# Pixel Art Effect vs DrawinGrid

The clearest difference is ads: Pixel Art Effect at none against DrawinGrid's shown. Pixel Art Effect also leads on review sentiment (95% vs 82%) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). DrawinGrid's advantage is ratings volume (4.9K vs 103). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Pixel Art Effect sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and DrawinGrid sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $8.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Pixel Art Effect against 4.7 for DrawinGrid. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DrawinGrid has 4.9K 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 82% of DrawinGrid's.

Pixel Art Effect ships an update every 5 weeks, DrawinGrid monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pixel Art Effect | DrawinGrid |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (103 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pixel-art-effect/id1109333860/reviews) | [4.7 (4.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drawingrid/id1508298774/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 103 | **4.9K** |
| Positive reviews | **95.0% of reviews** | 81.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 31 MB | 48 MB |
| Requires iOS | **9.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Danny Pajevic](https://appshunter.io/developer/990550906) | [BUTTERFLYRAY LIMITED](https://appshunter.io/developer/1508298773) |

## What reviewers say

### Pixel Art Effect

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pixel-art-effect/id1109333860)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove Ads | $1.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 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

**What reviewers complain about**

- ⚠️ 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

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

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


### DrawinGrid

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drawingrid/id1508298774)

Easily create custom grids over reference images and drawing surfaces. This tool simplifies image enlargement and transfer for artists, ensuring accurate proportions with every stroke. Achieve professional results with an intuitive interface.

**Highlights:** Custom grid creation, Image enlargement tool, Reference image overlay, Drawing surface grid, Precise detail transfer, Proportion accuracy

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro | $8.00 | per month |
| Pro | $86.00 | per year |
| Remove Ads | $10.00 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Completely free and easy to use
- 👍 Handy for drawing and art
- 👍 Simple and effective
- 👍 Helpful for improving drawing skills
- 👍 No subscription trap

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy image loading and grid application
- 🐛 Limited functionality (e.g. no ruler, unable to specify grid size)
- 🐛 Clunky and not user-friendly for some
- 🐛 Incompatible with older devices (e.g. iPhone SE)

**Reported bugs**

- Images not saving properly
- Ads not removed after paid upgrade
- Unable to load images from gallery

**Requested features**

- Allow specifying number of rows and columns
- Add more grid customization options
- Provide instructions and definitions of terms
- Improve image loading and grid application reliability


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pixel Art Effect free?

Pixel Art Effect is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is DrawinGrid free?

DrawinGrid is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Pixel Art Effect or DrawinGrid?

Pixel Art Effect and DrawinGrid are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 103 and 4.9K ratings respectively.

### Do Pixel Art Effect or DrawinGrid have ads?

DrawinGrid shows ads; Pixel Art Effect does not.

### Which is updated more often, Pixel Art Effect or DrawinGrid?

Pixel Art Effect ships an update every 5 weeks, and DrawinGrid monthly. Most recently, Pixel Art Effect was updated on September 29, 2026 and DrawinGrid on October 17, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*