Comparison

Pixel Studio vs Pixel Paint (Ape Apps)

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

Head to head
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

About

Pixel Paint (Ape Apps)

Create 8-bit pixel art, sprites, and retro drawings with an intuitive editor. Features frame-by-frame animation, customizable canvases, and multiple export options. Perfect for beginners and professionals alike.

Highlights
  • 8-bit pixel art editor
  • Sprite and character creation
  • Frame-by-frame animation
  • Customizable canvas and palettes
  • Multiple export formats (PNG, ICO, GIF)
  • Undo/Redo functionality
  • Light and dark themes
Features
Read full description

Pixel Paint is your go-to app for creating beautiful 8-bit pixel art, sprites, and retro-style drawings. Whether you’re a beginner or a professional artist, Pixel Paint offers an intuitive and powerful platform to bring your pixel art ideas to life! - Easy-to-use pixel editor for 8-bit and retro art - Create detailed sprites and pixel characters - Animate your creations (frame-by-frame animation support) - Customizable canvas sizes and color palettes - Save and export your artwork easily - Undo/Redo functionality for worry-free creativity - Share your art with friends or on social media directly from the app - Light and dark theme support for comfortable drawing - Export your creations to png, ico, gif and more Pixel Paint is perfect for game developers, hobbyists, and pixel enthusiasts who want a simple yet powerful pixel art studio in their pocket. Start creating your retro masterpieces today! Unleash your creativity with Pixel Paint — Download now and start pixelating!

Screenshots

Pixel Studio4 screens
Pixel Paint (Ape Apps)4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Pixel Studio at 94% against Pixel Paint (Ape Apps)'s 50%. Pixel Studio also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.3) and ratings volume (6.1K vs 3). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 Pixel Paint (Ape Apps) sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pixel Studio holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pixel Studio has 6.1K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 94% of Pixel Studio's written reviews are positive against 50% of Pixel Paint (Ape Apps)'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pixel Studio ships an update monthly, Pixel Paint (Ape Apps) every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Pixel Studio versus Pixel Paint (Ape Apps): the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixel StudioPixel Paint (Ape Apps)
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (6.1K ratings) — better2.3 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews93.6% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings6.1K — better3
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 5 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size144 MB7 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperFarida YarullinaBrandon Stecklein

Customer experience

Pixel Studio

All ratings6,087 ratings
Positive93.9%
Neutral2.1%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews2,369 reviews
Positive93.6%
Neutral2.5%
Negative3.8%

Pixel Paint (Ape Apps)

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

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

Pixel Paint (Ape Apps)

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
1 purchases

Pixel Paint (Ape Apps)

One-time1
  • Pixel Paint Premium$1.99

Questions

Is Pixel Studio free?
Pixel Studio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pixel Paint (Ape Apps) free?
Pixel Paint (Ape Apps) is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pixel Studio or Pixel Paint (Ape Apps)?
Pixel Studio is rated higher. Pixel Studio averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6.1K ratings, while Pixel Paint (Ape Apps) averages 2.3 from 3 ratings.
Do Pixel Studio or Pixel Paint (Ape Apps) have ads?
Both Pixel Studio and Pixel Paint (Ape Apps) show ads.
Which is updated more often, Pixel Studio or Pixel Paint (Ape Apps)?
Pixel Studio ships an update monthly, and Pixel Paint (Ape Apps) every 5 months. Most recently, Pixel Studio was updated on November 12, 2026 and Pixel Paint (Ape Apps) on November 3, 2026.

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