Comparison

Pixen vs createwithpixels

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

Head to head
About

Pixen

Create and animate pixel art with a comprehensive set of tools. Manage projects, import/export various file formats, and utilize advanced features like layers and custom patterns. Optimized for Apple Pencil on iOS and macOS.

Highlights
  • Pixel art and animation editing
  • High zoom levels
  • Color palettes
  • Animation frame editing
  • Import/export various file formats
  • Apple Pencil support
  • Layers and blend modes
Read full description

Pixen is a native pixel art editor for iOS and macOS, designed for working with low-resolution raster art such as those 8-bit sprites found in old-school video games. Pixen packs all the tools pixel artists need in an intuitive, native interface including support for high zoom levels, animation editing, color palettes, and a lot more. PROJECTS GALLERY The Pixen experience starts in the projects gallery, which allows you to manage all of your creations in one place. You can import and export files in various file formats including PNG, JPEG, GIF, ICO, BMP, TIFF, SVG, and PSD. Files can be imported from your Photos library, the Files app, or the clipboard. Pixen for macOS users can take advantage of seamless iCloud sync. When you're ready, you can share your creations with friends. TOOLS AND APPLE PENCIL Leverage Pixen's wide array of tools when composing pixel art: Pencil, Eraser, Brightness, Text, Eyedropper, Zoom, Rectangular Selection, Magic Wand, Lasso, Move, Fill, Line, Rectangle, and Ellipse. All of Pixen's tools are fully compatible with Apple Pencil on iPad. You can take advantage of the double-tap gesture on Apple Pencil 2 to quickly switch to your last tool, switch to the eraser, or bring up the color picker. Pixen even has hover support when using Apple Pencil Pro, so you can see a preview of what you're about to draw before your Apple Pencil touches the screen. COLOR PALETTES With Pixen, you can add and organize commonly-used colors into palettes. Pixen can also import and export color palettes in the Adobe Color Table, Microsoft Palette, JASC Palette, and GIMP Palette formats. You can even perform palette operations such as sorting colors and removing duplicate colors directly in the app. ANIMATIONS Create and arrange image frames in the filmstrip view to piece together animations. Pixen can import animated PNGs, animated GIFs, and sprite sheets. It can export animations as animated GIFs, animated PNGs, movies, image sequences, and sprite sheets! GRID Take advantage of Pixen's grid and alignment tools and create pixel-perfect artwork. PATTERNS Define custom patterns to use while drawing with the Pencil, Line, or Eraser tool (instead of a single pixel). You can even import patterns from 1-bit images. PREVIEW While editing at high zoom levels, use the Preview feature to view the canvas scaled out. You can play back animations and tile small images, useful when working on repeated patterns. AND A LOT MORE... - Sync your creations with Pixen for Mac over iCloud and resume your work right where you left off, regardless of device. - Take advantage of the flexibility of layers and change opacities, blend modes, and more to compose creative effects. - Invert colors, convert to grayscale, apply sepia tone, remove alpha components, palettize, pixellate, adjust hue, exposure, brightness, contrast, and more. - Pixel Perfect mode removes extra pixels while drawing such that any drawn paths are at most 1 pixel in width. In other words, it removes the middle pixel of an L shape. - Pick a flat, striped, or checkered background to be drawn beneath the canvas, or set a reference image. - If you use your iPad with a keyboard, increase productivity with Pixen's wide array of keyboard shortcuts. - Export your artwork in PNG, JPEG, GIF, ICO, BMP, TIFF, SVG, and PSD file formats. - Share your creations quickly and easily via AirDrop, Messages, email, and more! - Adjust the size and position of Pixen's sidebars, customize the Apple Pencil 2 double-tap gesture, and more. Pixen is also available for macOS and is the only pixel art maker of its class that syncs projects with iCloud!

About

createwithpixels

Features
Read full description

Draw bitmaps freehand, over imports or inside grids with an app that’s easy-to-learn. Designed for beginners, it offers a resizable pencil, a web-friendly colour palette, plus a high zoom level. Your bitmap designs are saved to a personal library on your phone. You can choose to share any image via a public library at createwithpixels.com, or export any image for sharing via social media.

Screenshots

Pixen4 screens
createwithpixels4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: createwithpixels at none against Pixen's 1. createwithpixels also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). Pixen's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 6 months). On price, ads and device support 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. Pixen sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. createwithpixels asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pixen ships an update monthly, createwithpixels every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Pixen versus createwithpixels: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixencreatewithpixels
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (179 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings179 — better—
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 6 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB51 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFurnace Creek Software LLCTravis Noakes

Bugs and requests

Pixen

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • App crashes
  • Cannot make anything else after one image
  • Cannot export
  • App crashes when exporting
  • Export as JPG without transparent background
Show 9 more
  • Artwork doesn't save latest edit
  • Crashes when undoing
  • Crashes when exiting artwork
  • Doesn't save
  • App won't open
  • Crashes on boot
  • Export in gif to photos bug
  • Cannot save images to camera roll (app crashes)
  • Crash on startup

Requested features

8 requests
  • Undo gestures
  • Gallery for artworks
  • Redo button
  • Keep animation preview screen up while working
  • Option to choose background color
Show 3 more
  • Spill bucket eraser
  • Larger button size option
  • Undo button on left side for left-handed users

createwithpixels

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Pixen

One-time1
  • Pro: One Time Purchase$9.99
None

createwithpixels

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pixen free?
Pixen is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is createwithpixels free?
createwithpixels is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Pixen or createwithpixels have ads?
Neither Pixen nor createwithpixels shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pixen or createwithpixels?
Pixen ships an update monthly, and createwithpixels every 6 months. Most recently, Pixen was updated on November 1, 2026 and createwithpixels on October 25, 2026.

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