Comparison

ArtRage vs 8bit Painter

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

Head to head
About

ArtRage

This app offers a realistic digital painting experience, simulating the behavior of real-world art supplies like oils, watercolors, and pencils. It allows for smearing, blending, and texture application, making it accessible for aspiring artists without the mess or expense of traditional materials.

Highlights
  • Realistic paint simulation (oils, watercolors, etc.)
  • Smearing and blending capabilities
  • Layer support with blend modes
  • Import images as reference or tracing
  • Apple Pencil pressure and tilt support
  • Customizable interface
Features
Read full description

The most advanced simulation of real paint on iOS! Get creative on a digital canvas with smearing, blending oils, delicate watercolor, and much more! Ever wanted to try painting your masterpiece but were put off by the mess and expense? Now you can! ArtRage isn't just about color: It knows how much paint you've used so you can smear it around to spread it over the canvas. It knows how wet your paint is so you can blend it with other paints. It even knows about the roughness of your paper so your pencils can be used for soft shading. It's not just a special effect either - ArtRage is a live simulation of the properties of real artistic media that lets you can get creative with colors and textures using tools you already know how to use! ArtRage takes full advantage of the features of your device like larger canvases on iPad Pro, Apple Pencil support for pressure & tilt, and 3D touch on your iPhone. Join the ArtRage community: Forums: forums.artrage.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/artrage Features: Real world painting tools: Oils, Watercolors, Paint Rollers, Pencils, Crayons and more. Each tool has a range of familiar properties such as how much thinner is applied to the paint, or how soft a pencil tip is. Tools apply texture as well as color, and blend under the brush. Add Layers to your painting and work on individual elements without damaging others. ArtRage supports a wide range of Layer Blend Modes, and layer contents can be scaled moved and rotated independently. Import images, converting them to oil for smearing or as Reference Images pinned to the canvas as a visual guide. Load photos as Tracing Images which are overlaid on the canvas, and have ArtRage select colors automatically as you paint. The interface has been designed to maximize your creative space without hiding away critical functions such as tool and color selection. As you paint, it gets out of the way so that you don’t have to stop and manually adjust panels. Record your paintings! The ArtRage Script system lets you record strokes while you paint for playback in desktop versions of the product at higher resolution. Import and Export using external services such as Dropbox, and iCloud Drive. Share your images on Facebook, Twitter, and any other sharing app on your device. Tools: • Oil Brush, Watercolor, Airbrush, Palette Knife, Paint Roller, Paint Tube, Inking Pen, Pencil, Marker Pen, Chalk, Crayon, Glitter Tube, Gloop Pen, Eraser, Flood Fill. • Paint simulation monitors the physical properties of your paints to allow natural blending, smearing, and other real world behavior. • Preset support to save your favorite settings for later use. • Supports the Apple Pencil's Pressure and Tilt properties, and 3D Touch where available to add realism to the simulated paint strokes. Layers: • Unlimited layers with Photoshop standard blend modes, visibility and opacity controls. Scale, rotate, and position layer contents independently. Utilities: • Record your paintings as Scripts then play them back in a desktop version of ArtRage. • Unlimited Undo / Redo. Load photos as References or Tracing images. Store color samples for later use. Files: • Create paintings up to 2048 x 2048 or 4096 x 4096 on iPad Pro. • Control the texture and color of the canvas to create different effects. Canvas presets can be stored to save your favorite settings for later. • Export PTG, JPG or PNG to services such as Email, iOS11 Files, Adobe Creative Cloud, Dropbox, and more. Share images on Facebook or Twitter. Import photos to a new file or a layer, with camera support. Interface: • Easy access pods provide functionality without getting in the way. Elements vanish as you paint so you can paint underneath. Multi-Touch shortcuts for canvas manipulation, Undo/Redo, and Brush Size. • Adapts to suit iPhone layouts. Stylus & Input Support: • Apple Pencil Pressure & Tilt. • Supports 3D Touch. • Includes support for Wacom, Adonit, Adobe, and Pogo styluses.

About

8bit Painter

Create pixel art and 8-bit style graphics with intuitive tools. Perfect for beginners, it allows for easy creation of social media icons, game skins, illustrations, and patterns. Import photos to convert them into pixel art, remove backgrounds, and export transparent PNGs.

Highlights
  • Intuitive pixel art creation tools
  • Photo import and conversion to pixel art
  • Background removal for imported images
  • Stylus support for precise drawing on iPad
  • Multiple canvas sizes
  • Transparent PNG export
  • Artwork data import/export
Read full description

