Retrospecs vs Pixel Paint
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
Read full descriptionHide 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.
Pixel Paint
Create 8-bit pixel art with a retro camera and powerful editing tools. Capture photos in vintage styles, customize color palettes, and import images with advanced dithering. Sync your creations across devices with iCloud.
- Retro camera modes
- Customizable color palettes
- Photo import with dithering
- Image editor
- iCloud sync
- Indexed color support
Read full descriptionHide full description
Brought to you by the creator of C64 Paint, Pixel Paint is THE 8-bit paint program for your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Shoot photos in retro game system camera modes, draw pixels with colors compatible with home computers, customize your color palette, or import photos with state-of-the-art dithering and adaptive color palettes. Supports iCloud sync across all of your devices. Features: - Camera with 4 retro modes and brightness/contrast controls. - Import Photos: select from 5 different color palettes and 4 dithering modes. - Image Editor. - iCloud sync. Image Editor features: - Create images up to 256 x 256 pixels in size. - Indexed color with up to 16 colors. - Customizable color palette. - RGBA, HSB, and Swatch color pickers. - Copy/Paste colors. - Selection tool with ability to cut, copy, paste, move, and fill. - Hand tool for pan and zoom. - Brush tool with selectable brush size. - Supports two-finger pan and zoom. - Bucket Fill. Unlock the app to: - Save more than 5 images in the Gallery. - Import photos. - Export all images as PNG files inside a Zip file. - Backup and restore all images. BRK BRK BRK
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Retrospecs at 4.8 against Pixel Paint's 3.1. Retrospecs also leads on review sentiment (94% vs 56%) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months). Pixel Paint's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 14.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Retrospecs sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Pixel Paint sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Retrospecs holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 367 and 77 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 94% of Retrospecs's written reviews are positive against 56% of Pixel Paint's.
Retrospecs ships an update every 2 months, Pixel Paint every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Retrospecs | Pixel Paint |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (367 ratings) — better | 3.1 (77 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 94.3% of reviews — better | 56.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 367 — better | 77 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | John Parker | Felt Tip Inc. |
Customer experience
Retrospecs
Pixel Paint
User reviews
Retrospecs
From 367 App Store ratingsWhat 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 Paint
From 77 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🎨 Great for pixel art
- ✨ Simple interface
- 🚀 Works well
- 💰 Reasonable price
Room to improve
- 💸 Cost to import photos
- 🎨 Limited colors
- 🤔 Difficult settings
- 😩 Washed out colors
- 🤏 Small blocks
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 Paint
Reported bugs
5 issues- Color changes on canvas
- Camera rotated on iPad
- App crashes on save
- App won't open photo/new project
- Background is black after import
Requested features
18 requests- Add extra color slots/folders
- Video to pixel format conversion
- Ability to type exact hex codes
- Flipbook animation feature
- Transparency support
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- Save custom color palettes
- Import multiple images onto one canvas
- Delete multiple items at once
- Sort images into order
- Fill tool
- Line, box, and circle tools
- Layering for tiles
- GIF animation
- Online library for sharing
- NES color palettes
- C64 multicolor resolution option
- Increase canvas size limit
- HSB color mode
In-app purchases
Retrospecs
- Small tip$0.99
- Medium tip$1.99
- Unlock everything$1.99
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Big tip$4.99
- The king of tips$9.99
Pixel Paint
- Unlock Features$2.99
