Comparison

ArtPort vs PixelPad

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

Head to head
About

ArtPort

Features
Read full description

ArtPort: Your Creative Harbor for Pixel Art & Animation ArtPort is a professional-grade pixel art creation and animation studio, carefully crafted to provide a seamless and inspiring experience for digital artists. Whether you are sketching a quick 8-bit character or animating a complex scene, ArtPort delivers all the essential tools you need right to your mobile device. Powerful Animation Timeline: Intuitive frame and layer management. Group your frames into Clips/Tags for easy organization. Advanced Onion Skinning to guide your animations perfectly. Adjust playback speed and frame duration on the go. Professional Drawing Tools: Precision tools: Pen, Eraser, Line, Rectangle, and Ellipse. Smart Selections: Magic Wand, Lasso, and Box selection with live transform handles and dimension tracking. Symmetry drawing to create perfect mirrored designs. Clipping Masks and layer opacity controls for advanced shading. Optimized Workflow: Smart undo/redo history system. Cross-platform gesture support (Pinch to zoom and pan). Customizable color palettes with global color linking. Import external images directly into your canvas. Export & Share: Export your artwork as PNG, animated GIF, or ZIP archives. Generate professional Sprite-sheets with a single tap. Dock your ideas and let your imagination sail. Download ArtPort today and bring your pixel art to life!

About

PixelPad

Features
Read full description

PixelPad is a focused pixel art and sprite animation studio for iPad and iPhone. Draw precise pixels with Apple Pencil or touch, build frame-by-frame animations, and export assets without leaving your device. DRAW WITH PRECISION • Work on crisp 8Ɨ8 to 128Ɨ128 canvases • Use Pencil, Eraser, Fill, Eyedropper, and Selection tools • Pan and zoom without losing the pixel grid • Undo and redo complete strokes ANIMATE FRAME BY FRAME • Add, duplicate, delete, and reorder frames • Set a project frame rate or tune timing per frame • Compare neighboring frames with color-coded onion skins • Preview animation with the same timing used for GIF export BUILD YOUR PALETTE • Add, remove, and reorder colors • Start with built-in palettes • Save reusable custom palette presets EXPORT GAME-READY ASSETS • Export transparent or solid-background PNGs • Create animated GIFs • Arrange sprite sheets by rows and columns • Control frame spacing and 1Ɨ, 2Ɨ, or 4Ɨ scale PRIVATE BY DEFAULT PixelPad currently works offline, requires no account, and stores projects on your device. Export through the standard share sheet whenever you are ready. The app starts in English. Korean is available at any time in Settings.

Screenshots

ArtPort4 screens
PixelPad4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PixelPad at none against ArtPort's 1. PixelPad also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 days). ArtPort's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and device support (4 vs 2). On price 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. ArtPort sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PixelPad asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ArtPort ships an update every 5 days, PixelPad every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences Ā· 1 level
ArtPort versus PixelPad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterArtPortPixelPad
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size119 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAli TalebDAEHONG MIN

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ArtPort

One-time1
  • Full Access$0.99
None

PixelPad

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ArtPort free?
ArtPort is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PixelPad free?
PixelPad is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do ArtPort or PixelPad have ads?
PixelPad shows ads; ArtPort does not.
Which is updated more often, ArtPort or PixelPad?
ArtPort ships an update every 5 days, and PixelPad every 2 days. Most recently, ArtPort was updated on October 4, 2026 and PixelPad on October 9, 2026.

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