Over 6 million downloads! An easy-to-use app for creating pixel art and 8-bit style artwork. 8bit Painter is a simple pixel art drawing app that beginners can start enjoying right away. With intuitive controls, you can easily create pixel art for social media icons, game skins, illustrations, patterns, and more. It is also great for making designs for Perler beads, cross-stitch, knitting, and other handmade projects. Key Features - Simple controls that are easy for anyone to use - Clear, focused tools for creating pixel art - Perfect for beginners - Great for making social media icons and game skins - Import photos and convert them into pixel art - Remove photo backgrounds and import just the subject - Draw with Apple Pencil or a compatible stylus using a stylus-only setting on iPad - Choose colors intuitively with a color wheel, sliders, and palettes - Export transparent images in PNG format - Export and import your artwork data Canvas Sizes 16x16 / 24x24 / 32x32 / 48x48 / 64x64 / 96x96 / 128x128 / 160x160 / 192x192 Choose the right canvas size for your project, from small social media icons to detailed pixel art and craft patterns. Image Import Import your favorite photos and automatically convert them into pixel art. Keep the background or remove it to import just the subject. You can refine the cutout by cropping to a smaller area, or undo the last cutout. Great for creating social media icons, game skins, and pixel art assets. Drawing with a Stylus on iPad Turn on “Draw with a Stylus Only” to edit the canvas using Apple Pencil or a compatible stylus that your iPad recognizes as a pen. This prevents accidental marks from your fingers while still letting you use them to zoom, pan, and tap buttons. Color Selection Choose a base color with the color wheel, then fine-tune it with sliders or HEX input. You can also pick colors quickly from preset palettes, or save frequently used colors to your custom color palette for reuse. Artwork Data Management Export artwork data saved in your Gallery from the Settings screen, and import it again when needed. This is helpful for keeping your pixel art safe, preparing for a device change, or reinstalling the app. Artwork Storage - The initial artwork storage limit is 30 artworks - Expand the limit up to 600 artworks by watching rewarded video ads or purchasing the Remove Ads add-on Image Export - Choose from 3 export sizes - Supports transparent PNG images - Useful for social media posts, game skins, and exporting assets Remove Ads Add-On - Hides all ads - Expands the artwork storage limit to 600 artworks - Can be restored after reinstalling the app - One-time purchase How to Expand Your Storage Limit - Each rewarded video ad you watch increases your artwork storage limit by 5 artworks, up to 600 - Purchasing the Remove Ads add-on expands your artwork storage limit to 600 artworks Recommended For - Anyone who wants to start creating pixel art - People who want to make their own social media icons - Anyone who wants to create game skins easily - People making designs for Perler beads or cross-stitch - People designing knitting patterns or handmade projects - Anyone who wants to turn photos into pixel art - People looking for a simple pixel art editor - Anyone who wants to manage their artwork data and keep using the app over time Enjoy creating pixel art and 8-bit style artwork with 8bit Painter!

Screenshots

ArtRage4 screens
8bit Painter4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: 8bit Painter at Free against ArtRage's $2.99. 8bit Painter also leads on rating (4.6 vs 3.5) and review sentiment (85% vs 57%). ArtRage's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On update cadence 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

8bit Painter is free to download; ArtRage costs $2.99 up front. 8bit Painter sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. ArtRage asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

8bit Painter holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: 8bit Painter has 6.7K ratings behind it against 171, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 57% of ArtRage's written reviews are positive against 85% of 8bit Painter's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ArtRage ships an update monthly, 8bit Painter every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
ArtRage versus 8bit Painter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterArtRage8bit Painter
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating3.5 (171 ratings)4.6 (6.7K ratings) — better
Positive reviews57.3% of reviews85.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1716.7K — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS10.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size62 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAmbient Design Ltd.Takayuki Miyagawa

Customer experience

ArtRage

All ratings171 ratings
Positive57.9%
Neutral11.7%
Negative30.4%
Written reviews737 reviews
Positive57.3%
Neutral14.8%
Negative28.0%

8bit Painter

All ratings6,706 ratings
Positive91.1%
Neutral4.1%
Negative4.8%
Written reviews336 reviews
Positive85.1%
Neutral6.5%
Negative8.3%

User reviews

ArtRage

From 171 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Realistic paint simulation
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy-to-use interface
  • 💡 Variety of tools and customization options
  • 🎨 Blending and mixing of colors works well
  • 🎨 Simulates traditional media like oil, watercolor, and pastels

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 🐛 Laggy performance, especially with larger brushes
  • 🔍 Limited canvas size and resolution
  • 🐛 Bugs with layer handling and saving progress
  • 🔍 Missing some basic features like shapes and text

8bit Painter

From 6.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🥰 Fun and addictive
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🎨 Great for pixel art
  • 💡 Helpful for crafting projects
  • 🤩 Awesome app overall

Room to improve

  • 🤬 Annoying ads
  • 🔒 Limited canvas sizes
  • 🎨 Lack of color customization
  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches

Bugs and requests

ArtRage

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes and loss of unsaved work
  • Bugs with color picker and blending tools
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between tools

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to resize and rotate canvas
  • Improved palm rejection and touch controls
  • Larger brush sizes and more customization options
  • Support for higher resolution canvases and export
  • Autosave and cloud sync functionality

8bit Painter

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Freezing and crashing issues
  • Distortion when importing images
  • Inability to delete saved artworks

Requested features

5 requests
  • Custom canvas sizes
  • More color options and palettes
  • Ability to delete or rearrange colors
  • Layers and animation support
  • Copy/paste and selection tools

In-app purchases

None

ArtRage

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

8bit Painter

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$5.99

Questions

Is ArtRage free?
ArtRage costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is 8bit Painter free?
8bit Painter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ArtRage or 8bit Painter?
8bit Painter is rated higher. ArtRage averages 3.5 out of 5 from 171 ratings, while 8bit Painter averages 4.6 from 6.7K ratings.
Do ArtRage or 8bit Painter have ads?
8bit Painter shows ads; ArtRage does not.
Which is updated more often, ArtRage or 8bit Painter?
ArtRage ships an update monthly, and 8bit Painter every 3 weeks. Most recently, ArtRage was updated on November 10, 2026 and 8bit Painter on November 11, 2026.

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