Pixel Art Maker vs FlowerSandbox
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.
FlowerSandbox
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FlowerSandbox is a peaceful, interactive digital garden where you can plant beautiful flowers, customize your garden layout, and relax with serene animations. Nurture your virtual sanctuary, experiment with colorful petals, and enjoy a calming, distraction-free environment designed for mindfulness and relaxation. FlowerSandbox Premium is an optional auto-renewable subscription (1 month, $1.00/month) that unlocks premium flower colors, special varieties, and a larger garden. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Privacy Policy: https://flowersandbox.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://flowersandbox.com/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: FlowerSandbox at none against Pixel Art Maker's shown. FlowerSandbox also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 9 days). On price, in-app purchases, 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 and FlowerSandbox sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Pixel Art Maker ships an update every 9 days, FlowerSandbox every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pixel Art Maker | FlowerSandbox |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (11K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 91.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 11K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 50 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nekomimimi | Scott Beilfuss |
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
FlowerSandbox
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Pixel Art Maker
- Remove Ads$1.99
FlowerSandbox
- FlowerSandbox Premium$0.991 Month
Questions
Is Pixel Art Maker free?
Is FlowerSandbox free?
Do Pixel Art Maker or FlowerSandbox have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pixel Art Maker or FlowerSandbox?
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