Pricing, plans & purchasing
Is Pixton Free? What the Starter Plan Actually Includes
Quick answer
Not permanently. Pixton’s free option is the Starter plan, which its documentation describes as full access to every feature for 30 days and up to 40 projects in total across the teacher and all their students. It is a trial with a project cap, not a free tier. It is limited to one per teacher and is not available to any account that has held a subscription before. Beyond it, classroom use needs a paid plan.
Why this happens
Pixton’s Starter plan page is explicit: “full access to all of the features of Pixton during the 30 days of free trial,” including classrooms, activities and printing, “up to 40 projects in total (among teacher and students).” It should activate automatically on a new educator account; if it does not, Pixton says to email support@pixton.com. The limits are the point — 40 projects is roughly one comic per student in a single class, so the plan is designed to let you evaluate, not to run a term on.
The eligibility rules are stricter than they look. One Starter plan per teacher, ever. Not available to accounts that have had a subscription in the past. A teacher who paid two years ago and comes back does not get a fresh trial.
When the Starter plan hits either limit, the Scene Maker stops opening. Pixton’s own troubleshooting page lists “The Starter Plan has a limit of 40 projects and 30 days” as the first reason the Scene Maker becomes inaccessible. That is the free plan ending, not a bug.
What you need to know
- The Starter plan gives full Pixton features for 30 days and 40 total projects. Both limits apply; whichever you hit first ends it.
- It activates automatically on a new educator account. If yours did not, email support@pixton.com and ask for it.
- One per teacher. Previously subscribed accounts are not eligible.
- Plan the 40 projects deliberately. With a class of 25, that is one comic each plus some for you. Do not spend them on a warm-up activity.
- After the Starter plan, the educator options are $25 a month or $144 a year, or a school or district licence by quote. Solo Student accounts, for students 13 and over working independently, are $10 a month or $49 a year.
- What you keep after the plan ends: everything. Pixton states it does not delete projects, classrooms or student work when a subscription is cancelled or lapses. What you lose is the ability to keep creating.
What the paid plans include
Pixton’s educator plans — monthly and annual — list the same contents: over 200 content packs, over 4,000 backgrounds, characters, outfits, props, poses and expressions, printing, downloading and sharing, and over 250 lesson ideas. The annual plan is $144, which works out to $12 a month against $25 on the monthly plan. Schools and districts get custom pricing by requesting a quote.
Third-party listings also describe an Avatars-only educator plan at around $72 a year; that is not on Pixton’s current subscription-options page, so check inside your account before budgeting on it.
Is there any way to use Pixton free indefinitely?
Not for a class. The Starter plan ends at 30 days or 40 projects, whichever comes first, and does not renew. Pixton offers no permanent free educator tier. If budget is the constraint, the realistic paths are the annual plan at $144, a school licence, or the funding routes districts use for classroom software — Title I, Title III and instructional-materials budgets in the US typically cover tools like this.
If that did not solve it
If the Scene Maker suddenly will not open and you are on the Starter plan, you have hit 40 projects or 30 days. Nothing is broken. Pixton lists this as the first cause on its own troubleshooting page, and the only fix is a subscription.
Questions people also ask
Is Pixton free for teachers?
For 30 days and 40 projects, yes, through the Starter plan. After that, educator plans are $25 a month or $144 a year. There is no permanent free tier for classroom use.
Is Pixton free for students?
Students in a teacher’s class are covered by the teacher’s plan. Students 13 and over working independently need a Solo Student account at $10 a month or $49 a year.
Can I get the Pixton free trial twice?
No. Pixton limits the Starter plan to one per teacher and excludes any account that has previously held a subscription.
What happens to my comics when the Pixton free plan ends?
They stay. Pixton states it does not delete projects, classrooms or student work when a plan ends. You lose the ability to create new ones until you subscribe.
Checked September 2026 against Pixton's published documentation. How we research · Report an error