Pixel Art Maker vs OpenMoji
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.
OpenMoji
Access a vast collection of over 4,292 open-source emojis, compliant with the latest Unicode standards. This app offers consistent design, multiple color versions, and skin tone variations, perfect for designers, developers, and anyone seeking creative emoji options for various projects.
- 4,292+ emojis
- Unicode 16.0 compliant
- Consistent style guide
- Colored & outlined versions
- Skin tone variations
- 270+ flags
- Special interest categories
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OPENMOJI 16.0 – 4,292+ OPEN-SOURCE EMOJIS FOR DESIGNERS, DEVELOPERS, AND EVERYONE WHO LOVES CREATIVE, CONSISTENT EMOJI DESIGN. Created by students and professors at HfG Schwäbisch Gmünd, with many external contributors, OpenMoji delivers free, handcrafted emojis you can use anywhere. Use the APP and STICKER PACK to share emojis instantly in Messages, social media, or design projects. Search, choose skin tones, and find the perfect emoji for any moment. FEATURES • 4,292+ EMOJIS across all categories • UNICODE EMOJI V16.0 compliant • CONSISTENT STYLE GUIDE – all icons match perfectly • COLORED & OUTLINED versions for any project style • SKIN TONE VARIATIONS with Fitzpatrick scale and multiple combinations • 270+ FLAGS – countries, regions, and special flags • SPECIAL INTEREST CATEGORIES beyond standard Unicode, including technology, design, and climate • HANDCRAFTED & REVIEWED for quality and clarity WHY OPENMOJI? • 100% OPEN SOURCE – free to use under CC BY-SA 4.0 • Perfect for UI/UX DESIGN, social media, presentations, and stickers • Works for DESIGNERS, DEVELOPERS, EDUCATORS, and EMOJI LOVERS DOWNLOAD OPENMOJI NOW and enjoy the world’s most consistent, open-source emoji set – perfect for your messages, designs, and creative projects.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Pixel Art Maker at 91% against OpenMoji's 14%. Pixel Art Maker also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.7) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 10 months). OpenMoji's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. OpenMoji asks for nothing beyond the download.
Pixel Art Maker holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pixel Art Maker has 10K ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Pixel Art Maker's written reviews are positive against 14% of OpenMoji's.
Pixel Art Maker ships an update every 9 days, OpenMoji every 10 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pixel Art Maker | OpenMoji |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (10K ratings) — better | 3.7 (15 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 90.9% of reviews — better | 14.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 10K — better | 15 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 10 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 87 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nekomimimi | Hochschule fur Gestaltung Schwabisch Gmund |
Customer experience
Pixel Art Maker
OpenMoji
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
OpenMoji
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Pixel Art Maker
- Remove Ads$1.99
OpenMoji
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Pixel Art Maker free?
Is OpenMoji free?
Which has better reviews, Pixel Art Maker or OpenMoji?
Do Pixel Art Maker or OpenMoji have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pixel Art Maker or OpenMoji?
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