# Sprite Pencil vs Pixel Painter Plus

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.

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.

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | Sprite Pencil | Pixel Painter Plus |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $2.99 |
| Rating | [4.6 (59 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sprite-pencil/id1437835952/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pixel-painter-plus/id1588850915/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **59** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 67.9% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Monthly** | Every 27 months |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Size | 4 MB | 1 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **14.1** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [256 Arts](https://appshunter.io/developer/1437835951) | [Heng Jia Liang](https://appshunter.io/developer/1532000635) |

## What reviewers say

### Sprite Pencil

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sprite-pencil/id1437835952)

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

**In-app purchases:** none


### Pixel Painter Plus

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pixel-painter-plus/id1588850915)

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:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


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