Retrospecs vs Pixelizator
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
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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.
Pixelizator
Transform your photos into retro 8-bit art or censor sensitive areas. This app allows for precise selection of pixelation regions, offering creative control for artistic effects or privacy.
- Create retro 8-bit style
- Precisely select pixelation area
- Censor images
- Play with pixels
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With Pixelizator you can: • create retro 8-bit style • precisely select pixelation area • censor your images • or simply play with the pixels!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Retrospecs at Free against Pixelizator's $0.99. Retrospecs also leads on review sentiment (94% vs 50%) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). Pixelizator's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). On ratings volume, 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
Retrospecs is free to download; Pixelizator costs $0.99 up front. Retrospecs sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Pixelizator asks for nothing beyond the download.
Retrospecs holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 364 and 317 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 94% of Retrospecs's written reviews are positive against 50% of Pixelizator's.
Retrospecs ships an update every 2 months, Pixelizator weekly. Both last shipped on October 13, 2026.
| Parameter | Retrospecs | Pixelizator |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (364 ratings) — better | 4.5 (317 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 94.3% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 364 — better | 317 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 10.3 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 33 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | John Parker | Grzegorz Surma |
Customer experience
Retrospecs
Pixelizator
User reviews
Retrospecs
From 364 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
Pixelizator
From 317 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Neat little app
- 👍 Good quality
- 👍 Simple and amazing
- 👍 Great for pixelating photos
Room to improve
- 👎 Limited options
- 👎 Difficult to select area
- 👎 Selection box too large
- 👎 Minimum pixelation size too big
- 👎 No zoom functionality
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
Pixelizator
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes frequently
- App crashes on iPad mini 4
- Frame selection unresponsive
Requested features
6 requests- Numeric control for pixel count
- Numeric control for color palette
- Select multiple areas to pixelate
- Ability to zoom in on image
- Round selector option
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Display pixel dimensions on screen
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
Pixelizator
No in-app purchases
