Sticker.ly Alternative for iPhone: No Ads, No Watermark, No Account
11 min read · By Feral Online · Updated 31 October 2026
On this page
Pixtide Sticker is an iPhone sticker maker for people who want what Sticker.ly does, animated stickers from their own videos and GIFs for WhatsApp, without the ads, the watermark or an account. Sticker.ly PLUS costs $7.99 a month or $39.99 a year in the US, checked on the App Store on 23 Oct 2026, and its listing states "Contains Advertising". Pixtide Sticker keeps two packs free for good, but it is not released yet and has no community library.
This page is written by Feral Online, the one-person studio that makes Pixtide Sticker and Pixtide Swipe. We name where the other app wins.
Why people look for a Sticker.ly alternative
Sticker.ly is the biggest sticker app on the App Store, and in 2025 and 2026 it moved from a free, ad-supported maker to a subscription called Sticker.ly PLUS. Its US rating is still 4.77 from 150,366 ratings and its Brazilian rating 4.83 from 740,470, checked on the App Store on 23 Oct 2026, but that average is built on years of older reviews. The most recent US reviews are mostly 1-star, and they repeat four complaints: an ad before every save, a watermark on free saves, a paywall for iMessage, and the price.
One reviewer put the price question simply: "I don't mind buying. But I want to own not rent." (US, 15 Oct 2026). Another wrote: "You now have to pay to remove watermark off sticker." (1 star, US, 14 Oct 2026). A third: "they paywalled it for imessage" (1 star, US, 1 Feb 2026).
Sticker.ly's own paid terms, effective 16 Apr 2026, list "An ad-free app experience" as a PLUS benefit, which confirms that the free path carries ads (Sticker.ly App Store page).
Sticker.ly vs Pixtide Sticker, row by row
The table below sets Sticker.ly's App Store listing, FAQ and reviews, checked on 23 Oct 2026, against Pixtide Sticker as built for version 1.0. Where Sticker.ly's listing does not say, the cell says so rather than guessing.
| Feature | Pixtide Sticker | Sticker.ly |
|---|---|---|
| Price of the free version | Free (not released yet) | Free download |
| What the free version limits | Two packs (one still, one animated, up to 30 stickers each); 3 animated cut-outs to start, plus one a week | No pack cap known; reviewers report an ad per save and PLUS needed for iMessage |
| Ads | None | Yes (listing: Contains Advertising) |
| Watermark | None | On free saves, reviewers report |
| Account | None | Sign-in with Google, Apple ID, Email or Facebook (FAQ) |
| Weekly plan | No | No |
| Yearly price | $19.99 a year (£19.99 in the UK) | $39.99 a year (£29.99 in the UK) |
| Lifetime option | $39.99 once (£39.99 in the UK) | No |
| Animated from video | Yes | Yes (Auto Cut) |
| Animated from GIF | Yes | Not stated by the developer (a 2021 review describes it) |
| Background removal on video | Yes, every frame, made on your iPhone | Yes (Auto Cut) |
| Telegram video stickers | Yes (Telegram plays 3 seconds) | Description names Telegram; video stickers not mentioned in the listing |
| WhatsApp packs | Yes, still and animated | Yes, still and animated |
| On-device | Yes, media never leaves the phone | Not stated; privacy label lists Photos or Videos collected for App Functionality |
What the free version of each app gives you
Sticker.ly's free version lets you make and download stickers, but App Store reviewers describe a rewarded ad before each sticker or pack is saved, and a watermark on stickers saved as images. One US reviewer on 8 Oct 2026 said the app "opens an ad to 'let you save one sticker'". Reviewers since late 2025 also report that adding packs to iMessage needs PLUS, so the free route is WhatsApp. No cap on the number of packs is known.
Pixtide Sticker's free version is smaller in scope and has no ads anywhere. It keeps two packs for good, one still and one animated, each with up to 30 stickers, and you can add, replace and delete stickers in them as often as you like. Every way in (Share sheet, paste, Photos, Files, camera) and every destination (WhatsApp, Telegram, Messages, Photos, files) is free. Trim, speed, loop, text and outline are free. Animated cut-outs, where the background is removed on every frame, start at 3 and add one a week. The two free ready-made packs never count toward your two.
Price: Sticker.ly PLUS against Pixtide Sticker Pro
Pixtide Sticker Pro costs $3.99 a month (£3.99 in the UK), $19.99 a year (£19.99 in the UK) or $39.99 once (£39.99 in the UK), prices set per country. Sticker.ly PLUS costs $7.99 a month, $19.99 for 6 months or $39.99 a year in the US, and £5.99, £14.99 or £29.99 in the UK, checked on the App Store on 23 Oct 2026. Sticker.ly also sells a separate "60 Avatars" purchase at $4.99.
