Paint.NET Alternatives for Mac

Paint.NET is not available for Mac but there are plenty of alternatives that runs on macOS with similar functionality. The best Mac 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 many of them are available for Mac so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Mac alternatives to Paint.NET are Krita, GIMP, Adobe Photoshop and Pixelmator.

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Paint.NET alternatives are mainly Image Editors but may also be Photo Editors or Digital Painting Tools. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Paint.NET.

Paint.NET

1618

Digital Painting Tool
Free • Proprietary

Paint.net is a free and very capable image editing software for Windows. Great alternative to Photoshop for people that do not need all the stuff PS offers.

More about Paint.NET

Paint.NET alternatives page was last updated Sep 5, 2024

Pinta
Pinta is a free, open source drawing/editing program modeled after Paint.NET . Its goal is to provide users with a simple yet powerful way to draw and manipulate images on Linux, Mac, and Windows.
106 Pinta alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Image Editor
- Photo Editor
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- Mono
- Flathub
Top Pinta Features
1. Lightweight
2. Digital Painting
3. Support for Layers
4. Works Offline
5. Ad-free
6. Non Destructive Editing
7. Dark Mode
8. No registration required
9. Color Picker
10. No Tracking
11. Multiple languages
12. Color correction
Show all NaN Pinta features ▾
Pinta VS Paint.NET
Is Pinta a good alternative to Paint.NET?
Comments about Pinta as an Alternative to Paint.NET

Guest
This functions in almost identical ways to Paint.NET, more so than any other program listed on here.
Top positive comment •Oct 4, 2015
10
Guest
It is powerfull, open-source and almost the same but cross-platform alternative to paint.net
Top positive comment •Jan 2, 2018
4
Guest
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.
Top negative comment •Feb 15, 2019
6
Guest
It is a faithful implementation of Paint.NET on Linux.
Positive comment •Mar 31, 2023
-1
Guest
This is an exact paint.NET clone. This is the real alternative.
Positive comment •May 16, 2021
-1
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5 of 17 comments
- 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

Krita
Krita is a professional Free and open source (FOSS) painting program. It is made by artists that want to see affordable art tools for everyone within concept art, texture and matte painters, illustrations and comics.
148 Krita alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Digital Painting Tool
- Image Editor
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android Tablet
- Epic Games Store
- PortableApps.com
- Steam
+3
Top Krita Features
1. Digital Drawing
2. Digital Painting
3. Blending brushes
4. Keyframe Animation
5. Drawing 2D
6. Advanced brush settings
7. Lightweight
8. Drawing Tablet Support
9. Digital-painting focused
10. Color blending
11. Sketching
12. Support for Layers
Show all NaN Krita features ▾
Krita VS Paint.NET
Is Krita a good alternative to Paint.NET?
Comments about Krita as an Alternative to Paint.NET

Generic_Sweetener
There isn't anything else exactly like paint.net, but Krita comes the closest in terms of features and ease of use. It's relatively intuitive, has various customization options, and is sufficient for basic photo editing and more advanced image manipulation and drawing.
Top positive comment •Jul 28, 2020
5
beng tang
As an alternative to Paint.NET for Linux, Krita is not exactly the same, but it has most of the same functionality and it can resize (Image > Scale Image to New Size) images using a variety of resampling filters including Lanczos3, which makes it better than GIMP for resizing photos.
Top positive comment •Sep 16, 2023
0
Guest
Very good, but not focused to photo editing.
Top negative comment •Jan 22, 2017
16
FiTekno
I was looking for a quick tool to combine multiple screenshots, for example. This succeeds with that but not as fast as with Paint.net. Good thing this is localized to many languages.
Comment •Mar 10, 2022
0
zlelmefs
Krita is built from the ground up for painting and drawing. Paint.net is for rapid image editing like making memes or cropping/adjusting photos. Krita is heavier and less intuitive.
Negative comment •Dec 13, 2021
1
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5 of 16 comments
- Most users think Krita is a great Paint.NET alternative.
- Krita is the most popular Android Tablet alternative to Paint.NET.
- Krita is Free and Open SourcePaint.NET is Free and Proprietary

GIMP
GIMP is a free program for such photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. Essentially it's the closest thing to Photoshop you can get for free.
202 GIMP alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Digital Painting Tool
- Image Editor
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- Snapcraft
- Flathub
- PortableApps.com
- Haiku
- Flatpak
- AmigaOS
+5
Top GIMP Features
1. Support for Layers
2. Customizable
3. Photo effects
4. Digital Painting
5. DRM Free
6. Ad-free
7. Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
8. High-resolution images
9. Retouch photos
10. Open PSD files
11. Image Processing
12. Dark Mode
Show all NaN GIMP features ▾
GIMP VS Paint.NET
Is GIMP a good alternative to Paint.NET?
Comments about GIMP as an Alternative to Paint.NET

Guest
free, open-source, cross-platform
Top positive comment •May 21, 2019
1
Guest
Yeah, it's overloaded, but its main goal is to provide all tools that you ever need.
Top positive comment •Apr 11, 2020
1
zlelmefs
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.
Top negative comment •Dec 13, 2021
5
beng tang
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.
Negative comment •Sep 8, 2023
0
Guest
Paint.net is simple & easy picture edit tool. Gimp is not.
Negative comment •Aug 10, 2023
1
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5 of 40 comments
- 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 CustomizablePaint.NET is not according to our users

