Comparison

Pixel Studio for pixel art vs MapChart App

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

Head to head
About

Pixel Studio for pixel art

This app is a powerful yet simple pixel art editor designed for artists and game developers. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools for creating detailed pixel art, including layers, animations, and advanced color manipulation. Sync your work across devices and share it with a vibrant community.

Highlights
  • Layers for advanced pixel art
  • Frame-by-frame animations
  • Export animations to GIF, MP4, or sprite sheets
  • Google Drive sync for cross-device use
  • Customizable palettes and color picker
  • Support for various popular image formats
  • Pixel art scaling and rotation tools
Features
Read full description

Pixel Studio is a new pixel art editor for artists and game developers. Simple, fast and portable. No matter whether you are a beginner or a professional. Create amazing pixel art anywhere and anytime! We support layers and animations and have a ton of useful tools - all you need to create cool projects. Add music to your animations and export videos to MP4. Use Google Drive to sync your work between different devices. Join Pixel Network™ - our new pixel art community! Don't doubt, just try it and make sure you've chosen the best pixel art tool ever! Over 5.000.000 downloads around the world, translated to 23 languages! Features: • It's super simple, intuitive and user friendly • Use it on mobile and desktop with Google Drive sync • Use layers for advanced pixel art • Create frame-by-frame animations • Save animations to GIF or sprite sheets • Extend animations with music and export videos to MP4 • Share arts with friends and Pixel Network community • Create custom palettes, use built-in or download palettes from Lospec • Advanced color picker with RGBA and HSV modes • Simple zoom and move with gestures and joysticks • Use Portrait mode for mobile and Landscape for tablets and PC • Customizable toolbar and a lot of other settings • We support Apple Pencil! • We support all popular formats: PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, TGA, PSP (Pixel Studio Project), PSD (Adobe Photoshop), EXR • Autosave and backup - don't lose your work! • Discover a ton of other useful tools and features! More features: • Shape Tool for primitives • Gradient Tool • Built-in and custom brushes • Sprite Library for your image patterns • Tile Mode for brushes • Symmetry drawing (X, Y, X+Y) • Dot Pen for precise drawing with a cursor • Text Tool with different fonts • Dithering Pen for shadows and flares • Pixel art rotation with Fast RotSprite algorithm • Pixel art scaler (Scale2x/AdvMAME2x, Scale3x/AdvMAME3x) • Onion Skin for advanced animation • Apply palettes to images • Grab palettes from images • Mini-map and Pixel Perfect preview • Unlimited canvas size • Canvas resizing and rotation • Customizable background color • Customizable grid • Multithreaded image processing • JASC Palette (PAL) format support • Aseprite files support (import only) You can support us by purchasing PRO (it's one-time purchase): • No ads • Google Drive sync • Dark Theme • 256-color palettes • Tile mode for making seamless textures • Extended max project size • Extra formats support: AI, EPS, HEIC, PDF, SVG, WEBP (cloud read only) and PSD (cloud read/write) • Unlimited color adjustment (Hue, Saturation, Lightness) • Unlimited export to MP4 • Extended storage in Pixel Network System requirements: • 2GB+ of RAM for large projects and animations • Powerful CPU (AnTuTu score 100.000+) Sample images made by lorddkno, Redshrike, Calciumtrice, Buch, Tomoe Mami are used under CC BY 3.0 license. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period • Account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal • Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase • Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable Privacy Policy: https://github.com/hippogamesunity/PixelStudioHub/wiki/Privacy-Policy Terms of Use: https://github.com/hippogamesunity/PixelStudioHub/wiki/EULA

About

MapChart App

Create custom maps by coloring them with various tools and options. Save, load, and share your creations. Offers a wide selection of map types, from world and historical maps to fantasy and video game maps.

Highlights
  • Wide variety of map types
  • Intuitive map coloring
  • Customizable map elements
  • Save and load creations
  • Share to social media
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