So Pixtide Sticker's yearly price is half of Sticker.ly's US yearly price, and it has a one-time lifetime option where Sticker.ly has none. Neither app has a weekly plan. Pixtide Sticker has no timed trial either; Sticker.ly reviewers describe a trial that turned into a $39.99 yearly charge (1 star, US, 21 Jan 2026).
Pro in Pixtide Sticker adds unlimited packs and animated cut-outs, a whole pack in one go, text styles and moving text, your own publisher name, every ready-made pack and iCloud backup. If Pro ends, the packs you made keep working. Some apps are cheaper still: Mobivalley's Sticker Maker sells Pro at $9.99 a year and Remove Ads at $3.99, checked on 23 Oct 2026.
Animated stickers from video and GIF
Both apps turn your own clips into animated WhatsApp stickers with the background removed. Sticker.ly's App Store description promises to "Create animated stickers from your videos with new Auto Cut technology", and its screenshots show "Remove Background from photos and videos". Its maximum clip length, trim and speed controls are not stated in the listing.
Pixtide Sticker takes videos, GIFs, Live Photos and photos, from the Share sheet in any app, from Photos, from Files, by paste or from the camera. The editor trims with a strip of frames, sets speed from 0.25x to 4x, loops normally, in reverse or there and back, and picks the frame WhatsApp shows when the sticker stops. The cut-out uses Apple's on-device Vision on every frame of the clip, with a brush to refine it.
WhatsApp sets the limits for both apps: animated stickers must be WebP, 512 by 512 pixels, 500 KB or less and 10 seconds or less, with 3 to 30 stickers in a pack (WhatsApp's iOS sticker documentation). Telegram video stickers are shorter: 3 seconds at most, as WEBM files of up to 256 KB (Telegram's sticker rules). For a step-by-step version, see how to turn a video into a WhatsApp sticker.
Privacy, accounts and where the work happens
Sticker.ly's App Store privacy label, checked on 23 Oct 2026, lists Identifiers, Usage Data and Diagnostics under "Data Used to Track You", and Photos or Videos under data collected for App Functionality. Its FAQ asks you to sign in with Google, Apple ID, Email or Facebook, and ties PLUS to that account (Sticker.ly FAQ). Where Sticker.ly's photo cut-out runs is not stated; its AI generation features use server credits under the paid terms.
Pixtide Sticker has no account and no sign-in, no ads, no advertising trackers and no identifier for advertising. Videos, photos and stickers are made on the iPhone and are never uploaded to us. The app does send usage analytics with a random install id, and you can switch that off in Settings; purchases go through a purchase-records service with the same random id. iCloud backup on Pro is optional and uses your own iCloud. The full list is on the Pixtide Sticker privacy page.
One app that matches Pixtide Sticker on this point: Mobivalley's Sticker Maker also says it makes stickers on the device with no account, although its listing states it contains ads.
Where Sticker.ly wins
Sticker.ly is the stronger choice if you want to browse other people's stickers. Its screenshots promise "Explore Stickers: Billions, updated daily", with creators to follow and packs shared by link. Pixtide Sticker has no community library: it ships five ready-made packs of its own, two of them free, and three free stickers from each of the other three.
Sticker.ly also has a long track record. It has been on the App Store since 11 Apr 2019, it updates every one to three weeks (version 3.40.1 on 13 Oct 2026), and it has 150,366 US ratings. Pixtide Sticker has no ratings because it is not released yet. Sticker.ly runs on iOS 15.6 or later, so it reaches older iPhones that Pixtide Sticker, which needs iOS 18, does not. It is also on Android, which matters if your group chat is mixed.
Older reviewers liked how far stickers travel: "Sticker.ly is amazing being able to make them and save them to multiple different apps." (4 stars, UK, 17 Aug 2022). And if you want AI-made memes and avatars, Sticker.ly PLUS includes AI image and video generation credits; Pixtide Sticker does not generate images.
Honest limitations of Pixtide Sticker
Pixtide Sticker is coming soon to the App Store (not released yet), so today you cannot download it, and it has no ratings or reviews to judge it by. It runs on iPhone only, with iOS 18 or later.
To use a GIF from the web, you can search in your browser, save the GIF to Photos and pick it in Pixtide Sticker; most websites do not let apps take a GIF from their pages. Sticker.ly removed its own in-app GIF search years ago, according to a 2023 UK review, but it has its huge community feed instead.
The free version keeps two packs, not an unlimited number, and animated cut-outs are limited to 3 to start plus one a week. Telegram video stickers play for 3 seconds because that is Telegram's rule, so you choose which 3 seconds. The ready-made library is five packs at launch, not millions.
