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Design · head to head

Krita vs PaintTool SAI

Krita logo

Krita

Design

Free and open-source digital painting software

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
P

PaintTool SAI

Design

Lightweight digital painting and illustration software for Windows

From
5500/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Krita has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Krita not portable across Windows/macOS/Linux with consistent performance; PaintTool SAI windows-only software with no native Mac or Linux version.
  • They diverge on capability: Krita covers Digital painting, PaintTool SAI covers Pressure-Sensitive Tablet Support.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Krita and PaintTool SAI actually diverge.

Attributes where Krita and PaintTool SAI differ
AttributeKritaPaintTool SAI
Starting priceFree5500/month
Pricing modelUnknownone-time
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linuxwindows
Founded1999Unknown

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 Krita

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

Only in PaintTool SAI

  • Pressure-Sensitive Tablet Support
  • Anti-Aliased Brushes
  • 16-bit ARGB Color Channels
  • Lightweight Performance
  • Crash Data Protection

What people use each for

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

Krita

  • Digital paintingnot PaintTool SAI
  • Concept artnot PaintTool SAI
  • Character designnot PaintTool SAI
  • 2D animationnot PaintTool SAI
  • Texture paintingnot PaintTool SAI

PaintTool SAI

  • Digital illustration and manga artnot Krita
  • Line art and inking with pressure-sensitive pensnot Krita
  • Lightweight painting on lower-spec computersnot Krita
  • Character and concept art sketchingnot Krita

Where each one falls short

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

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

PaintTool SAI

  • Windows-only software with no native Mac or Linux version.
  • Only supports 32-bit operation, lacking modern 64-bit performance benefits.
  • Lacks the advanced brush engine customization and layer effects found in tools like Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint.
  • No cloud sync or mobile app, unlike many modern illustration tools.

Pricing, plan by plan

Krita

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Krita review.

PaintTool SAI

5500/month
  • Standard License$5500/month
    • Perpetual license
    • All 1.x.x minor updates
    • Free upgrade path to version 2

Which should you pick?

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

Choose PaintTool SAI if

  • You need pressure-sensitive tablet support.
  • You work on windows.
  • You also want anti-aliased brushes.
PaintTool SAI review

Questions people ask

Is Krita or PaintTool SAI better?
Neither clearly leads. Krita starts at Free and PaintTool SAI at 5500/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Krita or PaintTool SAI?
Krita has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Krita and 5500/month for PaintTool SAI.
Does Krita or PaintTool SAI run on more platforms?
Krita runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. PaintTool SAI runs on windows.
Can I use Krita for free?
Yes. Krita has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. PaintTool SAI starts at 5500/month.
What is Krita best used for?
Krita is most often used for digital painting, concept art, character design, 2d animation. Of those, digital painting and concept art are not what PaintTool SAI is typically brought in for.
What can Krita do that PaintTool SAI cannot?
Krita covers Digital painting, Brush engines, Layer management, Animation. PaintTool SAI covers Pressure-Sensitive Tablet Support, Anti-Aliased Brushes, 16-bit ARGB Color Channels, Lightweight Performance.

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
PaintTool SAI: Is there a free trial for PaintTool SAI?

Yes, PaintTool SAI offers a 31-day free trial with full functionality before requiring purchase of a license.

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
PaintTool SAI: What does the license cover?

The one-time 5,500 JPY purchase provides a perpetual license covering all minor updates within version 1.x.x; a major version 2 upgrade is offered for free.

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
PaintTool SAI: What operating systems are supported?

PaintTool SAI runs on Windows XP through Windows 11, but only in 32-bit mode, requiring at least a 450MHz Pentium processor and 256MB of RAM.

Source
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