Comparison

Stick Nodes vs Pixel Art Animator & Editor

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

Head to head
About

Stick Nodes

Create custom stickfigure animations with a user-friendly interface. Import images, add sound effects, and export your creations as GIFs or MP4 videos. Join a vibrant community for inspiration and shared resources.

Highlights
  • Stickfigure animation creation
  • Image import for animation
  • Automatic frame-tweening
  • Camera pan, zoom, and rotate
  • Movieclips for reusable objects
  • Sound effects and filters
  • GIF and MP4 export
Features
Read full description

Stick Nodes is a powerful stickman animator app created with mobile devices in mind! Inspired from the popular Pivot stickfigure animator, Stick Nodes allows users to create their own stickfigure-based movies and even export them as animated GIFs and MP4 videos! It is one of the most popular animation apps among young animators! ■ Features ■ ◆ Import and animate images as well! ◆ Automatic customizeable frame-tweening, make your animations smoother! ◆ A simple camera to pan/zoom/rotate around the scene, similar to the "v-cam" in Flash. ◆ Movieclips allow you to create and reuse/loop animation objects within your projects. ◆ A variety of shapes, color/scale on a per-segment basis, gradients - create any "stickfigure" you can imagine! ◆ Textfields allow for easy text and speech in your animations. ◆ Add all kinds of sounds effects to make your animations epic. ◆ Apply different filters to your stickfigures - transparency, blur, glow, and more. ◆ Join stickfigures together to easily simulate holding/wearing objects. ◆ A large community full of all kinds of interesting people and other animators. ◆ Over 30,000+ stickfigures (and counting) to download from the website. ◆ Export to GIF (or MP4 for Pro) to share your animation online. ◆ Compatibility with pre-3.0 Pivot stickfigure files. ◆ Save/open/share your projects, stickfigures, and movieclips. ◆ And all the other typical animation stuff - undo/redo, onion-skin, background images, and more! * Please note, sounds, filters, and MP4-export are Pro-only features ■ Lanuages ■ ◆ English ◆ Español ◆ Français ◆ Japanese ◆ Filipino ◆ Português ◆ Russian ◆ Türkçe Stick Nodes has a thriving community where animators have a good time, help each other out, show off their work, and even create stickfigures for others to use! There are thousands of stickfigures (and more added daily!) over at the main website https://sticknodes.com/stickfigures/ As of one of the latest updates, Stick Nodes is also a Minecraft™ animator as it allows you to easily import Minecraft™ skins and animate them instantly! Search for "stick nodes" on YouTube to see just a few of the thousands of animations users have made with this stickfigure animation app! If you're looking for an animation creator or an animation maker app, this is it! ■ Stay Updated ■ New updates have been never-ending for Stick Nodes since it's original 2014 release. Keep up-to-date with the latest news and updates about your favorite stick figure animation app and join in with the community! ◆ Website: https://sticknodes.com ◆ Facebook: http://facebook.com/sticknodes ◆ Reddit: http://reddit.com/r/sticknodes ◆ Twitter: http://twitter.com/FTLRalph ◆ Youtube: http://youtube.com/FTLRalph Stick Nodes is *the best* simple animation app available on the iOS market! It's a great tool for learning animation, even in a school setting for students or newbies. At the same time, Stick Nodes is robust enough and powerful enough for even the most skilled animator to really showcase their skills! Thank you for trying out Stick Nodes! Leave any questions/comments below or on the main Stick Nodes website! Common questions are already answered on the FAQ page here https://sticknodes.com/faqs/

About

Pixel Art Animator & Editor

Create frame-by-frame pixel art animations with onion skinning and reference images. Export your creations as GIFs, MP4s, or PNGs. This app offers a private, offline experience with optional pro features for advanced users.

Highlights
  • Frame-by-frame pixel art animation
  • Onion skinning for smooth transitions
  • Reference image import and manipulation
  • GIF, MP4, PNG, and PDF export options
  • Offline and private operation
  • Adjustable canvas sizes
Features
Read full description

