Clip Studio Paint

Professional illustration and animation software

As of 30 August 2026, Clip Studio Paint starts at $4.49/month. Clip Studio Paint is a family of software applications developed by Celsys for digital illustration and animation, particularly popular among comic and manga ar. Softwr lists it under Video Production. Clip Studio Paint is made by Celsys Inc, launched in 1991, available on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.

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Overview

What Clip Studio Paint does

Clip Studio Paint is a family of software applications developed by Celsys for digital illustration and animation, particularly popular among comic and manga artists. It offers specialized tools for drawing, painting, and animating with industry-leading natural drawing feel and comprehensive feature sets.

What people use it for

Manga creation
Comic illustration
2D animation
Character design
Digital painting

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Clip Studio Paint.

Monthly subscription pricing becomes expensive over multiple years compared to one-time licenses
Limited built-in photo manipulation features compared to general-purpose image editors

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of Clip Studio Paint

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

Clip Studio Paintvs
Procreate
Procreate: iPad-only digital painting app with one-time purchase pricing and extensive brush engine
Clip Studio Paintvs
Krita
Krita: Free and open-source digital painting software with strong animation frame support
Clip Studio Paintvs
Aseprite
Aseprite: Pixel art animation tool with frame-by-frame animation controls and sprite editing

Pricing

What Clip Studio Paint costs

Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.

PRO Perpetual License

$54 /one-time

Full brush engine
3D model integration
Basic animation (24 frames)
Desktop only

PRO Monthly Subscription

$4.49 /mo

All PRO features
Desktop and mobile access
Continuous updates

PRO Annual Subscription

$26.99 /yr

All PRO features
Desktop and mobile access
Continuous updates

EX Perpetual License

$237 /one-time

All PRO features
Unlimited animation frames
Multi-page management
LT conversion
Professional animation timelines
Desktop only

EX Monthly Subscription

$9.99 /mo

All EX features
Desktop and mobile access
Continuous updates

EX Annual Subscription

$75.99 /yr

All EX features
Desktop and mobile access
Continuous updates

Capabilities

Features

Natural drawing feel
Comic/manga tools
Animation features
3D reference
Vector support
Photoshop files
Integration with Photoshop files
3D models
Integration with 3D models
Graphics tablets
Integration with Graphics tablets
Animation libraries
Integration with Animation libraries
Local processing
Local processing security feature
Asset protection
Asset protection security feature
License management
License management security feature

Answered, with sources

Questions people ask

Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

What are the differences between Clip Studio Paint PRO and EX?

PRO includes basic animation (24 frame limit) and is best for digital painting. EX includes unlimited animation frames, multi-page management for publishing, LT conversion, and professional animation timelines.

Source

Can I use Clip Studio Paint on mobile?

Yes. Clip Studio Paint offers monthly and annual plans that cover both desktop and mobile access. Desktop-only perpetual licenses are available but do not include mobile access.

Source

What payment options does Clip Studio Paint offer?

Clip Studio Paint offers one-time perpetual licenses for desktop ($54 PRO, $237 EX), monthly subscriptions ($4.49 PRO, $9.99 EX), and annual subscriptions ($26.99 PRO, $75.99 EX) that include mobile access.

Source

Does Clip Studio Paint include 3D model integration?

Yes. Both PRO and EX versions include 3D model integration for digital artists to use as reference or directly in compositions.

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Behind it

Who makes Clip Studio Paint

Company: Celsys Inc
Based in: Tokyo, Japan
Founders: Yosuke Kawakami

Timeline

Clip Studio Paint over time

Renamed2016-01-01
Rebranded globally as Clip Studio Paint (previously Manga Studio in Western markets)
Source
Launch2012-05-31
Clip Studio Paint released
Source
Founded1991-05-01
Celsys founded in Shinjuku, Japan
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