Pixel Studio vs Turtle
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
Turtle
Design unique pixel art characters with a variety of customization options. Choose base characters, skin tones, facial features, and outfits to create personalized avatars. Save and share your creations easily.
- Boy or girl base character selection
- Customizable skin tones
- Detailed facial feature design
- Wide range of outfits and accessories
- Save and share character exports
- Paid subscription for premium style options
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Create Your Own Pixel Style Character. Bring your imagination to life with our pixel art character creator. Whether you're designing a playful avatar or a unique profile icon, this app gives you all the tools you need to create one-of-a-kind pixel characters in just a few taps. Features: • Choose Your Character: Start by selecting either a boy or girl base character. • Customize Skin Tone: Select from a variety of skin colors to make your character truly your own. • Design Every Detail: Mix and match different face shapes, eyes, noses, mouths, hairstyles, lashes, and brows to craft a character that fits your style. • Style Your Character: Pick from a collection of outfits, shoes, and accessories. Add the perfect finishing touch with eyeglasses or sunglasses. You will require a paid subscription to choose some style options. • Save and Share: Once your pixel character is ready, export it directly to your Photo Library and use it anywhere you like. Whether you're a casual creator or a pixel art enthusiast, this app makes it fun and easy to design expressive pixel-style characters. Download now and start creating! Terms and Conditions: https://twinstarcreatives.com/terms-and-conditions/ Privacy Policy: https://twinstarcreatives.com/privacy-policy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Pixel Studio at 94% against Turtle's 20%. Pixel Studio also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.2) and ratings volume (6.1K vs 5). Turtle's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (daily vs monthly). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. Pixel Studio sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Turtle sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $199.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Pixel Studio holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pixel Studio has 6.1K ratings behind it against 5, 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 20% of Turtle's.
Pixel Studio ships an update monthly, Turtle daily. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pixel Studio | Turtle |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (6.1K ratings) — better | 2.2 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 93.7% of reviews — better | 20.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 6.1K — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Daily — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 144 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Farida Yarullina | Twinstar Creatives |
Customer experience
Pixel Studio
Turtle
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
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- Enhance the animation workflow
- Provide a more intuitive file management system
Turtle
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Pixel Studio
- PREMIUM subscription$3.991 Month
- Sprite collection$0.99
- PROMOTION IN PIXEL NETWORK$0.99
- Disable Ads$1.99
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- 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
Turtle
- Turtle Pro Yearly3 Days trial$199.991 Year









