Comparison

Sprite Pencil vs Pixel Painter Plus

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

Head to head
About

Sprite Pencil

Create pixel art sprites easily on your mobile device. This app offers a powerful drawing engine with a simple toolset, supporting iCloud Drive and Apple Pencil. Edit existing pixel art files and share your creations with various scaling options.

Highlights
  • Pixel art sprite creation
  • iCloud Drive support
  • Apple Pencil support
  • Import and edit existing pixel art
  • Symmetric drawing mode
  • Automatic shading brushes
  • Share with scaling options
Read full description

Sprite Pencil enables you to create beautiful pixel art sprites on the go. Sprite Pencil has a simple set of tools, and a powerful drawing engine. Sprite Pencil allows you to open and edit pixel art images you may already have in Files. Sprite Pencil supports in-place file editing so you can use your own file organization. FEATURES: • iCloud Drive support • Apple Pencil support • Drawing engine built exclusively for Apple platforms • Handpicked color palettes • Import color palettes • Move, rotate, flip, fill, and posterize sprites • Easy outlines • Symmetric drawing mode • Automatic shading brushes • Share your pixel art with scaling options • Create pixel art stickers in the iMessage app • Display your sprites in a widget

About

Pixel Painter Plus

Create pixel art, animated GIFs, and movie clips with this intuitive drawing editor. Customize project sizes, apply unique pixel patterns, and easily share your creations. Perfect for artists of all ages.

Highlights
  • Customizable canvas sizes (5x5 to 64x64)
  • Create animated GIFs and video clips
  • Pixel pattern selections
  • Brush and eraser tools
  • Preview animations
  • Save to camera roll
  • Ad-free experience
Features
Read full description

Pixel Painter is a pixel drawing editor designed for all ages. Create game sprites, pixel art, animated GIFs, or movie clips, and share your artwork with family and friends. Each project allows you to set different pixel patterns for unique looks and styles. Enjoy the fun of pixel painting! Features : General - Simple and easy-to-use UI. - Project-based drawing editor. - Create projects with custom sizes ranging from 5x5 to 64x64 pixels. - Options to rename or delete projects. - Works seamlessly on both iPhone and iPad. - Lightweight, compact app optimized for everyday use. - Ad-free and built with privacy in mind. Painting Tools - Create frames for animated pixel projects. - Preview animated projects. - Clear canvas option. - Simple Brush and Eraser tools. - Pixel color presets. - Pinch and pan the canvas for detailed painting. - Save images, animated GIFs, or video clips directly to your camera roll. Settings - 15 pixel pattern selections. - Background color customization. - Option to enable or disable the grid. - Ability to set grid color. - Set animation frame rate (frames per second). Note : The canvas size determines the drawing orientation. For example, a 20x30 canvas will be in portrait mode, while a 40x30 canvas will be in landscape mode. Have fun with Pixel Painter! Create animated pixel artwork and share it with your friends and family. Thank you for your support! Visit nitrio.com for more apps for your iOS devices.

Screenshots

Sprite Pencil4 screens
Pixel Painter Plus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Sprite Pencil at Free against Pixel Painter Plus's $2.99. Sprite Pencil also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 27 months) and ratings volume (59 vs 1). Pixel Painter Plus's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and iOS requirement (14.1 vs 26.0). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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

Sprite Pencil is free to download; Pixel Painter Plus costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pixel Painter Plus holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sprite Pencil has 59 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sprite Pencil ships an update monthly, Pixel Painter Plus every 27 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Sprite Pencil versus Pixel Painter Plus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSprite PencilPixel Painter Plus
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating4.6 (59 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews67.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings59 — better1
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 27 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS26.014.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer256 ArtsHeng Jia Liang

Customer experience

Sprite Pencil

All ratings59 ratings
Positive91.5%
Neutral5.1%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews28 reviews
Positive67.9%
Neutral7.1%
Negative25.0%

Pixel Painter Plus

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Sprite Pencil

No in-app purchases

None

Pixel Painter Plus

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Sprite Pencil free?
Sprite Pencil is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pixel Painter Plus free?
Pixel Painter Plus costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Sprite Pencil or Pixel Painter Plus?
Pixel Painter Plus is rated higher. Sprite Pencil averages 4.6 out of 5 from 59 ratings, while Pixel Painter Plus averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Sprite Pencil or Pixel Painter Plus have ads?
Neither Sprite Pencil nor Pixel Painter Plus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sprite Pencil or Pixel Painter Plus?
Sprite Pencil ships an update monthly, and Pixel Painter Plus every 27 months. Most recently, Sprite Pencil was updated on October 13, 2026 and Pixel Painter Plus on October 4, 2026.

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