7 Sticker.ly alternatives worth trying in 2026
Sticker.ly built its 330 million download base on one trick: auto-cut a sticker out of any photo and ship it straight into WhatsApp. The auto-cut still works, but the app around it has gotten heavier. The 2026 builds push an AI meme feature, run a steady stream of interstitial ads on the free tier, and lean on the public sticker-discovery feed where strangers can copy your packs.
If the ad load or the AI upsell has soured you on the app, this guide covers the seven best Sticker.ly alternatives we tested in 2026. Each one handles a specific use case: clean auto-cut, animated stickers, keyboard-integrated stickers, or fully offline sticker packs without a social layer.
| App | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sticker Maker | Clean auto-cut without ads | Yes | Free | Lasso-precise edge tool |
| Bobble AI Keyboard | Stickers from inside the keyboard | Yes | Free | Personalised face stickers |
| Wemoji | Single-tap sticker creation | Yes | Free | Largest curated free pack library |
| Personal Stickers | Truly private sticker packs | Yes | Free | No social discovery feed |
| Whatsemoji | Memes plus text-on-sticker | Yes | Free | Built-in text editor with effects |
| Sticker Maker for WhatsApp | Bulk import from camera roll | Yes | Free | Multi-photo selection workflow |
| Stickify | Browsing pre-made packs first | Yes | Free | Category-organised pack store |
Why people leave Sticker.ly
The ad load on the free tier is hard to ignore. A short auto-cut session typically ends with a full-screen interstitial before the export button works. Users on Reddit and the Play Store reviews call out the ad cadence as the main reason they install something lighter.
The public discovery feed copies your packs. Sticker.ly’s hook is sharing your creations with strangers. The downside is that anything you publish becomes searchable and downloadable, including stickers made from personal photos. There is a “private” option, but it sits behind several taps and is easy to miss.
AI generation got pushed to the top of the home screen. The 2026 redesign promoted the AI meme generator above the auto-cut tool. Free users hit usage caps on the AI features quickly, and the app surfaces an upgrade prompt every few sessions.
No way to back up your packs. Sticker.ly does not let you export a pack file or sync packs between devices. A factory reset wipes everything unless you re-share each pack into WhatsApp first.
The alternatives
Sticker Maker — best clean auto-cut without ads
Sticker Maker by Marsvard is the no-frills option most Sticker.ly users land on after they uninstall. The lasso tool is more precise than Sticker.ly’s auto-cut for tricky edges like hair or fur, and there is no discovery feed pressuring you to publish. Sticker.ly vs. Sticker Maker comes down to whether you want the social layer or just the export.
The workflow is direct: pick a photo, trim around the subject, name the pack, push it to WhatsApp. The app keeps a local list of your packs without uploading anything to a server.
Where it falls short: The interface looks dated next to Sticker.ly. There is no animated sticker support, and the auto-cut is manual rather than AI-assisted, so cutting out 30 stickers in a row takes longer.
Pricing:
- Free: full sticker pack creation, unlimited packs, WhatsApp and Signal export
- Paid: one-time small purchase removes the banner ad
- vs. Sticker.ly: cheaper at zero subscription pressure, but loses the animated sticker workflow
Migrating from Sticker.ly: No importer. Re-export your most-used packs from Sticker.ly into WhatsApp first, then rebuild the same packs inside Sticker Maker from the source photos. Plan on an evening for a power user with 10 to 20 packs.
Bottom line: Pick Sticker Maker if you want the cleanest auto-cut workflow without the discovery feed. Skip it if animated stickers are core to how you chat.
Bobble AI Keyboard — best stickers from inside the keyboard
Bobble AI Keyboard flips the workflow around. Instead of a separate app, sticker creation lives inside a custom Android keyboard. Type a word, tap the sticker icon, and a personalised face sticker drops into the chat. The face is built from a single selfie during setup.
For users who send sticker reactions throughout the day, this saves the trip out of WhatsApp into Sticker.ly and back. Bobble vs. Sticker.ly is a different category of tool, and that is the point.
Where it falls short: Bobble is a full keyboard replacement, so installing it means trusting another input method with your typing data. The privacy policy permits aggregated analytics, which some users will object to. The face-sticker style is fixed and cannot be edited freely.
