Comparison

PocketPal vs ScreenMagic

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

Head to head
About

PocketPal

Adopt and care for a virtual pixel art pet that lives on your device's Home Screen. Keep your companion happy, healthy, and fed through interactive widgets, and customize their appearance with unlockable outfits and backgrounds.

Highlights
  • Virtual pixel pet companion
  • Home Screen widget integration
  • Interactive pet care
  • Customizable outfits and backgrounds
  • Unlockable content
  • Multiple animal choices
Features
Read full description

PocketPal is a cozy pixel pet that lives on your iPhone, iPad, and Home Screen. Choose from 18 fully animated pals—from foxes and bunnies to pandas, tigers, penguins, and more. Feed, play, and clean your companion as their hunger, happiness, and health change over time. MEET YOUR PAL • Pick from 18 expressive pixel pets • Enjoy original idle, feeding, play, and cleaning animations • Switch pets anytime MAKE IT YOURS • Dress your pal in hoodies, crewnecks, sweaters, and dresses • Unlock outfits and nine illustrated backgrounds • Earn coins naturally by caring for your pet CARE YOUR WAY • Feed, play, and clean with a tap • Keep an eye on three simple care stats • Care for your pal from the interactive Home Screen widget • Keep your pal with you on iPhone, iPad, and Mac No ads. No subscriptions. Just you and your pal.

About

ScreenMagic

Transform your phone into a visual magic performance tool. Make objects appear on your screen and create illusions of pulling them out. Customize and perform unlimited magic tricks.

Highlights
  • Perform with cards, coins, and business cards
  • Import and photograph custom objects
  • Create motion-reactive effects
  • Use your Home Screen for performances
  • Save custom objects for reuse
  • Perform unlimited illusions with Pro
Features
Read full description

Make the impossible feel real with ScreenMagic. ScreenMagic turns your iPhone into a powerful performance tool for visual magic. Make cards, coins, business cards, and everyday objects appear on your screen — then create the illusion of pulling them right out of your phone. CREATE YOUR OWN MAGIC • Photograph and import your own objects • Perform with cards, coins, tickets, business cards & more • Calibrate objects to realistic sizes • Use your own Home Screen for convincing performances • Create fluid, motion-reactive effects • Save custom objects for future performances • Perform unlimited ScreenMagic illusions with Pro DESIGNED FOR PERFORMANCE Whether you're a magician, content creator, or just want to amaze your friends, ScreenMagic gives you the tools to create visual illusions directly on your iPhone. Create it. Perform it. Make the impossible feel real. SCREENMAGIC PRO Start with a 3-day free trial. After the free trial, ScreenMagic Pro is $19.99 per year. Your subscription automatically renews for $19.99/year unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account upon confirmation of purchase. You can manage or cancel your subscription at any time through your App Store account settings. Free trials are available to eligible users. Any unused portion of a free trial may be forfeited when a subscription is purchased, where applicable. Terms of Use: https://screenmagicapp.netlify.app/support/ Privacy Policy: https://screenmagicapp.netlify.app/privacy/

Screenshots

PocketPal4 screens
ScreenMagic3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: ScreenMagic at 100% against PocketPal's 50%. ScreenMagic also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.3). PocketPal's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. PocketPal sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and ScreenMagic sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ScreenMagic holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of PocketPal's written reviews are positive against 100% of ScreenMagic's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PocketPal ships an update every 2 weeks, ScreenMagic every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
PocketPal versus ScreenMagic: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocketPalScreenMagic
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (4 ratings)4.8 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings44
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size285 MB60 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJUSTIN WEI SUNServiceWizard LLC

Customer experience

PocketPal

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

ScreenMagic

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

PocketPal

One-time4
  • 100 Coins$2.99
  • 250 Coins$5.99
  • 1000 Coins$19.99
Show 1 more
  • 2000 Coins$29.99
3 purchases

ScreenMagic

Subscriptions2
  • ScreenMagic Pro Weekly$1.997 Days
  • ScreenMagic Pro3 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • ScreenMagic Pro Lifetime$29.99

Questions

Is PocketPal free?
PocketPal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ScreenMagic free?
ScreenMagic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PocketPal or ScreenMagic?
ScreenMagic is rated higher. PocketPal averages 4.3 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while ScreenMagic averages 4.8 from 4 ratings.
Do PocketPal or ScreenMagic have ads?
Neither PocketPal nor ScreenMagic shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PocketPal or ScreenMagic?
PocketPal ships an update every 2 weeks, and ScreenMagic every 3 weeks. Most recently, PocketPal was updated on November 5, 2026 and ScreenMagic on October 31, 2026.

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