Comparison

pixiv vs Weibo intl.

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

Head to head
About

pixiv

Explore a vast collection of over 160 million illustrations, manga, and novels from Japan's largest creative community. Discover new artists, browse trending content, and share your own creations. Personalize your feed with recommendations based on your preferences.

Highlights
  • Browse illustrations, manga, and novels
  • Post and share your artwork
  • Discover recommended and trending works
  • Search by keywords, tags, and creators
  • Follow favorite artists
  • View browsing history (Premium)
Read full description

Over 160 million illustrations, manga, and novels to explore right now! This is the official iOS app of pixiv, Japan's largest creative community with over 119 million registered users. With this app, you can easily discover and enjoy amazing works anytime, anywhere. pixiv is a platform designed to "accelerate creativity". From anime and manga to fine art, creators from all backgrounds share their work here. Start exploring and find your next favorites today! ■ About pixiv ▶ Illustrations ○ Browse Discover illustrations posted every day, and enjoy them in high quality! ○ Post Share your artwork with the world and collect Likes! ▶ Manga ○ Browse Enjoy original manga you can't read anywhere else! Don’t miss out on trending stories. ○ Post Post your manga and grow your audience! ▶ Novels ○ Browse From romance and fantasy to sci-fi and more, find stories that match your taste! ○ Post Share your writing on pixiv and connect with readers everywhere! ■ Key Features ○ Recommended Works ・View recommended works based on pixiv's most popular posts, ratings, and your own Likes and Bookmarks. ・The more works you like, the better pixiv learns what you love! ○ Rankings ・Browse what's trending across the community. ・Find trending works over the past day, week, or month. ・Enjoy various ranking categories such as "Popular with Males", "Popular with Females", and "Original Works". ○ New Works ・Check out new works from the users you're following. ・See new works from all pixiv users and spark your creative inspiration! ○ Search ・Search for works with your favorite keywords. ・Search illustrations by tags or titles and novels by tags or body text. You can even find stories featuring your favorite characters! ・Search for creators—your favorite artist might be on pixiv! Follow them to stay updated. ・Quickly access frequent searches from your history. ・See the latest trends on pixiv with "Featured Tags". ■ pixiv Premium ○ About pixiv Premium pixiv Premium is a subscription service that gives you access to the following features on pixiv: ・Search by Popularity: Find the most popular works from over 160 million submissions. ・Hide Ads: Enjoy a faster, cleaner viewing experience without ads. ・Browsing History: See a list of all the works you’ve viewed in the past 180 days. ・Mute: Hide works or tags you'd rather not see for a more comfortable browsing experience. To learn more, go to My Page > Join pixiv Premium or My Page > pixiv Premium Features in the pixiv app. ○ Pricing ・$4.99 per month auto-renewing subscription. ○ Subscription Period Your subscription is valid for one month from the date you sign up. Unless canceled at least 24 hours before the renewal date, your plan will automatically renew, and the subscription fee will be charged to your Apple ID. ○ How to Check or Cancel Your Subscription To check your subscription status or cancel auto-renewal: Go to the Settings app > Your profile icon > Subscriptions > pixiv Premium You can view or cancel your subscription from this screen. ○ Cancellations and Refunds Cancellations and refunds for the current month are not available. If you wish to cancel your subscription, please turn off auto-renewal before the next billing cycle. ○ Restoring Purchases or Re-subscribing to pixiv Premium pixiv Premium is linked to your Apple ID. You can only restore your subscription or re-subscribe using the pixiv account you originally registered with. To subscribe with a different pixiv account, you will need to use a separate Apple ID. ○ Terms and Conditions Please review the following before using pixiv Premium: ・Privacy Policy https://policies.pixiv.net/#privacy ・pixiv Premium Terms of Use https://policies.pixiv.net/

About

Weibo intl.

Discover trending topics, connect with idols, and explore behind-the-scenes content. Share your thoughts, repost anything, and chat with new friends. Enjoy exclusive privileges with a VIP membership.

Highlights
  • Discover trending topics
  • Follow favorite idols
  • Explore behind-the-scenes content
  • Post and repost content
  • Chat and connect with friends
  • VIP membership for exclusive privileges
Features
Read full description