Other Sticker.ly alternatives worth a look
Apple's Photos app is the free option to try first: it lifts a subject from a photo or a Live Photo into a still or moving sticker, with no app to install (Apple: make stickers from your photos). Apple's guide covers photos and Live Photos, not videos or GIFs, and has no trim control.
WhatsApp can make stickers inside the app. The sources we read in October 2026 describe photos with cut-out, text and drawing, and packs since 2025; WhatsApp's help page did not load for us, so check what your version offers (WhatsApp Help Center).
Sticker Maker Studio has no in-app purchases at all, 4.72 from 80,171 US ratings, and takes photos, GIFs and videos; its listing states it contains ads, and reviewers report ads at export they could not close. Mobivalley's Sticker Maker is on-device with no account and cheaper Pro, but needs iOS 26 and caps animated stickers at 6 seconds. All checked on the App Store on 23 Oct 2026. More options are in our sticker makers without ads or watermarks roundup.
Who should pick which
Choose Sticker.ly if you want a giant feed of other people's stickers, follow creators, use an iPhone older than iOS 18, or want AI meme tools and do not mind a subscription. If you stay on the free tier, expect ads before saves and, according to reviewers, a watermark on saved images.
Choose Apple's Photos stickers if all you need is a still or a Live Photo sticker for Messages, and you want nothing installed.
Choose Pixtide Sticker, once it is out, if you make your own animated stickers from videos, GIFs and screen recordings and want them in WhatsApp, Telegram and Messages without ads, a watermark or an account. Two packs stay free for good; if you need more, Pro is $19.99 a year (£19.99 in the UK) or a one-time $39.99 once (£39.99 in the UK). You can see what it does on the Pixtide Sticker page, and the other Pixtide apps on the family page.
How we compared
Every Sticker.ly fact on this page comes from its US and UK App Store pages, its FAQ and paid terms, and its App Store reviews, all checked on 23 Oct 2026; the rating counts come from the iTunes lookup for the US and Brazil storefronts. Review quotes are copied from the App Store with their star rating and date, and we picked quotes that show both sides. Where Sticker.ly's listing says nothing about a feature, such as clip length or trim, we wrote "not stated" rather than "no".
Pixtide Sticker's facts describe version 1.0 as built on 27 Oct 2026, which is in testing and not on the App Store yet. We did not test Sticker.ly's PLUS features, and we did not run either app's stickers through WhatsApp for this page. Prices change; check the App Store before you pay for either app.
Pixtide is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Sticker.ly. All product names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. This comparison reflects publicly available information as of October 2026; pricing and features change, so please check each app's store listing for the latest details.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Sticker.ly alternative for iPhone without ads?
It depends on what you send. Apple's Photos app makes still and Live Stickers from your photos and Live Photos for free with no ads. Sticker Maker Studio has no subscription but shows ads at export. Pixtide Sticker, from Feral Online, is not released yet; its free version keeps two packs with no ads, no watermark and no account, and it makes animated stickers from videos and GIFs.
How much does Sticker.ly PLUS cost?
Sticker.ly PLUS costs $7.99 a month, $19.99 for 6 months or $39.99 a year in the US, and £5.99, £14.99 or £29.99 in the UK, checked on the App Store on 23 Oct 2026. There is no weekly plan and no one-time lifetime purchase. Pixtide Sticker Pro's yearly price is half of Sticker.ly's US yearly price, and Pixtide Sticker also sells a one-time lifetime unlock.
Does Sticker.ly put a watermark on stickers?
App Store reviewers say it does on the free tier. A US reviewer wrote on 14 Oct 2026 that you now have to pay to remove the watermark, and UK reviews since 2021 describe a sticker.ly credit on saved stickers. Sticker.ly's listing does not describe it. Pixtide Sticker adds no watermark on the free version or on Pro.
Do I need an account to use Sticker.ly?
In practice, yes, to create and keep stickers. Sticker.ly's FAQ lists sign-in with Google, Apple ID, Email or Facebook, and says Sticker.ly PLUS is tied to that account. A UK reviewer in June 2026 reported losing stickers made without an account. Pixtide Sticker has no account and no sign-in; stickers are made and kept on the iPhone.
Can I make animated WhatsApp stickers from a video without Sticker.ly?
Yes. Several iPhone apps turn a video or GIF into an animated WhatsApp pack, including Sticker Maker Studio and Pixtide Sticker (not released yet). WhatsApp's own rules allow animated stickers of up to 10 seconds and 500 KB, at 512 by 512 pixels, with at least 3 stickers per pack, according to WhatsApp's iOS sticker documentation on GitHub.