Layer
Concept art & 2D assets · Free tier + paid- Commercial use
- Commercial use allowed
- Free plan
- Free planStart for free (scope unverified)
- Ship free-plan output?
- Yes
- Engines
- Any (standard file export / engine-agnostic)
Layer vs PixelLab
Facts from each vendor's published pages, checked . Compare different tools →
Our ranking
In Concept art & 2D assets, Layer ranks #4 and PixelLab ranks #6. No independent quality tests found. Ranked on game-dev fit: commercial use allowed; no engine integration stated; API and official MCP server. Mostly runs other companies' image models, so their leaderboard results don't count for it.
PixelLab
Concept art & 2D assets · Free tier + paid- Commercial use
- Commercial use allowed
- Free plan
- Free planFree trial tier, no credit card
- Ship free-plan output?
- Yes
- Engines
- Any (standard file export / engine-agnostic)
Bottom line for game devs
- Commercial use: both commercial use allowed (Layer terms; PixelLab terms).
- Free plan: Layer: free plan (Start for free (scope unverified)) pricing. PixelLab: free plan (Free trial tier, no credit card) pricing.
- Shipping free-plan output in a paid game: both allow it, per their published terms.
- API and MCP: both: public API, official MCP server.
- Engine integrations stated by the vendor: both: none stated (standard file export).
Best for
Style-consistent game art and marketing creatives
Pixel-art characters, rotations, animations and tilesets
What it does
Generative content platform aimed at game studios: style-trained models, concept art, marketing creatives and asset variations with team workflows.
AI generator for pixel art game assets: characters, 4/8-direction rotations, text- and skeleton-based sprite animations, tilesets, maps and UI elements.
Verdict
For studios that want style-trained generation with no per-seat fees; the pricing page lists a commercial licence for all users.
For 2D devs who need pixel-art sprites, rotations and animations; outputs are usable commercially on every plan, but its terms bar training other models on them.
Tasks●
Concept art & 2D assets, Textures & materials, Trailers & marketing
Concept art & 2D assets
Engines
Any (standard file export / engine-agnostic)
Any (standard file export / engine-agnostic)
Free plan
Free plan Start for free (scope unverified)
Free plan Free trial tier, no credit card
Pricing
Start for free. Subscriptions begin at US$10/month for 300 Creative Units, increasing by US$60 per 1,000 CUs; US$0 per seat. source
Free trial tier (no credit card). Paid plans listed at $12/month (2,000 generations), $24/month (5,000) and $50/month (10,000). API and MCP calls use your plan's generations; separate USD API credits are only needed without a subscription or once the plan's generations run out (PixelLab, by email, 17 Oct 2026; the API's balance endpoint reports both). source
Export formats
Not stated by vendor
Not stated by vendor
Commercial use
Commercial use allowed
Pricing page lists "Commercial license for all users". Free-tier scope: unverified. source
Pricing page lists "Commercial license for all users". Free-tier scope: unverified. source
Commercial use allowed
Pricing page lists "Use generated images commercially" and says the user owns the rights to generations, except using them to train models. Terms also reference the Open RAIL-M license. source
Pricing page lists "Use generated images commercially" and says the user owns the rights to generations, except using them to train models. Terms also reference the Open RAIL-M license. source
Revenue share / caps
Not stated by vendor
Not stated by vendor
API
Available. API documentation published source
Available. REST API; calls draw on subscription generations, or on USD credits without a plan source
MCP server
Official MCP server. Hosted MCP server source
Official MCP server. Remote MCP server for coding assistants (bearer token) source
Last checked
Rows marked ● differ between the two tools. Licence badges: green = commercial use allowed (including any free plan or trial), amber = paid plans only, restricted, or allowed but with no free plan, red = not allowed, grey = not stated by vendor or not applicable. Read the vendor's current terms before you ship.