Comparison

8bit Painter vs Putty 3D

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

Head to head
About

8bit Painter

Create fun and easy pixel art with intuitive controls. Perfect for beginners, this app lets you design SNS icons, game assets, or craft patterns. Import photos to pixelize them and export your creations as transparent PNGs.

Highlights
  • Beginner-friendly interface
  • Essential pixel drawing tools
  • Photo to pixel art conversion
  • Customizable color palettes
  • Transparent PNG export
  • Multiple canvas sizes
Read full description

Over 6 million downloads! An easy-to-use app for creating pixel art and 8-bit style artwork. 8bit Painter is a simple pixel art drawing app that beginners can start enjoying right away. With intuitive controls, you can easily create pixel art for social media icons, game skins, illustrations, patterns, and more. It is also great for making designs for Perler beads, cross-stitch, knitting, and other handmade projects. Key Features - Simple controls that are easy for anyone to use - Clear, focused tools for creating pixel art - Perfect for beginners - Great for making social media icons and game skins - Import photos and convert them into pixel art - Choose colors intuitively with a color wheel, sliders, and palettes - Export transparent images in PNG format - Export and import your artwork data Canvas Sizes 16x16 / 24x24 / 32x32 / 48x48 / 64x64 / 96x96 / 128x128 / 160x160 / 192x192 Choose the right canvas size for your project, from small social media icons to detailed pixel art and craft patterns. Image Import Import your favorite photos and automatically convert them into pixel art. It is also useful for creating social media icons, game skins, and pixel art assets. Color Selection Choose a base color with the color wheel, then fine-tune it with sliders or HEX input. You can also pick colors quickly from preset palettes, or save frequently used colors to your custom color palette for reuse. Artwork Data Management Export artwork data saved in your Gallery from the Settings screen, and import it again when needed. This is helpful for keeping your pixel art safe, preparing for a device change, or reinstalling the app. Artwork Storage - The initial artwork storage limit is 30 artworks - Expand the limit up to 600 artworks by watching rewarded video ads or purchasing the Remove Ads add-on Image Export - Choose from 3 export sizes - Supports transparent PNG images - Useful for social media posts, game skins, and exporting assets Remove Ads Add-On - Hides all ads - Expands the artwork storage limit to 600 artworks - Can be restored after reinstalling the app - One-time purchase How to Expand Your Storage Limit - Each rewarded video ad you watch increases your artwork storage limit by 5 artworks, up to 600 - Purchasing the Remove Ads add-on expands your artwork storage limit to 600 artworks Recommended For - Anyone who wants to start creating pixel art - People who want to make their own social media icons - Anyone who wants to create game skins easily - People making designs for Perler beads or cross-stitch - People designing knitting patterns or handmade projects - Anyone who wants to turn photos into pixel art - People looking for a simple pixel art editor - Anyone who wants to manage their artwork data and keep using the app over time Enjoy creating pixel art and 8-bit style artwork with 8bit Painter!

About

Putty 3D

This app offers a powerful and intuitive 3D sculpting experience for artists on the go. It leverages your device's graphics processor for smooth performance and supports Apple Pencil and 3D Touch for precise control. Export your creations in OBJ and STL formats for use in other software or for 3D printing.

Highlights
  • Intuitive 3D sculpting
  • Apple Pencil and 3D Touch support
  • OBJ and STL export
  • Physically based rendering
  • Video recording and screenshots
Features
Read full description

