital Noise • Interference • VHS Noise • Color Aberration • Datamosh • Slit Scan • Pixel Sorting • Quantization • Dithering • Lens Distortions • Symmetry • Dope & Rad Effects • Scanlines • Interlace • CRT • ASCII • Glass Extra: • More than 30 presets • Save your edited photos as animated GIFs • 4K Resolution on supported devices • Mask mode: Select which areas of the image/video are affected by the filters • Adjustments: Blur, Sharpen, Brightness, Contrast, Hue, Saturation, Vibrance, Temperature • More than 20 original Color Filters • 9 Different Blend modes You can apply these effects and adjustments directly in your camera, to photos or to recorded videos. ------------------------------- PRO Subscription ------------------------------- Subscriptions are billed monthly or annually depending on the selected subscription plan. Subscriptions will automatically renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. The subscription fee is charged to your Apple ID account at the confirmation of purchase. If you subscribe before a free trial ends, the remainder of the trial period will be forfeited. You can manage your subscription and turn off auto-renewal by going to your account settings in the App Store. Privacy Policy: https://net-sigma.com/privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://net-sigma.com/terms-of-use

Screenshots

Pixel Art Effect4 screens
Glitch Art Studio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Pixel Art Effect at free with in-app purchases against Glitch Art Studio's subscription. Pixel Art Effect also leads on review sentiment (95% vs 75%) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 16.0). Glitch Art Studio's advantage is ratings volume (15K vs 103). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Pixel Art Effect sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Glitch Art Studio sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Pixel Art Effect against 4.7 for Glitch Art Studio. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Glitch Art Studio has 15K ratings behind it against 103, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 95% of Pixel Art Effect's written reviews are positive against 75% of Glitch Art Studio's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pixel Art Effect ships an update every 5 weeks, Glitch Art Studio every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Pixel Art Effect versus Glitch Art Studio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixel Art EffectGlitch Art Studio
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (103 ratings)4.7 (15K ratings) — better
Positive reviews95.0% of reviews — better74.8% of reviews
Number of ratings10315K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 4 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS9.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB86 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDanny PajevicNET Sigma

Customer experience

Pixel Art Effect

All ratings103 ratings
Positive93.2%
Neutral3.9%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews40 reviews
Positive95.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.0%

Glitch Art Studio

All ratings14,508 ratings
Positive93.0%
Neutral3.4%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews326 reviews
Positive74.8%
Neutral8.0%
Negative17.2%

User reviews

Pixel Art Effect

From 103 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use and intuitive
  • 🎨 Great for pixel art creation
  • 🖼️ Useful for artists and designers
  • 🎮 Perfect for game design (e.g., Animal Crossing, Minecraft)
  • ✨ Produces cool pixel effects

Room to improve

  • ⚠️ Radically alters original colors
  • 🤏 Minimum/maximum pixel limits can be restrictive
  • 💡 Filters are applied without an option to disable
  • 🐛 High contrast and brightness issues
  • 🧐 Lacks detailed customization options

Glitch Art Studio

From 15K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Excellent value
  • 🎨 Highly customizable effects
  • 🚀 Powerful features
  • 💡 Innovative glitch effects
  • 🎨 Diverse filter options

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Exporting issues (crashes, quality loss)
  • 🔒 Limited free features
  • 🔒 Difficult to use certain tools (text, masking)
  • 🐛 Stability issues (crashes, bugs)

Bugs and requests

Pixel Art Effect

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Radically alters original colors
  • Minimum/maximum pixel limits
  • Contrast goes super high, making pictures too bright
  • Filters are applied without an option to disable

Requested features

3 requests
  • Allow choosing pixel count for both length and width
  • Option to apply or not apply filters
  • More detailed customization options

Glitch Art Studio

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Exporting videos gets stuck at 98%
  • Black and white videos turn green when saved
  • Inability to save custom presets
  • Crashes when importing large files

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to layer effects and adjust order
  • Improve video export quality and stability
  • Add more free effects and filters
  • Implement cloud/preset sync functionality
  • Add timeline controls and keyframing for effects

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Pixel Art Effect

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99
3 purchases

Glitch Art Studio

Subscriptions2
  • Glitch Art Studio - PRO$7.991 Month
  • Glitch Art Studio - PRO3 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Glitch Art Effects & Filters$49.99

Questions

Is Pixel Art Effect free?
Pixel Art Effect is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Glitch Art Studio free?
Glitch Art Studio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pixel Art Effect or Glitch Art Studio?
Glitch Art Studio is rated higher. Pixel Art Effect averages 4.7 out of 5 from 103 ratings, while Glitch Art Studio averages 4.7 from 15K ratings.
Do Pixel Art Effect or Glitch Art Studio have ads?
Neither Pixel Art Effect nor Glitch Art Studio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pixel Art Effect or Glitch Art Studio?
Pixel Art Effect ships an update every 5 weeks, and Glitch Art Studio every 4 weeks. Most recently, Pixel Art Effect was updated on November 2, 2026 and Glitch Art Studio on November 10, 2026.

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