Comparison

PixelBead vs Glyphon

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

Head to head
About

PixelBead

Transform your photos into bead patterns quickly and easily. Automatically match colors, generate grids, and refine your designs with powerful editing tools. Supports popular bead brands and offers premium features for advanced users.

Highlights
  • Photo to bead pattern conversion
  • Automatic color matching and grid generation
  • Support for Perler, Hama, Artkal, Nabbi brands
  • Manual pattern editing tools
  • Bead usage statistics
  • High-resolution PDF/PNG export (Premium)
Features
Read full description

PixelBead helps you turn photos into clean bead patterns you can actually make. Import an image from your photo library or camera, generate a bead pattern in seconds, then refine the result with tools built for real bead projects. Whether you are making Perler, Hama, Artkal, or Nabbi designs, PixelBead helps you move from idea to printable pattern faster. WHAT YOU CAN DO ▸ Photo To Bead Pattern — Turn photos into bead patterns with automatic color matching and grid generation. ▸ AI Extraction (Premium) — Isolate a subject or simplify image content before conversion for cleaner results. ▸ Brand & Custom Palettes — Browse Perler, Hama, Artkal S, Artkal C, and Nabbi palettes; create your own palettes, add or import colors, and use them in new or existing patterns. ▸ Full Pattern Editing — Refine every pattern with brush, eraser, eyedropper, fill, batch replace, trim edges, and center tools. ▸ Building Guide — Build color by color, mark completed colors, and resume progress later. ▸ Clear Export (Premium) — Export high-resolution PDF or PNG files for printing, saving, and sharing. ▸ Bead Usage Stats — Check color counts, bead codes, row numbers, and total bead quantity before you start making. HOW IT WORKS 1. Import a photo from your library or camera. 2. Generate a bead pattern with color matching. 3. Edit details by hand and start making your pattern. WHY PIXELBEAD? ▸ Built for real fuse bead projects, not just simple image filters. ▸ Faster planning for pixel art, pegboard crafting, and printable bead patterns. ▸ Easier to move from photo to finished pattern on your phone. AI Extraction, Pattern Enhancement, batch color replacement, full Building Guide, and high-resolution PDF/PNG export require a Premium subscription. Terms of Use: https://neolabsapp.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://neolabsapp.com/privacy

About

Glyphon

Create pixel fonts for retro games or unique display faces. Draw, refine, and export your typeface in industry-standard formats. Sync your work across Mac, iPad, and iPhone.

Highlights
  • Pixel-perfect glyph drawing
  • Full Unicode support
  • Export to TTF, BDF, and JSON
  • Per-glyph advance width control
  • Live text preview
  • iCloud sync across devices
Features
Read full description

Glyphon is a pixel font editor built for anyone who loves the craft of bitmap typography. Whether you're designing a retro game font, a lo-fi display face, or a complete character set, Glyphon gives you the tools to draw, refine, and ship your typeface — at your desk or in your pocket. DRAW PIXEL-PERFECT GLYPHS Work in a large pixel grid with pinch-to-zoom, a toggleable grid overlay, and draggable typographic guides for baseline, cap height, x-height, ascender, and descender. Drag any guide directly on the canvas for instant precision. Every stroke is undo-able. FULL UNICODE SUPPORT Your font isn't limited to the ASCII alphabet. Add glyphs for any Unicode range — Basic Latin, Latin Extended, Cyrillic, Greek, Hiragana, Katakana, Box Drawing, and more — in a single step. EXPORT TO INDUSTRY FORMATS When your font is ready, export it as: - TTF — install directly on your Mac or share with other designers - BDF — the open bitmap standard used in embedded and terminal applications - JSON — a portable format for round-tripping with the Glyphon web app DESIGN WITH PRECISION - Per-glyph advance width with a live visual indicator on the canvas - Origin-aware horizontal flip that keeps your left-bearing columns in place - Shift pixels in any direction with a single tap or keyboard shortcut - Copy and paste pixel designs between glyphs - Flood fill for closed areas LIVE PREVIEW See your font render real text as you draw. Type any sentence into the preview strip to test spacing, rhythm, and readability at a glance. SYNC ACROSS YOUR DEVICES Start a typeface on your Mac, refine it on iPad, finish a stubborn glyph on your phone. iCloud sync keeps every font current on every device — automatically. Each font is still a self-contained file you own. DESIGNED FOR MAC, iPAD, AND iPHONE Glyphon is a native SwiftUI app, at home on every Apple device. On Mac, every action has a keyboard shortcut. On iPad, pinch to zoom and swipe between glyphs. On iPhone, the full editor fits in your pocket — draw a font in a boring meeting and it'll be waiting on your Mac when you get back.

Screenshots

PixelBead4 screens
Glyphon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Glyphon at none against PixelBead's 4. PixelBead's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. PixelBead sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Glyphon asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
PixelBead versus Glyphon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixelBeadGlyphon
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size49 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer笑海 吕Jussi Edlund

In-app purchases

4 purchases

PixelBead

Subscriptions2
  • PixelBead Premium3 Days trial$3.997 Days
  • PixelBead Premium$9.991 Year
One-time2
  • PixelBead Lifetime Offer$12.99
  • PixelBead Lifetime$19.99
None

Glyphon

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PixelBead free?
PixelBead is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Glyphon free?
Glyphon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do PixelBead or Glyphon have ads?
Neither PixelBead nor Glyphon shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PixelBead or Glyphon?
PixelBead ships an update every 2 weeks, and Glyphon every 2 weeks. Most recently, PixelBead was updated on October 8, 2026 and Glyphon on October 7, 2026.

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