Comparison

Clip Studio Paint vs Pixel Studio

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

Head to head
About

Clip Studio Paint

Create digital art with a vast array of brushes, textures, and colors. This app offers tools for drawing, painting, comic creation, and animation, with features like 3D models for reference and advanced layer options. It provides a free trial and subscription plans for full access.

Highlights
  • Unlimited custom brushes
  • Realistic color mixing
  • Artist-made materials
  • 3D model references
  • Comic creation tools
  • Animation features
  • Advanced layer editing
Read full description

Start drawing and painting in a free 30-day trial. ・Up to 3 months free with your first plan ・Subscribe for the time you want to use it. Get all the latest features, materials, and cloud storage (10 GB)! *Please note that after your trial, you will need to make an in-app payment to save and export. Clip Studio Paint makes drawing a piece of cake, in any style! Whether you are a beginner or a pro, Clip Studio Paint will improve your creative experience while helping you grow. Now with new, powerful features! Unlimited amount of brushes at your fingertips to recreate any style - Use brushes with the same textures as real art materials - Adjust details such as brush shape and paper quality to your liking - Make unique colors with realistic color mixing, like traditional paints - Draw with transparency to erase, so no need to switch brushes Countless artist-made materials - Level up your art with free materials, for backgrounds and more - Discover community-made brushes from creators worldwide - Add details with materials like frills and more Coloring made easy - Easily color even with line gaps using the magnetic lasso tool - Lock transparency to paint over layers without affecting other areas - Set light source and shadow position with Shading Assist - Instantly reference and apply colors from an image to your art using Color Match - Enhance your art with filters like Chromatic Aberration, Retro Film, Pencil, and more Learn alongside other creators - Loads of official tutorials and creator tips available - Watch tutorials on our YouTube channel, for step-by-step advice - Ask questions on the Clip Studio Ask community Create the perfect reference with 3D models - Use 3D drawing figures to help with drawing anatomy - Customize character face and body models with beginner-friendly tools - Attach 3D objects like hats and shoes to characters for more specific references - Use 3D shapes to draw perspective Adjust after you draw - Liquify to make adjustments to the balance of your illustrations - Mesh Transformation allows you to transform to different shapes - Change up the poses of your character drawings with Puppet warp - Non-destructive color adjustment layers to get your art just right - Gradient maps give color to your grayscale illustrations Stress-free layer features - Assign colors and make multiple columns of layers to browse them at a glance - Enjoy the freedom of masking and clipping on multiple layers to edit and move your work - Add various effects to apply to the layer in a non-destructive way The ultimate comic creation app - All the tools you need for comic creation, from storyboard to finishing touches - Panel frames, speech balloons, text, effect lines, and screen tones in an instant - Make data for prints, web comics, manga, or webtoons (6 GB+ memory recommended) - Manage multi-page projects Professional animation, on any device - Use all the same tools as animation studios - Unique features allow you to draw your frames as you like - Enjoy a pencil and paper look and feel, but digitally - Expand your drawings to 4K resolution without losing quality by saving it as vector data ●Grade features ・PRO: All the tools you need to create stunning illustrations & short animations ・EX: All the above + multi-page functionality for comic/manga artists and unlimited animation frames *Clip Studio account needed to buy a plan. ● Target Devices and Specifications ・Minimum free storage space: 3GB, 4GB recommended ・Recommended display size: 10.5"+ Please see the following for supported devices. https://support.clip-studio.com/en-us/faq/articles/20200153 Supported pressure-sensitive pens ・Apple Pencil ● In-app purchases ・Required to save the canvas and export it to various file formats on iPad. Note: You will be charged to the Apple ID used for subscription. Terms of Service https://www.celsys.com/en/information/csp/ https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Pixel Studio

Create pixel art, animated sprites, and game assets with a comprehensive suite of drawing, animation, and color tools. Supports layers, frame-by-frame animation, and various export formats. Offers Apple Pencil support and a customizable workspace for efficient design.

Highlights
  • Layer-based pixel art drawing
  • Frame-by-frame sprite animation
  • Onion skinning for animation
  • Customizable brushes and tools
  • Palette creation and management
  • Export as GIF, MP4, and sprite sheets
  • Apple Pencil support
Features
Read full description

Create pixel art, animated sprites and game assets on iPhone and iPad. Draw with layers, animate frame by frame, and export your work as images, GIFs or sprite sheets. Start with a small character or build a detailed scene. Pixel Studio brings drawing, animation and color tools together, with Apple Pencil support and a customizable workspace. DRAW PIXEL ART • Work with layers, built-in and custom brushes, shapes and gradients • Draw symmetrically and add shading with the Dithering Pen • Use Dot Pen for precise drawing with a cursor • Customize your grid, background and toolbar • Resize and rotate your canvas, with pixel art scaling and rotation tools ANIMATE YOUR SPRITES • Create frame-by-frame animations with Onion Skin • Export animations as GIFs or sprite sheets • Add music and export videos to MP4 WORK WITH COLOR • Create your own palettes or use built-in palettes and palettes from Lospec • Pick colors with RGBA and HSV controls • Extract palettes from images and apply palettes to your artwork SAVE AND SHARE • Use autosave and backups to help protect your projects • Work with PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, TGA and Pixel Studio Project files • Import Aseprite files • Share your artwork with the Pixel Network community UPGRADE TO PRO PRO is a one-time purchase. It removes ads and unlocks Google Drive sync, a dark theme, 256-color palettes, seamless texture tile mode, larger projects, unlimited color adjustments and MP4 exports, additional format support and extended Pixel Network storage. Google Drive sync requires PRO. Some export options and advanced features also require PRO. Sample images by lorddkno, Redshrike, Calciumtrice, Buch and Tomoe Mami are used under CC BY 3.0. Privacy Policy: https://github.com/hippogamesunity/PixelStudioHub/wiki/Privacy-Policy Terms of Use: https://github.com/hippogamesunity/PixelStudioHub/wiki/EULA

