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Head-to-head · Pixel Art Software

Pro Motion NG vs Hexcalibur

  • Updated Nov 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 6 checks side by side
Higher score Pro Motion NG #7 in Pixel Art Software 8.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Pro Motion NG
Hexcalibur #8 in Pixel Art Software 8.6/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 5 features Visit Hexcalibur

Pro Motion NG leads on 0 checks, Hexcalibur on 0, and 6 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 6 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scorePro Motion NG · 8.7/10
  • Free planboth
  • Most featuresPro Motion NG · 5 of 5

Pro Motion NG scores higher on our rubric for pixel art software: 8.7 against 8.6 out of 10; our editors rank them #7 and #8.

Pro Motion NG is the better fit for pixel artists needing palette and tilemap depth. Hexcalibur is the better fit for affordable browser pixel-art tooling.

  • Pro Motion NG fits best

    Pixel artists needing palette and tilemap depth

  • Hexcalibur fits best

    Affordable browser pixel-art tooling

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Side by side

Feature Pro Motion NG 8.7/10 Visit ↗ Hexcalibur 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.7 8.6
Ranking #7 in Pixel Art Software #8 in Pixel Art Software
Best for Pixel artists needing palette and tilemap depth Affordable browser pixel-art tooling
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free plan + paid
Starting price $19 one-time $29/yr
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Desktop Cloud
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux Web
Support Email, Community, Docs Docs
Integrations 6 integrations 8 integrations
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market Solo, Small business, Mid-market
Features Pro Motion NG 5/5 · Hexcalibur 4/5
Animation timeline ✓ ✓
Indexed color tools ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Sprite-sheet export ✓ ✓
Onion skinning ✓ ✓
Tilemap tools ✓ ✓
Specs
Supported platforms Windows, macOS via Wine, Linux via Wine web
Export formats BMP, PNG, JPEG, TGA, GIF PNG, JPEG, WEBP, animated GIF, APNG, sprite sheet, WebM, Minecraft Java .mcmeta, Bedrock flipbook, .tsx/.tmx, ZIP, .mcpack
Our review
Pros
  • Indexed palettes, tilemaps, tilesets and bitmap font tools
  • Animation timeline with key frames, delays and onion skinning
  • Commercial-use free edition and a $19 one-time full license
  • Free tier includes a full 2D editor and animation timeline
  • Supports tilemaps, terrain generation, autotiling, and shared palettes
  • Exports for Minecraft, Tiled, Unity, Godot, and other engines
Cons
  • The Free Edition has limited features
  • macOS and Linux run the Windows application through Wine
  • Wine compatibility limitations may affect non-Windows setups
  • Available only through the web
  • Cloud sync requires a Pro plan
  • Support is provided through documentation
Our verdict

Pro Motion NG is desktop software for creating pixel-art images, animations, sprites, tilesets and level maps. It is aimed at pixel artists, game developers, educators and studios producing graphics for games, handheld systems and web…

Read the review →

Hexcalibur is a browser-based pixel-art editor for pixel artists and voxel game developers. Its workspace combines a full 2D pixel editor with live 3D previews for cubes, stairs, slabs, and L-stacks. It also includes animation, tilemaps,…

Read the review →
  1. Pro Motion NGPixel Art Software 8.7Free plan
  2. HexcaliburPixel Art Software 8.6Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Pro Motion NG — where it wins

    • Indexed palettes, tilemaps, tilesets and bitmap font tools
    • Animation timeline with key frames, delays and onion skinning
    • Commercial-use free edition and a $19 one-time full license

    Where it doesn't

    • The Free Edition has limited features
    • macOS and Linux run the Windows application through Wine
    • Wine compatibility limitations may affect non-Windows setups

  • Hexcalibur — where it wins

    • Free tier includes a full 2D editor and animation timeline
    • Supports tilemaps, terrain generation, autotiling, and shared palettes
    • Exports for Minecraft, Tiled, Unity, Godot, and other engines

    Where it doesn't

    • Available only through the web
    • Cloud sync requires a Pro plan
    • Support is provided through documentation

Pro Motion NG vs Hexcalibur: questions

Which is better for pixel art software, Pro Motion NG or Hexcalibur?

Pro Motion NG scores higher on our rubric for pixel art software: 8.7 against 8.6 out of 10; our editors rank them #7 and #8.

How do Pro Motion NG and Hexcalibur compare?

All 6 checks we put side by side come out level: neither leads on any.

Do Pro Motion NG and Hexcalibur have a free plan?

Pro Motion NG: Yes. Hexcalibur: Yes.

More comparisons

All pixel art software comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Nov 2026

Last updated · How we research and update