Discover! Hot new stuff at your fingertips. Catch the trendy topics, get closer to your favorite idols, find the story behind the scenes. Explore your interests and share anything you want at anytime, anywhere! - Get the latest news, mind-blowing stuff. - Catch the trendy topics about Movies, Music, Sports, Traveling, fashion and etc. - Discover people with excellent taste and making new friend! - Post&repost anything to express yourself. - Let’s chat,share,have fun together. Weibo VIP: Exclusive privileges and federation privileges, custom sources,make your micro-blogging life more exciting! In-app you can buy Weibo members, and you can buy Weibo members in four ways: The first: 12 yuan / month to buy Weibo members, and automatically renew on a monthly basis. The second: 30 yuan / 3 months to buy Weibo members, and automatically renew every 3 months. Third: 60 yuan / half a year to buy Micro-blogging members, and automatically renew edgy by half year. The fourth: 118 yuan / year to buy Weibo members, and automatically renew edgy by year. What to know about buying: 1. The account will be automatically renewed and charged 1 day before expiration. 2. To cancel automatic renewals, please cancel in your personal account settings at least 1 day in advance. 3. No refund is available after the purchase takes effect. 4. After purchase, users can manage or turn off auto-renewal in their personal account settings. 5. If you are already a member of Weibo, you will extend the service time on the basis of the existing member service period after ordering 6. Weibo Membership Agreement http://new.vip.weibo.cn/newpay/protocol 7. Continuous subscription service agreement http://new.vip.weibo.cn/newpay/baoyueprotocol 8. Privacy Policy and Terms of Use https://m.weibo.cn/c/privacy Tell us what you think We are committed to building the best mobile experiences and would love to hear your feedback. Let us know your thoughts here: support@weico.com

Screenshots

pixiv4 screens
Weibo intl.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: pixiv at 4.5 against Weibo intl.'s 3.2. pixiv also leads on review sentiment (43% vs 14%) and chart position (#178 vs unranked). Weibo intl.'s advantage is iOS requirement (13 vs 16.0). On price, ratings volume, 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. pixiv sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Weibo intl. sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

pixiv holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6.7K and 4.9K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 43% of pixiv's written reviews are positive against 14% of Weibo intl.'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

pixiv ships an update weekly, Weibo intl. every 10 days. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
pixiv versus Weibo intl.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterpixivWeibo intl.
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (6.7K ratings) — better3.2 (4.9K ratings)
Positive reviews43.2% of reviews — better13.9% of reviews
Number of ratings6.7K — better4.9K
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 10 days
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#178 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.013 — better
Further details — not scored
Size104 MB149 MB
Age rating17+12+
Developerpixiv Inc.Beijing Weimeng Internet Technology Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

pixiv

All ratings6,691 ratings
Positive87.9%
Neutral2.4%
Negative9.7%
Written reviews609 reviews
Positive43.2%
Neutral9.9%
Negative47.0%

Weibo intl.

All ratings4,862 ratings
Positive53.1%
Neutral5.6%
Negative41.3%
Written reviews519 reviews
Positive13.9%
Neutral12.5%
Negative73.6%

User reviews

pixiv

From 6.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to navigate
  • 👍 Diverse content
  • 💡 Allows for creative expression
  • 👍 Friendly community

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes
  • 🔒 Concerning content moderation
  • 💰 Excessive monetization
  • 🚫 Restrictive features behind paywall

Weibo intl.

From 4.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and clean interface
  • 🚀 Faster than the original Weibo app
  • 💡 Useful for following Chinese celebrities and content

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
  • 🔑 Difficult to create/log in to accounts
  • 🔍 Lack of translation and localization options
  • 📢 Intrusive and excessive advertisements
  • 🤖 Forced account linking and following

Bugs and requests

pixiv

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Blurry thumbnails on iPad
  • Inability to copy text
  • Pixiv links not opening in-app
  • Inconsistent behavior when liking/following

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved search and filtering options
  • Ability to save animated images
  • Sync bookmarks and settings across devices
  • Better support for non-Japanese users

Weibo intl.

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Unable to view trending topics
  • Disappearing likes and comments
  • Inability to share content
  • Inconsistent behavior across devices and OS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Easier account registration and recovery
  • Full translation to English and other languages
  • Option to disable advertisements
  • Improved stability and performance

In-app purchases

5 purchases

pixiv

Subscriptions5
  • pixiv Premium (no new users)$4.991 Month
  • pixiv Premium$4.991 Month
  • pixiv Premium$13.493 Months
Show 2 more
  • pixiv Premium$24.996 Months
  • pixiv Premium$45.991 Year
10 purchases

Weibo intl.

Subscriptions6
  • 连续包月会员$1.991 Month
  • 按月订阅尊享会员$2.991 Month
  • 连续季度会员$3.993 Months
Show 3 more
  • 按月订阅微博社交会员$3.991 Month
  • 连续包季尊享会员$7.993 Months
  • 连续包年会员$17.991 Year
One-time4
  • VIP($1.99)$1.99
  • 升级一个月尊享会员$1.99
  • 3个月微博会员$3.99
Show 1 more
  • 社交会员1个月$3.99

Questions

Is pixiv free?
pixiv is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Weibo intl. free?
Weibo intl. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, pixiv or Weibo intl.?
pixiv is rated higher. pixiv averages 4.5 out of 5 from 6.7K ratings, while Weibo intl. averages 3.2 from 4.9K ratings.
Do pixiv or Weibo intl. have ads?
Both pixiv and Weibo intl. show ads.
Which is updated more often, pixiv or Weibo intl.?
pixiv ships an update weekly, and Weibo intl. every 10 days. Most recently, pixiv was updated on November 6, 2026 and Weibo intl. on November 6, 2026.

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