Make Cool Maps Easily with MapChart App! MapChart, the #1 map-making website, is now an app! Perfect for anyone who loves coloring maps, learning geography, or exploring history and fantasy maps. Whether you're into making your own fantasy worlds, alternate history maps, or just want to visualize your data, we've got you covered: · Maps to Choose From: · World maps · Europe, Africa, the Americas, Asia, Oceania · USA states/counties/congressional districts · Subdivision maps: counties, provinces, and more · Video game maps: Hearts of Iron IV, Victoria 3, and Europa Universalis IV · Historical maps: 1815, 1880, 1914, 1938, World War I, World War II · Single country maps: UK, Italy, France, Germany, Spain and 20+ more · Fantasy maps: Westeros and Tamriel · Color your World: Pick your favorite colors and start painting your map. Add a legend to the map, change its background, or use patterns. Easy and fun! · Share with Friends or Save: Once you’re done, show it off on social media or download it to use in your projects, blogs, or just to have it. · Save and Load your maps: Made a map you’re proud of? Save it on your device and come back to it anytime. · Premium versions with a one-time purchase. Enjoy unlimited saved maps, endless palette colors, and an ad-free experience. · Cool Features Just for You: · Pick from a massive list of maps, from big areas to special niches. · Intuitive map coloring for anyone to try. · Customize your map to make it uniquely yours. · Save your creations and show them off anytime. · Works offline. Whether you’re a fan of geography, dreaming up an alternative world, or just want to map out your adventures, MapChart makes it simple and fun. Perfect for school projects, personal hobbies, or just for fun. Start your map-making adventure with MapChart today and bring any map you can imagine to life!

Screenshots

Pixel Studio for pixel art4 screens
MapChart App4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: MapChart App at none against Pixel Studio for pixel art's shown. MapChart App also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 4 weeks). Pixel Studio for pixel art's advantage is review sentiment (94% vs 83%). On price, rating, ratings volume 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Pixel Studio for pixel art sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and MapChart App sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. 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 Pixel Studio for pixel art against 4.8 for MapChart App. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5.8K and 4.8K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 94% of Pixel Studio for pixel art's written reviews are positive against 83% of MapChart App's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pixel Studio for pixel art ships an update every 4 weeks, MapChart App weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Pixel Studio for pixel art versus MapChart App: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixel Studio for pixel artMapChart App
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (5.8K ratings)4.8 (4.8K ratings) — better
Positive reviews93.8% of reviews — better82.7% of reviews
Number of ratings5.8K — better4.8K
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size133 MB176 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperFarida YarullinaMinas Giannekas

Customer experience

Pixel Studio for pixel art

All ratings5,760 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral2.2%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews2,275 reviews
Positive93.8%
Neutral2.5%
Negative3.8%

MapChart App

All ratings4,772 ratings
Positive94.6%
Neutral2.9%
Negative2.4%
Written reviews817 reviews
Positive82.7%
Neutral7.5%
Negative9.8%

User reviews

Pixel Studio for pixel art

From 5.8K 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

MapChart App

From 4.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Customizable maps
  • 💡 Helpful for geography and history
  • 🎨 Enjoyable to create maps

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
  • 🔍 Missing some smaller countries/regions
  • 🎨 Difficulty coloring smaller areas
  • 🔒 Lack of save/load functionality

Bugs and requests

Pixel Studio for pixel art

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

MapChart App

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Saved maps sometimes deleted unexpectedly
  • Borders not aligning properly on some maps
  • Difficulty selecting/coloring small regions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add drawing/border editing tools
  • Implement more historical map options
  • Allow custom country/region creation
  • Improve export/save functionality
  • Add more detailed subdivision maps

In-app purchases

11 purchases

Pixel Studio for pixel art

Subscriptions1
  • PREMIUM subscription$3.991 Month
One-time10
  • Sprite collection$0.99
  • PROMOTION IN PIXEL NETWORK$0.99
  • Disable Ads$1.99
Show 7 more
  • EXTRA STORAGE IN PIXEL NETWORK$3.99
  • 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
3 purchases

MapChart App

One-time3
  • MapChart Premium to Max$2.99
  • MapChart Premium$4.99
  • MapChart Premium Max$8.99

Questions

Is Pixel Studio for pixel art free?
Pixel Studio for pixel art is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MapChart App free?
MapChart App is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pixel Studio for pixel art or MapChart App?
MapChart App is rated higher. Pixel Studio for pixel art averages 4.7 out of 5 from 5.8K ratings, while MapChart App averages 4.8 from 4.8K ratings.
Do Pixel Studio for pixel art or MapChart App have ads?
Pixel Studio for pixel art shows ads; MapChart App does not.
Which is updated more often, Pixel Studio for pixel art or MapChart App?
Pixel Studio for pixel art ships an update every 4 weeks, and MapChart App weekly. Most recently, Pixel Studio for pixel art was updated on September 24, 2026 and MapChart App on September 23, 2026.

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