Comparison

Pixca vs Paignion

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

Head to head
About

Pixca

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Turn familiar scenes into moments from a retro game. Transform everyday moments into pixels with Pixca. Preview effects live as you shoot, or give photos from your library a fresh look. A friend’s expression, your favorite pet, today’s sceneryβ€”see the same photo in a whole new way with every filter. Discover new ways to play with 7 filters β€’ Mosaic β€” Turn everyday life into blocks of color. Adjust pixel size and opacity to suit your style. β€’ Retro β€” Colors inspired by classic games. Choose between Color and Mono to set the mood. β€’ Pocket LCD β€” Dots inspired by nostalgic handheld screens. Try them in mint or white. β€’ Paper Scan β€” Rough print textures and bold black-and-white contrast for a receipt-inspired look. β€’ Dots β€” Tiny dots come together to give your photos a fresh perspective. β€’ Crosses β€” Fill your photos with distinctive cross-shaped patterns. β€’ ASCII β€” Watch characters come together to form a picture. Small and detailed, or big and blocky. Slide to adjust pixel size and explore each filter’s controls to find your favorite look. Compare with the original as you edit, then save your favorites to your photo library.

About

Paignion

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Retro palettes and pixel patterns, rendered live. No editing after the shot β€” what you see in the viewfinder is what gets saved. LIVE PIXEL RENDERING Paignion runs a real Metal pixel-effect pipeline on every frame of the live camera feed β€” palette quantization, pattern, and dithering all happen before you tap the shutter, not as a filter applied afterward. 5 ICONIC PALETTES * Game Boy β€” the classic 4-shade green handheld display * NES β€” the 64-color palette from the original console's PPU * PICO-8 β€” the 16-color fantasy-console system palette * C64 β€” the Commodore 64's Pepto palette * CGA β€” the 16-color RGBI palette from early PC graphics Palettes work on their own, or paired with any pattern. 3 PATTERNS + REAL BAYER DITHERING * Mosaic β€” chunky, blocky pixelation * Dot Screen β€” a single-channel dot grid * Halftone β€” a true CMY halftone rosette (three independently rotated ink-channel dot grids), full color or on a palette * Authentic ordered (Bayer) dithering, not a random-noise approximation β€” works with any palette, and it's never gated SCREEN FX Two screen finishes that turn the viewfinder into a tiny console display: CRT-style scanlines, and an LCD pixel-grid bezel overlay. FREE TO START Shoot with the Original (no filter), Game Boy Cam, and Mosaic Only presets at no cost β€” Bayer dithering is included free with every palette, always. Full Unlock adds the NES, PICO-8, C64, and CGA palettes, the Dot Screen and Halftone patterns, and both Screen FX finishes β€” a single one-time purchase, not a subscription. EVERYTHING ELSE YOU'D EXPECT * Pinch to zoom, tap to focus * HEIF capture, saved straight to a dedicated "Paignion" album in your Photos library β€” no separate account, no cloud * In-app gallery to browse, share, and delete your shots * The preset you shot with is written into every photo's own EXIF No ads. No tracking.

Screenshots

Pixca4 screens
Paignion4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pixca at none against Paignion's 1. Paignion's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs every 17 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Paignion sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Pixca asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pixca ships an update every 17 months, Paignion every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 4 level
Pixca versus Paignion: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixcaPaignion
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 17 monthsEvery 8 days β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo β€” betterYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.0 β€” better18.6
Further details β€” not scored
Size1 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSeongmin LeeJaehoon Lee

In-app purchases

None

Pixca

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Paignion

One-time1
  • Full Unlock$3.99

Questions

Is Pixca free?
Pixca is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Paignion free?
Paignion is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Pixca or Paignion have ads?
Neither Pixca nor Paignion shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pixca or Paignion?
Pixca ships an update every 17 months, and Paignion every 8 days. Most recently, Pixca was updated on October 2, 2026 and Paignion on October 5, 2026.

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