Pixel Art Maker vs Traceelements
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pixel Art Maker
Create unique 8-bit retro digital art with various shapes and color palettes. This app allows you to design minimalist images, characters, and typography, then export your creations as high-resolution PNG files.
- Draw with 4 pixel shapes (squares, circles, diamonds, triangles)
- Adjustable canvas background (black/white)
- Darken and lighten buttons for shading
- Triangle rotation for unique patterns
- Create typography and greeting cards
- Export high-res PNG files to camera roll
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QIXEL - Pixel Art Painter is an original and creative drawing app that makes it super-easy for pixel-lovers, designers and retro gamers to make unique 'qixel art' then export your designs to your iPad and iPhone. Qixels come in 4 shapes with our unique 3d effect. Create minimalist images, retro characters and typography with a limited number of qixels and colour palette. Make art or just use it to chill out - it's the digital equivalent of popping bubblewrap! We look forward to seeing your artwork on the Facebook Qixel gallery! Facebook.com/qixelgallery Here's what you can do with Qixel HD: - Draw pictures with 4 different pixel types: Squares, Circles, Diamonds and Triangles. - The canvas background button flips between black or white. This has a very different effect on your qixels. - Use the darken and lighten buttons to add shade and depth to your art. - The triangle setting has an extra button: Rotation. Try rotating your triangles 90 degrees to make strange patterns and origami-style art. - Use Qixel to make quirky typography. - Write simple messages and greeting cards to send to friends. - Make cool patterns and abstract backgrounds for websites. - Create retro game graphics, and then export frames in stages to make animation. - experiment with colour: great for artists and colour therapy teachers. ALLOW The PHOTO PERMISSION - Qixel HD will ask you to permission to access your photos. Clicking 'OK' will allow you to save high res PNG files to your device's Camera Roll. - The Photo button saves a high-res PNG screenshot to your iPad's camera roll. Make sure you allow the Photo permission in your iOS device's restrictions. Go to Settings > General > Restrictions > Privacy > Photos > Switch Qixel HD on. iOS 12: Settings > Screen Time > Content and Privacy Restrictions > Photos > Switch Qixel HD on. hese aren't just Pixels... these are Qixels!
Traceelements
Easily convert raster images and logos into scalable vector graphics (SVG). Offers various tracing options for black and white, grayscale, or color images. Export your creations for use in popular vector software.
- Image to SVG conversion
- Logo tracing
- Line simplification
- Straight line detection
- Color and grayscale tracing
- Curve optimization
- SVG export
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Convert images and logos to SVG. Trace images and export the paths to SVG. Save an SVG file compatible with most Vector Software. Trace Black and White, Greyscale or colour. Options include: - line simplification - Straight line detection - Number of Colours - Number of Grey Tones - Threshold for Black and White - Stack layers or Tile layers - Curve optimisation - Simplification and point reduction This app is designed to be a solution for designers who want to convert vector versions of logos etc without using online tools. With the free version of the app you may import photos and convert them to SVG. You will not be able to export the SVG file without a subscription. You will need to purchase a subscription to:- export an SVG file compatible with most vector drawing apps. The subscription includes a one month free trial and you can cancel at any time. Within the free trial period you will have full functionality and be able to export SVG files. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Traceelements at Free against Pixel Art Maker's $1.99. Traceelements also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 16 months). Pixel Art Maker's advantage is rating (3.5 vs 1.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads 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
Traceelements is free to download; Pixel Art Maker costs $1.99 up front. Traceelements sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per year. Pixel Art Maker asks for nothing beyond the download.
Pixel Art Maker holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pixel Art Maker has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Pixel Art Maker ships an update every 16 months, Traceelements every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and August 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pixel Art Maker | Traceelements |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.5 (6 ratings) — better | 1.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 6 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 16 months | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #111 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Frosby Designs Ltd. | Carl Stevenson |
Customer experience
Pixel Art Maker
Traceelements
In-app purchases
Pixel Art Maker
No in-app purchases
Traceelements
- Export SVG and PNG files$4.991 Year
Questions
Is Pixel Art Maker free?
Is Traceelements free?
Which has better reviews, Pixel Art Maker or Traceelements?
Do Pixel Art Maker or Traceelements have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pixel Art Maker or Traceelements?
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