Can someone explain to me the differences between Pixelmator and Pixelmator Pro?

Chat about the original Pixelmator.
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2018-02-17 14:04:06

what are the main differences between two apps and why would anyone want to upgrade it to pro version.
whats the selling point of the Pixelmator Pro?
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2018-02-17 16:40:59

Pixelmator is a fairly mature product while Pixelmator Pro is pretty new. From what I see so far, I believe that the people at Pixelmator have chosen to release the Pro version quite early in its development and add features in new releases as they go. This means that, at the moment (Feb 2018, with Pixelmator Pro on 1.0.8 and Pixelmator on 3.7) that there isn't a huge difference in their feature sets. There are even some things that you can do with Pixelmator that you can't yet do with Pixelmator Pro.

For me there are three main differences:
1. The user interface. Pixelmator worked with a load of floating pallettes which could quickly get quite messy. Most could be hidden or shown with a simple shortcut, though. Pixelmator Pro has a cleaner UI with layers down one side of the canvas and tools (and tool options) down the right. It's not a huge deal but, as I work on a laptop, I do like having a less cluttered screen. (edit: I fired up classic Pixelmator yesterday while trying to chase down a bug and it reminded me how much I prefer the UI on Pixelmator Pro. And I was a fan of the original Pixelmator.)
2. Destructive and non-destructive effects. On Pixelmator if you want to add an effect to a layer, you can preview it and change its settings but once you apply it, it has changed the contents of that layer. Pixelmator Pro will keep multiple stacked effects on a layer, rendering the changes in real-time without destroying the layer. Often you can go back and tweak settings in a way that is impossible in Pixelmator. (edit: This non-destructiveness applies to shapes, too. So you can create a union of some shapes and still be adbe to edit them all individually.)
3. Company focus. I expect the folks at Pixelmator to focus much of their energy on adding new features to the Pro version and expect a gap between the two to open and become larger over time. Much of what what I do is based around vector graphics with bitmap layers. Vector graphic support is fairly basic in both Pixelmator and Pixelmator Pro at the moment but that's something that I expect to improve in Pixelmator Pro version upon version.

Why did I spend my money on Pixelmator Pro when I already had Pixelmator?
Whenever I've run into a problem with Pixelmator I've found the company to be responsive and helpful. I felt that I had got a whole lot of value for money out of Pixelmator and enough faith in the company to make me want to buy the new product. I believe that Pixelmator Pro will gain the features that will justify the price disparity between the products.

Which one is right for you? No idea. Pixelmator is cheap and very functional for the money. Pixelmator Pro has the possible promise of more functionality and does have a trial version if you want to take it for a test drive.

I hope this helps.