Retro Pixel Camera vs Pixelize Me
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Retro Pixel Camera
This camera app applies real-time dither shaders and retro color palettes to your photos and videos. Customize effects, pixel scale, and contrast live in the viewfinder. Import existing photos to apply the same artistic filters.
- Real-time dither shader effects
- Fourteen live effects including error diffusion and ordered dither
- Thirty-eight hand-graded color palettes
- Live adjustment of pixel scale, contrast, shadows, and highlights
- Import and edit existing photos
- iPad Split View and Slide Over support
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PIXELADO Dither the world, live in the viewfinder. Pixelado is a camera that renders every frame through a real-time dither shader. Pick an effect, pick a palette, and the viewfinder is already the photo. Nothing to apply afterwards. FOURTEEN LIVE EFFECTS Floyd-Steinberg and Atkinson error diffusion, Bayer 4x4 and 2x2 ordered dither, blue-noise stipple, per-channel RGB dither, ordered halftone, posterize, CRT scanlines, and a Sobel ink edge pass. Plus four retro hardware palettes that clamp every frame to a classic 4-color or 8-bit color set. THIRTY-EIGHT COLOR PALETTES Hand-graded palettes, from clean monochrome and graphite to neon, sunset, and deep contrast. Every one of them is free. DIAL IT IN Pixel scale, contrast, shadows, highlights, and sharpness, all live on the preview. Five effects take a tint color, so you can push a dither into any two-tone you want. Your settings are stored per effect, so switching back never loses your numbers. A CAMERA THAT STAYS OUT OF THE WAY Volume button shutter, rule-of-thirds grid, tap to focus, flash, zoom, front camera, and your last shot one tap from the editor. BRING YOUR OWN PHOTOS Import anything from your library and run it through the same shader, with the same sliders. BUILT FOR IPAD Split View and Slide Over are supported, and the camera preview keeps the right aspect ratio at every window size. COMPLETELY FREE Every effect, every palette, every slider. No subscription, no unlocks, no ads. STAYS ON YOUR DEVICE Every frame is processed on your device with Metal. Nothing is uploaded. Shoot in pixels. PRIVACY POLICY AND TERMS OF USE: Apple App Store User Agreement - Terms of Use (EULA) https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy https://tahatuna.com/pixeladoprivacy For more information, please visit https://tahatuna.com For support, send an email to: ios@tahatuna.com
Pixelize Me
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Pixelize turns any photo into real pixel art: authentic retro palettes, true dithering and a live preview that updates as you tweak. Pick a photo, then pick a look. Game Boy Camera, PICO-8, NES sprite, 1-bit Mac, CRT arcade: every style renders on your own photo before you tap it. Fine-tune pixel size, palette, dithering and tone, then export a crisp PNG or an animated GIF. REAL PIXELS, NOT A BLUR FILTER Pixelize snaps your photo to an actual pixel grid and maps every pixel to a real palette. Export at 1× for game sprites and pixel-art references, or up to 4K for prints and wallpapers. 50 RETRO PALETTES • Consoles: NES, Sega Master System, PICO-8, Sweetie 16 • Handhelds: Game Boy and its variants, Virtual Boy • Computers: Commodore 64, CGA, Apple II, ZX Spectrum, MSX, Amstrad CPC • Moods: Vaporwave, Cyberpunk, Synthwave, Thermal, Risograph and more • Palette Studio: build and save your own SMART PALETTE Let Pixelize pick the 4 to 32 colors that best represent your photo, for pixel art that still looks like the original. 6 DITHERING STYLES Floyd-Steinberg, Atkinson, two Bayer matrices, blue noise and halftone, with adjustable strength: the patterns that gave 8-bit and 16-bit art its texture. 18 ONE-TAP STYLES Game Boy Camera, PICO-8, NES Sprite, 1-bit Mac, C64 Demo, CRT Arcade, Vaporwave, Newspaper, Sticker, Thermal, Poster and more. ANIMATED GIFS Export a "pixel reveal" GIF that resolves from chunky blocks into your finished art. Made for chats and socials. STICKERS AND EFFECTS Remove the background for a transparent sticker, add a die-cut border, cel-shaded outlines and CRT scanlines. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Everything runs on your device. Photos are never uploaded, there is no account, and the editor works offline. FREE, WITH OPTIONAL PRO The editor, 25 classic palettes and 10 styles are free, with ads. Pixelize Pro adds Smart Palette, 25 more palettes, 8 Pro styles, 4K export, GIFs without the watermark and unlimited custom palettes, and removes all ads. Pixelize Pro is a one-time purchase, not a subscription: pay once and keep it. To get it back on a new device or after reinstalling, tap Restore purchases in Settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://pixel.chinesepowered.com/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pixelize Me at none against Retro Pixel Camera's 2. Pixelize Me also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 26.0). Retro Pixel Camera's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 4 months). 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
Both are free to download. Retro Pixel Camera sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Pixelize Me asks for nothing beyond the download.
Retro Pixel Camera ships an update every 9 days, Pixelize Me every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Retro Pixel Camera | Pixelize Me |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ali Taha Tuna | Nelson Lai |
In-app purchases
Retro Pixel Camera
- Pixelado Pro Weekly3 Days trial$2.997 Days
- Pixelado Pro Lifetime$4.99
Pixelize Me
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Retro Pixel Camera free?
Is Pixelize Me free?
Do Retro Pixel Camera or Pixelize Me have ads?
Which is updated more often, Retro Pixel Camera or Pixelize Me?
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