Dots (Pixel Art) vs New Pixels
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dots (Pixel Art)
Create pixel art easily by selecting colors and filling dots. Share your creations directly to social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter.
- Pixel art drawing
- Color selection
- Dot filling
- Social media sharing
- Simple interface
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Draw pixel art with Dots. If you are a pixel art lover, you shouldn't miss Dots! Dots doesn't have complex features. It totally focused on real pixel-art. Select a color and fill dots with it. It's so simple and easy! #DotsApp
New Pixels
Explore a unique pixel art creation experience using basic shapes and colors. Craft your own miniature worlds and share them with a community gallery or friends. This app offers a creative outlet inspired by renowned artists.
- Unique pixel art creation
- Basic shapes and colors
- World building
- Share art with friends
- Cloud gallery submission
- Inspired by artists
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Love pixel art? This is a new form of pixel art you gotta check out. Using basic shapes and colors and a sprinkle of imagination, a little world is swirling under your fingertips. Share your art with friends or post it to our cloud gallery, we'd love to stumble upon your little world of new pixels :) Quotes from our favorite artists: "Using #newpixelsapp is my self care." - Ken Wong, lead designer of mobile game Monument Valley & Florence. "New Pixels puts me in such a fun state. Different than doodling... though oddly similar. Like solving a tough puzzle and not knowing where I'm going at the same time." - Bob Flynn, cartoonist & character designer. (We follow CC BY-SA Copyright License for user uploaded artwork)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: New Pixels at 4.7 against Dots (Pixel Art)'s 3.4. New Pixels also leads on ratings volume (415 vs 15) and chart position (#118 vs unranked). Dots (Pixel Art)'s advantage is price ($2.99 vs $3.99). On review sentiment, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Dots (Pixel Art) costs $2.99 and New Pixels $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
New Pixels holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: New Pixels has 415 ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 81% of Dots (Pixel Art)'s written reviews are positive against 78% of New Pixels's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Dots (Pixel Art) ships an update every 3 weeks, New Pixels every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on September 27, 2026.
| Parameter | Dots (Pixel Art) | New Pixels |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 3.4 (15 ratings) | 4.7 (415 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 81.0% of reviews — better | 77.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 15 | 415 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | — | #118 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | xiles | 丽 张 |
Customer experience
Dots (Pixel Art)
New Pixels
User reviews
Dots (Pixel Art)
From 15 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use interface
- 🎨 Great for pixel art creation
- ✨ Intuitive controls
- 💡 Layer functionality
- 🖌️ Good color selection
Room to improve
- 🐛 Undo button issues
- 📉 Dated interface
- ⚠️ Bugs and glitches
- 🗂️ Limited organization options
- 🎛️ Cumbersome color management
New Pixels
From 415 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Unique and creative pixel art tool with varied shapes
- 😌 Relaxing and meditative creative experience
- 🧠 Encourages intentional and creative thinking
- 👍 Simple and intuitive to use once learned
- 🎯 Fun for casual creative sessions
Room to improve
- 🐛 Canvas size changes erase entire drawing
- 😤 Tedious UI requiring repeated shape selection
- 🔧 Poor UX with hidden or inaccessible controls
- ⚠️ Limited undo history (often just one step)
- 🎨 Severely limited color combinations
Bugs and requests
Dots (Pixel Art)
Reported bugs
14 issues- Undo button doesn't work all the time
- Undo skips around in history
- App crashes on older devices
- Duplicate feature doesn't always work
- App cannot be opened after update
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- Moving layer outside canvas loses work
- Merge layers undo loses a layer
- Fill tool issues (double tap)
- Picture disappears when moved
- Imported images are pixelated
- Exported images look fuzzy
- Saving to photo library lowers quality
- Line of pixels appears when zooming
- Internet connection required, otherwise crashes
Requested features
34 requests- Organize drawings into folders
- Eyedropper tool
- Copy and paste for layers
- Select colors from imported image
- Larger canvas size
Show 29 moreShow fewer
- Export file showing grid
- Animation support
- Custom image sizes
- Selection tool for moving parts
- Shape tool
- Adjustable grid or more grid sizes
- 256x256 size option
- Layer opacity for GIFs
- Brush tools with multiple widths and shades
- User input for custom grid dimensions
- Transparent background option
- Fill button
- 8x8 option for Minecraft
- Easier way to store favorite colors
- Number input for precise color selection
- Save to camera roll as PNG and GIF
- More export options
- Custom resolutions
- Direct export to Dropbox
- Key in color codes manually
- Eraser tool for transparent backgrounds
- 16x16 resolution option
- Save in GIF format
- Layer support
- Higher resolution export
- Toggle grid option
- Paint bucket tool
- Change pencil size
- More tools beyond pencil
New Pixels
Reported bugs
11 issues- Canvas erased when changing size
- Upload/server functionality broken since server downtime
- App crashes when changing language settings
- iPad version stuck in foreign language
- Login authentication failing with correct credentials
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Account creation button hidden behind keyboard
- Export to Photos not working (only Dropbox works)
- Top menu buttons inaccessible (grid size, grid lines)
- Image quality becomes fuzzy/has JPEG artifacts when saved
- Shapes not aligning properly
- Keyboard not dismissing after signup on iPad
Requested features
17 requests- Dark mode
- Larger canvas size options beyond 18x18
- Ability to lock selected shapes to avoid reselection
- Extended undo/redo history (multiple steps)
- More color combinations and wider color palette
Show 12 moreShow fewer
- Symmetry tool
- Shape rotation capability
- Landscape mode support
- PNG and SVG export support
- Color wheel for precise color selection
- Multi-finger undo/redo gestures (like Procreate)
- Artist follow/gallery features
- Ability to expand canvas without losing work
- Copy and paste functionality
- More shape variety
- Ability to drag elements
- Account recovery/forgot password feature
In-app purchases
Dots (Pixel Art)
No in-app purchases
New Pixels
No in-app purchases
