Comparison

Pixel Studio 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

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

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

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 Studio4 screens
MapChart App4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: MapChart App at none against Pixel Studio's shown. MapChart App also leads on update cadence (weekly vs monthly). Pixel Studio'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 sells 10 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 against 4.8 for MapChart App. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6.1K and 4.9K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 94% of Pixel Studio's written reviews are positive against 83% of MapChart App's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pixel Studio ships an update monthly, MapChart App weekly. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Pixel Studio versus MapChart App: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixel StudioMapChart App
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (6.1K ratings)4.8 (4.9K ratings) — better
Positive reviews93.7% of reviews — better82.5% of reviews
Number of ratings6.1K — better4.9K
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly — 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
Size144 MB175 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperFarida YarullinaMinas Giannekas

Customer experience

Pixel Studio

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

MapChart App

All ratings4,840 ratings
Positive94.6%
Neutral2.9%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews835 reviews
Positive82.5%
Neutral7.3%
Negative10.2%

User reviews

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

MapChart App

From 4.9K 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

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

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
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 free?
Pixel Studio 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 or MapChart App?
MapChart App is rated higher. Pixel Studio averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6.1K ratings, while MapChart App averages 4.8 from 4.9K ratings.
Do Pixel Studio or MapChart App have ads?
Pixel Studio shows ads; MapChart App does not.
Which is updated more often, Pixel Studio or MapChart App?
Pixel Studio ships an update monthly, and MapChart App weekly. Most recently, Pixel Studio was updated on November 5, 2026 and MapChart App on November 5, 2026.

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