Comparison

Sprite Catalog vs PixelPencil

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

Head to head
About

Sprite Catalog

Access a vast library of over 3,000 pixel art sprites and fonts for game development. Easily browse, filter, recolor, and export assets for your projects. Import your own art and keep it synced across devices.

Highlights
  • Thousands of pixel art sprites
  • Organized collections
  • Pixel fonts
  • Premade color palettes
  • Drag-and-drop export
  • Recolor sprites
  • Import and sync own art
Features
Read full description

Thousands of pixel-art sprites and pixel fonts, ready for your next game. Sprite Catalog is a library of more than 3,000 hand-picked sprites, organized into collections like Food, Tiles, Artwork, and Treasure. Prototype a game, fill out a level, or just find inspiration — then drag the sprites you like straight into your project. Browse • More than 3,000 sprites across dozens of collections • Filter by collection to find just the right asset • Pixel fonts shown as full alphabets, not just a thumbnail, ready to install • A library of premade color palettes • License information for every asset, so you know how you can use it Use • Drag any sprite out as a PNG, or save and share it • Recolor sprites quickly to match your game's palette • Save favorites to My Collection • Open any sprite in Sprite Pencil with one tap to keep editing • Send sprites as stickers right from Messages Bring Your Own • Import your own pixel art and keep it synced across your devices with iCloud • Cut a spritesheet into individual sprites by size and spacing • Cut spritesheets automatically with Shortcuts

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

Sprite Catalog4 screens
PixelPencil4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Sprite Catalog at none against PixelPencil's 1. Sprite Catalog also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). PixelPencil's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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. PixelPencil sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Sprite Catalog asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sprite Catalog holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 41 and 110 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of Sprite Catalog's written reviews are positive against 79% of PixelPencil's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sprite Catalog ships an update fortnightly, PixelPencil every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Sprite Catalog versus PixelPencil: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSprite CatalogPixelPencil
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (41 ratings) — better4.6 (110 ratings)
Positive reviews84.6% of reviews — better78.6% of reviews
Number of ratings41110 — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS26.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB6 MB
Age rating12+4+
Developer256 ArtsYosuke Seki

Customer experience

Sprite Catalog

All ratings41 ratings
Positive92.7%
Neutral7.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive84.6%
Neutral7.7%
Negative7.7%

PixelPencil

All ratings110 ratings
Positive89.1%
Neutral4.5%
Negative6.4%
Written reviews70 reviews
Positive78.6%
Neutral10.0%
Negative11.4%

In-app purchases

None

Sprite Catalog

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

PixelPencil

One-time1
  • Remove ads$4.99

Questions

Is Sprite Catalog free?
Sprite Catalog is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PixelPencil free?
PixelPencil is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Sprite Catalog or PixelPencil?
Sprite Catalog is rated higher. Sprite Catalog averages 4.8 out of 5 from 41 ratings, while PixelPencil averages 4.6 from 110 ratings.
Do Sprite Catalog or PixelPencil have ads?
PixelPencil shows ads; Sprite Catalog does not.
Which is updated more often, Sprite Catalog or PixelPencil?
Sprite Catalog ships an update fortnightly, and PixelPencil every 2 weeks. Most recently, Sprite Catalog was updated on October 30, 2026 and PixelPencil on October 21, 2026.

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