Krita vs Clip Studio Paint
Which is better in 2026? Five scores, side by side.
Krita is the better app overall, scoring 8.7 to 8.3. Krita wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Clip Studio Paint on 2.
Digital painters and comic artists on a PC, Mac or Linux machine
Comic, manga and webtoon artists who want pro tools on iPad and desktop
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Krita | Clip Studio Paint |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Design & Creativity | Design & Creativity |
| Category rank | #5 of 10 | #9 of 10 |
| Developer | Krita Foundation | CELSYS |
| Pricing | Free | Subscription |
| Usable for free | Yes | No |
| iPhone & iPad | — | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| Linux | ✓ | — |
Common questions
Is Krita better than Clip Studio Paint?
Krita is the better app overall, scoring 8.7 to 8.3. Krita wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Clip Studio Paint on 2.
Which is cheaper, Krita or Clip Studio Paint?
Krita: Free from krita.org; optional paid store versions and donations fund development. Clip Studio Paint: 30-day free trial on iPad, then plans from $4.89 a month; one-time buy on Windows and Mac. On value for money, Krita scores higher.
Do Krita and Clip Studio Paint work on the same devices?
Only Krita runs on Linux. Only Clip Studio Paint runs on iPhone & iPad.
Which is more private, Krita or Clip Studio Paint?
Krita scores higher on privacy (9.9/10). Krita says it does not access, collect, use, share or transmit any personal information. The Mac App Store label reads Data Not Collected, and Google Play lists no data collected.
Strengths and weaknesses
Krita
- Free and open source, with nothing paywalled
- Collects no personal data at all
- Runs on Windows, Mac, Linux and Android tablets
- Interface can feel cluttered and slow to start
- Android version is a tablet-only beta
- No iPad or iPhone version
Krita gives Windows, Mac and Linux painters a serious studio for free. You get flexible brush engines with stabilizers, drawing assistants, animation with onion skinning, comic panel tools and PSD support, and the 2026 releases rewrote the text tool. It's open source and collects no data at all. Expect a busier interface than Procreate, and the Android build is still a beta for tablets and Chromebooks only.
Full Krita review
Clip Studio Paint
- Complete comic toolkit, from storyboard to print
- Posable 3D models help with anatomy and perspective
- Same app on iPad, iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac
- Saving and exporting on iPad need a paid plan
- Busy, desktop-style interface takes time to learn
- Multi-page comics and long animations need pricier EX
Clip Studio Paint is built for comics and manga, and it shows. Panel frames, speech balloons, effect lines and screentones sit next to frame-by-frame animation and posable 3D models you can draw over. Version 5 added Smart Shape for clean lines, and the same tools run on iPad, iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac. The catch on iPad: after the free trial you need a plan just to save or export, and the interface feels like desktop software.
Full Clip Studio Paint review
