Paint.NET AlternativesOnly apps categorised as Photo Editors for Linux

Paint.NET is not available for Linux but there are some alternatives that runs on Linux with similar functionality. The best Linux Photo Editor alternative is Pinta, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Paint.NET and nine of them are Photo Editors available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Linux Photo Editor alternatives to Paint.NET are GIMP, Sly, LazPaint and PhotoGIMP.

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Paint.NET alternatives are mainly Image Editors, but if you're looking for Photo Editors or Digital Painting Tools you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Android, Linux, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Windows and Online. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Paint.NET.
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Alternatives list

  1. Pinta icon

    Pinta

     274 likes
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    Pinta is a image editing, drawing and painting application with a simple yet powerful interface. Pinta has a wide range of drawing tools, including: freehand, rectangles, circles and lines. It also has over 35 effects to apply to your images, and also has the ability to create...

    99 Pinta alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • Mono
    • Snapcraft
    Pinta 3.0
     
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    21
    134
    Comments about Pinta as an Alternative to Paint.NET
    Comment summary: Pinta receives praise for closely resembling Paint.NET, making it a strong alternative, especially for basic tasks and cross-platform use. However, users also point out issues such as bugs, missing features compared to Paint.NET, and stopped updates, which hinder its effectiveness. Despite these drawbacks, many still consider it the best clone available for those needing a simple and lightweight alternative to Paint.NET.
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    12

    This functions in almost identical ways to Paint.NET, more so than any other program listed on here.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    6

    It gives you a good taste of Paint.NET, but it's so broken and painful to work with that it just isn't worth using; e.g. the text function doesn't work.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    harrisben
    Positive
    0

    Much more functionality and cleaner UI.

    Show more comments
    3 of 21 comments
    Paint.NET Icon
    Pinta icon

    • Most users think Pinta is a great Paint.NET alternative.

    • Pinta is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Paint.NET.

    • Pinta is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Paint.NET.

    • Pinta is Free and Open SourcePaint.NET is Free and Proprietary
    • Pinta is Privacy focusedPaint.NET is not according to our users
  2. GIMP icon

    GIMP

     4717 likes
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    GIMP delivers powerful functionalities for photo retouching, image composition, and format conversion. As a versatile tool, it serves as both a simple paint program and a high-end retouching suite, and offers batch processing for mass image tasks in an accessible open-source platform.

    190 GIMP alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku
    • Flatpak
    • AmigaOS
    yes
     
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    40
    257
    Comments about GIMP as an Alternative to Paint.NET
    Comment summary: Paint.NET is praised for its simplicity and ease of use, making it suitable for basic image editing tasks, while GIMP is criticized for its complexity and steep learning curve. Many users find GIMP to be more of an alternative to Photoshop, due to its advanced features and professional tools, which can be overwhelming for casual users. Despite some positive feedback on GIMP's features and open-source nature, the consensus is that it lacks the user-friendliness and lightweight nature of Paint.NET.
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    1

    free, open-source, cross-platform

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Top Negative Comment
    zlelmefs
    7

    The #1 perk of paint.net is how lightweight and fast it is, it's intended as a competitor to Paint. GIMP is the complete opposite- it's a big, slow monster designed to compete with photoshop.

    beng tang
    Negative
    1

    GIMP has many good features but it has removed the option to use lanczos algorithm for resizing images. The alternatives it provides for this purpose produce blurer images and are not as good. As resizing an image is a pretty basic requirement for a raster image editing software package, I'm afraid this is a serious limitation.

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    3 of 40 comments
    Paint.NET Icon
    GIMP icon

    • Some users think GIMP is a great Paint.NET alternative, some don't.

    • GIMP is Free and Open SourcePaint.NET is Free and Proprietary
    • GIMP is Customizable and Privacy focusedPaint.NET is not according to our users
  4. Sly icon

    Sly

     50 likes
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    Sly is a user-friendly, offline image editor requiring no expertise; adjust brightness, contrast, apply effects, and export in JPEG or PNG formats with control over metadata.

    36 Sly alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Online
    Sly screenshot 1
     
  5. LazPaint icon

    LazPaint

     45 likes
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    Raster & vector graphic editor with many tools and filters, written in Lazarus. Portable, 32bit & 64bit versions, ORA format & 16384x16384 image support. In app 3D import & rendering.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Main UI
     
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    6
    15
    Comments about LazPaint as an Alternative to Paint.NET
    Top Positive Comment
    sourloti
    3

    Is able to open and edit .pdn files! Especially handy if you're on Linux and aren't able/don't want to use paint.net.

    beng tang
    Positive
    0

    LazPaint comes close to Paint.NET in terms of ease of use and features. Unlike GIMP, LazPaint has good resampling / resizing algorithms including Lanczos. Unlike Krita, it's selection tool does not select outside the image and it can print images. Amongst the Linux image editors I have tried, it is so far the best alternative to Paint.NET.

    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Lightweight and available in Debian 11

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
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    3 of 6 comments
    Paint.NET Icon
    LazPaint icon

    • Most users think LazPaint is a great Paint.NET alternative.

    • LazPaint is Free and Open SourcePaint.NET is Free and Proprietary
  7. miniPaint icon

    miniPaint

     30 likes
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    miniPaint is free online image editor using HTML5. Edit, adjust your images, add effects online in your browser without installing anything. You can use the Electron based version of the editor if you like.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    miniPaint screenshot 1
     

    • miniPaint is the most popular Self-Hosted alternative to Paint.NET.

    • miniPaint is Free and Open SourcePaint.NET is Free and Proprietary
  9. Pixelitor icon

    Pixelitor

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

    112 Pixelitor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Pixelitor screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Comments about Pixelitor as an Alternative to Paint.NET
    nlacaria
    Positive
    0

    not a similar GUI, but similar speed and basic functionality. closest "base" program to Paint.Net on Linux. Paint.Net is much more expandable with extensions. But Pixelitor is much more accurate in things like cropping than Pinta

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Paint.NET Icon
    Pixelitor icon
    • Pixelitor is Free and Open SourcePaint.NET is Free and Proprietary
  10. Glimpse Image Editor icon

    Glimpse Image Editor

     34 likes
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    Glimpse is an open source image editor based on the GNU Image Manipulation Program. The goal is to experiment with new ideas and expand the use of free software.

    163 Glimpse Image Editor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Glimpse Image Editor screenshot 1
     
  11. showFoto icon

    showFoto

     14 likes
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    You can use it to view your photographs and improve them. Showfoto is the standalone image editor of the digiKam project.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • KDE
    showFoto screenshot 1
     
9 of 9 Paint.NET alternatives