Comparison

Retrospecs vs Pixel Art Effect

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

Head to head
About

Retrospecs

Transform your photos and videos into retro pixel art. Emulate the look of classic computers and consoles from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Customize your output with various graphics engines, color palettes, and fonts.

Highlights
  • Pixelate images and video clips
  • Emulate 40+ classic computer/console systems
  • Create custom graphics modes
  • Variety of color palettes and fonts
  • Supports Commodore 64, IBM PC, ZX Spectrum, Amiga, and more
Features
Read full description

A retro computing / pixel art camera app. Retrospecs lets you convert images and video clips so they appear as they would on a wide variety of home computers and consoles from the 70's, 80's and 90's. Simply take a picture (or select one from your photo library) and you can display it as it would appear on over forty systems including the Commodore 64, IBM PC (DOS, CGA, EGA and VGA), Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, Sega Mega Drive, Nintendo Game Boy and even the original 1984 model Apple Macintosh. If that's not enough you can also create your own custom modes based around four different graphics engines and a wide variety of color palettes and character fonts. (The free version only contains a limited number of systems/dither modes and the custom editors, video clip processing and animation options aren't available.) All trademarks are acknowledged as the property of their respective owners.

About

Pixel Art Effect

Transform your photos into retro or modern pixel art with customizable effects. Adjust pixel size, edge thickness, and choose from various pixel shapes. Add text and crop images into different shapes before or after applying the pixel art effect.

Highlights
  • Convert photos to pixel art
  • Adjustable pixel amount
  • Customizable edge thickness
  • Multiple pixel designs (square, hexagon, triangle, torn)
  • Add text to photos
  • Crop photos into shapes
Features
Read full description

The Pixel Art Effect app lets you turn your photo into video game pixel art. The effect ranges from modern pixel art which has a more subtle pixelated effect (many small pixels) to retro pixel art which is made up of fewer larger pixels. You can control the amount of pixels you want. There 6 designs to choose from which differ in color etc. You can control the edge thickness. This is the outline of the artwork. There are also 4 pixel designs to choose from. These pixel designs are standard square, hexagon pixels, triangular pixels and torn pixels. See the screenshot for a visual example. No internet connection is required! Step 1: To convert your image to pixel art! Simply tap the "Add a Photo". You will be presented with the option of choosing a photo from your photo library or taking a picture with your camera! Step 2: Tap the "Apply Pixel Effect" button. Step 3: Save your pixel art to your photo library or share it to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, VK or any other social network, forum or site and set the picture as a profile picture, cover photo etc. As of version 2.2, Pixel Art Effect allows you to do a lot more with your photos! The effects are endless because you can mix and combine the features and effects. You can also add text to your photos before or after applying the pixel effect! Add the text before applying the pixel effect if you want the text to become pixelated as well! You can also crop your photos into various shapes. Choose from a circle, flag, heart, star, square or rectangle.

Screenshots

Retrospecs4 screens
Pixel Art Effect4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Retrospecs at 364 against Pixel Art Effect's 103. Pixel Art Effect's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 14.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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. Retrospecs sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Pixel Art Effect sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Retrospecs against 4.7 for Pixel Art Effect. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 364 and 103 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 94% and 95% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Retrospecs ships an update every 2 months, Pixel Art Effect every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Retrospecs versus Pixel Art Effect: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRetrospecsPixel Art Effect
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (364 ratings) — better4.7 (103 ratings)
Positive reviews94.3% of reviews95.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings364 — better103
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB31 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJohn ParkerDanny Pajevic

Customer experience

Retrospecs

All ratings364 ratings
Positive95.6%
Neutral1.6%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews140 reviews
Positive94.3%
Neutral1.4%
Negative4.3%

Pixel Art Effect

All ratings103 ratings
Positive93.2%
Neutral3.9%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews40 reviews
Positive95.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.0%

User reviews

Retrospecs

From 364 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Versatile and customizable
  • 👍 Authentic retro filters
  • 👍 Extensive system emulations
  • 👍 Powerful editing capabilities
  • 👍 Nostalgia-inducing effects

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
  • 🔍 Limited image resolution
  • 📏 Aspect ratio issues with some filters
  • 🙈 Aggressive upgrade prompts in free version

Pixel Art Effect

From 103 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use and intuitive
  • 🎨 Great for pixel art creation
  • 🖼️ Useful for artists and designers
  • 🎮 Perfect for game design (e.g., Animal Crossing, Minecraft)
  • ✨ Produces cool pixel effects

Room to improve

  • ⚠️ Radically alters original colors
  • 🤏 Minimum/maximum pixel limits can be restrictive
  • 💡 Filters are applied without an option to disable
  • 🐛 High contrast and brightness issues
  • 🧐 Lacks detailed customization options

Bugs and requests

Retrospecs

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Animation option not working properly
  • Video import and saving issues
  • Occasional image loading failures

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more retro systems (e.g. NES, TI-99/4A)
  • Improve video encoding capabilities
  • Allow adjusting dithering levels
  • Add support for transparent PNGs
  • Implement batch processing and export options

Pixel Art Effect

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Radically alters original colors
  • Minimum/maximum pixel limits
  • Contrast goes super high, making pictures too bright
  • Filters are applied without an option to disable

Requested features

3 requests
  • Allow choosing pixel count for both length and width
  • Option to apply or not apply filters
  • More detailed customization options

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Retrospecs

One-time5
  • Small tip$0.99
  • Medium tip$1.99
  • Unlock everything$1.99
Show 2 more
  • Big tip$4.99
  • The king of tips$9.99
1 purchases

Pixel Art Effect

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99

Questions

Is Retrospecs free?
Retrospecs is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pixel Art Effect free?
Pixel Art Effect is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Retrospecs or Pixel Art Effect?
Retrospecs is rated higher. Retrospecs averages 4.8 out of 5 from 364 ratings, while Pixel Art Effect averages 4.7 from 103 ratings.
Do Retrospecs or Pixel Art Effect have ads?
Neither Retrospecs nor Pixel Art Effect shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Retrospecs or Pixel Art Effect?
Retrospecs ships an update every 2 months, and Pixel Art Effect every 5 weeks. Most recently, Retrospecs was updated on October 13, 2026 and Pixel Art Effect on September 29, 2026.

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