Comparison

Pixen vs Pixelss

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

Pixelss

Create pixel art animations with this intuitive application. Design your characters and scenes frame by frame, bringing your creations to life with simple tools. Perfect for aspiring animators and pixel art enthusiasts.

Highlights
  • Pixel art animation creation
  • Frame-by-frame design
  • Intuitive animation tools
  • Character and scene design
Features
Read full description

A pixel animation app

Screenshots

Pixen4 screens
Pixelss4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Pixelss at 100% against Pixen's 67%. Pixelss also leads on update cadence (daily vs monthly) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Pixen's advantage is ratings volume (172 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 and Pixelss sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pixelss holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pixen has 172 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Pixen's written reviews are positive against 100% of Pixelss's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pixen ships an update monthly, Pixelss daily. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Pixen versus Pixelss: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixenPixelss
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (172 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings172 — better1
Update frequencyMonthlyDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB55 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFurnace Creek Software LLCSounds Creative LLC

Customer experience

Pixen

All ratings172 ratings
Positive96.5%
Neutral1.7%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews51 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral3.9%
Negative29.4%

Pixelss

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Pixelss

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Pixen

One-time1
  • Pro: One Time Purchase$9.99
4 purchases

Pixelss

One-time4
  • Unlock Five Save Slots$1.99
  • Unlock Higher Resolution$4.99
  • Unlock 64 Frames$4.99
Show 1 more
  • Unlock All Save Slots$9.99

Questions

Is Pixen free?
Pixen is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pixelss free?
Pixelss is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pixen or Pixelss?
Pixelss is rated higher. Pixen averages 4.7 out of 5 from 172 ratings, while Pixelss averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Pixen or Pixelss have ads?
Neither Pixen nor Pixelss shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pixen or Pixelss?
Pixen ships an update monthly, and Pixelss daily. Most recently, Pixen was updated on October 9, 2026 and Pixelss on September 15, 2026.

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