PIXIO® vs smART pixelator
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PIXIO®
Design and build 3D pixel art digitally or with magnetic blocks. Explore a community of artists, share your creations, and get inspired by thousands of designs. Bring your digital art to life in the real world.
- Create 3D pixel art digitally
- Build physical art with magnetic blocks
- Interactive 3D building guides
- Share creations and get community feedback
- Augmented reality (AR) features
- Explore and remix art from other users
- Color palette inspiration
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The PIXIO app is an integral part of the PIXIO magnetic construction set. With it, you can create hundreds of different art pieces according to interactive instructions. At the same time, you can use the PIXIO app without a construction set, and assemble your art in only a digital format. The PIXIO app provides a wide range of opportunities for creators and fans of pixel and voxel art. Create your 3D pixel art in the Studio. Post it in the art feed. Get feedback from the community in the comments. Follow your favorite artists and constantly update your art collections. Get inspired by thousands of artists around the world and participate in competitions. Get real magnetic blocks to bring your creative ideas created in the app to life. All this is waiting for you in the new PIXIO app! In addition to the epic transformation of the app into a social network for pixel art enthusiasts from all over the world, the updated version has new features: ■ search thousands of pieces of art using tags, collections, keywords, and artists; ■ have fun augmenting reality with your art (AR); ■ change the background color of the art; ■ get inspired by the art of other artists — in the Studio you can work with any published art in the app, see in detail how it was made, and then upgrade it; ■ look for new color ideas with the recolor function; ■ choose any angle of your art to show it to the audience in the feed from the perfect angle. Of course, the basic functions for which pixel and voxel art fans love the PIXIO app have remained unchanged: ■ Each art in the PIXIO app is an accessible interactive instruction for creating anything from the PIXIO magnetic construction set. There are a variety of art collections for creative activities, ranging from animals and robots to artworks and interiors. ■ Create on the go, on different devices, even without an internet connection. ■ Interactive 3D guides, explaining how to create characters and artefacts. ■ Friendly instructions on the colors and numbers of required blocks for each creation. ■ Regular collection updates. PIXIO is dedicated to all designers, gamers, artists, architects as well as lovers, fans and admirers of everything new, fashionable, technological, and beautiful. With the app and only one set of PIXIO, there can be a new creation on your table every day that expresses your mood and develops your imagination. Create 3D pixel art Share your art with the public Get feedback from the public Build art in reality Explore the world of pixel and voxel art Get inspired by art collections Explore art design Upgrade any of the thousands of pieces of published art Get ideas for new palettes PIXIO is a state-of-the-art technology with the pursuit of excellence through design. Smart system of magnets inside, so it feels like the blocks are alive in your hands. Carefully picked color palettes. Surface of the blocks is pleasing to the touch. Satisfying clicking sound when connecting the blocks. Each PIXIO block is a little plastic cube size 8*8*8 mm (0.3*0.3*0.3 inches) weighing less than 1 gram with 6 magnets inside it. The position and polarity of the magnets are designed so that the blocks can be connected to each other in any sequence from different sides. Just take the PIXIO block in your hand and place it next to the other PIXIO blocks – and BANG! - the PIXIO blocks are connected.
smART pixelator
This app uses light technology and step-by-step instructions to guide users through creating 2D and 3D pixelated projects. It works with a physical device and offers endless craft possibilities for all ages.
- Pixelate any design with light technology
- Step-by-step instructions for 2D and 3D projects
- Use with beads, sequins, or pegs
- Create custom designs from photos
- Bluetooth connectivity
- Includes 50 pre-loaded activities
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Pixelate any design with the smART Pixelator® and this FREE APP. Light technology, step-by-step instructions, and a variety of craft materials guide kids through endless activities to create 2D and 3D projects. It takes creativity to a new level! Note: You need a smART Pixelator® device to use this app. The smART Pixelator® takes creativity to the next level with innovative activities that combine art, technology and STEAM learning. Technology enables kids ages 7 to 107 to use light to pixelate any idea using the free app and a mobile device. Create ready-to-display 2D or 3D projects! Experiment! Customize! Use beads, sequins, or pegs for endless pixelated play! smART Pixelator® encourages creativity, fine motor development, and spatial awareness. It’s the smART way to play. Pick your Pixels! Use smART Pixel Beads, Pixel Pegs, or Pixel Sequins to create 4 different kinds of activities (2D & 3D Beads, Pegs, Sequins and Bracelet). Choose a design! Take a picture or download any photo from your mobile device. Pixelate it on the smART Pixelator® using Bluetooth connectivity. Light technology shows you exactly where to place your Pixels. Engineer 3D projects with snap-together Pixel Bead designs. smART Pixelator® also includes 50 pre-loaded activities right out of the box! Customize it! Change the color. Change the size. Bring finished projects to life with light. Create your own original projects using a smart device and the FREE APP. Keep on playing! Use your smART Pixelator® for endless activities using smART Pixel Beads, Pixel Sequins, and Pixel Pegs. Create 2D and 3D projects. You can even make a bracelet! smART Pixelator® app is free to play and offers no in-app purchases. Extend the fun! smART Pixelator® activity packs give you more Pixels, colors and ways to play. Available for separate purchase at https://www.flycatcher.toys/smart-pixelator - smART Pixel Beads expansion pack. - smART Pixel Pegs expansion pack. - smART Pixel Sequins expansion pack. - smART Pixel Bracelet expansion pack. - smART Pixel Organizer expansion pack. For app support contact us at https://www.flycatcher.toys/smart-pixelator/support/ Our privacy policy and terms of use for apps are accepted if you download this app. smART Pixelator® is a trademark of Flycatcher, Corp LTD © 2019 Flycatcher Corp LTD. All rights reserved.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: PIXIO® at 83% against smART pixelator's 40%. PIXIO® also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.2) and update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). smART pixelator's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 14.0). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
PIXIO® holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PIXIO® has 270 ratings behind it against 48, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of PIXIO®'s written reviews are positive against 40% of smART pixelator's.
PIXIO® ships an update monthly, smART pixelator every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PIXIO® | smART pixelator |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (270 ratings) — better | 3.2 (48 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 83.3% of reviews — better | 40.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 270 — better | 48 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 185 MB | 64 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jutiful | FlyCatcher Inc. |
Customer experience
PIXIO®
smART pixelator
Bugs and requests
PIXIO®
Reported bugs
18 issues- Frequent errors and pop-ups
- Cannot build or log back in
- Sign-in issues
- "Select favorite category" doesn't let user pass
- Cannot see comments
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- Randomly kicked off the game
- Profile picture moderation is awful
- App blocks are expensive
- App blocks are a waste of money
- Invalid code for app blocks
- Glitches and freezes
- Cannot publish art anymore
- Username taken even for random letters
- Blurred content due to app blocks
- Cheaters in contests
- Expensive magnets to build in real life
- App blocks are like Robux
- Freezes after a few clicks outside building mode
Requested features
5 requests- More color options
- Add REBUS game updates
- Improve profile picture moderation
- Add different environment settings for builds (under the sea, ancient monsters, town, forest)
- Remove app blocks
smART pixelator
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
PIXIO®
No in-app purchases
smART pixelator
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is PIXIO® free?
Is smART pixelator free?
Which has better reviews, PIXIO® or smART pixelator?
Do PIXIO® or smART pixelator have ads?
Which is updated more often, PIXIO® or smART pixelator?
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