Comparison

PixelPal vs Hearthwing

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

Hearthwing

Embark on an RPG adventure at a wizard school, hatching and raising a dragon companion. Engage in strategic spellcasting and dragon battles, explore diverse environments, and uncover ancient mysteries. New content and seasonal events are regularly added.

Highlights
  • Hatch and raise a dragon companion
  • Two-on-two spellcasting and dragon battles
  • Catch and collect 30 dragon species
  • Explore castle, woods, lakeshore, and dungeons
  • Attend classes and learn to fly
  • Uncover the mystery of the Dragon Hearts
  • Seasonal events like Hallowtide
Features
Read full description

Welcome to Highcrag Academy, a wizard school on a crag above the clouds, where every first-year hatches a dragon of their own. Pick one of three glowing eggs and raise the dragon that hatches. It follows you everywhere, fights beside you and grows up with you. • Two-on-two battles: you cast spells while your dragon attacks. • Catch wild dragons and fill your Dragodex: 30 species to find. • Explore the castle, the Old Wood, the Lakeshore and two dungeons full of puzzles. • Go to class, learn to fly, and duel Rowan, your rival. • Uncover the mystery of the founders' Dragon Hearts. • Every October, Hallowtide lights up the castle and a rare pumpkin dragon appears. Chapter 2, The Heart Beneath the Hearth, is out now. Play with touch, a game controller or a keyboard.

Screenshots

PixelPal4 screens
Hearthwing4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Hearthwing at none against PixelPal's 7. Hearthwing also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (11 vs 1). On price, rating, review sentiment 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. PixelPal sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Hearthwing asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for PixelPal against 4.9 for Hearthwing. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hearthwing has 11 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PixelPal ships an update every 2 months, Hearthwing every 3 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
PixelPal versus Hearthwing: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixelPalHearthwing
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.9 (11 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings111 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size68 MB17 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperSANWA Inc.David Karivalis

Customer experience

PixelPal

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Hearthwing

All ratings11 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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
None

Hearthwing

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PixelPal free?
PixelPal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hearthwing free?
Hearthwing is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PixelPal or Hearthwing?
PixelPal is rated higher. PixelPal averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Hearthwing averages 4.9 from 11 ratings.
Do PixelPal or Hearthwing have ads?
Neither PixelPal nor Hearthwing shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PixelPal or Hearthwing?
PixelPal ships an update every 2 months, and Hearthwing every 3 days. Most recently, PixelPal was updated on October 31, 2026 and Hearthwing on October 31, 2026.

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