Krita — A free, open-source digital painting application for illustrators, concept artists, and comic creators, available on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
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Krita in 20 seconds
Best for: digital painters, comic artists, and concept artists who want a full-featured free illustration tool
Pricing: Free direct download with no feature restrictions; optional paid Microsoft Store/Steam copy funds development only.
- Krita is free and open-source under the GNU GPL-3.0 license.
- The source repository (github.com/KDE/krita) has over 10,000 GitHub stars.
- Krita is developed by the KDE community with funding support from the nonprofit Krita Foundation.
- Krita runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux; it has no official mobile app.
- A paid copy on the Microsoft Store/Steam funds development but is functionally identical to the free direct download.
Limitations: Not built for photo editing or retouching; lacks RAW support and CMYK color management.; No official mobile app for iOS or Android.; Smaller brush and plugin marketplace than Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint.
Top alternatives: Adobe Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, Procreate, GIMP, Affinity Photo — full list
What is Krita?
Krita is a digital painting application built by and for artists, distinct from general raster editors like Photoshop or GIMP in that its brush engine, canvas rotation, mirror tools, and stabilizers are all designed around freehand illustration rather than photo editing. It supports pressure-sensitive tablets, customizable brush presets, layer groups and blend modes, vector layers, and a built-in 2D animation timeline for frame-by-frame work. The project is maintained by the KDE community with core funding from the nonprofit Krita Foundation, and its source code is published on GitHub (github.com/KDE/krita, mirrored from the primary KDE Invent repository) under the GNU GPL-3.0 license. Development is sustained by donations and by selling the identical application on the Microsoft Store and Steam for a nominal price, purely as a way to fund the project since the direct download from krita.org is always free and unrestricted. Krita is used by comic artists, concept artists, and illustrators, including in some professional animation and game-art pipelines, as a no-cost alternative to Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint for painting work. It ships resource packs (brushes, patterns, gradients, textures) and supports third-party plugin extensions, and its file format (.kra) preserves layers, though most artists export to PSD or PNG for interoperability with other tools.
Krita is a free and open-source digital painting program built specifically for artists, offering brush engines, layer management, animation tools, and drawing-stabilization aids aimed at illustration, concept art, and comics rather than photo retouching. It's developed by the KDE community and funded partly through the Krita Foundation, with the source hosted at github.com/KDE/krita under GPL-3.0. There is no paid tier: the full desktop application is free on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with an optional paid copy available on the Microsoft Store and Steam that funds development but unlocks nothing extra. Krita is best known among digital painters as a free alternative to Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint for raster-based illustration work.
Standout feature: A brush engine and canvas toolset (rotation, mirroring, stabilizers, wraparound mode) purpose-built for freehand digital painting, on par with paid tools like Clip Studio Paint, at zero cost.
Biggest weakness: Krita is focused on painting and illustration, not photo editing or precise vector/print production work, so it lacks the CMYK color management, RAW photo support, and print-ready export tooling found in Photoshop or Affinity Photo.
Pros
- Completely free with no feature paywall, unlike most professional-grade painting software.
- Brush engine and stabilizers are purpose-built for freehand illustration and comic work.
- Open-source (GPL-3.0) with an active community and regular release cadence.
- Built-in animation timeline supports basic frame-by-frame animation without a separate tool.
Cons
- Not designed for photo editing or retouching; lacks RAW support and CMYK color management for print work.
- Smaller plugin and brush-marketplace ecosystem than Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint.
- No official mobile app for iOS/Android, unlike Procreate or Clip Studio Paint.
- Some advanced features (vector tools, text handling) are less polished than in dedicated design software.
Krita pricing
Free · verified from the vendor's pricing page
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Full application with no feature restrictions, downloaded directly from krita.org. |
| Microsoft Store / Steam copy | Custom | Identical app sold on the Microsoft Store and Steam at a small one-time price purely to fund development; unlocks no extra features versus the free direct download. |
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