Create pixel-perfect animations on your phone. Pixel Art Animator is a frame-by-frame pixel editor with onion skinning, reference images, and exports — fully offline, no account needed. Free to download. No ads. No tracking — ever. ▸ PIXEL-PERFECT DRAWING Draw on a pixel grid with Pencil, Eraser, Fill, and Eyedropper (Free). Pro adds Line, Rectangle, Circle, Selection, Move, and Replace Color. Canvas sizes 16×16 and 32×32 (Free); Pro adds 64×64, and 128×128 on iPad. ▸ ONION SKINNING See the previous frame as a translucent overlay while you draw. Free includes onion skin at the default opacity; Pro adjusts opacity from 5% to 50%. ▸ REFERENCE IMAGES (Pro) Import a reference image, pan, zoom, rotate, and adjust opacity — ideal for tracing and rotoscoping. ▸ FRAME MANAGEMENT Add, duplicate, reorder, and clear frames. Free projects support up to 12 frames; Pro unlocks up to 256 frames and per-frame background colors. ▸ SMOOTH PLAYBACK Play at 1–30 FPS with loop preview. ▸ EXPORTS Free: animated GIF and single-frame PNG — no watermarks. Pro adds MP4 video, sprite sheet, and multi-page PDF. ▸ PROJECTS Free: up to 2 animation projects. Pro removes the project cap with search and filter. ▸ HOME SCREEN WIDGET (Pro) Show your latest pixel animation on your Home Screen. ▸ BACKUP & RESTORE (Pro) Export and restore your full .pixelart archive. ▸ FULLY OFFLINE & PRIVATE No account. No cloud. No ads. Your animations stay on your device only. ▸ TRY FREE Complete a real animation job on Free — draw, preview with onion skin, and export GIF or PNG without watermarks. ▸ PRO UNLOCKS THE STUDIO Larger canvas, pro tools, all exports, no project or frame caps, reference images, backup, and Home Screen widget. Monthly, annual, or lifetime. Pixel Art Animator is built for pixel artists who value simplicity and privacy. Download now and start animating. Have feedback? Reach us at support@can.bi Privacy Policy: https://canbi.notion.site/Privacy-Policy-4c96cac95bdb8303a12e01d3ae58da74 Terms of Use (EULA): https://canbi.notion.site/Terms-of-Service-c966cac95bdb83498f60012e6d420d74

Screenshots

Stick Nodes4 screens
Pixel Art Animator & Editor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Stick Nodes at none against Pixel Art Animator & Editor's 7. Stick Nodes also leads on ratings volume (15K vs 4) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.0). Pixel Art Animator & Editor's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.6). On price, update cadence, ads and monetization model 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 Animator & Editor sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Stick Nodes asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pixel Art Animator & Editor holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Stick Nodes has 15K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 28, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Stick Nodes versus Pixel Art Animator & Editor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStick NodesPixel Art Animator & Editor
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (15K ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews84.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings15K — better4
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size123 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperForTheLoss Games, IncCan Bi

Customer experience

Stick Nodes

All ratings14,519 ratings
Positive90.1%
Neutral3.0%
Negative7.0%
Written reviews1,406 reviews
Positive84.6%
Neutral5.1%
Negative10.3%

Pixel Art Animator & Editor

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Stick Nodes

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when downloading stickfigure packs
  • Saving/loading issues with animations
  • Nodes/limbs getting stuck or glitching
  • Unexpected behavior with certain actions

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add tutorial/instructions
  • Improve save/export options
  • Implement account system
  • Expand free version features
  • Add drawing/shading tools
Show 2 more
  • Improve performance on older devices
  • Implement background music support

Pixel Art Animator & Editor

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Stick Nodes

No in-app purchases

7 purchases

Pixel Art Animator & Editor

Subscriptions2
  • Pixel Art Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Pixel Art Annual$9.991 Year
One-time5
  • Support Tip - 1-Up$1.99
  • Support Tip - Power-Up$4.99
  • Support Tip - Extra Life$12.99
Show 2 more
  • Pixel Art Lifetime$19.99
  • Support Tip - Boss Key$24.99

Questions

Is Stick Nodes free?
Stick Nodes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pixel Art Animator & Editor free?
Pixel Art Animator & Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Stick Nodes or Pixel Art Animator & Editor?
Pixel Art Animator & Editor is rated higher. Stick Nodes averages 4.6 out of 5 from 15K ratings, while Pixel Art Animator & Editor averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Stick Nodes or Pixel Art Animator & Editor have ads?
Neither Stick Nodes nor Pixel Art Animator & Editor shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Stick Nodes or Pixel Art Animator & Editor?
Stick Nodes ships an update every 2 weeks, and Pixel Art Animator & Editor every 2 weeks. Most recently, Stick Nodes was updated on October 28, 2026 and Pixel Art Animator & Editor on October 28, 2026.

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