Pixel Art Maker vs LeafGnome
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.
LeafGnome
This app allows users to meticulously track the growth and care of all their plants, from houseplants to garden beds. Users can document planting dates, care routines, and progress with notes and photos, creating a living record of their green spaces. It also fosters a community where users can share updates, discover other gardens, and exchange ideas.
- Organize plants by type and space
- Record planting dates and care details
- Track plant growth with notes and photos
- Create journal updates for plant progress
- Share garden updates with a community
- Discover other users' gardens
- Receive activity notifications
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Plant. Grow. Share. LeafGnome helps you keep a living record of everything you grow—from houseplants and backyard flowers to garden beds and harvests. YOUR GARDEN • Organize your plants in one simple garden • Add photos, notes, and journal updates • Follow each plant’s growth timeline • Set watering reminders • Sync your garden securely across devices GROW TOGETHER • Share selected plant updates with the community • Follow other gardeners and discover what they are growing • Like and comment on community updates • See the general locations where your garden connections are growing • Control your garden privacy and block or report inappropriate activity LEAFGNOME PREMIUM • Identify plants from photos with 10 identifications per month • Create custom reminders for fertilizing, pruning, repotting, pest checks, and other care • Send private one-to-one messages to other Premium gardeners • Personalize LeafGnome with the Rainfall color theme Plant identification results are suggestions and may not always be accurate. Do not rely on identification results for edibility, toxicity, or medical decisions. LeafGnome Premium is an optional monthly auto-renewing subscription. Payment is charged through your Apple ID. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: LeafGnome at none against Pixel Art Maker's 1. LeafGnome also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Pixel Art Maker's advantage is ratings volume (11K vs 1) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence 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. LeafGnome asks for nothing beyond the download.
LeafGnome holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pixel Art Maker has 11K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Pixel Art Maker ships an update every 9 days, LeafGnome every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pixel Art Maker | LeafGnome |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (11K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 91.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 11K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 47 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nekomimimi | Michael Harrison |
Customer experience
Pixel Art Maker
LeafGnome
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
LeafGnome
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Pixel Art Maker
- Remove Ads$1.99
LeafGnome
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Pixel Art Maker free?
Is LeafGnome free?
Which has better reviews, Pixel Art Maker or LeafGnome?
Do Pixel Art Maker or LeafGnome have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pixel Art Maker or LeafGnome?
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