Comparison

Pixquare vs Goblin Node

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

Head to head
About

Pixquare

This pixel art editor offers a comprehensive suite of tools for creating game assets, animations, and doodles. It features a customizable interface, advanced brush options, layer management, and supports Apple Pencil for a seamless creative experience on iPads and iPhones.

Highlights
  • Customizable UI with left-hand mode
  • Advanced brush and eraser tools
  • Layer and timeline panel for animation
  • Apple Pencil support
  • Aseprite file compatibility
  • Timelapse recording
  • Symmetry tool
Features
Read full description

Pixquare is the #1 pixel art editor, recommended by top pixel artists, game developers, and creators worldwide! Whether you're a beginner or a pro, its simple interface and rich toolset make pixel art creation easy and fun! Download now to create game assets, animate, or simply doodle pixel art! With feedback from thousands of artists, Pixquare is designed for your best pixel art experience ever! • HIGHLIGHTS: - Support both iPads & iPhones - Highly customizable and intuitive UI with left-hand mode available - RGB and Indexed mode - Tileset/Tilemap system - Timelapse recording - Apple Pencil support: gestures, sensitivity, touch rejection - Manual & auto-save modes - Shortcut options: keyboard, gesture pad, joystick - Custom themes • VERSATILE TOOLS: - Brush: spray, pixel perfect, pressure sensitivity, contour, dithering, custom brush, jumble, blur - Eraser: pixel perfect, pressure sensitivity, dithering - Move: transformation and snapping supported - Line: straight & curve mode, perfect angle - Shape: ellipse & rectangle mode, filled, perfect ratio - Selection: 5 types & 5 modes - Color: solid/gradient fill, contiguous/non-contiguous, and more - Color picker: 4 modes (HSV, HSL, Wheel, RGB), history, drag-to-fill - All tools offer shading - Additional tools: + Color replace + Color adjustment + Outline + Text with font import capability + Custom object • LAYER/TIMELINE PANEL: - Optimized for animation & organized layers - Multi-selection, layer grouping, frame tagging, and bulk operations - Visibility and editing-lock toggle - Supports reference layers - Frame duration and cel opacity - Linked cells, onion skin, and clipping mask • ADDITIONAL FEATURES: - Symmetry tool with unlimited axes - Reference images - Color palette: save/load from Lospec, import/export, color gradient generator - Blending modes, alpha lock - Preview with a separate animation loop - Canvas rotation, Finder-like file system - Guideline • FILE IMPORT/EXPORT: - Aseprite file compatibility (importing & exporting) - GIF importing with all frames - PNG, GIF, MOV, Sprite sheet export options (layers, frames, size, and animation) - Import Photos and files as reference layers and images ------------------------------- WHY ARTISTS LOVE PIXQUARE? "Genuinely the best pixel art app for the iPad that I would recommend anyone to get!" - Jon Davies, Pixel Artist on Super House of Dead Ninjas, Binding of Isaac. "Pixquare has more than meets the eye. A seemingly simple interface that has the intuitive control you look for. The gesture pad is comparable to a desktop keypad." - Michael, Pixel Artist, Author of Pixel Logic book "I've been sharing it with basically everyone I know with an iPad because I think it's one of the best software out there for creating pixels on the iPad." - CupOhJoe, Game Developer "This is one fine app to pixel on the iPad! You can tell there's a lot of love for the craft poured in here" - Ota Jaider, Pixel Artist ------------------------------- • SCREENSHOT ARTWORK AUTHORS: - FICO (@FicoPx) - Tofu (@tofupixel.bsky.social) - Mossy (@MossyPixe) - chili (@ryviolie) - Lesma (@pixe_lesma) - ue_voxel (@UeVoxel) - TransientCode (@TransientCode) - 08games (@the08games) - Rinspirit_art(@rinspiritart.bsky.social) - natalie (@cafeaunat) ------------------------------- SUPPORT: User guide: https://docs.pixquare.art Email: info@pixquare.art Twitter: https://twitter.com/pixquare_app Website: https://www.pixquare.art/ NO SUBSCRIPTION. BUY ONCE AND ENJOY FREE UPDATES FOREVER!

