8bit Painter vs CUSTOM CAST
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Beginner-friendly interface
- Essential pixel drawing tools
- Photo to pixel art conversion
- Customizable color palettes
- Transparent PNG export
- Multiple canvas sizes
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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!
CUSTOM CAST
Design unique 3D characters with extensive customization options for body parts, clothing, and accessories. Save multiple creations, pose them for social media, or use them as a virtual avatar for live streaming with facial tracking and AR capabilities.
- Extensive character customization
- Save multiple character designs
- Social media sharing with stickers/frames
- Virtual streamer functionality
- Facial motion tracking
- AR integration
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"Create your very own 3D character!" Choose from a variety of body parts and clothes, and create your very own 3D character from an infinite combination of parts. You can create your very own 3D character from a rich and wide variety of customization parts, such as hairstyle, clothes, skin color, face type and accessories. You can also create and save multiple 3D characters. You can use different characters, or enjoy dressing them up by changing their outfits and hairstyles. ------------------------------------------------- "Post on social media!" Take screenshots of your customized 3D characters making various expressions and poses using the app, and post them on social media! You can also decorate your screenshots with cute stickers and frames. Show off the 3D models that you created! ------------------------------------------------- "Let's stream!" You can start streaming as a virtual streamer using your created 3D character. Your face will be detected by the camera on your device, and your 3D characters will move based on your movements, such as tilting or turning your head. You can also use the gyro function to create immersive streams, and use Flicks to make your character do specific poses. The AR function is also available for iPhone X and later models to integrate the real world with your stream. Perhaps you can even become a virtual streamer in the real world...!? ------------------------------------------------- [Operating environment] iOS 15 or higher 1GB free storage or more
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: 8bit Painter at 4.6 against CUSTOM CAST's 3.4. 8bit Painter also leads on review sentiment (85% vs 48%). CUSTOM CAST's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. 8bit Painter sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and CUSTOM CAST sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
8bit Painter holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6.5K and 4K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of 8bit Painter's written reviews are positive against 48% of CUSTOM CAST's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 16, 2026.
| Parameter | 8bit Painter | CUSTOM CAST |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (6.5K ratings) — better | 3.4 (4K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 85.4% of reviews — better | 47.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 6.5K — better | 4K |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 29 MB | 896 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Takayuki Miyagawa | DWANGO Co., Ltd. |
Customer experience
8bit Painter
CUSTOM CAST
User reviews
8bit Painter
From 6.5K App Store ratingsWhat 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
CUSTOM CAST
From 4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ⭐️ Excellent character customization
- 🎨 Wide variety of clothing and accessories
- 📹 Useful VTuber features
- 🎨 Highly creative and fun
Room to improve
- ⏳ Lengthy download and loading times
- 🔍 Limited male clothing options
- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
- 🐛 Glitches and bugs
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
CUSTOM CAST
Reported bugs
4 issues- Black screen issues when customizing characters
- Glitches with clothing and accessories
- Tracking and camera issues
- Inconsistent performance and crashes
Requested features
6 requests- More free clothing and accessory options
- Ability to customize hair color and facial features
- More diverse body types and skin tones
- Improved performance and reduced loading times
- Add more male-oriented clothing and styles
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- Ability to save and export character designs
In-app purchases
8bit Painter
- Remove Ads$5.99
CUSTOM CAST
- 160cc$0.99
- 480cc$2.99
- 1000cc$5.99
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- 3000cc$19.99
- 6000cc$39.99
- 10000cc$59.99









