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Design · head to head

Krita vs Principle

Krita logo

Krita

Design

Free and open-source digital painting software

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
P

Principle

Design

Animate your ideas, design better apps

From
$129/one-time
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; Principle macOS only with no Windows or Linux editor available
  • They diverge on capability: Krita covers Digital painting, Principle covers Timeline-based animation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Krita and Principle actually diverge.

Attributes where Krita and Principle differ
AttributeKritaPrinciple
Starting priceFree$129/one-time
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxmacOS
Founded19992015

Identical on both: pricing model (Unknown), 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 Principle

  • Timeline-based animation
  • Interactive prototypes
  • Touch gestures
  • Component reuse
  • Video export
  • Sketch import
  • Figma import
  • Driver animations

Both cover

  • Macos support

What people use each for

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

Krita

  • Digital paintingnot Principle
  • Concept artnot Principle
  • Character designnot Principle
  • 2D animationnot Principle
  • Texture paintingnot Principle

Principle

  • Mobile app prototypesnot Krita
  • Micro-interactionsnot Krita
  • Animation designnot Krita
  • User flow designnot Krita
  • Gesture-based interfacesnot 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

Principle

  • macOS only with no Windows or Linux editor available
  • No vector morphing capability for complex shape transformations
  • Limited asset creation tools; cannot create vectors or shapes directly within Principle
  • Sketch import flattens certain properties including paths, fills, borders, masks, blur effects, and text layers
  • Limited variable support, logical loops, and data input capabilities compared to tools like ProtoPie or Origami

Pricing, plan by plan

Krita

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Krita review.

Principle

$129/one-time
  • License$129/one-time
    • One year of upgrades
    • Full access to all features
  • Upgrade License$99/year
    • Annual renewal for ongoing upgrades

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 Principle if

  • You need timeline-based animation.
  • You work on macOS.
  • You also want interactive prototypes.
Principle review

Questions people ask

Is Krita or Principle better?
Neither clearly leads. Krita starts at Free and Principle at $129/one-time, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Krita or Principle?
Krita has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Krita and $129/one-time for Principle.
Does Krita or Principle run on more platforms?
Krita runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. Principle runs on macOS.
Can I use Krita for free?
Yes. Krita has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Principle starts at $129/one-time.
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 Principle is typically brought in for.
What can Krita do that Principle cannot?
Krita covers Digital painting, Brush engines, Layer management, Animation. Principle covers Timeline-based animation, Interactive prototypes, Touch gestures, Component reuse. Both handle Macos support.

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
Principle: Does Principle run on Windows or Linux?

No. Principle is macOS only and runs on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. There is no Windows or Linux editor available; however, prototypes can be shared and viewed on any platform via web link.

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
Principle: What is the cost of Principle?

Principle costs $129 for a one-time purchase with 1 year of upgrades included. After 1 year, upgrade licenses cost $99/year. A 14-day free trial is available with all features included.

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
Principle: Can I import designs from Figma or Sketch into Principle?

Yes. Principle supports importing designs from Figma and Sketch with intelligent merging of re-imported files. Some Sketch properties such as paths, fills, borders, blur effects, masks, and text layers are flattened upon import.

Source
Principle: How do I share Principle prototypes with others?

Prototypes can be shared via web link with one click (File > Export > Share to Web). Recipients can view and interact with prototypes in any browser on any platform: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, or iOS. No installation required.

Source
Principle: Can I create vector shapes and morphing animations in Principle?

Principle does not support vector morphing, where vector objects transform into other vector shapes. It also has limited asset creation capabilities and editing is restricted to basic operations like scale and rotate.

Source
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