# Pixel Art Maker vs Markup R

The clearest difference is ads: Markup R at none against Pixel Art Maker's shown. Pixel Art Maker's advantage is review sentiment (91% vs 66%) and update cadence (every 9 days vs monthly). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Pixel Art Maker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Markup R sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per year. 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 Markup R. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11K and 3.1K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of Pixel Art Maker's written reviews are positive against 66% of Markup R's.

Pixel Art Maker ships an update every 9 days, Markup R monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pixel Art Maker | Markup R |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (11K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pixel-art-maker/id897806469/reviews)** | [4.7 (3.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/markup-r-xp/id1559524491/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **11K** | 3.1K |
| Positive reviews | **91.0% of reviews** | 66.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 15 MB | 318 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.5** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Nekomimimi](https://appshunter.io/developer/382809814) | [Kewin Lawson Smith Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/1503192202) |

## What reviewers say

### Pixel Art Maker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pixel-art-maker/id897806469)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove Ads | $1.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Helpful for making mods
- 🚀 Great for pixel art and animations
- 🚀 Intuitive and practical
- 🚀 Lots of customization options

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes or save issues
- 🐛 Difficulty moving or selecting specific pixels
- 🐛 Limited color palette options

**Reported bugs**

- Exported images not retaining transparency
- Color picker not working as expected

**Requested features**

- Add a redo button
- Implement layers and better color management
- Increase maximum canvas size
- Add a paint bucket tool
- Allow importing/exporting of animations


### Markup R

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/markup-r-xp/id1559524491)

This app allows users to mark up any stitch chart from any designer. It can automatically detect grids, symbols, and colors from PDFs or photos, and even stitch together multi-page charts. Users can track progress, identify stitch counts, and utilize built-in shade cards for thread colors.

**Highlights:** Load any chart from any designer, Automatic grid, symbol, and color detection, Stitch multi-page charts together, Automatic symbol and thread color detection, Built-in shade cards (DMC, Anchor, Madeira), Track progress and statistics, Customizable markup tools

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Yearly Access | $19.99 | per year |
| Markup R-XP Full | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use and intuitive
- 🚀 Speeds up stitching process
- 💡 Helpful features like highlighting symbols and tracking progress
- 🤝 Excellent customer support and responsiveness
- 🎨 Customizable to user preferences

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Issues with grid alignment and symbol recognition
- 💰 Yearly subscription cost may be high for some users
- 🔍 Steep learning curve for some features
- 🔌 Battery drain concerns with extended use

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes and freezes when marking up certain patterns
- Inconsistent symbol highlighting and placement
- Difficulty loading and aligning some scanned patterns

**Requested features**

- Ability to track floss stash and needed supplies
- Syncing across multiple devices
- Improved support for password-protected PDFs
- Font size controls for rulers and labels
- Rotation/flipping options for patterns


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pixel Art Maker free?

Pixel Art Maker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Markup R free?

Markup R is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Pixel Art Maker or Markup R?

Pixel Art Maker is rated higher. Pixel Art Maker averages 4.8 out of 5 from 11K ratings, while Markup R averages 4.7 from 3.1K ratings.

### Do Pixel Art Maker or Markup R have ads?

Pixel Art Maker shows ads; Markup R does not.

### Which is updated more often, Pixel Art Maker or Markup R?

Pixel Art Maker ships an update every 9 days, and Markup R monthly. Most recently, Pixel Art Maker was updated on October 19, 2026 and Markup R on October 18, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*