Pixelmator Classic iOS vs RAW Power
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pixelmator Classic iOS
A powerful, layer-based image editor for iOS and iPadOS. Create designs, paint, sketch, and retouch photos with a wide range of tools and effects. Optimized for the latest iOS features, it allows for detailed image manipulation and composition.
- Layer-based image editing
- Design creation with shapes and text
- Painting and sketching tools
- Photo retouching and enhancement
- Machine learning-powered subject selection
- Distort tools for image warping
- Export and share optimized images
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Pixelmator is a powerful, full-featured, layer-based image editor that lets you add shapes, images, and text to create beautiful image compositions, touch up and enhance images, sketch, and paint on iPad and iPhone alike. Designed exclusively for iOS and iPadOS, Pixelmator takes full advantage of the latest iOS and iPadOS 17 features and technologies, giving you innovative, fast, and powerful tools. Create Eye-Catching Designs - Combine words, shapes, and images to create breathtaking artwork right on your iPhone and iPad - Apply non-destructive layer styles like shadows, outlines, gradient fills, and more - Insert, group, and blend layers of an image - Easily add, combine, and customize shapes - Blend layers, shapes, and text using any of the blending modes - Use precise selection tools to edit areas of an image - Automatically select subjects in images with the machine learning-powered Select Subject - Crop, arrange, and rotate objects and layers with pixel-perfect precision - Easily remove the background of images or cut and paste objects from one image to another Add Shapes and Text - Create flyers, logos, and other compositions using vector shapes and their styling options - Customize Smart Shapes with easy-to-use controls - Add text and make it look gorgeous with 24 pre-designed text styles - Change the font, size, alignment, line spacing, use custom fonts, and more Paint and Sketch - Paint stunning images right on your iPhone and iPad - Choose from over artist-designed brushes and numerous painting techniques - Paint with near-natural wetness effect of watercolor and crayon brushes - Create stunning pixel art images with the custom-designed Pixel brush - Paint with incredible detail thanks to the double texture brush technology - Vary the speed of your stroke to change the thickness of some of the brushes - Easily select and fine-tune colors with a full-featured color picker - Instantly choose colors right from your image with the Eyedropper - Paint more naturally than ever with the Apple Pencil, featuring palm rejection, pressure, tilt, and acceleration sensitivity Edit and Enhance Photos - Get started with dozens of beautifully designed templates - Instantly improve your photos with single-tap color presets - Take full control over the tonal range of your image with levels and curves - Easily remove color casts and set the right white balance - Wipe away image imperfections, skin blemishes, and unwanted objects with the Repair tool - Duplicate areas of your image with the easy-to-use Clone tool - Pinch, bump, twirl, or warp areas of an image with powerful, Metal-based Distort tools - Blur, sharpen, lighten, or darken areas of an image - Choose from dozens of breathtaking effects to subtly improve or completely change the look of an image - Open and edit images of up to 256 megapixels Export and Share Images - Optimize images for the web using quality, color depth, and size settings - Export images to Files, iCloud, or open in other apps using a file format of your choice - Using the integrated share extension, easily share your artwork with friends and family using Mail, AirDrop, or post it to social platforms like Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook Compatibility - Open and save images using HEIF, JPEG, PNG, and TIFF formats - Work with multilayered Pixelmator Pro and Adobe Photoshop documents - Save your edited images directly to Photos - Create, edit, and keep all your images up to date on all your devices thanks to iCloud support - External keyboard support with over 70 keyboard shortcuts Built for iPhone and iPad - Pixelmator is meticulously thought through and created from the ground up for iPhone and iPad devices - Designed to take full advantage of powerful iOS and iPadOS features and technologies — iCloud Drive, Photos extension, Split View, and more - Thanks to Apple silicon, Metal, Core Image, and Core Animation, Pixelmator delivers state-of-the-art performance and real-time responsiveness
RAW Power
This app offers advanced RAW image processing and organization for your photo library. It allows for precise, non-destructive editing with a wide range of tools, and syncs changes across devices. Manage albums, filter images, and enhance photos with features like Depth Effect.
