--- title: "Paint.NET Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra" description: "With the help of Capterra, learn about Paint.NET Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Photo Editing products and more." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/237986/PaintNET/" page_type: "product" language: "en" publication_date: "2026-09-29" --- # Paint.NET Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on September 29, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) Paint.NET ## What is Paint.NET? On-premise solution that provides businesses with tools to edit images. ## What is Paint.NET used for? [Photo Editing](https://www.capterra.com/photo-editing-software/) Top alternative Featured Overall rating Based on 38 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive 95% Neutral 5% Negative 0% Contact vendor for pricing Free trial not available Free version not included Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for Paint.NET?[Manage this product listing](https://www.g2.com/products/paint-net/claim_requests/new?auto=true) ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### Paint.NET 4.6 (38) VS. [4.7 (7,346)](https://www.capterra.com/p/48969/Adobe-Creative-Cloud/reviews/) Starting Price Contact vendor Starting Price $52.99 Flat Rate, Per Month Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 4.6 (38) Ease Of Use 4.2 (2,472) Value For Money 4.8 (21) Value For Money 4.2 (2,054) Customer Service 4.3 (15) Customer Service 4.2 (1,836) ## Paint.NET alternatives Highest Rated [Adobe Photoshop](https://www.capterra.com/p/229092/Adobe-Photoshop/) [4.8 (2,472)](https://www.capterra.com/p/229092/Adobe-Photoshop/reviews/) Starting price $22.99 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 98% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/229092/Adobe-Photoshop/) [Canva](https://www.capterra.com/p/168956/Canva/) [4.7 (13,462)](https://www.capterra.com/p/168956/Canva/reviews/) Starting price $15.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 97% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/168956/Canva/) [Fotor](https://www.capterra.com/p/181589/Fotor/) [4.5 (1,096)](https://www.capterra.com/p/181589/Fotor/reviews/) Starting price $8.99 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 92% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/181589/Fotor/) [Instagram](https://www.capterra.com/p/210721/Instagram/) [4.7 (5,225)](https://www.capterra.com/p/210721/Instagram/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 96% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/210721/Instagram/) [View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/237986/PaintNET/alternatives/) ## Features AI summary Based on 7,202 Photo Editing reviews Capterra data shows that buyers of photo editing software rank the following features as their top priorities: - **Image Editing** (**43%** of reviewers rated this feature as critical) - **Content Import/Export** (**39%**) - **Customizable Templates** (**34%**) Paint.NET supports **Image Editing** and **Content Import/Export**, giving teams the tools to modify visuals and move files in and out of the system as needed. However, it does not include **Customizable Templates**. Instead, it offers **Real Time Editing** (**34%**), which can still help users make immediate changes and review updates as they work, helping businesses create and refine images more efficiently. Image Editing 4.5 (2) 100.00% of 2 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Edit, touch up, and convert images for publishing Content Import/Export 4.6 (17) 58.82% of 17 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Import or export content Real Time Editing 4.5 (19) 63.16% of 19 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Preview and make real-time changes in the web content Content Sharing 4.1 (13) 30.77% of 13 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Digitally share pre-made materials and self-created content with others Paint.NET 4 features ### All Features - Content Import/Export: Import or export content - Content Sharing: Digitally share pre-made materials and self-created content with others - Image Editing: Edit, touch up, and convert images for publishing - Real Time Editing: Preview and make real-time changes in the web content --- Features 4.3 (38) 4.3 Based on 38 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 4.8 (21) Value for money 4.8 (21) 4.8 Based on 21 reviews ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 4.3 (15) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 4.3 (15) 4.3 Based on 15 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 4.6 Based on 38 reviews Filter by rating 5(26) 4(10) 3(2) 2(0) 1(0) Mentioned topic Sorted by most recent DS Darren S. Product Owner Computer Software ### "Paint.net paints my perfect picture!" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 3.0 3.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 December 26, 2025 It is easy to use and it just works as I need it to work! It strikes the perfect balance between being easy to use and being powerful. Pros Easy to use and featured packed! Paint.net is a perfect alternative to Photoshop. It does everything I need and more. Cons It is missing some advanced features, but I don't need or use these anyway. It only works on Windows - there are no versions for other platforms. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. VC Valentina C. Instructional designer E-Learning ### "Basic and free tool" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 January 17, 2025 I used this tool for basic image mdifications (brightness, saturation...) Pros Open sources and “entry level” tool for those with little editing knowledge who need to edit an image Cons Editing tools somewhat basic compared to paid tools (e.g. Photoshop) Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AN Anonymous User Programmer Computer Games ### "Paint.NET is a solid Image editing tool." 