Comparison

modello* vs PixelForge

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

Head to head
About

modello*

Transform your photos and sketches into richly rendered image studies. Guide the generation with mood, subject, and style, adjusting creative distance to explore variations. This tool acts as a proposal generator for artists, offering a modern take on traditional preparatory painting techniques.

Highlights
  • Transform photos and sketches into image studies
  • Control mood, subject, and style
  • Adjust creative distance for variations
  • Runs entirely on-device
  • Custom models trained on original paintings
  • Curated prompts, no open text input
Features
Read full description

modello* is a generative studio for painters and visual artists. Begin with your own photo or sketch and transform it into richly rendered image studies. Set mood, subject, and style to guide each generation. Adjust Creative Distance to stay close to your original image — or push the generator to re-imagine it entirely. Italian painters once created preparatory painting proposals called modelli. modello* brings that spirit into a modern generative workflow. After the first generation, new variations appear quickly so you can explore dozens of ideas effortlessly. Features • Runs entirely on-device — your images never leave your device • Generate unlimited images with a modello* Unlimited subscription • Custom models trained on original paintings by the developer • Curated prompts — no open text input • Artist names are never used in prompting If you require technically correct anatomy, this is not that tool. Think of it as a proposal generator, not finished art. Make a few modelli. Follow the interesting ones. See what surprises you! Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Note: Requires newer hardware to create images. Minimum supported devices include iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, and iPads with at least 6 GB of memory. Older and lower-memory devices are not supported.

About

PixelForge

Create AI art privately on your device. Generate images, portraits, and characters from text prompts without cloud uploads. Offers local models, style presets, and a gallery for your creations.

Highlights
  • Private on-device AI image generation
  • Local models for various art styles
  • Prompt and negative prompt controls
  • Style presets with visual previews
  • Batch generation
  • Built-in gallery with saved history
  • Image variations and inpainting
Read full description

PixelForge is a private AI image studio for iPhone and iPad. Create artwork, portraits, anime-style characters, wallpapers, concept art, and creative variations from simple text prompts. Generation runs on your device. No cloud rendering. No prompt uploads. Your prompts, images, seeds, and gallery history stay stored locally on your device. PixelForge includes: Private on-device AI image generation Local models for realism, anime, and creative art styles Prompt and negative prompt controls Style presets with visual previews Batch generation for multiple results at once A built-in gallery with favorites, delete, and saved history Saved image details including prompt, seed, model, style, and settings Image variations from previous results Canvas inpainting for masked photo edits Plain-English setting tips for better results PixelForge is built for creators who want AI art without sending every idea to a server. Make profile art, character concepts, wallpapers, reference images, photo-style scenes, and creative experiments directly on your device. You can create 10 images free after install. After that, unlimited creation and advanced features require a one-time in-app purchase. Device Requirements Requires iOS 26 or iPadOS 26 or later. Recommended for best performance: iPhone 15 Pro or newer iPhone 16 series iPhone 17 series iPad with Apple silicon Older compatible devices may run slower, especially when loading a model for the first time.

Screenshots

modello*4 screens
PixelForge4 screens

Verdict

The call

modello* and PixelForge are too close to call on the numbers: across 9 compared parameters — price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. modello* sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $24.99 per year and PixelForge sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for modello* against 5.0 for PixelForge. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
modello* versus PixelForge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parametermodello*PixelForge
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.026.0
Further details — not scored
Size970 MB3.1 GB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperBryan LeisterJeff Burns

Customer experience

modello*

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

PixelForge

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

modello*

Subscriptions1
  • modello Unlimited$24.991 Year
1 purchases

PixelForge

One-time1
  • PixelForge Pro Unlock$4.99

Questions

Is modello* free?
modello* is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PixelForge free?
PixelForge is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, modello* or PixelForge?
modello* and PixelForge are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do modello* or PixelForge have ads?
Neither modello* nor PixelForge shows ads.
Which is updated more often, modello* or PixelForge?
modello* ships an update every 5 days, and PixelForge every 5 days. Most recently, modello* was updated on November 5, 2026 and PixelForge on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons