Comparison

Pixel Art Maker vs Traceelements

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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!

About

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.

Highlights
  • Image to SVG conversion
  • Logo tracing
  • Line simplification
  • Straight line detection
  • Color and grayscale tracing
  • Curve optimization
  • SVG export
Features
Read full description

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

Pixel Art Maker4 screens
Traceelements4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Pixel Art Maker versus Traceelements: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixel Art MakerTraceelements
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating3.5 (6 ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 16 monthsEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#111 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFrosby Designs Ltd.Carl Stevenson

Customer experience

Pixel Art Maker

All ratings6 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

Traceelements

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

None

Pixel Art Maker

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Traceelements

Subscriptions1
  • Export SVG and PNG files$4.991 Year

Questions

Is Pixel Art Maker free?
Pixel Art Maker costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Traceelements free?
Traceelements is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pixel Art Maker or Traceelements?
Pixel Art Maker is rated higher. Pixel Art Maker averages 3.5 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Traceelements averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Pixel Art Maker or Traceelements have ads?
Neither Pixel Art Maker nor Traceelements shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pixel Art Maker or Traceelements?
Pixel Art Maker ships an update every 16 months, and Traceelements every 4 days. Most recently, Pixel Art Maker was updated on September 17, 2026 and Traceelements on August 2, 2026.

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