Pixel Studio PRO vs PixelPencil
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pixel Studio PRO
This app is a powerful yet user-friendly pixel art editor designed for artists and game developers. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools for creating detailed pixel art, including support for layers, animations, and custom palettes. Seamlessly sync your work across devices and share your creations with a vibrant community.
- Layers for advanced editing
- Frame-by-frame animation
- MP4 video export with music
- Google Drive sync
- Customizable palettes
- Cross-platform compatibility
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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 PRO brings drawing, animation and color tools together, with Apple Pencil support and a customizable workspace. Get PRO features with a one-time purchase, including an ad-free workspace, Google Drive sync and advanced creative tools. 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 • Create seamless textures with Tile Mode 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 without limits WORK WITH COLOR • Create your own palettes with up to 256 colors 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 • Adjust hue, saturation and lightness without limits SAVE AND SHARE • Use autosave and backups to help protect your projects • Sync your work between supported devices and platforms with Google Drive • Work with PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, TGA and Pixel Studio Project files • Import Aseprite files • Share your artwork with the Pixel Network community PRO FEATURES INCLUDED • No ads • Google Drive sync across supported platforms • Dark theme • 256-color palettes • Tile Mode for seamless textures • Extended maximum project size • Unlimited color adjustments and MP4 exports • Additional format support • Extended Pixel Network storage 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
PixelPencil
Create pixel art with a robust set of tools, including layers, blend modes, and various brushes. Easily zoom, rotate, and manage multiple projects. Export your creations as animated GIFs.
- Layer editing with grouping and blend modes
- Comprehensive set of drawing tools
- Undo/Redo functionality
- Animated GIF export
- Color creation tools
- Pinch-to-zoom and canvas rotation
- Save multiple works with iCloud support
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PixelPencil is an app that was created to comfortably draw pixel art. In addition to the layer function, there are also functions such as layer grouping and blend mode. You can pinch in and out to zoom in and out, and you can rotate the canvas for intuitive operation. The main functions are as follows. ・ Layer editing Add, delete, duplicate, show / hide, sort, transparent, blend, group There are abundant functions such as. ・ Various tools Pen, eyedropper, eraser, fill, move, selection, flip, rotate, scale, shape We have all the basic tools. ・ UndoRedo Of course you can also undo redo. ・ Animated GIF export function Each layer becomes one frame and you can create an animation. ・ Color creation You can easily create your own favorite color. ・ Pinch in / out You can zoom in and out and rotate by pinching in and out. ・ Saving multiple works Since it uses a file system, you can save multiple projects. You can also save it on iCloud. ・ Canvas size setting You can set any size from 5 * 5 to 512 * 512.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: PixelPencil at Free against Pixel Studio PRO's $12.99. PixelPencil also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). Pixel Studio PRO's advantage is chart position (#96 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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
PixelPencil is free to download; Pixel Studio PRO costs $12.99 up front. Pixel Studio PRO sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and PixelPencil sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Pixel Studio PRO against 4.6 for PixelPencil. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 74 and 110 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Pixel Studio PRO's written reviews are positive against 79% of PixelPencil's.
Pixel Studio PRO ships an update every 2 months, PixelPencil every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pixel Studio PRO | PixelPencil |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $12.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.5 (74 ratings) | 4.6 (110 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 84.6% of reviews — better | 78.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 74 | 110 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #96 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 144 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Farida Yarullina | Yosuke Seki |
Customer experience
Pixel Studio PRO
PixelPencil
In-app purchases
Pixel Studio PRO
- PREMIUM subscription$3.991 Month
- PROMOTION IN PIXEL NETWORK$0.99
- EXTRA STORAGE IN PIXEL NETWORK$3.99
- PRO CROSS GIFT -50%!$8.99
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- PRO CROSS$17.99
PixelPencil
- Remove ads$4.99
Questions
Is Pixel Studio PRO free?
Is PixelPencil free?
Which has better reviews, Pixel Studio PRO or PixelPencil?
Do Pixel Studio PRO or PixelPencil have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pixel Studio PRO or PixelPencil?
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