Krita
Free open-source painting studio built by and for digital artists, with brush engines that rival any commercial tool
Quick Overview
| Company | Krita Foundation (KDE community) |
|---|---|
| Category | Design & Photo Editing |
| Headquarters | Netherlands, Netherlands |
| Founded | 2005 |
| EU Presence | Yes - Krita Foundation, Netherlands (EU) |
| Data Location | Your own computer |
| Open Source | Yes (GPLv3) |
| GDPR Compliant | Yes - no data collection |
| Self-Hosting | Yes - desktop software |
| Main Features | Advanced brush engines, wrap-around and seamless texture mode, frame-by-frame animation, HDR painting, colour management, PSD support, vector tools |
| Pricing | Free and open source; donations fund development |
| Best For | Digital painting, illustration, concept art and comics |
| Replaces | Adobe Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, Corel Painter |
Detailed Review
Krita is not a general image editor that happens to have brushes — it is a painting application, built by artists working with the KDE community and funded through the Dutch-registered Krita Foundation. Its brush engines are the point, and they are genuinely excellent.
It is free under GPLv3, with no account, no telemetry and no subscription, which makes it the most accessible serious art tool available.
Brush Engines
Krita ships more than a hundred brush presets across nine distinct brush engines, and the customisation goes deep — a brush's behaviour can be shaped by pressure, tilt, speed and rotation in ways that let artists build tools matching their own hand. This is where Krita competes with and often beats commercial painting software.
Wrap-around mode for seamless textures and a full frame-by-frame animation workspace extend it into game art and 2D animation.
Colour Management
Krita supports HDR painting and proper ICC colour management, which matters for artists producing work for print or for high dynamic range display. This is unusual in free software and reflects the seriousness of the project.
No Vendor at All
GPLv3, no account, no cloud, no telemetry. Files are yours on your own disk, and the Krita Foundation is a Dutch non-profit rather than a company with an exit strategy. For artists who watched Adobe move to subscription, that permanence has value beyond the price.
Limitations to Consider
Krita is a painting tool, not a photo editor — photo retouching, RAW processing and compositing are much weaker than in Photopea or Capture One. It has historically had stability issues on some configurations, and PSD support, while present, is less complete than Photopea's. The interface takes time to configure to a comfortable working state.
Who Should Use Krita
Illustrators, concept artists, comic artists and anyone doing digital painting who wants professional brush capability without a subscription — and who values software that cannot be taken away or repriced.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Brush engines rivalling commercial software
- Completely free under GPLv3
- Frame-by-frame animation included
- HDR and ICC colour management
- No account, cloud or telemetry
Cons
- Weak for photo editing and retouching
- Occasional stability issues
- Interface needs configuration to feel right
Alternatives to Krita
Other European design & photo editing worth comparing before you decide:
Capture One
Denmark · Professional RAW processing and tethered studio capture
Photopea
Czech Republic · Full PSD editor that runs entirely in your browser
darktable
Germany · Open-source RAW developer and photo workflow manager
Penpot
Spain · Open-source design and prototyping in the browser
See all European design & photo editing or compare them directly against Adobe Photoshop on our alternatives page.
Frequently Asked Questions
For digital painting and illustration, yes — its brush engines compete directly with commercial art software and it is used professionally in concept art, comics and games.
For painting, comfortably. For photo retouching, RAW processing and compositing it is much weaker — pair it with Photopea or Capture One depending on what else you do.
Yes, GPLv3 with no account, subscription or telemetry. Development is funded by donations through the Dutch-registered Krita Foundation.
Yes, with a frame-by-frame animation workspace including onion skinning, which makes it viable for 2D animation and game sprite work.
Krita is built as a European alternative to Adobe Photoshop: Free open-source painting studio built by and for digital artists, with brush engines that rival any commercial tool. It will not be a like-for-like feature match in every respect, so check the review above for where the two genuinely differ before switching.
Krita is one of several European Design & Photo Editing tools we cover. It is most often compared with Adobe Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, Corel Painter.