SimplePixels vs Paintrix
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SimplePixels
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A casual pixel art app for all. Create simple pixel art and export as an image or GIF. Step #1: Create a new project - Choose a frame size between 8 and 16 pixels Step #2: Draw a frame - Tap to draw or import an image Step #3: Repeat and export - Duplicate and draw up to 15 frames - Export a single frame as an image, or all frames as a GIF Step #4: Showcase your favorite - Showcase your favorite project on the home screen Subscribe to SimplePixels Pro for all features: 1. Predefined color palettes 2. More board sizes 3. Two-finger pinch/swipe to zoom in and move around for large boards 4. Swipe to draw Even more coming soon Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.logicui.com/simplepixels/privacy
Paintrix
Create digital art with a powerful suite of professional tools. Features include advanced brush options, robust layer management, and intuitive selection tools. Perfect for artists on iPad and Apple Pencil.
- Handcrafted brushes
- Advanced layer system
- Squeeze-to-undo gesture
- Customizable palettes
- Drag-to-fill functionality
- Distortion and liquid effects
- Mirror mode for symmetry
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Paint like you're in a real studio, on the iPad or iPhone you already own. Paintrix Studio is a full digital painting app with 60 brushes, unlimited layers, gradients, paintable materials and live drawing with a friend. Every tool is free to use. Everything runs on the GPU through Apple's Metal, so brushes, filters and effects stay smooth even on big canvases. BRUSHES THAT FEEL LIKE PAINT • 60 brushes in nine families: Oil Paints, Manga, Watercolor, Pencils, Charcoals, Pens, Spraypaint, Basic and Water Brushes • Oil brushes leave raised impasto and bristle grooves, and blend into the paint already on the canvas • Apple Pencil pressure, tilt and hover, plus squeeze to undo on Apple Pencil Pro LAYERS YOU CAN KEEP CHANGING • Unlimited layers with clipping masks and alpha lock • Live, always-editable adjustments: brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, vibrance, temperature, bloom and shadows COLOR, GRADIENTS AND MATERIALS • Build palettes by hand or generate one from any photo • Import .swatches palette files with every color intact • Linear, radial and angular gradients that follow your brush • 14 materials, including gold, marble, mahogany and halftone, that paint real texture and shading DRAW TOGETHER, LIVE Invite a friend with a six-character code or a link and paint on the same canvas at the same time. You see their cursor and strokes as they happen, layers sync between you, and you both keep a copy when you're done. No accounts needed. TOOLS FOR EVERY STYLE • Mirror mode with vertical, horizontal, quadrant and radial symmetry • Quick Shapes: hold at the end of a stroke to snap it into a clean shape • Smudge, Pinch, Bubble and Liquid Mode to push paint around • Magic selection, lasso and shape selections, plus a clone stamp • Visual history panel to jump back to any step SHARE YOUR PROCESS • A timelapse records every painting automatically. Export it as a video in a tap • Export PNG or JPEG at any PPI • Back up full layered projects to iCloud Drive ONE APP, BOTH DEVICES Paintrix Studio runs on iPad and iPhone with the same features. The layout adapts to each screen, and one subscription covers every device on your Apple Account. FREE TO START Download free and use every brush, layer, tool and export with no limits. Paintrix Pro, an optional monthly subscription, unlocks one thing: reopening projects you saved earlier. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. The subscription renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it any time in your Apple Account settings. Guides in 12 languages: paintrix.studio/documentation Privacy Policy: https://paintrix.studio/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://paintrix.studio/terms.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Paintrix at every 5 days against SimplePixels's fortnightly. SimplePixels's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. SimplePixels sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Paintrix sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
SimplePixels ships an update fortnightly, Paintrix every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SimplePixels | Paintrix |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 4.6 (18 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 18 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 102 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Wen Hao Chong | htapps |
In-app purchases
SimplePixels
- Monthly Subscription$0.991 Month
- Yearly Subscription$4.991 Year
Paintrix
- Monthly$4.991 Month
- Yearly$14.991 Year









