Charcoal AlternativesOnly apps categorised as Digital Painting Tools

If that doesn't work for you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Charcoal, but unfortunately only zero of them are Digital Painting Tools.

filter to find the best alternatives

Charcoal alternatives are mainly Digital Painting Tools but may also be Image Editors or Photo Editors.  Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Charcoal.
  • ...
  • Charcoal is incredibly easy to use: Just create or open a sketch and start drawing. There are no layers, properties panels or confusing settings. Instead, Charcoal features rich tools and beautiful color palettes.
More about Charcoal
Charcoal alternatives page was last updated Jan 27, 2021
  1. Krita icon
     1332 likes

    Free, open-source painting software designed by artists for artists. Offers customizable UI, 9 brush engines, color management, tablet support, non-destructive editing, and privacy features. Portable and available on major platforms, supporting seamless texture creation.

    141 Krita alternatives
    Main Window

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android Tablet
    • Epic Games Store
    • PortableApps.com
    • Steam

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Digital Drawing
    2.  Blending brushes
    3.  Keyframe Animation
    4.  Drawing 2D
    5.  Advanced brush settings
    6.  Drawing Tablet Support
    7.  Digital-painting focused
    8.  Sketching
    9.  Color blending
    10.  Support for Layers
    11.  Texture painting
    12.  Dark Mode
    Krita iconCharcoal Icon

    Krita VS Charcoal

    Is Krita a good alternative to Charcoal?
     
    • Krita is the most popular Windows, Mac, Linux & Android Tablet alternative to Charcoal.

    • Krita is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Charcoal.

    • Krita is Free and Open SourceCharcoal is Free and Proprietary
    • Krita is LightweightCharcoal is not according to our users
  2. Paint.NET icon
     1627 likes

    Free Windows image editor with support for layers, plugins, and special effects. Offers intuitive interface, works offline, ad-free, and portable, consuming fewer resources.

    164 Paint.NET alternatives
    Paint.NET screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeProprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • .NET Framework

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Minimalistic
    3.  User friendly

    Features

    1.  Support for Layers
    2.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    3.  Dark Mode
    4.  Support for image plugins
    5.  Community-based
    6.  Transparency
    7.  History Panel
    8.  Ad-free
    9.  Portable
    10.  Built-in Color Picker
    11.  Works Offline
    12.  No registration required
    Paint.NET iconCharcoal Icon

    Paint.NET VS Charcoal

    Is Paint.NET a good alternative to Charcoal?
     
  3. MediBang Paint icon
     114 likes

    MediBang Paint is a lightweight software for illustration and making comic books on Windows and Mac OS.

    73 MediBang Paint alternatives
    Great for anime or comics

    License model

    • FreemiumProprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Multi-choice brushes
    2.  Pressure Sensitivity
    3.  Digital-painting focused
    4.  Color blending
    5.  Pen Stabilization
    6.  Keyframe Animation
    7.  Support for Layers
    8.  Dark Mode
    9.  Drawing Tablet Support
    10.  Custom Brushes
    11.  Category Filters
    12.  Texture for brushes
    MediBang Paint iconCharcoal Icon

    MediBang Paint VS Charcoal

    Is MediBang Paint a good alternative to Charcoal?
     
  4. Pixelitor icon
     27 likes

    Pixelitor is an open source image editor with an intuitive interface and with a special emphasis on non-destructive editing.

    118 Pixelitor alternatives
    Pixelitor screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Works Offline
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Support for Layers
    4.  Image Filters
    5.  Photo effects
    6.  Image Processing
    7.  Retouch photos
    8.  Photographic filters
    9.  Java based
    10.  Sketching
    Pixelitor iconCharcoal Icon

    Pixelitor VS Charcoal

    Is Pixelitor a good alternative to Charcoal?
     
  5. Wizardbrush icon
     3 likes

    Wizardbrush is a natural media painting software which has a lot of brushes and paper with realism style. You can create realistic picture with it. You can not only use it to paint pictures, but also handle your digital photos, even use it to teach digital painting and image...

    134 Wizardbrush alternatives
    Wizardbrush screenshot 1

    License model

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Discontinued

    Last version, 6.7.7.6, was released on November 2011.

    Wizardbrush iconCharcoal Icon

    Wizardbrush VS Charcoal

    Is Wizardbrush a good alternative to Charcoal?
     
  6. Photopainter icon
     3 likes

    Photopainter is both a natural-media painting software and an image processing system at the same time.

    143 Photopainter alternatives
    Photopainter screenshot 1

    License model

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Discontinued

    The program is no longer updated. Last version, 1.5.2.5, released in December 2007, can be still downloaded from the official website.

    Photopainter iconCharcoal Icon

    Photopainter VS Charcoal

    Is Photopainter a good alternative to Charcoal?
     
6 of 6 Charcoal alternatives