Comparison

Pixmaker vs Pixel

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

Head to head
About

Pixmaker

Features
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PixMaker helps you create fuse bead and Perler bead art faster, easier, and with more confidence. Connect your PixMaker board to the app, choose or import a design, and follow the LED light guide step by step. Each light shows where to place your beads, so you can focus on creating instead of counting. PixMaker is designed for beginners, families, hobby makers, and advanced bead artists who want to create more detailed patterns with fewer mistakes. With the PixMaker app, you can: • Connect your PixMaker board by Bluetooth • Choose bead patterns and designs • Import your own images • Convert images into bead art patterns • Follow the LED guide directly on the board • Create larger and more detailed artwork faster • Access tutorials, updates, and product support PixMaker makes bead art more visual, more accurate, and more enjoyable. Follow the lights and start creating.

About

Pixel

Features
Read full description

Your photo, turned into a pattern you can actually make. Pixela turns any picture into a crisp pixel grid with a tidy color palette and a printable chart — so you can recreate it however you like: • Perler / Hama beads — get the bead-by-bead layout for your next fuse-bead art. • Cross-stitch & embroidery — symbols per color and a printable chart to stitch from. • Knitting & crochet — color-work charts (intarsia, tapestry, C2C, jacquard): one square per stitch/block. • Quilting & patchwork — each pixel becomes a fabric square. • Pixel art, sprites & icons — turn a photo or your own drawing/sketch into true pixels with a controlled palette; export a clean PNG. • Event & stadium mosaics — plan "pixel performances" and card stunts, seat by seat, sized in meters. • Wall decor & murals — set the centimeters per tile and get the real wall size to paint or tile. • LEGO & brick mosaics — each pixel is one brick on the baseplate. • LED matrices & low-res screens — a pixel map to wire or program each LED. • Gifts & keepsakes — turn a pet, a portrait, or a logo into a handmade piece. • Drawings, coloring pages & templates — a ready-made grid to trace, color, or hand off. WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT • Pick a photo — Pixela builds the pattern in seconds. • Control the look — set the number of columns and palette colors with live sliders. • Color symbols — every color gets a letter so it's easy to follow (great for color-vision needs). • Printable PDF — a clean legend plus the full symbol chart, ready to print or share. • Export a clean PNG — the pure pixel art with no grid or symbols, ready to use as a sprite, sticker, or poster. • Real thread colors — see the nearest DMC floss for every color, and swap any color for the one you prefer. • Real finished size at any scale — stitches (Aida), beads, or big tiles; shown in cm or meters, so you can size a wall mural or a whole stadium mosaic. • Track your progress — mark finished cells and watch your % climb. • Pinch to zoom, tap "1:1" to see the whole thing — built for big, detailed pieces. • Works offline — everything is processed on your device. Your photos never leave it. FAIR PRICING Unlock everything with a single one-time purchase — no subscription, ever. Private by design: your photos are processed on-device and are never uploaded.

Screenshots

Pixmaker4 screens
Pixel4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pixmaker at none against Pixel's 1. On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Pixel sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Pixmaker asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pixmaker ships an update every 3 days, Pixel every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference Ā· 5 level
Pixmaker versus Pixel: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixmakerPixel
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB65 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPixply LTDAbraham Munguia

In-app purchases

None

Pixmaker

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Pixel

One-time1
  • Pixel-A Pro$4.99

Questions

Is Pixmaker free?
Pixmaker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pixel free?
Pixel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Pixmaker or Pixel have ads?
Neither Pixmaker nor Pixel shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pixmaker or Pixel?
Pixmaker ships an update every 3 days, and Pixel every 4 days. Most recently, Pixmaker was updated on September 18, 2026 and Pixel on September 8, 2026.

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