YouDescribe vs Pixabay
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
YouDescribe
This app provides blind and visually-impaired users with access to YouTube videos featuring audio descriptions. Users can watch, search for, and request descriptions for videos, as well as rate existing descriptions.
- Watch videos with audio descriptions
- Search for described YouTube videos
- Request descriptions for new videos
- Rate the quality of audio descriptions
- Submit suggestions for description improvement
- Share video links
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The YouDescribe app gives blind and visually-impaired viewers convenient mobile access to a rapidly growing collection of YouTube videos with audio description -- an extra soundtrack added by a describer to tell the viewer about text, illustrations, setting, gestures and facial expressions that are otherwise not accessible to blind viewers, or to otherwise aid viewers who benefit from additional description to understand the video content. The YouDescribe app for iOS lets you choose from thousands of YouTube videos described by our global community of contributors. The app also lets you request descriptions for YouTube videos that have not yet been described, and rate descriptions that have already been created. YouDescribe is free and easy to use from the iOS app or from the desktop. The app has been extensively tested with the VoiceOver screenreader, and the web site works well with a variety of screen reader/browser combinations. If you are interested in joining the community of volunteer describers to record audio descriptions for others to view on YouDescribe, use a desktop browser and visit us at https://youdescribe.org/ We will be adding the ability to record from the app in an upcoming release. Who are the describers? * Teachers of the visually impaired who want to give their students better access to educational videos; * Sighted friends and family of all ages who want to share their favorite YouTube videos with the blind people in their lives; * Children and adults who believe in accessibility and want to help make video more accessible for blind or neuro-diverse viewers. The YouDescribe app can be used to: * Watch the latest contributions to the YouDescribe collection * Search for and view described or undescribed YouTube videos * Rate the quality of any audio description with up to 5 stars * Make suggestions for how individual describers can improve their AD technique, * Submit requests for YouTube videos you want described. * Share links to videos on YouDescribe Learn more about Smith-Kettlewell at https://www.ski.org/ Send us feedback by e-mailing support@youdescribe.org Learn more about YouDescribe by following us on Twitter and Facebook: http://twitter.com/SKERI_YD http://facebook.com/YouDescribe The YouDescribe app allows you to sign in with Google Account. For Google Privacy Policy, click https://policies.google.com/privacy This app fetches data from YouTube. For YouTube Terms of Service, click https://www.youtube.com/t/terms The YouDescribe app was developed by Rupal Khilari as part of her master’s degree under the direction of Dr. Ilmi Yoon of San Francisco State University, and Dr. Joshua Miele of the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute.
Pixabay
Access a vast library of free stock photos, clip art, vector graphics, and video clips. All content is licensed for commercial use without attribution. Easily search, view, download, and share high-quality visuals.
- Free photos, cliparts, and vector graphics
- Thousands of free video clips
- Fast search and user-friendly interface
- One-click image viewer with zoom/pan
- Direct download and share in all sizes
- Connect with others via messages and comments
- Like and favorite images
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Find free photos, cliparts, vector graphics and thousands of free video clips. All images and footage on Pixabay are released under Creative Commons CC0: Free for commercial use, no attribution required. Pixabay is the most valuable free alternative to commercial stock photo sites. The Pixabay mobile app includes the following features: * Fast search and a user-friendly interface * Swipe through search results * One-click image viewer - optimized with zooming and panning for smaller screens * Directly download and share images in all sizes * Messages and comments allow you to connect with others * Images can be liked, favorited, and easily managed within the app Planned features for the next app version: * Direct image uploads from your device * Show tags and camera info for all images * Manage your own uploads We want to give you the best experience possible with this app. If you have suggestions, which are not mentioned in the new features list - or if you want to report an issue - please write us at info@pixabay.com or visit the Pixabay forum: https://pixabay.com/en/forum/topic-24/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Pixabay at 4.8 against YouDescribe's 2.5. Pixabay also leads on review sentiment (57% vs 25%) and ratings volume (1.6K vs 15). YouDescribe's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Pixabay holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pixabay has 1.6K ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 25% of YouDescribe's written reviews are positive against 57% of Pixabay's.
YouDescribe ships an update every 4 months, Pixabay every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | YouDescribe | Pixabay |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.5 (15 ratings) | 4.8 (1.6K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 25.0% of reviews | 57.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 15 | 1.6K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 9.1 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 17 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute | Canva Germany GmbH |
Customer experience
YouDescribe
Pixabay
Bugs and requests
YouDescribe
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Pixabay
Reported bugs
4 issues- No images found for basic search terms
- Inability to download videos
- Inconsistent app performance across devices
- Login issues and frequent log-outs
Requested features
4 requests- Add a back button to navigate easily
- Improve search functionality and filters
- Implement landscape mode support for iPad
- Introduce a dark mode option
In-app purchases
YouDescribe
No in-app purchases
Pixabay
No in-app purchases









