Game Development · head to head
Aseprite vs Pico-8
Aseprite
Game Development
Animated sprite editor and pixel art tool
- From
- $19.99/once
- Rated
- -
Pico-8
Game Development
A fantasy console for making, sharing and playing tiny games
- From
- $14.99/one-time
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Aseprite a one-off purchase with no free tier, only a trial; Pico-8 extremely limited display resolution of 128x128 pixels with 16-colour palette
- They diverge on capability: Aseprite covers Pixel art tools, Pico-8 covers Pixel art editor.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Aseprite and Pico-8 actually diverge.
Identical on both: pricing model (one-time), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Aseprite
- Pixel art tools
- Animation timeline
- Onion skinning
- Layers
- Tilemap editor
- Color palettes
- Sprite sheets
- Scripting (Lua)
Only in Pico-8
- Pixel art editor
- Music composer
- Lua scripting
- Built-in palette
- Sprite system
- Map editor
- Code editor
- Game cartridges
Both cover
- Local deployment
- Windows support
- Macos support
- Linux support
- Lua language support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Aseprite
- Pixel art creation for gamesnot Pico-8
- Frame-by-frame sprite animationnot Pico-8
- Exporting sprite sheets and GIFsnot Pico-8
- Scripting repetitive export tasks through the command linenot Pico-8
Pico-8
- Retro-style indie game developmentnot Aseprite
- Educational game programmingnot Aseprite
- Game jam participationnot Aseprite
- Pixel art game creation with strict creative constraintsnot Aseprite
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Aseprite
- A one-off purchase with no free tier, only a trial
- Deliberately narrow: a pixel art and sprite animation editor rather than a general image editor
- The site does not state supported platforms or licence terms, which are on GitHub instead
Pico-8
- Extremely limited display resolution of 128x128 pixels with 16-colour palette
- Cart size capped at 32 kilobytes
- Only 256 sprites of 8x8 pixels available
- Map limited to 128x32 tiles
- Monophonic sound synthesis with 4-channel chip synthesis only
- Lua programming language exclusively; no other language support
Pricing, plan by plan
Aseprite
$19.99/once- License$19.99/once
- Full feature set
- Free updates
- Commercial use
Pico-8
$14.99/one-timeNo published plan breakdown. See the Pico-8 review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Aseprite if
- You need pixel art tools.
- You work on Windows, Macos, Linux.
- You also want animation timeline.
Choose Pico-8 if
- You need pixel art editor.
- You work on Windows, macOS, Linux, Raspberry Pi.
- You also want music composer.
Questions people ask
- Is Aseprite or Pico-8 better?
- Neither clearly leads. Aseprite starts at $19.99/once and Pico-8 at $14.99/one-time, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Aseprite or Pico-8?
- Aseprite starts at $19.99/once and Pico-8 at $14.99/one-time.
- Does Aseprite or Pico-8 run on more platforms?
- Aseprite runs on Windows, Macos, Linux. Pico-8 runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Raspberry Pi.
- What is Aseprite best used for?
- Aseprite is most often used for pixel art creation for games, frame-by-frame sprite animation, exporting sprite sheets and gifs, scripting repetitive export tasks through the command line. Of those, pixel art creation for games and frame-by-frame sprite animation are not what Pico-8 is typically brought in for.
- What can Aseprite do that Pico-8 cannot?
- Aseprite covers Pixel art tools, Animation timeline, Onion skinning, Layers. Pico-8 covers Pixel art editor, Music composer, Lua scripting, Built-in palette. Both handle Local deployment, Windows support, Macos support, Linux support.