Comparison

SpritePixels vs Dot Canvas

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

Head to head
About

SpritePixels

Create pixel art with intuitive multi-touch controls for fluid painting and precise editing. Zoom in for detail, copy and paste sections, and customize extensive color palettes. Save and export your creations as high-resolution PNGs.

Highlights
  • Multi-touch painting
  • Zoomable canvas
  • Drag-and-drop copying
  • Area fill tool
  • Rectangular region copy
  • Customizable 16-color palettes
  • Large canvas size
  • iCloud sync
Read full description

Designed for multi-touch! No more pecking one pixel at a time – fluidly paint pixel art using several touches at once. Tap a tile to zoom in and work with precision. The companion mini-view shows what it looks like at normal size. Drag any tile to instantly copy it to another tile. Great for making similar versions of a sprite. Press and hold with one touch to fill an area. Press and hold with two touches to lift and copy a rectangular region. Customize a palette of up to an incredible 16 colors! Expand your canvas to a staggering 512 by 512 pixels! Press and hold any color in the palette to adjust it to any of a mind-blowing 4,096 possible values! Experiment with color sets by pressing and holding the palette to replace an entire row of colors. Save your work in iCloud and resume it from another device. Export your art as a pixel-perfect PNG image.

About

Dot Canvas

Features
Read full description

A simple and easy-to-use pixel art creation app. Color each square on a small canvas to create icons, avatars, game assets, retro-style pixel art, and more. With basic tools such as pen, eraser, fill, and eyedropper, you can easily draw pixel art by hand. You can also import a reference image, making it possible to create pixel art while using a photo or illustration as a guide. Your creations can be saved in the app and edited, duplicated, renamed, shared, or saved as images later. With support for transparent backgrounds and background color settings, this app is useful for creating social media icons, design materials, game sprites, and small illustrations. ● Main Features 【Easily Create Pixel Art】 ・Create a new canvas by choosing a canvas size ・Draw pixel art by coloring each square ・Use pen, eraser, and fill tools ・Pick colors from the canvas with the eyedropper ・Undo / Redo support ・Edit while viewing the grid 【A Clear and Easy-to-Use Editor】 ・Zoom in and out with pinch gestures ・Move the canvas freely in Move Mode ・Reset the view with Fit View ・Thick grid lines at regular intervals ・Left-right mirror drawing support ・Transparent background and background color settings 【Draw with a Reference Image】 ・Import photos or images as reference images ・Create pixel art while viewing the reference image ・Show or hide the reference image ・Adjust the reference image opacity ・Adjust the position and size of the reference image ・Create icons and avatars while using photos as a guide 【Manage Colors with My Palette】 ・Save frequently used colors to My Palette ・Reorder palette colors ・Long-press the current color to add it to My Palette ・Create with your own custom color set 【Save and Organize Your Work】 ・Save your pixel art in the app ・View saved works in a list ・Duplicate your works 【Save and Share as Images】 ・Save your pixel art as an image ・Export as transparent PNG ・Use your creations as social media icons, game assets, or illustration materials 【Easy-to-Use Settings】 ・Light Mode and Dark Mode support ・Show or hide the search field ・Turn Auto Save on or off 【No Login Required】 ・Start using the app without creating an account ・Your creations are managed on your device ・Enjoy creating pixel art anytime Perfect for creating social media icons, avatars, game assets, retro-style illustrations, and small pixel art. A simple pixel art creation app that lets you draw by hand while using reference images as a guide.

Screenshots

SpritePixels2 screens
Dot Canvas4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Dot Canvas at Free against SpritePixels's $0.99. Dot Canvas also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 15 months). SpritePixels's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

Dot Canvas is free to download; SpritePixels costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SpritePixels ships an update every 15 months, Dot Canvas every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
SpritePixels versus Dot Canvas: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpritePixelsDot Canvas
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 15 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSteve BarnesMITSUKO MARGOT KUBOTA ONO

In-app purchases

None

SpritePixels

No in-app purchases

None

Dot Canvas

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SpritePixels free?
SpritePixels costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dot Canvas free?
Dot Canvas is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do SpritePixels or Dot Canvas have ads?
Dot Canvas shows ads; SpritePixels does not.
Which is updated more often, SpritePixels or Dot Canvas?
SpritePixels ships an update every 15 months, and Dot Canvas every 3 days. Most recently, SpritePixels was updated on September 19, 2026 and Dot Canvas on September 13, 2026.

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