# Pixel Studio vs MapChart App

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.

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.

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.

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

## The numbers

| Metric | Pixel Studio | MapChart App |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (6.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pixel-studio-pixel-art-editor/id1404203859/reviews) | **[4.8 (4.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mapchart-app/id1541877062/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **6.1K** | 4.9K |
| Positive reviews | **93.7% of reviews** | 82.5% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 144 MB | 175 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Farida Yarullina](https://appshunter.io/developer/846630437) | [Minas Giannekas](https://appshunter.io/developer/1541877064) |

## What reviewers say

### Pixel Studio

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pixel-studio-pixel-art-editor/id1404203859)

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:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| PREMIUM subscription | $3.99 | per month |
| Sprite collection | $0.99 | one-time |
| PROMOTION IN PIXEL NETWORK | $0.99 | one-time |
| Disable Ads | $1.99 | one-time |
| PRO -50%! | $5.99 | one-time |
| PRO PROMO -50% | $5.99 | one-time |
| PRO CROSS -50%! | $8.99 | one-time |
| PRO CROSS GIFT -50%! | $8.99 | one-time |
| PRO | $12.99 | one-time |
| PRO CROSS | $17.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

- Add custom brush options
- Improve layer management
- Implement a color wheel
- Add canvas resizing capabilities
- Introduce mirroring/symmetry tools


### MapChart App

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mapchart-app/id1541877062)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| MapChart Premium to Max | $2.99 | one-time |
| MapChart Premium | $4.99 | one-time |
| MapChart Premium Max | $8.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

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


## Frequently asked 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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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*