Pixelable vs Sandbox
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pixelable
Create pixel art with intuitive tools and advanced features like layer editing and color customization. Export your creations as animated GIFs or PNG files. Save multiple projects and adjust canvas sizes for detailed artwork.
- Layer editing
- Color making
- Basic drawing tools
- Undo/redo functionality
- Animated GIF export
- Pinch-to-zoom canvas
- Multiple project saving
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Here is a pleasant pixel art editor! This is an app which pursue the stress-free and intuitively drawing of pixel art. The app has genuine functions, like layer editing, color making, and various tools. Also, you can operate intuitively. For example you can enlarge and reduce the canvas by pinch in or pinch out. Main functions are below. - Layer editing You can add and erase, and copy layers. Also, you can select display or non-display mode, change the order of layers, and make a layer transparent. - Tools The app has basic tools to draw pixel arts. (For example, pen, spuit, filling and transfer) ・Undo and redo You can cancel drawing. - Animated GIF export Each layer is going to be one frame. - Color making You can make your favorite color easily. You can save 150 colors in maximum by a work. - Pinch in and pinch out You can enlarge and reduce the canvas by pinch in and out. It enables you to draw more details. - Saving multiple pictures You can save several projects, so that you can edit other projects later. - Setting canvas size You can select the size of canvas from 5*5 to 256*256. - Setting a exporting pixel size You can select exporting size. Pictures will be saved to camera roll as a png file. - Reflection function You can reflect the selected layer vertical and horizontal. ※There is another flunked app, ‘Dottable’. ※To prevent a crash, you need more than 150MB of free space to make a new project. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Sandbox
Engage in a pixel art coloring experience with a vast library of images. This app offers a fun and educational activity for children and families, promoting creativity and skill development. Turn your own photos into pixel art or explore a free drawing mode.
- Pixel art coloring by number
- Photo to pixel art conversion
- Free drawing mode
- Searchable art library
- Magic Round Button for similar art
- Art collections
- Hints for interesting art
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Welcome to the Sandbox Coloring Universe and be ready to become a lover of the coloring of tiny pixel art. Four facts about Sandbox: • Children feel how light, sweet and funny Sandbox is and that it's made just for them. It’s like cartoons, but they can participate in the performance, not only watch. • Parents know it’s a great way for the whole family to spend time together. No Ads. Only safe art. • Specialists know Sandbox is a great opportunity to work on your children’s or parents’ drawing and motor skills. • Teachers know Sandbox is a great way to teach their kids or students basic number recognition and how to use a legend. Features available for all: • Search whatever you want, fruits, lips, gadgets, cats or maybe easy art. Handy search feature filters all content for you. • Magic Round Button helps you to find similar art. Just try it and you'll love it. • Collections give you an opportunity to organize all your art in the app. • Free Drawing Mode lets you practice drawing pixel art. The best art will be featured. • Turning your photos from the gallery into pixel art. No words needed. • Hints highlight the most interesting art especially for you. The Sandbox membership gives you an access to all the tiny pixel art in the application. Try the 7 day trial period and if you enjoy Sandbox, do nothing and your membership automatically continues for as long as you choose to remain a member. The base subscription fee will be 2.99$/week after the 7 day trial period or 7.99$/month or 39.99$/year. Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. An account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period at the rate of your selected plan. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user’s Account Settings on the device. Terms of Service: https://sandbox.love/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://sandbox.love/privacy.html Best regards, Sandbox Team [with love]
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Pixelable at free with in-app purchases against Sandbox's subscription. Pixelable also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). Sandbox's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 5 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and in-app purchases 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. Pixelable sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Sandbox sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. 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 Pixelable against 4.7 for Sandbox. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sandbox has 977K ratings behind it against 3.4K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 78% of Pixelable's written reviews are positive against 74% of Sandbox's.
Pixelable ships an update every 5 weeks, Sandbox every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pixelable | Sandbox |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (3.4K ratings) | 4.7 (977K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 77.9% of reviews — better | 74.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3.4K | 977K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Yosuke Seki | Alexey Grigorkin |
Customer experience
Pixelable
Sandbox
User reviews
Pixelable
From 3.4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Lots of tools and features
- 👍 Good for pixel art and animation
- 👍 Helpful tutorials
- 👍 Unlimited color options
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes
- 🐛 Issues with saving and auto-saving
- 🐛 Bugs with certain features like mirroring and resizing
- 🔍 Ads can be intrusive
- 🔍 Limited canvas size
Sandbox
From 977K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Relaxing and addictive
- 👍 Wide variety of pictures
- 👍 No ads
- 👍 Animated pictures
- 👍 Ability to create own drawings
Room to improve
- 💰 Many good pictures locked behind paywall
- 🐛 Issues with color palette not showing completed colors
- 🐛 Glitches with zooming and panning
- 🔋 Battery drain
Bugs and requests
Pixelable
Reported bugs
5 issues- Crashes when trying to save or create new projects
- Issues with layers not working as expected
- Color picker and eyedropper tool not functioning properly
- Mirroring tool not aligning pixels correctly
- Resizing canvas causes loss of work
Requested features
7 requests- Add ability to import/trace images
- Increase canvas size limit
- Add more layer management options
- Improve color palette management
- Add animation timeline and better animation tools
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- Implement auto-save and better save/load functionality
- Add option to remove ads for a one-time fee
Sandbox
Reported bugs
3 issues- Palette not showing completed colors correctly
- Zooming and panning issues
- Offline mode issues
Requested features
6 requests- Add search bar to find specific pictures
- Separate completed pictures from unfinished ones
- Ability to import and color own photos
- Progressive difficulty levels
- Collaborative coloring with friends
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Tracking stats like total pictures colored
In-app purchases
Pixelable
- Remove ads$3.99
Sandbox
- Gorgeous Sandbox7 Days trial$2.997 Days
- Monthly Sandbox.$3.491 Month
- Pandy's Sandbox$7.991 Month
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Annual Sandbox.$19.491 Year
- Handsome Sandbox$39.991 Year