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 3.0 3.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 December 18, 2024 Paint.Net is simple and easy to use while offering a solid set of tools. Pros Paint.Net offers a lot of utility for a low/no cost. Also, there is an incredible number of plugins. Cons There isn't much to dislike here, though there is a heavy reliance on Plugins to match the feature set of something like Photoshop. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. VH Vojtech H. Lead developer Computer Games ### "The Most Intuitive Raster Graphics Editing Program" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 3.0 3.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 November 1, 2024 I’ve been using Paint.NET for about eight years now, and I absolutely love it. It’s my go-to program for raster graphics editing. As the name suggests, it’s built on .NET, which makes the program really quick and efficient. Pros Paint.NET is like PhotoShop, but it's so much easier to use and it's significantly faster too. Cons I wish the tools for creating image outlines were better; it can be quite difficult to achieve the desired effect. While it is possible, it’s challenging. However, there are plugins available that can help with this. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. JP JESSENIA P. ECONOMISTA Accounting ### "EDITOR DE FOTOS INCREIBLES" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 January 26, 2024 Pros FACIL DE USAR PERMITIENDO EL DESARROLLO DE CREATIVIDAD Cons LOS COLORES NO PERMITE GENERAR OTROS EFECTOS Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AK Alexandre K. Aide design Design ### "Le petit photoshop" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 3.0 3.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 7/10 November 20, 2023 Pros Paint.NET est très utile afin de créer et retoucher de multiples photos/annonces/plaquettes. La facilité et l'intuitivité du logiciel sont ses principaux atouts. Cons J'ai moins apprécié le fait que le logiciel soit assez limité. Après cela est normal pour un petit logiciel gratuit. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. AN Anonymous User Photographer Photography ### "An amateur photographers view on paint net" 3.0 Overall Rating 3.0 3.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 2.0 2.0 Customer Service 3.0 3.0 Likelihood to Recommend 4/10 November 15, 2023 Pros Paint.NET is easy in use. I often use it for very small corrections of images that need to go fast and don't need to put much effort in. Cons The tools are not advanced, for editing photos I wouldn't recommend paint.NET Switched from [GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program)](https://www.capterra.com/p/168960/GIMP/) Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Przemek P. Lead, Infrastructure Specialist Information Technology and Services ### "Fast graphic edition and creation. " 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 November 13, 2023 Editing and creating graphics for company publications gives me a lot of fun if I use the right tools. Thanks to Paint NET, I have access to editing and transferring graphics to various platforms, such as websites or Power Point presentations. The editing itself is simple thanks to the clear interface. Paint NET offers option to save graphics in many different formats which makes publications easier to adapt. Pros I have started using the tool because I was looking for alternative for expensive and complexed applications. For my purpose I didn't need sophisticated solutions but rather something I can rely on and use effectively without waste of time or resource. I is also important when I want to delegate my PaintNET tasks to someone new. I don't have to be worried for skill transfers and trainings or presentation. After short 15 minutes introduction anyone can work with this tool. Cons The only problems I experienced working with paint NET were installation problems. However, thanks to the extensive articles provided by vendor, I was able to quickly solve the problem and replace the exe installation file with MSI. Switched from [CorelDRAW](https://www.capterra.com/p/124823/CorelDRAW/) For simple tasks I am using simple and not expensive tool as Paint NET rather than CorelDRAW. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. NB Nicholas B. Software Engineer Insurance ### "Great tool" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 October 17, 2023 Pros Great free editing software. Gets the job done Cons Could use more features and ease of use could be increased too. Review source Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. DM Davide M. Indie Game Developer Computer Games ### "A good art software, especially for pixel art" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 7/10 September 22, 2023 Pros Perfect for pixel art, has tons of features like layers, color pallettes and plug in implementation. Cons It would be useful the implementation of animations. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. [View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/237986/PaintNET/reviews/) ## Top-rated software of 2026 ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox. Popular comparisons [Adobe Photoshop vs Paint.NET](https://www.capterra.com/compare/229092-237986/Adobe-Photoshop-vs-PaintNET) [Canva vs Paint.NET](https://www.capterra.com/compare/168956-237986/Canva-vs-PaintNET)