Comparison

Pixel Art Maker vs ICool Wallpapers

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

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
Read full description

"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.

About

ICool Wallpapers

Discover and download a vast catalog of live wallpapers, including trendy patterns and fresh designs. Create your own custom wallpapers with the built-in maker and personalize your lock screen with dynamic animations and neon borders. Easily save and preview your selections.

Highlights
  • Live wallpapers
  • Live wallpaper maker
  • Neon Border
  • Charging animations
  • Lock screen designs
  • Huge wallpaper catalog
  • One-tap downloads
Features
Read full description

Make your iPhone truly yours with stunning wallpapers that bring your screen to life. What You'll Love: Massive Wallpaper Collection Thousands of high-quality wallpapers updated regularly — from aesthetic minimalism to bold designs, there's something for every mood and style. Live Wallpapers Choose dynamic wallpapers that move and breathe. Long-press your lock screen and watch the magic unfold. Depth Effect Wallpapers Wallpapers that make your clock sit behind the subject — just like Apple's built-in depth effect, but with way more choices. (Requires iOS 17+) Preview Before You Save See exactly how your wallpaper looks on the lock screen, home screen, or full screen — all without leaving the app. One-Tap Save Save any wallpaper to your photo library instantly. Follow our step-by-step guide to set it up in seconds. Build Your Collection Double-tap to favorite. Swipe to browse your personal collection. Filter by type, sort however you like — your favorites are always at your fingertips. Search & Discover Browse by category, search by keyword, or just scroll through what's trending. New wallpapers added all the time. Made for Your iPhone Fully optimized for the latest iPhone models and iOS versions. Permissions: • Photos — to save wallpapers to your photo library • Notifications — to let you know when fresh wallpapers drop Privacy Policy: https://www.fancyqueen.xyz/icoolwallp.policy.html Terms of Service: https://www.fancyqueen.xyz/icoolwallp.terms.html

Screenshots

Pixel Art Maker4 screens
ICool Wallpapers4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Pixel Art Maker at 91% against ICool Wallpapers's 22%. Pixel Art Maker also leads on rating (4.8 vs 2.7) and ratings volume (11K vs 182). On price, update cadence, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Pixel Art Maker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and ICool Wallpapers sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pixel Art Maker holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pixel Art Maker has 11K ratings behind it against 182, 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 22% of ICool Wallpapers's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pixel Art Maker ships an update every 9 days, ICool Wallpapers weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Pixel Art Maker versus ICool Wallpapers: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixel Art MakerICool Wallpapers
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (11K ratings) — better2.7 (182 ratings)
Positive reviews91.0% of reviews — better22.2% of reviews
Number of ratings11K — better182
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysWeekly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.5 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNekomimimiBateway Holding Limited

Customer experience

Pixel Art Maker

All ratings10,559 ratings
Positive95.4%
Neutral2.3%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews377 reviews
Positive91.0%
Neutral4.2%
Negative4.8%

ICool Wallpapers

All ratings173 ratings
Positive39.3%
Neutral5.8%
Negative54.9%
Written reviews167 reviews
Positive22.2%
Neutral10.2%
Negative67.7%

User reviews

Pixel Art Maker

From 11K App Store ratings

What 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

ICool Wallpapers

From 182 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤩 Amazing wallpapers
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 😊 Great app overall

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Live wallpapers don't work
  • 💸 Requires payment for full features
  • 📢 Too many ads
  • 🤔 Wallpapers not as advertised

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

ICool Wallpapers

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Wallpapers not saving properly
  • Inability to set downloaded wallpapers
  • Crashes and freezes on some devices

Requested features

3 requests
  • More sports and anime wallpaper options
  • Ability to use own photos as wallpapers
  • Fix for iOS 16 live wallpaper compatibility

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Pixel Art Maker

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99
3 purchases

ICool Wallpapers

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly VIP3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Monthly Vip3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Annual Vip3 Days trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Pixel Art Maker free?
Pixel Art Maker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ICool Wallpapers free?
ICool Wallpapers is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pixel Art Maker or ICool Wallpapers?
Pixel Art Maker is rated higher. Pixel Art Maker averages 4.8 out of 5 from 11K ratings, while ICool Wallpapers averages 2.7 from 182 ratings.
Do Pixel Art Maker or ICool Wallpapers have ads?
Both Pixel Art Maker and ICool Wallpapers show ads.
Which is updated more often, Pixel Art Maker or ICool Wallpapers?
Pixel Art Maker ships an update every 9 days, and ICool Wallpapers weekly. Most recently, Pixel Art Maker was updated on October 14, 2026 and ICool Wallpapers on October 13, 2026.

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