IMPORTANT: Putty 3D requires iPhone 5s, iPad Air, iPad Mini 2 or any newer iPhone or iPad with iOS 11 or newer. Putty is the best 3D sketchbook for artists and enthusiasts on the go. Whether you’re on holiday, on the train or just relaxing on the couch, Putty 3D is your perfect companion. It uses the powerful graphics processor in your device to create a smooth and intuitive sculpting experience, exclusively on iOS. Putty 3D supports Apple Pencil, 3D Touch and Wide Color, and has been optimized for iPad Pro and iPhone 7, meaning it can deliver bigger sculpting volumes and even smoother performance. The built-in support for OBJ and STL export (only on iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2 or newer devices) allows you to transfer your creations to modelling and animation packages on your PC or Mac, or you can even bring them into the real world through 3D printing (specifics and compatibility may vary depending on the printing hardware and software). In a nutshell you can: - Sculpt on the go with Apple Pencil and 3D Touch support for precise and pressure sensitive sculpting. - Bring your creations into to your favourite modelling, animation or even 3D printing apps on PC or Mac using the built in OBJ and STL export (only on iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2 or newer devices). - Use materials like Plastic, Ceramic or even Gold to make your work shine (sometimes quite literally), all brought to life by physically based rendering techniques. - Easily record videos of your work or take high resolution screenshots with optional camera effects. For the latest updates on Putty follow us @putty3d on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. For any feedback or issue please email us at contact@putty3d.com, we look forward to hearing from you!

Screenshots

8bit Painter4 screens
Putty 3D4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: 8bit Painter at Free against Putty 3D's $4.99. 8bit Painter also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.1) and review sentiment (85% vs 51%). Putty 3D's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On 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

8bit Painter is free to download; Putty 3D costs $4.99 up front. 8bit Painter sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Putty 3D asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

8bit Painter holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: 8bit Painter has 6.5K ratings behind it against 593, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of 8bit Painter's written reviews are positive against 51% of Putty 3D's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

8bit Painter ships an update every 5 weeks, Putty 3D every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 16, 2026.

Scorecard9 real differences · 1 level
8bit Painter versus Putty 3D: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter8bit PainterPutty 3D
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating4.6 (6.5K ratings) — better4.1 (593 ratings)
Positive reviews85.4% of reviews — better50.8% of reviews
Number of ratings6.5K — better593
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.611.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTakayuki MiyagawaNga Nguyen

Customer experience

8bit Painter

All ratings6,545 ratings
Positive91.4%
Neutral4.0%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews328 reviews
Positive85.4%
Neutral6.7%
Negative7.9%

Putty 3D

All ratings593 ratings
Positive75.7%
Neutral8.4%
Negative15.9%
Written reviews185 reviews
Positive50.8%
Neutral17.3%
Negative31.9%

User reviews

8bit Painter

From 6.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🥰 Fun and addictive
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🎨 Great for pixel art
  • 💡 Helpful for crafting projects
  • 🤩 Awesome app overall

Room to improve

  • 🤬 Annoying ads
  • 🔒 Limited canvas sizes
  • 🎨 Lack of color customization
  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches

Putty 3D

From 593 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Good for 3D printing
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 Intuitive interface
  • 🚀 Responsive tools
  • 👍 Fun and creative

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Difficult controls and camera movement
  • 🔧 Limited tools and features
  • 🔧 Lacks fine detail sculpting
  • 🐛 Crashes and data loss issues
  • 💰 Expensive for limited functionality

Bugs and requests

8bit Painter

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Freezing and crashing issues
  • Distortion when importing images
  • Inability to delete saved artworks

Requested features

5 requests
  • Custom canvas sizes
  • More color options and palettes
  • Ability to delete or rearrange colors
  • Layers and animation support
  • Copy/paste and selection tools

Putty 3D

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when exporting projects
  • Inconsistent brush behavior
  • Difficulty with precise sculpting
  • Inability to undo/redo actions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more sculpting tools (move, crease, etc.)
  • Implement color/texture painting
  • Improve camera controls and navigation
  • Add import/export options for 3D models
  • Provide more detailed tutorials

In-app purchases

1 purchases

8bit Painter

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$5.99
None

Putty 3D

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is 8bit Painter free?
8bit Painter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Putty 3D free?
Putty 3D costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, 8bit Painter or Putty 3D?
8bit Painter is rated higher. 8bit Painter averages 4.6 out of 5 from 6.5K ratings, while Putty 3D averages 4.1 from 593 ratings.
Do 8bit Painter or Putty 3D have ads?
8bit Painter shows ads; Putty 3D does not.
Which is updated more often, 8bit Painter or Putty 3D?
8bit Painter ships an update every 5 weeks, and Putty 3D every 3 months. Most recently, 8bit Painter was updated on October 16, 2026 and Putty 3D on October 16, 2026.

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