Comparison

Popdot (Halftone Effect) vs PIXEL86

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

Head to head
About

Popdot (Halftone Effect)

Transform your photos into comic-book style illustrations or dot art with various image effects. This app offers a simple interface for easy use and sharing to popular social media platforms.

Highlights
  • Comic-book style illustrations
  • Dot art effects
  • Easy-to-use interface
  • Share to social media
  • Save to camera roll
  • Print option
Features
Read full description

PopDot is simple, funny app that lets you convert your photos into comic-book style illustrations or beautiful dot art by applying different image effects. * PopDot can be applied to any image. * PopDot is very easy to use interface. * Share to Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, E-mail, Copy, Camera Roll and print. If you have comments, need help or found a bug, please help and send a email to nedisapp@gmail.com and we'll try to help you. Enjoy the PopDot!!

About

PIXEL86

Transform photos and videos with vintage pixel art aesthetics. Apply true black-and-white dithering, custom color palettes, and unique dithering styles to create retro media. Supports video editing and sharing your creations.

Highlights
  • True B/W dithering
  • Video editing support
  • Customizable color palettes
  • Three dithering styles (Natural, Pattern, Flat)
  • Vintage-inspired aesthetics
  • Social media sharing
Read full description

PIXEL86 — Retro Dithering for Photos & Videos Make your media look like it came from a cooler, glitchier timeline. Bring back the charm of vintage tech with PIXEL86, the ultimate tool to transform your photos and videos into pixel-perfect black-and-white or limited-palette art. Inspired by early computer graphics, old-school printers, and classic GIFs — this is retro done right. True B/W Dithering No grays. Just black or white pixels smartly arranged to simulate shadows and depth — exactly how early screens did it. Now Supports Video Editing Apply your favorite dithering style to video clips. Make every frame look like a piece of pixel-art history. Color Palettes, Reimagined Choose from curated vintage-inspired palettes Hit random for a fresh surprise every time Or build your own custom palette for a personalized look Three Dithering Styles Natural — Smooth, classic error diffusion. Clean and expressive. Pattern — Retro dot-matrix vibes. Adjustable matrix for custom textures. Flat — Not technically dithering, but perfect for dramatic, posterized effects in both stills and motion. Share Your Style Use #pixel86 on social and tag @pixel86app on Instagram — we love featuring the coolest creations from the community.

Screenshots

Popdot (Halftone Effect)2 screens
PIXEL864 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: PIXEL86 at 100% against Popdot (Halftone Effect)'s 0%. PIXEL86 also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.7) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months). Popdot (Halftone Effect)'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). On price 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

Both are free to download. PIXEL86 sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Popdot (Halftone Effect) asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PIXEL86 holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PIXEL86 has 40 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Popdot (Halftone Effect)'s written reviews are positive against 100% of PIXEL86's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Popdot (Halftone Effect) ships an update every 2 months, PIXEL86 every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Popdot (Halftone Effect) versus PIXEL86: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPopdot (Halftone Effect)PIXEL86
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.7 (3 ratings)4.7 (40 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings340 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS7.1 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB87 MB
Age rating4+4+
DevelopernedisPeter Tretyakov

Customer experience

Popdot (Halftone Effect)

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral33.3%
Negative66.7%

PIXEL86

All ratings31 ratings
Positive90.3%
Neutral3.2%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Popdot (Halftone Effect)

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

PIXEL86

One-time2
  • License Discount$9.99
  • Perpetual License$19.99

Questions

Is Popdot (Halftone Effect) free?
Popdot (Halftone Effect) is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PIXEL86 free?
PIXEL86 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Popdot (Halftone Effect) or PIXEL86?
PIXEL86 is rated higher. Popdot (Halftone Effect) averages 2.7 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while PIXEL86 averages 4.7 from 40 ratings.
Do Popdot (Halftone Effect) or PIXEL86 have ads?
PIXEL86 shows ads; Popdot (Halftone Effect) does not.
Which is updated more often, Popdot (Halftone Effect) or PIXEL86?
Popdot (Halftone Effect) ships an update every 2 months, and PIXEL86 every 5 days. Most recently, Popdot (Halftone Effect) was updated on October 4, 2026 and PIXEL86 on September 30, 2026.

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