Pixelize Me vs Smolcam
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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
Smolcam
This app offers a customizable retro camera experience with a variety of color palettes and dithering options. It provides a simple, distraction-free interface for capturing and saving photos instantly to your library.
- Customizable retro aesthetic
- Multiple color palettes (3-bit to 24-bit)
- Bayer ordered dithering option
- Zoom support for all device cameras
- Instant save to photo library
- Distraction-free interface
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Smolcam transforms your iPhone into a small, lightweight camera with a customizable retro aesthetic. Features: - Completely free: no ads or in-app purchases - Choose from 8 colors (3-bit) to 16 million (24-bit) color palettes - Enable Bayer ordered dithering, or blue noise dithering for increased detail at low bit depths - Supports zooming through all the cameras your phone has - Instant save to photo library - Simple distraction-free interface that runs smoothly on any device and won't kill your battery
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Smolcam at none against Pixelize Me's shown. On price, update cadence, 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Pixelize Me ships an update every 4 months, Smolcam every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pixelize Me | Smolcam |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 8 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 48 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nelson Lai | Jasper Morgal |
In-app purchases
Pixelize Me
No in-app purchases
Smolcam
No in-app purchases









