Art · head to head
Krita vs Procreate Dreams
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; Procreate Dreams requires iPadOS 16.3 and is exclusive to iPad; track capacity varies by device, with the base iPad (A16) limited to 1 track at up to 4K
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Krita and Procreate Dreams actually diverge.
| Attribute | Krita | Procreate Dreams |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | On request |
| Pricing model | Unknown | one-time |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Web |
| Founded | 1999 | Unknown |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Art).
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 Procreate Dreams
Nothing recorded that Krita does not also cover.
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Krita
- Digital paintingnot Procreate Dreams
- Concept artnot Procreate Dreams
- Character designnot Procreate Dreams
- 2D animationnot Procreate Dreams
- Texture paintingnot Procreate Dreams
Procreate Dreams
No use cases recorded yet. See the Procreate Dreams review.
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
Procreate Dreams
- Requires iPadOS 16.3 and is exclusive to iPad; track capacity varies by device, with the base iPad (A16) limited to 1 track at up to 4K
- 8K video support is not yet available and is listed as coming in a future release
Pricing, plan by plan
Krita
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Krita review.
Procreate Dreams
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Procreate Dreams review.
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.
Choose Procreate Dreams if
Nothing in the data separates Procreate Dreams from Krita on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Questions people ask
- Is Krita or Procreate Dreams better?
- Neither clearly leads. Krita starts at Free and Procreate Dreams at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Krita or Procreate Dreams?
- Krita has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Krita and On request for Procreate Dreams.
- Does Krita or Procreate Dreams run on more platforms?
- Krita runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. Procreate Dreams runs on Web.
- Can I use Krita for free?
- Yes. Krita has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Procreate Dreams starts at On request.
- 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 Procreate Dreams is typically brought in for.
- What can Krita do that Procreate Dreams cannot?
- 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.
SourceKrita: 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.
SourceKrita: 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