Comparison

8bit Painter vs Pixel Art Maker

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

Pixel Art Maker

Create 8-bit pixel art with a powerful editor. Convert images into pixel art and use them as stickers or build them directly in Minecraft PE worlds. Features include transparent pixel support and a true color palette.

Highlights
  • 8-bit pixel art editor
  • Convert images to pixel art
  • Use pixel art as stickers
  • Build pixel art in Minecraft PE
  • Transparent pixel support
  • True color palette
Features
Read full description

Make cute pixel art fast without fighting cluttered menus or skipped pixels. Draw a tiny sprite, turn it into a sticker, and share a clean PNG in minutes. Pixel Art Maker - 8 Bit Pixels helps you create pixel art, stickers, and sprite images right on your phone. FEATURES Start drawing the moment you open the app with a full-screen canvas and simple floating controls. Use Pencil, Eraser, Fill, Eyedropper, Line, and Rectangle tools for quick pixel drawing and clean shapes. Draw fast drag strokes that still fill every pixel so your sprite stays solid and readable. Mirror your work with Horizontal, Vertical, or Both symmetry for faces, icons, and balanced designs. Pinch to zoom, pan around the canvas, and tap the zoom pill to jump back to the full view. Toggle grid lines, then use undo, redo, or optional shake to undo when you want to fix a stroke. Trace over a reference photo with a light overlay, then clear it with one tap when you are done. Tap the daily prompt chip to begin a fresh themed canvas when you want an easy idea. Pick from curated retro palettes like GB-Style 4 Greens, 8-Bit Console 54, C-G-A 16, Home Computer 16, PICO-8, and Sweetie 16. Turn any sprite into a sticker with Stickerize, preview it, save it, and send it with the share sheet. Export a transparent PNG at several sizes for stickers, thumbnails, mockups, or game art. Browse a local gallery with search, sort, rename, duplicate, and delete controls. Keep your work automatically saved so your last sprite is waiting when you come back. Add your latest sticker to your Home Screen or Lock Screen with the Sprite Showcase widget. Start a fresh 8×8, 16×16, or 32×32 canvas from the Quick Sprite widget. THE DIFFERENCE This app stays focused on the canvas, not on setup screens. The tools, palette dock, Stickerize action, export options, and gallery are all built around making a small piece of pixel art quickly and keeping the pixels crisp. It is especially handy when you want to make a pumpkin sticker before school, sketch a cat sprite on the couch, or rough out a tiny game sprite during lunch. The starter sticker pack also gives you ready-made art to remix, share, and learn from right away. PERFECT FOR Making a ghost, heart, star, or other small sticker to send in Messages. Creating a tiny 8-bit sprite for a mockup or prototype, then exporting a transparent PNG. Keeping a recent sticker visible on your Home Screen or Lock Screen with the widget. Opening the most recent sprite to finish last night’s half-done pixel art. Paid features Pro adds larger canvas sizes, unlimited Stickerize saves per session, and Vibe Palette, which builds an on-device color set from your prompt or gives you curated palette picks when that option is unavailable. Photos access is only needed if you choose Save to Photos. Your sprites stay on your device. Draw your next pixel art, make it a sticker, and share it today. Terms of Use (EULA) - http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/appstore/dev/stdeula

Screenshots

8bit Painter4 screens
Pixel Art Maker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: 8bit Painter at 85% against Pixel Art Maker's 17%. 8bit Painter also leads on rating (4.6 vs 2.0) and ratings volume (6.5K vs 7). Pixel Art Maker's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. 8bit Painter sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Pixel Art Maker sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

8bit Painter holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: 8bit Painter has 6.5K ratings behind it against 7, 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 17% of Pixel Art Maker's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

8bit Painter ships an update every 5 weeks, Pixel Art Maker every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and August 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
8bit Painter versus Pixel Art Maker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter8bit PainterPixel Art Maker
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (6.5K ratings) — better2.0 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews85.4% of reviews — better16.7% of reviews
Number of ratings6.5K — better7
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTakayuki MiyagawaSandeep Bhandari

Customer experience

8bit Painter

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

Pixel Art Maker

All ratings7 ratings
Positive28.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative71.4%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive16.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative83.3%

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

Pixel Art Maker

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

8bit Painter

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$5.99
3 purchases

Pixel Art Maker

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Pro Annual7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Forever Pro$49.99

Questions

Is 8bit Painter free?
8bit Painter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pixel Art Maker free?
Pixel Art Maker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, 8bit Painter or Pixel Art Maker?
8bit Painter is rated higher. 8bit Painter averages 4.6 out of 5 from 6.5K ratings, while Pixel Art Maker averages 2.0 from 7 ratings.
Do 8bit Painter or Pixel Art Maker have ads?
Both 8bit Painter and Pixel Art Maker show ads.
Which is updated more often, 8bit Painter or Pixel Art Maker?
8bit Painter ships an update every 5 weeks, and Pixel Art Maker every 2 months. Most recently, 8bit Painter was updated on September 25, 2026 and Pixel Art Maker on August 17, 2026.

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