Pixel Art Maker vs Perlypop
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pixel Art Maker
Create and animate pixel art with a user-friendly drawing tool. Convert photos into pixel art, customize color palettes, and export your creations as GIFs. Offers both free and premium features for enhanced capabilities.
- Pixel art drawing up to 256x256
- Photo to pixel art conversion
- Animated pixel art creation
- Customizable color palettes
- Export as animated GIF
- Scalable artwork export
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"Pixel Art Maker" is a drawing tool for pixel art like retro games. ◇ Easy to use You can start drawing pixel art immediately after launching the app. The canvas can also be resized while drawing. ◇ Import a photo Convert photos into pixel art. ◇ Create animated pixel art Draw one pixel art image, duplicate it, and create animations. Features: - Draw pixel art on canvases from 1×1 up to 256×256 pixels. - Change the color palette (up to 256 colors). The basic palette includes 32 colors. The free version supports up to 65 colors. *Each palette color can be set to transparent or opaque. - Save your color palettes and reuse them in other artworks or when importing photos. - Watch an ad to temporarily unlock: • 256-color palette • Canvas size up to 1024×1024 - Premium Removes ads and permanently unlocks the full 256-color palette and canvas sizes up to 1024×1024. - Zoom in and out with two-finger pinch. - Save, load, and delete your drawings. - Import photos and animated GIFs. APNG animation is not supported; only the first frame is imported. - Import photos with built-in retro-style palettes and adjustable dithering. Indexed PNG files keep their original palette. - Import images from other apps via the Share sheet. - Export with transparency. - Scale your artwork on export from 1× to 64×, depending on canvas size, up to 4096×4096. - Save to Photos. - Share with other apps. - Create and export animated GIFs. *GIFs may not animate in Photos. - Finger Mode Draw directly with your finger. - Cursor Mode Move a cursor and place pixels with the "PIXEL" button. (Menu → Settings → Change Drawing Mode) * On Apple Silicon Macs (iPad version), animated image import may be limited, and photos may be imported at reduced resolution.
Perlypop
Easily create custom fuse bead patterns from photos or by drawing. Supports various bead brands and sizes, with tools to help you visualize and track your progress. Export designs as printable PDFs.
- Create patterns from photos
- Draw custom designs
- Supports Perler, Hama, Artkal, Nabbi beads
- Midi and Mini bead sizes
- Export as printable PDF
- Track project progress
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Perlypop is the best fuse bead pattern maker app on iPhone and iPad. Easily create your own Perler, Hama, Artkal and Nabbi fuse bead patterns with this simple yet powerful app. • Perfect for beginners and professionals • Convert your photos or draw your own designs • Use Perler, Hama, Artkal, and Nabbi fuse beads • Choose from Midi and Mini bead sizes • Export your work as a printable PDF • Track your progress in the app • No subscriptions (pay once, enjoy forever) IT WORKS LIKE MAGIC When converting a photo, use our custom-built wizard tool to effortlessly choose the best settings for your image and see the results instantly. TRACE OVER IMAGES When drawing your own designs, you can show an image in the background. This can be super helpful as a reference to trace over. You can also show the original image after converting a photo, which makes tidying up your patterns even easier. MAKE YOUR MASTERPIECE Once your pattern is finished and you’re ready to get beading, simply press play. You can then view your pattern board-by-board, mark individual beads as completed, and track your progress. JOIN THOUSANDS OF HAPPY CUSTOMERS... "Whoever the developer is, you know exactly what bead artists need and are constantly evolving the app with new features. This is designed to be used in entry level hobbyists to the advanced pro with its versatility.I will start every project with this app from now on." - By Zomberic on the App Store "This app is the best bead app out there! It helps you all the way. From converting a picture into a pattern with the bead manufacturer and size of your choosing (I use Artkal mini), through letting you adjust picture settings, on to letting you adjust the pattern in detail, and letting you export the pattern with all the details. It even has an amazing tool for helping you actually bead the pattern, it helps with the counting, it can highlights all the bead of a specified color, and so on. I really love this app! On iPhone there’s no competition in my mind." - By BeautifulFear on the App Store "This app is fantastic!! I absolutely cannot find another perler app I love as much as this. Its so easy and simple to use but makes the most awesome patterns!" - By skttlz escobar on the App Store BECOME AN AMAZING DESIGNER Our mission is to make it easier and more fun to create your own fuse bead designs. Why? Because being creative makes you happier and healthier. FAQ Is the full version a one-time purchase? Yes. There are no subscriptions. You can create and export as many patterns as you like with the one-time purchase. Can I unlock my other devices using the same purchase? Yes. You can unlock the full version on your iPhone, iPad and Mac (M1 chip or later) with just one purchase. Can I share the purchase with my family? Yes. Family Sharing is enabled. Can I sell my patterns? Yes. You can also add your store details to your PDF exports. Do I have to buy the materials separately? Yes. The app is only for creating patterns. Where is my data stored? Your data is stored on your device. All processing is done locally on your device. Your data is never transmitted to third parties. TRY IT NOW Try Perlypop now on your iPhone, iPad or Mac. The full version is a one-time purchase. Find out more at perlypop.com Perlypop™ is a trademark of Subtlabs Ltd
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Perlypop at none against Pixel Art Maker's shown. Perlypop also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.5). Pixel Art Maker's advantage is ratings volume (10K vs 450) and review sentiment (91% vs 78%). On price, rating, update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Pixel Art Maker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Perlypop sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Pixel Art Maker against 4.7 for Perlypop. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pixel Art Maker has 10K ratings behind it against 450, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of Pixel Art Maker's written reviews are positive against 78% of Perlypop's.
Pixel Art Maker ships an update every 9 days, Perlypop fortnightly. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.
| Parameter | Pixel Art Maker | Perlypop |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (10K ratings) — better | 4.7 (450 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 90.9% of reviews — better | 77.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 10K — better | 450 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Nekomimimi | Subtlabs |
Customer experience
Pixel Art Maker
Perlypop
User reviews
Pixel Art Maker
From 10K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Helpful for making mods
- 🚀 Great for pixel art and animations
- 🚀 Intuitive and practical
- 🚀 Lots of customization options
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes or save issues
- 🐛 Difficulty moving or selecting specific pixels
- 🐛 Limited color palette options
Perlypop
From 450 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Best app for perler/fuse bead designs
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 🎨 Excellent customization options
- 💡 Helpful features like color swapping and bead count
- 🎨 Supports multiple bead brands (Perler, Artkal, Hama)
Room to improve
- 💰 Paid features behind paywall
- 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs
- 🔍 Limited support for smaller projects
- 🎨 Struggles with converting some images accurately
Bugs and requests
Pixel Art Maker
Reported bugs
2 issues- Exported images not retaining transparency
- Color picker not working as expected
Requested features
5 requests- Add a redo button
- Implement layers and better color management
- Increase maximum canvas size
- Add a paint bucket tool
- Allow importing/exporting of animations
Perlypop
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes on certain iPad models after updates
- Issues with converting transparent images or sprites
- Inconsistent color matching when importing images
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to order supplies directly from the app
- Option to save and share custom palettes
- Support for larger pattern sizes (over 10 boards)
- Improved printing/export options
- Integration with other design/art apps
In-app purchases
Pixel Art Maker
- Remove Ads$1.99
Perlypop
- Special Offer$19.99
- Full Version$75.00









