What is the best painting software?

Question

16

Options
Considered

41

User
Recs.

Nov 13, 2023

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

15 Options Considered

Best painting software	Price	Platforms	License
-- Krita	Free	Windows, Linux, Mac, Android	Open source
-- Clip Studio Paint	US$49.99	-	-
-- PaintShop Pro	-	Windows	-
-- FireAlpaca	Free	Windows Mac	-
-- Photoshop	$9.99/mo	Windows, macOS	Hagu

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score 16 · Answer 1

Krita

Top Pro

Easy to use layout

All the most used and useful tools are easy to find in Krita's UI and are often just one click away. They are not hidden behind menus or dropdowns. See More

Top Con

Working with text is not that pleasant

AffableSarpanit's Experience

easy to use and free See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Linux, Mac, Android

License:Open source

Technology:C++, Qt

Top Pro

Free and open source

Krita is completely free and open source. They have raised a couple of successful Kickstarters in the past to get the initial financing and now they are accepting donations. See More

RickZeeland's Experience

Free and supports pressure sensitive tablets. See More

Top Pro

Amazing support for displaying brushes

Krita's preset brushes are one of the default dockers. Each brush has a preview on mouseover that shows a detailed view of the type of brush involved. All the brushes also have useful and descriptive names such as "HP Pencil" or "Textured Fuzzy". See More

Top Pro

Constantly updated

Krita is getting constant releases with updates and bug fixes. New features are added at a pace that far surpasses the other alternatives. See More

Top Pro

Very customizable

Although the UI is rather busy, Krita is very customizable. The editing window can be themed and the sidebar can be customized extensively throw many dockers or panes. See More

See All

score 7 · Answer 2

Clip Studio Paint

Top Pro

Brushes

The brushes on Clip Studio feel natural and smooth. Especially love the Real Pencil and G-Pen. See More

Specs

Supported platforms:Windows, Mac, iPadOS, iOS

Top Pro

Familiar and Modular UI

Clip Studio Paint is easy to work with because of its familiar feel and customizable interface. See More

Top Pro

Dark Theme

A setting to turn down the bright exterior of the program, this is useful for preventing eye strain after long amounts of usage. See More

See All

Answer 3

PaintShop Pro

score 3 · Answer 4

FireAlpaca

Top Pro

Interface is not overhelming

Specs

Platforms:Windows Mac

Top Pro

Doesn't require a lot of memory to run

Top Pro

Onion Skin mode can be useful

Top Pro

Easy to use

See All

score 1 · Answer 5

Photoshop

Top Pro

Industry standard

Photoshop is used by professionals everywhere in a wide variety of fields including photography, graphic design and digital art. It is the de facto standard for image manipulation. If you've seen a magazine ad featuring a model, you've probably seen the effects of Photoshop. You won't be alone when using Photoshop. See More

Top Con

Aimed at image manipulation

Where Krita focuses on creative drawing, Photoshop is more aimed at image and photo manipulation. See More

PeterZ's Experience

Not free but the best. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows, macOS

License:Hagu

Tethered capture:via Bridge

See All

score 2 · Answer 6

Paintstorm Studio

Platforms:Windows, Linux, Mac, iPad

score 3 · Answer 7

Paint.NET

Answer 8

SketchBook - draw and paint

Platforms:Windows, Mac, Android, iOS

Answer 9

Easy Paint Tool SAI

Add Video or Image

score 2 · Answer 10

Corel Painter

Top Pro

Increased performance

RickZeeland's Experience

Now on offer on Humble Bundle in a bundle pack for only €31. https://www.humblebundle.com/software/anything-but-ordinary-painter-bundle-software See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Mac

Top Pro

No subscription model

See All

score 1 · Answer 11

ArtRage

All

1

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Android, Mac, iOS

score 1 · Answer 12

FotoSketcher

Top Con

Can take some time

Some effects can take a long time to complete, especially on high resolution photo's. See More

RickZeeland's Experience

Not a painting program, although it has some simple tools, but a converter to turn photo's into paintings. See More

score 1 · Answer 13

Tayasui Sketches

Top Pro

Simple

RickZeeland's Experience

Maybe not the best, but it is a simple and affordable painting app for your phone or tablet. See More

Specs

Platforms:Mac, iOS, Android

Top Pro

Free version

See All

score 1 · Answer 14

Artweaver

Top Pro

Free

Free version available. See More

RickZeeland's Experience

Artweaver is a Windows painting program available in a free and a paid version, there is also a portable version. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows

Top Pro

Teamwork option

Work together on the same painting via internet. See More

Top Pro

Plugins

See All

score 1 · Answer 15

Rebelle 5

Iggy's Experience

Blown away by the live simulation as you paint wet. Incredibly intuitive. Beautiful software with a perpetual license and fantastic support team. I may add more later, I was just surprised Rebelle 5 wasn't on the list so had to add it... See More

15 Options Considered

My Recommendation for Krita

My Recommendation for Krita

Easy to use layout

Working with text is not that pleasant

Free and open source

Amazing support for displaying brushes

Constantly updated

Very customizable

My Recommendation for Clip Studio Paint

My Recommendation for Clip Studio Paint

Brushes

Familiar and Modular UI

Dark Theme

My Recommendation for PaintShop Pro

My Recommendation for PaintShop Pro

My Recommendation for FireAlpaca

My Recommendation for FireAlpaca

Interface is not overhelming

Doesn't require a lot of memory to run

Onion Skin mode can be useful

Easy to use

My Recommendation for Photoshop

My Recommendation for Photoshop

Industry standard

Aimed at image manipulation

My Recommendation for Paintstorm Studio

My Recommendation for Paintstorm Studio

My Recommendation for Paint.NET

My Recommendation for Paint.NET

My Recommendation for SketchBook - draw and paint

My Recommendation for SketchBook - draw and paint

My Recommendation for Easy Paint Tool SAI

My Recommendation for Easy Paint Tool SAI

My Recommendation for Corel Painter

My Recommendation for Corel Painter

Increased performance

No subscription model

My Recommendation for ArtRage

My Recommendation for ArtRage

My Recommendation for FotoSketcher

My Recommendation for FotoSketcher

Can take some time

My Recommendation for Tayasui Sketches

My Recommendation for Tayasui Sketches

Simple

Free version

My Recommendation for Artweaver

My Recommendation for Artweaver

Free

Teamwork option

Plugins

My Recommendation for Rebelle 5

My Recommendation for Rebelle 5

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My Recommendation for AzPainter

My Recommendation for AzPainter

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