Comparison

8bit Painter vs XP 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 - Remove photo backgrounds and import just the subject - Draw with Apple Pencil or a compatible stylus using a stylus-only setting on iPad - 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. Keep the background or remove it to import just the subject. You can refine the cutout by cropping to a smaller area, or undo the last cutout. Great for creating social media icons, game skins, and pixel art assets. Drawing with a Stylus on iPad Turn on “Draw with a Stylus Only” to edit the canvas using Apple Pencil or a compatible stylus that your iPad recognizes as a pen. This prevents accidental marks from your fingers while still letting you use them to zoom, pan, and tap buttons. 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

XP Maker

Design unique pixel-art avatars with a vast selection of items and color variations. Easily create thousands of distinct character combinations and share your creations.

Highlights
  • Create pixel-art avatars
  • 14 item categories
  • Color variations
  • Thousands of combinations
  • Easy to use interface
  • Share creations
Features
Read full description

Hi peeps! I'm @dave.xp and I can't wait for you to make your own characters! Me and the developer team have carefully crafted this app so you can make the coolest pixel-art avatars on the internet! It's very easy to use, and you'll get amazing results by just picking your favorite items out of 14 different categories. With many different items to choose from and their color variations, you can make thousands of unique combinations and I can't wait to see yours! Tag your portraits with the hashtag #xpmaker and I'll be featuring some of them every week on my Instagram account! Cheers Dave XP

Screenshots

8bit Painter4 screens
XP Maker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: XP Maker at none against 8bit Painter's shown. XP Maker also leads on review sentiment (98% vs 85%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.6). 8bit Painter's advantage is ratings volume (6.7K vs 105) and update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). On price, rating, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. 8bit Painter sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and XP Maker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

XP Maker holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: 8bit Painter has 6.7K ratings behind it against 105, 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 98% of XP Maker's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

8bit Painter ships an update monthly, XP Maker every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
8bit Painter versus XP Maker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter8bit PainterXP Maker
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (6.7K ratings)4.8 (105 ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.1% of reviews98.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings6.7K — better105
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB108 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTakayuki MiyagawaDavid Alvarez

Customer experience

8bit Painter

All ratings6,702 ratings
Positive91.0%
Neutral4.2%
Negative4.8%
Written reviews336 reviews
Positive85.1%
Neutral6.5%
Negative8.3%

XP Maker

All ratings104 ratings
Positive98.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews50 reviews
Positive98.0%
Neutral2.0%
Negative0.0%

User reviews

8bit Painter

From 6.7K 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

XP Maker

From 105 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🎨 Great for creating avatars
  • ✨ Fun and entertaining
  • 🤩 High quality app
  • 💖 Intuitive interface

Room to improve

  • anúncios when downloading
  • 🔒 Many features locked
  • 💰 Some content behind paywall
  • 💸 Microtransactions for customization
  • 🚫 No skirts for free

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

XP Maker

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Cannot delete a duo concept
  • A tiny bug emerged

Requested features

17 requests
  • Add movement options (walking, running)
  • Basketball app for NBA characters
  • More poses for free
  • Wallpaper options
  • More hair options (anime/series)
Show 12 more
  • More jacket options (anime/series)
  • More options for backgrounds
  • More faces
  • Extended color scheme options
  • Animations (AI based on text)
  • More simple purchase packages
  • More customization options
  • Add background music
  • More free backgrounds
  • More free animations (run, hands in air)
  • More choices for creativity
  • Updates and new features

In-app purchases

1 purchases

8bit Painter

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$5.99
1 purchases

XP Maker

One-time1
  • Xp Maker Upgrade$1.99

Questions

Is 8bit Painter free?
8bit Painter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is XP Maker free?
XP Maker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, 8bit Painter or XP Maker?
XP Maker is rated higher. 8bit Painter averages 4.6 out of 5 from 6.7K ratings, while XP Maker averages 4.8 from 105 ratings.
Do 8bit Painter or XP Maker have ads?
8bit Painter shows ads; XP Maker does not.
Which is updated more often, 8bit Painter or XP Maker?
8bit Painter ships an update monthly, and XP Maker every 3 months. Most recently, 8bit Painter was updated on November 1, 2026 and XP Maker on October 22, 2026.

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