Pricing:
- Free: full keyboard and sticker suite with ads in the discovery surface
- Paid: optional subscription removes ads and unlocks premium sticker packs
- vs. Sticker.ly: free tier is roughly comparable; Bobble adds the keyboard integration that Sticker.ly does not have
Migrating from Sticker.ly: No direct path. Keep Sticker.ly installed for static photo stickers and add Bobble alongside as the face-reaction keyboard. The two apps coexist.
Bottom line: Pick Bobble if you send reaction stickers more than you create custom ones, and you are comfortable swapping keyboards. Skip it if photo-based custom packs are the whole point.
Wemoji — best for fast single-tap sticker creation
Wemoji trims the workflow down further than Sticker Maker. Pick a photo, tap once on the subject, and the cut-out drops into a pack. The curated free pack library is the largest we tested, with seasonal, anime, and meme categories refreshed regularly.
For users coming from Sticker.ly’s auto-cut tool, the muscle memory transfers cleanly. The free pack library covers most “ready-made reaction” needs without needing to build anything.
Where it falls short: Wemoji shows a banner ad on the export screen and an occasional interstitial after a few packs. The watermark on stickers created in the free tier is small but present in the corner of each exported sticker.
Pricing:
- Free: unlimited pack creation with watermark, full library access
- Paid: removes watermark and ads
- vs. Sticker.ly: Wemoji has a larger pre-made pack catalogue but a more visible watermark on free exports
Migrating from Sticker.ly: No importer. Re-export Sticker.ly packs to WhatsApp first, then recreate the high-use ones from source photos inside Wemoji. The auto-cut is fast enough that 20 stickers takes about ten minutes.
Bottom line: Pick Wemoji for the fastest auto-cut plus a generous pre-made pack library. Skip it if the watermark is a dealbreaker.
Personal Stickers — best for fully private packs
Personal Stickers by handyCloset is the closest match for users who specifically left Sticker.ly because of the public discovery feed. There is no feed, no social layer, no upload to any server. Everything stays on the device and gets pushed into WhatsApp on demand.
The cropping tool supports manual edge trimming and a basic auto-cut. The interface is plain and stays out of the way. For sticker packs made from photos of family or kids, this is the safer pick.
Where it falls short: No animated sticker support and no AI features. The free pack catalogue is small compared to Wemoji or Stickify, so users who want ready-made content will find this app spartan.
Pricing:
- Free: unlimited custom packs, no watermark
- Paid: small one-time fee removes the bottom banner
- vs. Sticker.ly: no discovery exposure and no AI upsell, at the cost of a smaller built-in library
Migrating from Sticker.ly: Re-create packs from source photos. Because Sticker.ly stores nothing locally as a portable file, all migration is a manual rebuild regardless of the target app.
Bottom line: Pick Personal Stickers if discovery exposure is the reason you are leaving Sticker.ly. Skip it if you want a steady stream of fresh community packs.
Whatsemoji — best for memes with text overlays
Whatsemoji by X Store leans into the meme-sticker workflow. The built-in text editor supports outlined fonts, drop shadows, and curved text paths, which Sticker.ly’s editor handles poorly. For users whose Sticker.ly use is 80 percent “photo with funny caption,” this is a faster path.
Pack creation is similar to Sticker.ly: pick a photo, crop, add text, save. The difference is the text tool quality and the absence of an AI upsell layered over the export button.
Where it falls short: The interface is busier than Sticker Maker, with ads inside the pack-browser tab. Some font choices in the editor only unlock with a small in-app purchase.
Pricing:
- Free: pack creation with all core features, ad-supported
- Paid: small purchase unlocks premium fonts and removes ads
- vs. Sticker.ly: stronger text editor for caption-style stickers, weaker pack discovery
Migrating from Sticker.ly: Manual rebuild. The text overlays may actually translate better into Whatsemoji because the font controls are more flexible.
Bottom line: Pick Whatsemoji if your sticker packs are mostly captioned photos and memes. Skip it if discovery and animation matter more than text editing.
Sticker Maker for WhatsApp — best for bulk import
Sticker Maker for WhatsApp (the iSticker-branded version) is built around batch workflows. Select 20 photos at once, run auto-cut across all of them in sequence, and the app builds a single pack ready to export. Sticker.ly handles bulk packs but charges through the AI quota; this app does not.
For anyone migrating a backlog of photo packs out of Sticker.ly, the multi-photo workflow saves real time compared to a one-at-a-time editor.
