Comparison

Virtipet vs Petwidge

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

Head to head
About

Virtipet

Features
Read full description

Your digital best friend, always by your side. Bring home an adorable virtual pet and watch it come to life in your hands. Feed it, play with it, customize its world, and help it grow from a tiny baby into a happy, thriving companion. Virtipet is designed for quick moments of joy, daily surprises, and endless cuteness.

About

Petwidge

Transform your pet's photo into a charming pixel-art companion that lives on your phone's Dynamic Island, Lock Screen, and Home Screen widgets. Enjoy your pet's presence throughout the day with various widget designs and interactive features.

Highlights
  • Pixel-art pet from your photo
  • Dynamic Island integration
  • Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets
  • Multiple widget designs
  • Customizable pet names
  • Optional Pro subscription for animations and more
Features
Read full description

Your pet, in pixels, on your Dynamic Island, Lock Screen and Home Screen. Petwidge turns one photo of your dog, cat or any animal into a 16-bit pixel-art pet, then gives them a home on your phone. They're there every time you check the time or just glance down. Because the ones we love should always be with us. No stock characters. Every pet is drawn from your photo. HOW IT WORKS • Pick one photo of your pet. • We draw two versions. You pick the one that's really them. • Name them, and they move onto your Dynamic Island, widgets and Lock Screen. WIDGETS FOR EVERY SPOT • Big Time: the time, with your pet standing in its own light. • The Dial: a classic watch dial. The numbers step aside for your pet. • The Month: the whole month in your pet's light. • The Page: today, under your pet. • Pet Weather: the weather, with your pet. • Transparent Pet: your pet, matched to your wallpaper. ALWAYS WITH YOU • Dynamic Island: your pet by the camera. Long-press to see them bigger. • Lock Screen and StandBy: your pet, whenever you glance. PETWIDGE PRO (OPTIONAL) • Animated pets on your Dynamic Island, Lock Screen and Home Screen. • More poses: wide awake, or fast asleep, your pick. • Five scenes, each with its own day and night. • Unlimited saved pets, with Sparks that refill to 3 every day. • Two pets on your Dynamic Island, one on each side of the camera. Petwidge is free to start: one saved pet and 2 free Sparks to draw it. Pro is an auto-renewing subscription: $4.99 per month or $29.99 per year in the US (prices vary by region). The yearly plan starts with a 3-day free trial for new subscribers. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase and renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. Manage or cancel anytime in Settings › Apple Account › Subscriptions. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://petwidge.com/privacy-policy.html A NOTE ON PRIVACY To create your pixel pet, your photo (and any notes you add) is sent securely to Google's Gemini AI and comes right back. We don't store it on our servers. We ask once, before your very first pet. Petwidge is a love letter to the pets who make our days brighter, and to the humans who miss them. Questions, ideas, or a pixel pet to show off? hello@petwidge.com

Screenshots

Virtipet4 screens
Petwidge4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Virtipet at 3 against Petwidge's 1. Virtipet also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Virtipet sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Petwidge sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Virtipet ships an update every 3 weeks, Petwidge every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Virtipet versus Petwidge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVirtipetPetwidge
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—75.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB48 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperHerman van RooyenZXBT LLC

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Virtipet

One-time2
  • Soulkeeper - 1 Month$9.99
  • Star-bound - 1 Month$14.99
2 purchases

Petwidge

Subscriptions2
  • Petwidge Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Petwidge Pro Yearly3 Days trial$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Virtipet free?
Virtipet is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Petwidge free?
Petwidge is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Virtipet or Petwidge have ads?
Neither Virtipet nor Petwidge shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Virtipet or Petwidge?
Virtipet ships an update every 3 weeks, and Petwidge every 4 weeks. Most recently, Virtipet was updated on October 31, 2026 and Petwidge on November 10, 2026.

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