Krita Alternatives for Free and Low-Cost Digital Painting

Krita has not gone anywhere. The Krita download page offers version 5.3.4.1, released on October 7, 2026, for Windows 8.1 or later, macOS 10.15 or later, Linux and Android. It is GPLv3 open source and costs nothing from krita.org. Krita 6.0.4 exists too, but only as source code, so the installers most people use are still 5.3.

People look for something else for a few clear reasons. Krita has no iPad or iPhone version, its comic and lettering tools are thinner than a dedicated manga app, and it is not a photo editor. The picks below start with the closest painting matches, then cover tablet and phone apps, then editors that mix painting with photo work.

Prices below are as of November 6, 2026. Our method is on How we review tools.

Quick comparison

Clip Studio Paint

Krita users who draw comics usually end up here. Celsys built Clip Studio Paint around panels, speech balloons, perspective rulers, vector line layers and posable 3D figures, and its line stabiliser is one of the best around. Krita can do panels with some effort, but Clip Studio treats a 40-page comic as a normal project.

Ver. 5.0 shipped in March 2026 with a Smart Shape tool and a velocity brush dynamic, according to the Ver. 5.0 announcement. PRO costs $63 once, and EX, which adds multi-page management and full-length animation, costs $277 once.

Best for: Illustrators and comic artists who want a dedicated inking and page tool.

Pricing:

• PRO Ver. 5.0: $63 one-time (Windows, macOS)
• EX Ver. 5.0: $277 one-time (Windows, macOS)
• Monthly and annual plans from $0.99/month, covering every platform

Watch out for:

• The one-time licences cover Windows and macOS only. On an iPad, iPhone or Android device you need a subscription.

Official site: Clip Studio Paint.

Procreate

For anyone who left Krita because they bought an iPad, Procreate is the default answer. Brushes respond well to the Apple Pencil, gestures handle undo and colour picking, and the Brush Studio lets you build brushes from your own shape and grain textures, a little like Krita's brush editor but with fewer engines.

Procreate costs $12.99 on the App Store, with no subscription. Version 5.4.14 needs iPadOS 16.3 or later. Savage sells a separate iPhone app, Procreate Pocket.

Best for: iPad owners who want a fast painting app for a single small payment.

Pricing:

• $12.99 one-time on the US App Store
• Procreate Pocket for iPhone is a separate purchase

Watch out for:

• It runs only on iPad, so desktop work means exporting PSD files. Krita can open those, which helps if you keep both.

Official site: Procreate.

Adobe Fresco

Fresco costs nothing and has something Krita lacks: live brushes. Watercolour bleeds into wet areas and oils blend as you drag, without building a custom brush preset first. It also mixes raster and vector brushes in one file and has simple frame-by-frame animation.

The Fresco product page calls it completely free and lists iPad, iPhone and Windows, along with unlimited layers.

Best for: Painters who want wet-media brushes on an iPad or Windows tablet at no cost.

Pricing:

• Free, with an Adobe account

Watch out for:

• There is no macOS or Linux version, so Krita users on a Mac or Linux desktop cannot move over.

Official site: Adobe Fresco.

ibis Paint X

ibis Paint X is the phone-first pick. It has about 301,000 ratings averaging 4.7 on the US App Store, and it records your drawing process so you can share it as a video. Krita's Android build works best on a tablet; ibis Paint is designed for a small screen.

ibis Paint X runs on iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows PCs and Mac. On the App Store, Premium Membership costs $4.49 a month or $27.99 a year, and a one-time ad removal upgrade costs $15.99. Version 14.1.3 needs iOS 15 or later.

Best for: Artists who mostly draw on a phone and want time-lapse sharing built in.

Pricing:

• Free with ads
• Ad Removal Upgrade: $15.99 one-time
• Premium Membership: $4.49/month or $27.99/year

Watch out for:

• The free version shows ads. Removing them costs $15.99, and Premium is a separate subscription on top.

Official site: ibis Paint X.

Affinity

Canva relaunched Affinity on October 31, 2025 as one free app that merges the old Designer, Photo and Publisher, with Vector, Pixel and Layout tabs. For a Krita user it covers what Krita does not: precise vector work, photo retouching and page layout, all in one file.

The Affinity site says the app is free for individuals and runs on Mac with Apple silicon or Intel, Windows, and now iPad. Its Pixel tab paints well enough for sketches and texture work.

Best for: Krita users who also do vector illustration, photo edits or print layout.

Pricing:

• Free for individuals
• Generative AI tools need a paid Canva plan

Watch out for:

• You need a Canva account even for the free app, Generative Fill and Remove Background require a paid Canva subscription, and there is no Linux build.

Official site: Affinity.

GIMP

Pick GIMP if you opened Krita to fix photos and found it awkward. It is a photo and image editor first, with better selection, colour correction and file format support for that job, and it is free software under GPLv3 for Linux, macOS and Windows.

GIMP 3.2.8 came out on November 2, 2026. The 3.2 series added non-destructive text, link and vector layers, PSB export and import of some Photoshop layer styles, per the GIMP 3.2 release notes. Our Photoshop alternatives guide compares it with other free editors.

Best for: Linux and Windows users who need a free photo editor next to their painting app.

Pricing:

• Free and open source (GPLv3)

Watch out for:

• Brush feel and canvas tools for painting are weaker than Krita's, so most artists keep Krita for drawing and use GIMP for photo work.

Official site: GIMP.

Rebelle

Escape Motions simulates paint physically. Watercolour granulates, drips when you tilt the canvas and can be dried with a tool, and oils build up with impasto. Getting that look in Krita takes careful brush tuning; Rebelle does it out of the box.

Rebelle 8 costs $89.99 and Rebelle 8 Pro $149.99, both as lifetime licences with a year of updates, on the Rebelle product page. Pro adds pigment-based colour mixing. If natural media is your focus, our Corel Painter alternatives list goes deeper.

Best for: Traditional watercolour and oil painters who want real-paint behaviour.

Pricing:

• Rebelle 8: $89.99 one-time
• Rebelle 8 Pro: $149.99 one-time
• One year of updates included; free trial available

Watch out for:

• Activation needs an internet connection, and updates stop after the first year unless you pay to renew them.

Official site: Rebelle.

Adobe Photoshop

Photoshop belongs on this list for one reason: many studios and clients expect layered PSD files and Adobe brushes. Concept artists often paint in it because the file goes straight into the next step of the pipeline, and it adds photo tools and generative fill that Krita does not have.

The Photoshop plans page lists $22.99 a month on an annual plan billed monthly, or $263.88 a year prepaid. The Photography plan, with Lightroom and 1TB of storage, is $19.99 a month.

Best for: Professionals whose employers or clients require Adobe files.

Pricing:

• Photoshop single app: $22.99/month, annual plan billed monthly
• Photoshop single app: $263.88/year prepaid
• Photography plan: $19.99/month
• 7-day free trial

Watch out for:

• It is subscription only, so you lose editing if you stop paying, and it has no Linux version.

Official site: Adobe Photoshop.

How to choose

When to stay with Krita

Stay with Krita if you paint on a Windows, Mac or Linux desktop and like tuning brushes. Nothing else here is free, open source and that deep at the same time, and its animation timeline and wrap-around mode for textures are bonuses. The paid store copies on Steam, the Epic Games Store, the Microsoft Store and the Mac App Store are the same app with automatic updates, and the money funds development.

Frequently asked questions