Where it falls short: The included video downloader and photo downloader sub-features clutter the app. The auto-cut is slightly less precise on hair and fur than Sticker Maker by Marsvard. Ads appear between batch operations.
Pricing:
- Free: full pack creation including bulk import, ad-supported
- Paid: optional in-app purchase removes ads
- vs. Sticker.ly: faster for large packs, less polished UI, no animated sticker support
Migrating from Sticker.ly: This is the app most users pick specifically to rebuild a large Sticker.ly library quickly. Re-share each Sticker.ly pack into WhatsApp first, save the source photos to the camera roll, then bulk-import them.
Bottom line: Pick this app if you are migrating a large library and want the fastest batch workflow. Skip it if app clutter bothers you.
Stickify — best for browsing pre-made packs first
Stickify inverts the Sticker.ly model. Instead of leading with “create a pack,” the app opens to a categorised pack store with curated content. Custom sticker creation is still there, but the front door is browsing. For users who realised they were creating maybe two packs and downloading twenty, this matches their actual usage better.
The category organisation is cleaner than Sticker.ly’s discovery feed, with proper sections rather than an algorithmic stream.
Where it falls short: The custom sticker tool is functional but less precise than the dedicated maker apps. There is no AI auto-cut, just a manual trim. Ads appear between pack downloads.
Pricing:
- Free: full pack store and basic custom creation, ad-supported
- Paid: optional in-app purchase to remove ads
- vs. Sticker.ly: stronger browse-and-download experience, weaker custom creation tools
Migrating from Sticker.ly: Browse for replacement packs in Stickify’s categories rather than rebuilding your own. For most casual users, the curated packs cover the same chat reactions.
Bottom line: Pick Stickify if most of your Sticker.ly time was downloading other people’s packs anyway. Skip it if creating your own packs is the whole reason you use a sticker app.
How to choose
Pick Sticker Maker if you want the cleanest possible auto-cut workflow with zero social pressure. It is the closest single-feature replacement for what made Sticker.ly useful before the AI redesign.
Pick Bobble AI Keyboard if your sticker use is reaction-heavy and you are willing to swap keyboards. It is a different category of app and solves a different problem, but it solves it well.
Pick Personal Stickers if you specifically left Sticker.ly because the discovery feed exposed packs you wanted private. The app is plain by design and that is the feature.
Pick Wemoji if you want a Sticker.ly replacement that comes pre-loaded with content. It is the closest match for users who liked Sticker.ly’s library more than its editor.
Stay on Sticker.ly if animated stickers are central to how you chat and the AI auto-cut quality is your priority. None of these alternatives match Sticker.ly’s animated workflow yet, and the AI cut is genuinely strong for hard subjects like glass or smoke.
FAQ
Is there a Sticker.ly alternative without ads?
Sticker Maker by Marsvard ships with a single small banner ad on the free tier and removes it for a one-time purchase under a few dollars. Personal Stickers follows the same model. Both are quieter than Sticker.ly’s free tier, which runs interstitials between exports.
Can I import my Sticker.ly packs into another app?
No app offers a direct importer. Sticker.ly does not export a portable pack file. The workaround is to re-share each pack from Sticker.ly into WhatsApp, save the resulting stickers to the camera roll, and reimport them into the new app from there.
What is the best free WhatsApp sticker maker?
Sticker Maker by Marsvard is the most-recommended free option for clean custom packs. Wemoji wins if you want a large library of pre-made packs alongside the maker tool. Both are free to install and create unlimited packs.
Do these apps work for Telegram stickers too?
Yes. Sticker Maker, Wemoji, and Whatsemoji all export to Telegram in addition to WhatsApp. Bobble works through the keyboard so it lands wherever you type. Personal Stickers and Stickify focus on WhatsApp’s WAStickerApps format.
Why is the auto-cut better in Sticker.ly than in these alternatives?
Sticker.ly licenses image segmentation technology from SenseTime, which is more aggressive on edge detection than the open-source segmentation libraries used by smaller apps. For most stickers the difference is invisible. For glass, smoke, or fine hair, Sticker.ly’s cut is still the most accurate option in the category.
Can I make animated stickers without Sticker.ly?
Animated WAStickerApps creation is the gap none of these alternatives fully close. Sticker.ly leads on Auto Cut for videos. For static photo packs the alternatives are fine; for animated packs from video clips, Sticker.ly remains the most polished option.