About

Goblin Node

Create professional PBR textures and materials on your iPad with a touch-first, non-destructive procedural workflow. Generate reusable patterns, tileable surfaces, and complete material suites anywhere inspiration strikes, without needing a desktop rig.

Highlights
  • Touch-native procedural texturing
  • Non-destructive workflow
  • Modular material generation
  • PBR material suite creation
  • 100+ nodes including generators
  • 3D preview engine
  • One-time purchase for pro features
Features
Read full description

An idea for a texture shouldn’t have to wait until you’re back at your desk. Goblin Node is a procedural texture editor for iPad—a convenient place to experiment with patterns, build reusable graphs and create PBR material maps for your game and 3D projects. Explore weathered stone, geometric tiles, layered surfaces or something that doesn’t have a name yet. Connect nodes, adjust their controls and take the result in another direction. BUILD A MATERIAL, KEEP THE POSSIBILITIES • Create seamless textures and maps including base colour, normal, height, roughness and ambient occlusion. • Preview your maps together on 3D meshes and explore their response to lighting. • Reuse your work through graphs, custom nodes and templates. • Experiment with animated material maps and frame playback. • Combine noise, shapes, images, text and paint with 100+ nodes across Free and Pro. The graph remains editable. Change a source pattern, revisit a colour choice or reshape a branch without rebuilding every step. NEW TO NODES? START BY MAKING SOMETHING. Guided projects introduce the essentials, then lead into decorative patterns and a layered stone material. Learn inside the editor, pause when you need to, and return to your project later. START FREE. UNLOCK MORE WITH PRO. Pro is a one-time purchase with no subscription. Get advanced nodes, exports up to 4K, higher bit depths, batch output export, graph-package sharing and unlimited graphs. Bring an idea. Build a graph. Explore the variations.

Screenshots

Pixquare4 screens
Goblin Node3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Pixquare at 3.3K against Goblin Node's 3. Goblin Node's advantage is iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.0). On price, rating, update cadence 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Pixquare sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Goblin Node 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Pixquare against 4.7 for Goblin Node. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pixquare has 3.3K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. Both last shipped on November 13, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Pixquare versus Goblin Node: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixquareGoblin Node
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (3.3K ratings) — better4.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews88.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings3.3K — better3
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size68 MB73 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSon NguyenRainer Weston

Customer experience

Pixquare

All ratings3,335 ratings
Positive96.8%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews733 reviews
Positive88.9%
Neutral4.4%
Negative6.7%

Goblin Node

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Pixquare

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Duplicate layers that cannot be removed
  • Drawn content disappearing from layers
  • Lack of save functionality

Requested features

8 requests
  • Ability to merge layers
  • Option to customize imported palette colors
  • Radial symmetry tool
  • Polyline tool
  • Separate layer and timeline sections
Show 3 more
  • Brush stabilizer
  • Ability to rotate symmetry lines
  • Higher canvas resolution

Goblin Node

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Pixquare

One-time6
  • Buy me a coffee$1.99
  • Full access for iPhones$7.99
  • Life-time full access$9.99
Show 3 more
  • Life-time full access$12.99
  • Life-time full access2 variants$19.99
  • Life-time full access$24.99
1 purchases

Goblin Node

One-time1
  • Pro Unlock$9.99

Questions

Is Pixquare free?
Pixquare is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Goblin Node free?
Goblin Node is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pixquare or Goblin Node?
Pixquare is rated higher. Pixquare averages 4.8 out of 5 from 3.3K ratings, while Goblin Node averages 4.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Pixquare or Goblin Node have ads?
Neither Pixquare nor Goblin Node shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pixquare or Goblin Node?
Pixquare ships an update weekly, and Goblin Node weekly. Most recently, Pixquare was updated on November 13, 2026 and Goblin Node on November 13, 2026.

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