Pixen AlternativesImage Editors & Digital Painting Tools like Pixen

Pixen is described as 'Pixel art editor designed for working with low-resolution raster art, such as those 8-bit sprites found in old-school video games. With innovative features like a color palette system, patterns, and high-zoom support, Pixen packs all the tools pixel artists need in an' and is a Image Editor in the photos & graphics category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Pixen for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Web-based and iPad apps. The best Pixen alternative is GIMP, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Pixen are Paint.NET, PixiEditor, Pixelorama and Microsoft Paint.

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Alternatives list

  1. GIMP icon

    GIMP

     4716 likes
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    GIMP delivers powerful functionalities for photo retouching, image composition, and format conversion. As a versatile tool, it serves as both a simple paint program and a high-end retouching suite, and offers batch processing for mass image tasks in an accessible open-source platform.

    188 GIMP alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku
    • Flatpak
    • AmigaOS
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    • Most users think GIMP is a great Pixen alternative.

    • GIMP is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Pixen.

    • GIMP is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Pixen.

    • GIMP is Free and Open SourcePixen is Free and Proprietary
    • GIMP is Customizable and Privacy focusedPixen is not according to our users
  2. Paint.NET icon

    Paint.NET

     1647 likes
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    Free Windows image editor with support for layers, plugins, and special effects. Offers intuitive interface, works offline, ad-free, and portable, consuming fewer resources.

    163 Paint.NET alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • .NET Framework
    Paint.NET screenshot 1
     
  4. PixiEditor icon

    PixiEditor

     18 likes
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    PixiEditor is a free and open-source universal 2D editor. Create clean pixel-perfect sprites, paint with raster tools, or design crisp vector graphics — all on one canvas. Animate frame-by-frame or use the powerful Node Graph to build fully non-destructive visuals and custom...

    36 PixiEditor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Steam
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    PixiEditor screenshot 1
     
  5. Pixelorama icon

    Pixelorama

     55 likes
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    Pixelorama is a free and open source sprite editor, ideal for pixel art. In this page you'll be learning about the latest added features, as well as its features in general. It's made with Godot Engine, using GDScript.

    48 Pixelorama alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Steam
    • Snapcraft
    • itch.io
    • Online
    Pixelorama screenshot 1
     

    • Pixelorama is the most popular Web-based alternative to Pixen.

    • Pixelorama is Free and Open SourcePixen is Free and Proprietary
    • Pixelorama is Privacy focusedPixen is not according to our users
  6. Microsoft Paint icon

    Microsoft Paint

     179 likes
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    Windows-bundled image editor for basic painting and raster editing tasks, supporting bitmap, JPEG, GIF, PNG, and TIFF. Offers layer support, offline access, no registration, and dark mode. Lightweight and ad-free, ensuring minimal resource use.

    124 Microsoft Paint alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
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    Comments about Microsoft Paint as an Alternative to Pixen
    Guest
    Negative
    0

    There's no animation tools in Paint.NET.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Pixen Icon
    Microsoft Paint icon
    • Microsoft Paint is Free and ProprietaryPixen is also Free and Proprietary
    • Microsoft Paint is MinimalisticPixen is not according to our users
  7. Aseprite icon

    Aseprite

     76 likes
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    Aseprite (previously ASE, aka Allegro Sprite Editor) is a program to create animated sprites & pixel art. Sprites are little images that can be used in your website or in a video game. You can draw characters with movement, intros, textures, patterns, backgrounds, logos...

    51 Aseprite alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
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  9. FireAlpaca icon

    FireAlpaca

     88 likes
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    FireAlpaca is the image editor that can be used readily and easily. We made it possible to provide the completely free download, in order for our products to be experienced by more users from all over the world. It is available for both Mac and Windows users!

    122 FireAlpaca alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    FireAlpaca screenshot 1
     
  10. Tilf icon

    Tilf

     11 likes
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    Tilf (Tiny Elf) is a simple yet powerful pixel art editor built with PySide6. It’s designed for creating sprites, icons, and small 2D assets with essential drawing tools, live preview, undo/redo, and export options.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    Tilf screenshot 1
     
  12. Piskel icon

    Piskel

     31 likes
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    Remember the good old 2D games and their beautiful sprites? With Piskel you can create your own in a few clicks.

    45 Piskel alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    Piskel screenshot 1
     

    • Piskel is the most popular Self-Hosted alternative to Pixen.

    • Piskel is Free and Open SourcePixen is Free and Proprietary
  13. Grafx2 icon

    Grafx2

     40 likes
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    GrafX2 is a bitmap paint program inspired by the Amiga programs Deluxe Paint and Brilliance. Specialized in 256-color drawing, it includes a very large number of tools and effects that make it particularly suitable for pixel art, game graphics, and generally any detailed...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Grafx2 screenshot 1
     
  14. Pixelitor icon

    Pixelitor

     28 likes
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    Pixelitor is an open source image editor with an intuitive interface and with a special emphasis on non-destructive editing.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Pixelitor screenshot 1
     
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