10 tools compared
Best Paint.NET Alternatives in 2026
Paint.NET (Paint.NET is a free image and photo editing software) isn't the right fit for everyone. Below are 10 real alternatives pulled straight from our Paint.NET profile.
| # | Tool | Pricing | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adobe Photoshop | — | — |
| 2 | GIMP | Open source | |
| 3 | Pixelmator | — | — |
| 4 | Photopea | Open source | |
| 5 | Krita | — | |
| 6 | MyPaint | — | |
| 7 | Pixlr | — | |
| 8 | Photoscape | — | — |
| 9 | IrfanView | — | |
| 10 | FastStone Image Viewer | — |
1. Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a webtop application categorized under Design Tools, built for editing images and photos online. It is widely used by professional photographers, designers, and artists, delivering high-quality results for basic photo editing and complex digital art creation through features like Comprehensive Editing Tools, layers, masks, and retouching capabilities. Users also benefit from regular updates, extensive plugin support for third-party tools, and seamless integration with other Adobe Creative Cloud applications such as Illustrator, Lightroom, and Premiere Pro.
Full Adobe Photoshop profile →2. GIMP
GIMP is a multiplatform photo manipulation tool that fits users looking for a free and open source graphic design software option. It provides a comprehensive set of image editing tools for photo retouching, image composition, and image authoring, which accommodates both beginners and advanced users. Additionally, users can utilize extensive plugin support to enhance functionality and customize the software to suit specific needs, alongside cross-platform compatibility for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Full GIMP profile →3. Pixelmator
Pixelmator is an image-editing application built for Mac and iPad. It is a strong fit for users looking for a user-friendly interface that remains powerful enough for professionals, utilizing macOS technologies like Metal, Core Image, and OpenGL for performance optimization. It also includes AI-powered tools such as ML Super Resolution to enhance image quality using machine learning algorithms.
Full Pixelmator profile →4. Photopea
Photopea is a web-based image editing application that is suitable for both beginners and advanced users. It stands out for its compatibility with a wide range of file formats, including PSD, XCF, Sketch, and XD, allowing for seamless workflow integration with other graphic design tools. The user interface is intuitive and similar to Adobe Photoshop, which helps reduce the learning curve for users already familiar with Photoshop.
Full Photopea profile →5. Krita
Krita is a professional free and open source painting program made by artists for concept art, texture and matte painting, illustrations, and comics. It stands out with a powerful brush engine that is highly configurable and dynamic, alongside a rich feature set including HDR painting, layer management, color wheels, and advanced selections.
Full Krita profile →6. MyPaint
MyPaint is built for digital artists looking for a fast, distraction-free painting tool with a minimalistic interface. It stands out with an unlimited digital canvas, high-performance optimization for complex brushes, and advanced tools that mimic real-world art media. Because it is open-source, users can access the source code and benefit from community contributions.
Full MyPaint profile →7. Pixlr
Pixlr is a design tool well-suited for both beginners and experienced users who need a web-based application with cross-platform compatibility for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. It stands out for its user-friendly interface, fast performance with larger image files, and advanced editing tools like layers, filters, and various adjustments.
Full Pixlr profile →8. Photoscape
Photoscape is an image editing software best suited for beginners who want to perform basic photo editing tasks without any hassle. It provides an intuitive and easy-to-navigate user interface alongside a wide range of tools such as crop, resize, color adjustment, filters, and effects. Beyond standard editing, users can utilize batch processing to edit multiple photos at once, take screen captures, create animated GIFs, and use the built-in viewer for added versatility.
Full Photoscape profile →9. IrfanView
IrfanView is a Photos & Graphics tool designed for users who need a lightweight viewer with a small size and low resource usage, running efficiently even on older systems. It stands out with wide format support for BMP, DIB, JPEG, GIF, PNG, PCX, TIFF, and multimedia formats, alongside powerful batch processing capabilities for converting and processing multiple images at once. The interface remains intuitive and straightforward for both beginners and advanced users.
Full IrfanView profile →10. FastStone Image Viewer
FastStone Image Viewer is a photo browser, converter, and editor suited for individuals and non-commercial users who need an intuitive tool with a clean interface. It stands out by offering wide format support including JPEG, PNG, BMP, and camera RAW files, alongside comprehensive editing tools like cropping, resizing, color adjustments, and red-eye removal. Users can also utilize batch processing to resize, convert, and rename multiple images at once, or create slideshows with transition effects and background music support.
Full FastStone Image Viewer profile →