Comparison

PXL vs MainframePunch

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

Head to head
About

PXL

Transform your photos into unique mosaic art. Create personalized collages from your smartphone memories, perfect for printing as gifts or keepsakes. Share your artistic creations globally.

Highlights
  • Create mosaic art from photos
  • Generate unique photo collages
  • Save high-definition images (1620px)
  • Printable art designs
  • Fast photo sharing
Features
Read full description

Your photos will be born again as a wonderful art. This photo collage is what makes you feel more happy and pleased. Let's share the photo collage art to all over the world. - One and only photo collage art in the world - Fast sharing PXL (Pixel) creates a new mosaic art using your memories that were taken by smart phone. Let's color the world with your memories. PXL is designed to create printable mosaic art. You can print: - Wedding welcome board - Anniversary posters - Gift for your precious one All the collage photo is able to save as 1620px high-definition image.

About

MainframePunch

Transform your text into animated, retro punch-card videos with authentic hole patterns and sounds. Add custom captions, preview your creations, and share them instantly. All processing is done on your device for maximum privacy.

Highlights
  • Authentic 80-column punch card creation
  • Live preview and video recording
  • Customizable bottom caption
  • Synchronized punch audio
  • Automatic text flow across multiple cards
  • Adjustable animation speed and card scale
  • On-device processing for privacy
Features
Read full description

MID-CENTURY MODERN MESSAGING Before emojis, before texting, before the screen — there was the punch card. MainframePunch turns whatever you type into an authentic keypunch card, punched column by column, with the clack of a real Hollerith machine. Send one to a friend and they hear the punches too. PUNCH CARDS RIGHT INSIDE MESSAGES — FREE Tap the MainframePunch icon in any conversation and punch a card without leaving the chat: Realistic Custom Card — classic manila stock, your words in real Hollerith code Mid-Century Color Card — the same encoding in period-correct pastels Ready-made cards — SEND COFFEE / ON MY WAY / SYNTAX ERROR / ABEND / CALL ME and more Every iMessage single card animates as it punches and carries genuine keypunch audio, so your recipient watches and hears the machine work. All of it is free. No account, no limits, no catch. THE OPERATOR'S CONSOLE Open the app for the full machine: Type or paste your message and watch the beam sweep across the card Stack up to seven cards into a single deck Export a Full Reel — a shareable video with synced punch audio Send along a Hollerith decoder card so anyone can read the holes (for education or to drive your friends crazy!) Adjust punch speed from deliberate to production line CORRECT DOWN TO THE HOLE Every character is encoded per ANSI X3.26 Hollerith — the same zone and digit punches an IBM 029 would have made in 1964. The sound is sampled from an actual keypunch machine, not a synthesized click. OPERATOR ACCESS Everything is unlimited for your first fourteen days. After that, punching cards in iMessage stay free, and an Operator subscription keeps the reel exporter running: Monthly — $2.99, with a 3-day free trial Annual — $19.99, with a 7-day free trial Already bought MainframePunch? Thank you. Your purchase carries over — you keep everything, permanently, at no charge. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://mainframepunch.com/privacypolicy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

PXL4 screens
MainframePunch4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: MainframePunch at Free against PXL's $3.99. MainframePunch also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). PXL's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 12 months) and chart position (#194 vs unranked). On ads, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

MainframePunch is free to download; PXL costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PXL ships an update every 2 weeks, MainframePunch every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on September 16, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
PXL versus MainframePunch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPXLMainframePunch
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (435 ratings) — better
Positive reviews31.9% of reviews
Number of ratings435 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 12 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank#194 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB58 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNorikazu MuramotoThomas Gillan

Bugs and requests

PXL

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • App crashes during rendering phase (stuck at 0%)
  • App crashes on startup
  • App crashes after selecting photos and pressing next
  • Frozen interface when insufficient images selected
  • Unable to render photos from camera roll
Show 4 more
  • Settings inaccessible
  • App crashes after uninstall/reinstall with same photos still loaded
  • Expired certificate causing security warnings
  • Incompatibility with iOS 14 and iPhone 11

Requested features

9 requests
  • Ability to select photos from specific folders instead of entire library
  • Option to select multiple albums simultaneously
  • Back button to modify photo selections without reinstalling
  • Landscape mode support for iPad
  • Control over optimization/pixelation level
Show 4 more
  • Select all photos option
  • Image count display showing number of selected photos
  • iPhone X notch compatibility
  • English language UI for all menu options

MainframePunch

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

PXL

No in-app purchases

None

MainframePunch

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PXL free?
PXL costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is MainframePunch free?
MainframePunch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do PXL or MainframePunch have ads?
Neither PXL nor MainframePunch shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PXL or MainframePunch?
PXL ships an update every 2 weeks, and MainframePunch every 12 months. Most recently, PXL was updated on September 16, 2026 and MainframePunch on September 23, 2026.

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