Screenshots

Pixel Studio4 screens

Verdict

The call

Clip Studio Paint and Pixel Studio both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 94% of Pixel Studio's written reviews are positive against 46% of Clip Studio Paint's. Pixel Studio also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). Clip Studio Paint's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Clip Studio Paint sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.89 per month and Pixel Studio sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Clip Studio Paint against 4.7 for Pixel Studio. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 15K and 6.1K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 46% of Clip Studio Paint's written reviews are positive against 94% of Pixel Studio's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Clip Studio Paint ships an update every 3 weeks, Pixel Studio monthly. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Clip Studio Paint versus Pixel Studio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterClip Studio PaintPixel Studio
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (15K ratings)4.7 (6.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews45.8% of reviews93.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings15K — better6.1K
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size583 MB144 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperCELSYS,Inc.Farida Yarullina

Customer experience

Clip Studio Paint

All ratings13,919 ratings
Positive92.1%
Neutral2.4%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews944 reviews
Positive45.8%
Neutral11.8%
Negative42.5%

Pixel Studio

All ratings6,087 ratings
Positive93.9%
Neutral2.1%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews2,329 reviews
Positive93.7%
Neutral2.5%
Negative3.8%

User reviews

Clip Studio Paint

From 15K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Best drawing software for iPad
  • 🎨 Powerful features like vector layers
  • 💻 Seamless transition from desktop to iPad
  • 👍 Great for comics and illustrations
  • 🎨 Diverse brushes and materials

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive subscription model
  • 🔍 Confusing interface for beginners
  • 🔒 Requires internet connection to save
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 💻 Lacks full desktop feature parity

Pixel Studio

From 6.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🎨 Great tools for pixel art
  • 💡 Helpful tutorials
  • 🔍 Detailed features
  • 🌟 High-quality app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes
  • 🔀 Confusing navigation
  • 🔍 Difficult to find certain features
  • 🖌️ Brush size issues
  • 🎨 Limited color palette options

Bugs and requests

Clip Studio Paint

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Inability to save work without subscription
  • Laggy performance with large files
  • Unreliable auto-save and recovery
  • Issues with brush and tool responsiveness

Requested features

4 requests
  • One-time purchase option
  • Improved file management and cloud integration
  • Simplified interface for casual users
  • More animation and 3D tools

Pixel Studio

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Exporting animations not working as expected
  • Unexpected behavior when merging layers
  • Inconsistent performance on larger canvases
  • Glitches with the reference image feature

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add custom brush options
  • Improve layer management
  • Implement a color wheel
  • Add canvas resizing capabilities
  • Introduce mirroring/symmetry tools
Show 2 more
  • Enhance the animation workflow
  • Provide a more intuitive file management system

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Clip Studio Paint

Subscriptions10
  • PRO Monthly$4.891 Month
  • PRO Monthly Single-Device Plan3 Days trial$4.891 Month
  • PRO Monthly Single-Device Plan3 Months trial$4.891 Month
Show 7 more
  • PRO Monthly Dual-Device Plan3 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • EX Monthly3 Months trial$9.691 Month
  • EX Monthly Single-Device Plan3 Months trial$9.691 Month
  • EX Monthly Single-Device Plan3 Days trial$9.691 Month
  • EX Monthly Dual-Device Plan3 Days trial$13.491 Month
  • PRO Annual Single-Device Plan3 Days trial$28.901 Year
  • PRO Annual Single-Device Plan3 Months trial$28.901 Year
10 purchases

Pixel Studio

Subscriptions1
  • PREMIUM subscription$3.991 Month
One-time9
  • Sprite collection$0.99
  • PROMOTION IN PIXEL NETWORK$0.99
  • Disable Ads$1.99
Show 6 more
  • PRO -50%!$5.99
  • PRO PROMO -50%$5.99
  • PRO CROSS -50%!$8.99
  • PRO CROSS GIFT -50%!$8.99
  • PRO$12.99
  • PRO CROSS$17.99

Questions

Is Clip Studio Paint free?
Clip Studio Paint is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pixel Studio free?
Pixel Studio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Clip Studio Paint or Pixel Studio?
Pixel Studio is rated higher. Clip Studio Paint averages 4.7 out of 5 from 15K ratings, while Pixel Studio averages 4.7 from 6.1K ratings.
Do Clip Studio Paint or Pixel Studio have ads?
Pixel Studio shows ads; Clip Studio Paint does not.
Which is updated more often, Clip Studio Paint or Pixel Studio?
Clip Studio Paint ships an update every 3 weeks, and Pixel Studio monthly. Most recently, Clip Studio Paint was updated on November 6, 2026 and Pixel Studio on November 6, 2026.

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