Comparison

Pixelish vs PIXEL86

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

Head to head
About

Pixelish

Create unique glitch art with this easy-to-use bitmap editor. Layer multiple filters, adjust colors, and pixelate images to achieve custom, unexpected visual effects.

Highlights
  • Layered filters for glitch effects
  • Pixelation options
  • Custom filter application
  • Color and orientation adjustment
  • One-button filter application
Features
Read full description

#pixelish #pixelishapp Pixelish is a novel and easy to use bit map image editor that allows you to layer filters to create custom glitch effects. Applying filters is easy with the push of a single button. You can pixelate, apply one of the six custom filters, adjust color and orientation, or apply many filters at once to completely glitch out your image. Manipulate your image in a unique way to create unexpected results that are not quite the original pixels, but more pixel-ish. I would really like to know what you think of Pixelish, love it or hate it, please email me with thoughts. nidalfakhouriapps@gmail.com

About

PIXEL86

Transform photos and videos with vintage pixel art aesthetics. Apply true black-and-white dithering, custom color palettes, and unique dithering styles to create retro media. Supports video editing and sharing your creations.

Highlights
  • True B/W dithering
  • Video editing support
  • Customizable color palettes
  • Three dithering styles (Natural, Pattern, Flat)
  • Vintage-inspired aesthetics
  • Social media sharing
Read full description

PIXEL86 — Retro Dithering for Photos & Videos Make your media look like it came from a cooler, glitchier timeline. Bring back the charm of vintage tech with PIXEL86, the ultimate tool to transform your photos and videos into pixel-perfect black-and-white or limited-palette art. Inspired by early computer graphics, old-school printers, and classic GIFs — this is retro done right. True B/W Dithering No grays. Just black or white pixels smartly arranged to simulate shadows and depth — exactly how early screens did it. Now Supports Video Editing Apply your favorite dithering style to video clips. Make every frame look like a piece of pixel-art history. Color Palettes, Reimagined Choose from curated vintage-inspired palettes Hit random for a fresh surprise every time Or build your own custom palette for a personalized look Three Dithering Styles Natural — Smooth, classic error diffusion. Clean and expressive. Pattern — Retro dot-matrix vibes. Adjustable matrix for custom textures. Flat — Not technically dithering, but perfect for dramatic, posterized effects in both stills and motion. Share Your Style Use #pixel86 on social and tag @pixel86app on Instagram — we love featuring the coolest creations from the community.

Screenshots

Pixelish4 screens
PIXEL864 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pixelish at none against PIXEL86's 2. Pixelish also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). PIXEL86's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 13 months) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). On price, ratings volume 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. PIXEL86 sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Pixelish asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PIXEL86 holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 24 and 40 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of Pixelish's written reviews are positive against 100% of PIXEL86's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pixelish ships an update every 13 months, PIXEL86 every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Pixelish versus PIXEL86: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixelishPIXEL86
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (24 ratings)4.7 (40 ratings) — better
Positive reviews82.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2440 — better
Update frequencyEvery 13 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB87 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNidal FakhouriPeter Tretyakov

Customer experience

Pixelish

All ratings24 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral4.2%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive82.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative17.4%

PIXEL86

All ratings31 ratings
Positive90.3%
Neutral3.2%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Pixelish

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

PIXEL86

One-time2
  • License Discount$9.99
  • Perpetual License$19.99

Questions

Is Pixelish free?
Pixelish is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PIXEL86 free?
PIXEL86 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pixelish or PIXEL86?
PIXEL86 is rated higher. Pixelish averages 4.4 out of 5 from 24 ratings, while PIXEL86 averages 4.7 from 40 ratings.
Do Pixelish or PIXEL86 have ads?
PIXEL86 shows ads; Pixelish does not.
Which is updated more often, Pixelish or PIXEL86?
Pixelish ships an update every 13 months, and PIXEL86 every 5 days. Most recently, Pixelish was updated on October 14, 2026 and PIXEL86 on September 30, 2026.

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