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Design · head to head

Corel Painter vs Krita

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Corel Painter

Design

Digital painting software that emulates natural media brushes and textures

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Krita logo

Krita

Design

Free and open-source digital painting software

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Krita has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Corel Painter sold as a one-time perpetual license per major version, requiring paid upgrades for new releases unlike subscription competitors.; Krita not portable across Windows/macOS/Linux with consistent performance
  • They diverge on capability: Corel Painter covers Natural-Media Brush Engine, Krita covers Digital painting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Corel Painter and Krita actually diverge.

Attributes where Corel Painter and Krita differ
AttributeCorel PainterKrita
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelone-timeUnknown
Free tierNoYes
Platformswindows, macWindows, macOS, Linux
FoundedUnknown1999

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Design).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Corel Painter

  • Natural-Media Brush Engine
  • Custom Brush Creation
  • Canvas Textures
  • Photo Painting Tools
  • Layer Support

Only in Krita

  • Digital painting
  • Brush engines
  • Layer management
  • Animation
  • Vector tools
  • OpenEXR
  • PSD files
  • Graphics tablets

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Corel Painter

  • Digital painting that mimics traditional medianot Krita
  • Concept art and illustrationnot Krita
  • Converting photographs into painted artworknot Krita
  • Custom brush development for artistsnot Krita

Krita

  • Digital paintingnot Corel Painter
  • Concept artnot Corel Painter
  • Character designnot Corel Painter
  • 2D animationnot Corel Painter
  • Texture paintingnot Corel Painter

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Corel Painter

  • Sold as a one-time perpetual license per major version, requiring paid upgrades for new releases unlike subscription competitors.
  • Interface and brush engine have a steeper learning curve than more streamlined tools like Procreate.
  • No official mobile or tablet-native version, limiting use to desktop Windows and Mac.
  • Performance can lag with very large, texture-heavy brushes compared to lighter tools.

Krita

  • Not portable across Windows/macOS/Linux with consistent performance
  • Performance limits on large projects with many layers compared to professional software
  • Requires system administrator privileges for installation on managed systems
  • Limited professional support compared to commercial alternatives

Pricing, plan by plan

Corel Painter

On request
  • Full License$undefined/mo
    • Perpetual license for current major version
    • Desktop app for Windows and Mac
  • Upgrade$undefined/mo
    • Discounted upgrade pricing for existing Painter owners

Krita

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Krita review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Corel Painter if

  • You need natural-media brush engine.
  • You work on windows, mac.
  • You also want custom brush creation.
Corel Painter review

Choose Krita if

  • You need digital painting.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want brush engines.
Krita review

Questions people ask

Is Corel Painter or Krita better?
Neither clearly leads. Corel Painter starts at On request and Krita at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Corel Painter or Krita?
Krita has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Corel Painter and Free for Krita.
Does Corel Painter or Krita run on more platforms?
Corel Painter runs on windows, mac. Krita runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
Can I use Krita for free?
Yes. Krita has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Corel Painter starts at On request.
What is Corel Painter best used for?
Corel Painter is most often used for digital painting that mimics traditional media, concept art and illustration, converting photographs into painted artwork, custom brush development for artists. Of those, digital painting that mimics traditional media and concept art and illustration are not what Krita is typically brought in for.
What can Corel Painter do that Krita cannot?
Corel Painter covers Natural-Media Brush Engine, Custom Brush Creation, Canvas Textures, Photo Painting Tools. Krita covers Digital painting, Brush engines, Layer management, Animation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Krita: Is Krita free and open source?

Yes, Krita is completely free and open source software developed by the KDE community. It is distributed under the LGPL license with no licensing fees.

Source
Krita: What platforms does Krita support?

Krita is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It can be downloaded from krita.org or installed via package managers on Linux distributions.

Source
Krita: What animation capabilities does Krita have?

Krita supports frame-by-frame animation with onion skin view, timeline management, and export to video formats for creating animated sequences.

Source
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