Comparison

Pixel Painter vs PixelPencil

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

Head to head
About

Pixel Painter

Create pixel art with a variety of tools and export options. Customize your creations with different pixel styles and built-in color palettes. The app features a scrollable canvas for easy pattern creation and selection tools for precise editing.

Highlights
  • Basic drawing and editing tools
  • Apply various pixel export styles
  • Erase mode for clearing colors
  • Selection and cropping tools
  • Scrollable canvas for patterns
  • Customizable color palettes
  • Downsample/Upsample pixel resolution
Features
Read full description

Create pixel art with various pixel styles.  Pixel Painter is an easy to use pixel art editor, with these main features: • Basic Tools: pencil tool, block tool, color bucket tool, selection tool, eyedropper tool, scroll tool. • Pixel Styles: apply a style to pixels when export, such as perler, circle, square. • Erase Mode: in this mode, pencil, block tool and color bucket tool are used to clear colors. • Selection: crop to selection, duplicate selected pixels, or remove selected pixels. • Scrollable Canvas: the canvas is scrollable, which allow you create repeatedly patterns more easier. • Color Palette: select a builtin color palette, then customize it if you like. • Downsample/Upsample pixels to get less/more pixels. If you have any questions, please contact me at email: arrowgraphics@icloud.com

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

Pixel Painter4 screens
PixelPencil4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: PixelPencil at 79% against Pixel Painter's 0%. PixelPencil also leads on ratings volume (110 vs 3) and rating (4.6 vs 4.3). Pixel Painter's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Pixel Painter sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and PixelPencil sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PixelPencil holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PixelPencil has 110 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Pixel Painter's written reviews are positive against 79% of PixelPencil's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pixel Painter ships an update every 4 days, PixelPencil every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on June 4, 2026 and September 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Pixel Painter versus PixelPencil: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixel PainterPixelPencil
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (3 ratings)4.6 (110 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews78.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3110 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.1 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer光建 张Yosuke Seki

Customer experience

Pixel Painter

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

PixelPencil

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

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Pixel Painter

One-time1
  • Size Limits Removal$1.99
1 purchases

PixelPencil

One-time1
  • Remove ads$4.99

Questions

Is Pixel Painter free?
Pixel Painter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PixelPencil free?
PixelPencil is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pixel Painter or PixelPencil?
PixelPencil is rated higher. Pixel Painter averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while PixelPencil averages 4.6 from 110 ratings.
Do Pixel Painter or PixelPencil have ads?
PixelPencil shows ads; Pixel Painter does not.
Which is updated more often, Pixel Painter or PixelPencil?
Pixel Painter ships an update every 4 days, and PixelPencil every 2 weeks. Most recently, Pixel Painter was updated on June 4, 2026 and PixelPencil on September 1, 2026.

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