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Adobe Photoshop
Comprehensive raster graphics editor offering advanced photo and image editing features. Supports multiple layers, masks, alpha compositing, various color models, and has limited vector graphics, 3D, and video capabilities. Extensible via plug-ins.
232 Adobe Photoshop alternatives
License model
- Paid • Proprietary
Application types
- Digital Painting Tool
- Image Editor
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Online
- iPad
- Wine
- ReactOS
+8
Top Adobe Photoshop Features
1. Digital Painting
2. RAW Photo Editors
3. Color correction
4. Photo effects
5. Advanced brush settings
6. Image Processing
7. Raster graphics
8. Support for Layers
9. Intuitive Interface
10. Color Picker
11. Resizing dpi
12. Hardware Accelerated
Show all NaN Adobe Photoshop features ▾
Adobe Photoshop VS Paint.NET
Is Adobe Photoshop a good alternative to Paint.NET?
Comments about Adobe Photoshop as an Alternative to Paint.NET

HaricharanSrinivasan
The absolute best in photo correction and manipulation. Slick interface. Fast. Loads of tools for mobile and Web design. Content-aware editing. Video editing. 3D design capability. Synced Libraries. Integrated stock library. Complementary mobile apps.
Top positive comment •Dec 19, 2017
4
Guest
Actually, Paint.NET is supposed to be a free alternative to Adobe Photoshop. While Paint.NET is very powerful, Adobe Photoshop is the superior when it comes to editing. If you want nice free results, Paint.NET is your best bet. If you want amazing results and the best tools and are not afraid to drop in some money, Adobe Photoshop is a very great choice.
Top positive comment •Apr 7, 2016
1
Guest
Very pricy advanced application compared to free paint.net
Top negative comment •Jan 30, 2016
34
zlelmefs
It's slow. It's not free. It's made by one of the worst software companies on the planet.
Negative comment •Dec 13, 2021
0
Guest
First, money, second, unlike paint.net, unaccesible for beginners
Negative comment •Aug 1, 2018
6
Show more comments
5 of 9 comments
- Most users think Adobe Photoshop is a great Paint.NET alternative.
- Adobe Photoshop is the most popular Web-based & iPad alternative to Paint.NET.
- Adobe Photoshop is the most popular commercial alternative to Paint.NET.
- Adobe Photoshop is Paid and ProprietaryPaint.NET is Free and Proprietary

Pixelmator
Pixelmator is a powerful, beautiful, and easy to use image editor. Featuring an elegant and streamlined single-window interface, it puts all the focus on the images you edit, rather than what's around them.
148 Pixelmator alternatives
License model
- Paid • Proprietary
Application types
- Image Editor
- Digital Painting Tool
Platforms
- Mac
- iPhone
- iPad
+7
Pixelmator Features
1. Open PSD files
2. Retouch photos
3. RAW Photo Editors
4. Healing brush
5. Stickers
6. Multiple Font Colors
7. Support for 64 bit
8. Specific for 64-Bit
9. Photo effects
10. Tablet support
Show all NaN Pixelmator features ▾
Pixelmator VS Paint.NET
Is Pixelmator a good alternative to Paint.NET?
Comments about Pixelmator as an Alternative to Paint.NET

Guest
Fast, easy to use, not overloaded with useless features
Positive comment •Aug 18, 2017
2
oddityoverseer13
It's cheap, and it has all the capabilities of Paint.NET (plus some), and it's even more user-friendly.
Positive comment •Dec 10, 2016
0
- Most users think Pixelmator is a great Paint.NET alternative.
- Pixelmator is the most popular iPhone alternative to Paint.NET.
- Pixelmator is Paid and ProprietaryPaint.NET is Free and Proprietary

Affinity Photo
Affinity Photo is a professional raster graphics editor that operates in real-time, allowing users to pan and zoom at 60fps. It offers live previews and non-destructive edits, supports unlimited layers, and includes a workspace for RAW editing.
94 Affinity Photo alternatives
License model
- Paid • Proprietary
Application types
- Image Editor
- Digital Painting Tool
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- iPad
+7
Top Affinity Photo Features
1. No Subscription
2. Non Destructive Editing
3. RAW Photo Editors
4. Open PSD files
5. Optimal performance
6. Digital Painting
7. Support for Layers
8. Color management
9. Lightweight
10. Photo effects
11. Regulation layers
12. Photoshop Plugins Support
Show all NaN Affinity Photo features ▾
Affinity Photo VS Paint.NET
Is Affinity Photo a good alternative to Paint.NET?

LazPaint
Raster & vector graphic editor with many tools and filters, written in Lazarus (Free Pascal). Portable, 32bit (under 3mb) & 64bit (3.55mb) versions, ORA format & 16384x16384 image support. In app 3D import & rendering.
42 LazPaint alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Digital Painting Tool
- Image Editor
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- PortableApps.com
+2
LazPaint Features
1. Lightweight
2. Support for Layers
3. Reads PDN Format
4. Transparent images
5. Portable
6. Pixel accuracy
7. Debian package
8. Support for SVG
9. Export to SVG
Show all NaN LazPaint features ▾
LazPaint VS Paint.NET
Is LazPaint a good alternative to Paint.NET?
Comments about LazPaint as an Alternative to Paint.NET

sourloti
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.
Top positive comment •Oct 31, 2022
2
AdrienVR
The only painting software that allows to do complex operations easily
Top positive comment •Feb 15, 2022
1
beng tang
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.
Positive comment •Sep 5, 2024
0
Guest
Lightweight and available in Debian 11
Positive comment •Mar 28, 2024
0
Guest
It has the same clear GUI.
Positive comment •Dec 11, 2019
0
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5 of 6 comments
- Most users think LazPaint is a great Paint.NET alternative.
- LazPaint is Free and Open SourcePaint.NET is Free and Proprietary