- Advanced RAW processing
- Non-destructive editing
- Photo library organization
- Cross-platform editing
- Batch processing
- Depth Effect enhancement
- LUT support
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OVERVIEW — ADVANCED RAW: Unlock the power of Apple's RAW engine with easy-to-use controls. Develop images with the same outstanding RAW processing in Apple’s Aperture professional photo app. Unique adjustments let you improve your images in ways that can't be done in any other app. — ORGANIZE: RAW Power is a complete photo app to organize and manage your photo library. Fully compatible with iCloud Photo Library, so all changes are synced. Every image and every change is available to every app on your iPhone or iPad. — RATE & FILTER: Filter albums by file type, rating, flag, and edit state. Ratings and Flags sync over iCloud Photo Library! — FILES.APP: Store images in the Photos library or Files.app. Use our new Share extension to import from other apps directly into RAW Power’s Files container. Same non-destructive editing, rating, and filtering features! (iCloud syncing is not supported). — NOT JUST RAWs: RAW Power is great with JPEGs, with many tools missing from the Photos app. Plus an innovative Depth Effect for photos shot on iPhones with a dual camera system. — EDIT CROSS-PLATFORM: Edit on iOS and continue on the Mac (or vice-versa) using RAW Power 3 for macOS. — BATCH PROCESSING: Apply presets, paste adjustments, and export multiple images. Export to the photo library or to Files.app. Using iOS 16 or later? You may be interested in Nitro Photo. It includes masking, XMP support, synchronized Pan and Zoom and many other features. Search for 'Nitro Photo' on the App Store. ORGANIZATION AND DISPLAY — Zoom up to 800% for extremely precise adjustments. — Create and rename albums, delete images from albums and the library, and move images into albums. Full access to your folder hierarchy. — Display file name, exposure information, flash status, and location with a map. REAL-TIME EDITING — Full non-destructive editing. All changes stored in the iOS Photo Library and iCloud Photo Library, so you can edit on one device and continue on another, without loss of quality. Even between Mac and iOS! — Optimized for small screens. Choose which adjustments to show by default and in what order — Unparalleled highlight recovery with Boost and Recovery sliders. Real-time control of Apple's RAW engine, including Noise Reduction, Black Point, Gamut Mapping and more — Auto Enhance, Auto White Balance, Auto Levels and Auto Curves. Apply them to multiple images at once! — Apply presets, and Copy / Paste Adjustments to one image or many — Histogram with Clipping Indicators and Hot Pixels Overlay — LUTs (Look up tables) with built-in looks and film simulations. Add your own! — Crop and Straighten, Rotate and Flip, White Balance with sampler and auto — Highlights, Shadows, Vibrancy, Local Contrast and incredible Lighten and Darken sliders — Curves and Levels. Curves has Linear and Lab modes, and samplers — Depth Effect to enhance photos shot with the dual camera system — Chromatic Aberration to correct lens artifacts, Perspective, Black & White, Vignette with a controllable center point — All sliders are real-time and GPU accelerated — High-precision, deep color imaging engine — Export JPEG, PNG, and TIFFs (8- and 16-bit) to Files.app or Photos.app COMPATIBILITY — Compatible with hundreds of cameras, including iPhone RAW images. (EXTENDED SUPPORT REQUIRES iOS 14. Full List at https://www.gentlemencoders.com/extended-raw/index.html) RAW support is downloaded in the background by Apple. Your device must be on WiFi and plugged in to get updates. — Great with JPEGs, TIFFs, PNGs, and most DNGs — Video Tutorials (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7l78rOzFxaHG-e5AT-MGWQ) RAW POWER for MAC RAW Power is also available on the Mac App Store as a Photos Extension and standalone app with Photos Library support. Rated 4.5 stars worldwide! ABOUT GENTLEMEN CODERS Gentlemen Coders was founded by a former Senior Director of Engineering at Apple. For more information, visit www.gentlemencoders.com.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Pixelmator Classic iOS at $9.99 against RAW Power's $12.99. Pixelmator Classic iOS also leads on chart position (#40 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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
Pixelmator Classic iOS costs $9.99 and RAW Power $12.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Pixelmator Classic iOS against 4.6 for RAW Power. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.2K and 874 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 54% of Pixelmator Classic iOS's written reviews are positive against 61% of RAW Power's.
Pixelmator Classic iOS ships an update monthly, RAW Power every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.
| Parameter | Pixelmator Classic iOS | RAW Power |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 — better | $12.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (1.2K ratings) | 4.6 (874 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 54.4% of reviews | 60.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.2K — better | 874 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #40 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 409 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Apple | Gentlemen Coders |
Customer experience
Pixelmator Classic iOS
RAW Power
Bugs and requests
Pixelmator Classic iOS
Reported bugs
4 issues- Crashes when opening certain image files
- Saving and exporting issues, leading to data loss
- Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions
- Unreliable performance on older iPad models
Requested features
5 requests- Add more advanced editing tools (e.g. curves, gradients, vector shapes)
- Improve file management and organization
- Enhance brush and selection tool capabilities
- Provide better integration with other apps and cloud storage
- Add support for Apple Pencil and other stylus input
RAW Power
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Pixelmator Classic iOS
No in-app purchases
RAW Power
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Pixelmator Classic iOS free?
Is RAW Power free?
Which has better reviews, Pixelmator Classic iOS or RAW Power?
Do Pixelmator Classic iOS or RAW Power have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pixelmator Classic iOS or RAW Power?
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