Pixel Pets vs SpritePals
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pixel Pets
Bring your phone to life with animated pixel pets that live on your Home Screen and Lock Screen. Interact with your digital companions by feeding them and watching them explore your device. Choose from a variety of adorable animals to be your new best friend.
- Animated pixel pets
- Home Screen customization
- Lock Screen customization
- Interactive pet care
- Dynamic Island integration
- Live Notifications display
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Pixel Pets is an incredible app for customizing your Home Screen and Lock Screen Ever wanted to have your own special pet that animates on you phone? Meet Pixel Pets! You’ll be able take care of your own animal pet by feeding and interacting with your new best friend. You can find your pet displayed on your Lock Screen, Dynamic Island and even Live Notifications. Some of our first Pixel Pets include: “Dog” = Spot is your loving companion! He loves adventuring through the wilderness and following you around the world. “Ox” = Cows are the most hardworking and gentle of all. She is a gentle, hardworking and helpful cow! “Duck” = Waddles is the cutest duck ever. She loves cuddling and following you around. Her soft feathers are super comfy, and she will always be there to comfort you! “Bear” = Polly is scary at first, but once you get to know her, you realize she is the grizzliest teddy bear!
SpritePals
Transform your pet into a retro pixel companion for your iPhone's Dynamic Island, Lock Screen, and Home Screen widgets. Feed, play, and care for your digital pal, or choose from a variety of pre-made pixel pets. Enjoy a charming and interactive experience with your unique screen-based friend.
- AI pixel pet creation from photos
- Ready-made retro pixel pals
- Dynamic Island integration
- Lock Screen Live Activities
- Home Screen widgets
- Interactive pet care (feed, play)
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Turn your real pet into a retro digital companion for iPhone and Apple Watch. Care for your SpritePal and build a little world for them to explore. SpritePals lets you create a pixel pet with AI from a photo of your cat, dog, or favorite animal. Want to jump right in? Choose a ready-made SpritePal from the collection and keep them close on Dynamic Island, in Lock Screen Live Activities, and in Home Screen widgets. Feed your SpritePal, give them water, wash them, and play fetch together. Caring and playing earn XP and points. Your pal levels up, and you can spend your points on tiles, trees, houses, and other decorations. Every little moment of care helps your world grow. Features: - AI pixel pets: turn a photo of your cat, dog, or favorite animal into your own SpritePal - Your own world: lay tiles, place decorations, and watch your pal wander through the world you build - Feed, play, and care: serve food and water, wash your pal, and play a game of fetch - Levels and points: earn XP by caring for your pal and use your points to keep building - Pet widgets: add your SpritePal to your iPhone Home Screen or Lock Screen - Dynamic Island and Live Activities: keep your digital companion in view, even outside the app - Apple Watch: bring your SpritePal to your wrist and view your world there too - Ready-made SpritePals: choose from a collection of retro pixel companions More possibilities with Pro: Unlock every ready-made SpritePal, extra food choices, and more room to expand your world, including all decorative tiles and Pro objects. Pro also includes Apple Watch complications, a second pal in Live Activities, and custom app icon export. Receive a one-time bonus of 10 tokens to generate your own SpritePals. From a photo of your pet to a little world in your pocket: create your first SpritePal and take them wherever you go.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pixel Pets at none against SpritePals's 5. Pixel Pets also leads on review sentiment (73% vs 50%) and ratings volume (50 vs 13). 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
Both are free to download. SpritePals sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Pixel Pets asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.0 for Pixel Pets against 4.1 for SpritePals. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 50 and 13 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 73% of Pixel Pets's written reviews are positive against 50% of SpritePals's.
Pixel Pets ships an update every 4 days, SpritePals every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pixel Pets | SpritePals |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (50 ratings) | 4.1 (13 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 72.7% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 50 — better | 13 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 9 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 301 MB | 96 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mobile Smart Growth | Ivo van der Zee |
Customer experience
Pixel Pets
SpritePals
In-app purchases
Pixel Pets
No in-app purchases
SpritePals
- 1 token$0.99
- 3 tokens$1.99
- 5 tokens$2.99
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- 10 tokens$3.99
- Pro (one-time)$5.99








