Comparison

PixelPal vs Animo Core

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

Head to head
About

PixelPal

Raise a virtual pet from an egg, caring for its needs like hunger and sleep. Decorate its room and collect different Pal forms. Play mini-games to earn coins for customization and new species.

Highlights
  • Virtual pet care (feeding, cleaning, sleep)
  • Home screen widget for quick interaction
  • Mini-games for earning coins
  • Room decoration and customization
  • Collect 25 different Pal forms
  • Multiple collectible Pal species
Features
Read full description

A little buddy is waiting for you. PixelPal is a virtual pet game where you raise a Pal, an original little creature all your own. The egg hatches in 5 minutes, and from then on it's all up to you. As time goes by, your Pal gets hungry, poops, and falls asleep when night comes. ■ 6 ways to care • Meal / Treat – fill up Tummy and Mood • Play – earn coins in 3 mini games (Which Way? / Treat Catch / Remember & Tap) • Clean – leave poop lying around and your Pal gets sick • Medicine – two doses and it's all better • Lights – turn them off at bedtime • Scold – if it calls you for no reason, teach it some manners ■ Sweet dreams At 9 PM your Pal closes its eyes and drifts off to sleep. Turn off the lights and the whole room goes dark for a cozy night. Leave them on, and it gets a little grumpy. ■ Neglect it, and it runs away If Tummy or Mood stays at 0 for 12 hours, your Pal leaves a goodbye letter and is gone. You'll get a notification when it's about to run away (at night, everything except run-away alerts waits until morning). ■ Care from your Home Screen Tap the buttons on the widget to feed and clean without opening the app. ■ Decorate the room Pick a room, then decorate the ceiling, the wall, the floor on both sides and the rug. Put a hat on your Pal, or let it hold a balloon or a teddy bear. With coins from the mini games you can collect 4 rooms, 16 pieces of furniture, 8 hats and 6 held items. Your decorated room also becomes the background of your Home Screen widget. ■ Collect all 25 forms Depending on how you care for it and teach it manners, your Pal grows into one of 5 adult forms. Once it's all grown up, it's on to the next egg. Raise generation after generation and fill up your Collection. ■ Sweet friends (egg packs, one-time purchase) Pudding Pal / Dango Pal / Macaron Pal / Cotton Candy Pal. Each species grows up its own way and has its own adult forms. Every pack comes with that Pal's room set (Pudding Café, Dango Teahouse, Patisserie Room, Cloud Carnival: 1 room, 5 pieces of furniture, 2 hats, 1 held item). • Egg packs and the Complete Pack are one-time purchases – no subscription, no auto-renewal • With the free Mint Pal alone, you can play from egg to adult for as long as you like • Already bought PixelPal Pro or the Item Pack in an earlier version? All eggs are unlocked for you • Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ • Privacy Policy: https://sano131.github.io/pixelpal-privacy/ Works with VoiceOver: it reads out how your Pal is doing and the results of your care. Play in 9 languages: English, Japanese, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese and Chinese (Simplified and Traditional). Everything is saved on your device.

About

Animo Core

Features
Read full description

Your first egg hatches in just 50 steps! Animo turns everyday walking into a cozy pet-collecting adventure. Every step hatches eggs, grows your pets, and keeps them happy. No timers, no waiting, just real movement. WALK TO HATCH & GROW Your steps are what bring your pets to life. Your first egg hatches in just 50 steps, then every step levels up your active pet and earns Kibble. Daily walks, commutes and travel all count. COLLECT 90+ PETS Discover pets across multiple lineages and 4 rarities, and watch them grow from Juvenile to Adult. CHOOSE THEIR PATH When a pet becomes a teen, you decide who it grows into: an artist, scientist, chef, pirate and more. CARE & BUILD Feed and care for your pets with Kibble, Candy and Elixirs. Your steps unlock trees, lanterns and ponds to decorate a free-roaming garden where your pets wander. JOIN CLUBS & CONNECT WITH FRIENDS Add friends with an invite code, climb the leaderboard and check in on each other's pets. Create or join a club, walk together and challenge other clubs to see who goes furthest. PLAY & EARN REWARDS Unlock rewards on the 30-tier Stride Pass. Train your pets with minigames that test your reflexes and memory. BRING YOUR PETS TO LIFE IN AR Watch your pet parachute in on an umbrella, feed it Kibble, play fetch and hunt for hidden crystals. Snap photos with custom AR frames. Walk. Hatch. Grow. Available in English, Japanese, Korean, and Traditional Chinese. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

PixelPal4 screens
Animo Core4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: PixelPal at none against Animo Core's shown. Animo Core's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. PixelPal sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Animo Core sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PixelPal ships an update every 2 months, Animo Core every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
PixelPal versus Animo Core: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixelPalAnimo Core
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 6 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size68 MB350 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSANWA Inc.KEITH TAKAWIRA

In-app purchases

7 purchases

PixelPal

Subscriptions1
  • プレミアム$1.991 Month
One-time6
  • プレミアム着せ替え解放$0.99
  • Dango Pal Egg$1.99
  • Cotton Candy Pal Egg$1.99
Show 3 more
  • Pudding Pal Egg$1.99
  • Macaron Pal Egg$1.99
  • Complete Egg Pack$5.99
5 purchases

Animo Core

Subscriptions1
  • Premium Animo Pass$5.991 Month
One-time4
  • Handful of Star Shards$0.49
  • Pouch of Star Shards$2.99
  • Premium Animo Pass$5.99
Show 1 more
  • Vault of Star Shards$9.99

Questions

Is PixelPal free?
PixelPal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Animo Core free?
Animo Core is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PixelPal or Animo Core have ads?
Animo Core shows ads; PixelPal does not.
Which is updated more often, PixelPal or Animo Core?
PixelPal ships an update every 2 months, and Animo Core every 6 days. Most recently, PixelPal was updated on October 25, 2026 and Animo Core on October 24, 2026.

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