MS Paint, a basic image creator and manipulator, debuted in 1985 with Windows 1.0 and has been included in all subsequent OS versions. It marked my initial exposure to computer-based painting in the 90s. Despite transitioning to more sophisticated editing tools over time, Microsoft’s decision to deprecate Paint in the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update felt peculiar. While it will remain downloadable from the Windows Store, it won’t come pre-installed. Consequently, for Windows users, the need to manually obtain an image editor is now standard practice. Here’s a rundown of the 7 finest free alternatives to MS Paint:
1. Paint.NET
Paint.NET, a free photo-editing software, mirrors the simplicity of Microsoft’s built-in program while enhancing it with additional features. It serves not just as an alternative to MS Paint but as a robust replacement. Unlike MS Paint, it offers support for layers, blending, transparency, special effects, and unlimited undo. Its greatest asset lies in its extensive collection of effect, adjustment, and file type plugins, alongside a wealth of tutorials available on the official forums, curated by an active and engaged community of developers, users, and enthusiasts.
Paint.NET, a popular image-editing program for Windows, lacks availability on other platforms. Mac or Linux users must explore alternative options:
Download: Free (Windows)
2. MyPaint
MyPaint, a free and open-source alternative to MS Paint, is accessible across Windows, Mac, and Linux. It prioritizes painting over image manipulation, offering a plethora of features despite its straightforward interface. Its dynamic brush library mimics pencil, charcoal, and ink strokes, while advanced users can craft custom brushes.
MyPaint supports all major file formats, offers layer management, and features an ‘unlimited canvas’, eliminating the need to preset the image size before starting painting. Essentially a free and simpler alternative to Corel Paint, MyPaint also accommodates pressure-sensitive graphics tablets such as those from Wacom or Huion.
Download: Free (Windows, macOS, Linux)
3. IrfanView
Introduced in 1996 for Windows 95 by developer Irfan Skiljan, IrfanView is a feature-rich yet user-friendly image editor that has gained significant popularity over the past few decades. Free for non-commercial use, it offers a diverse range of third-party plugins for image, video, and sound formats to enhance its extensive functionality. While primarily designed for Windows, it is compatible with Linux through Wine and with Mac via WineBottler.
Though packed with features, the program is extremely lightweight, taking up only about 2MB of disk space. Optional plugins add just 17MB more. It fully supports numerous file formats like JPEG, JPEG2000, JP2, BMP, GIF, PNG, TIFF, RAW, and more.
Download: Free (Windows)
4. Pinta
Pinta, a free and open-source image editor, is distributed under the MIT X11 license and is available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It provides essential image editing features, such as annotations, drawing, color adjustment, and unlimited undo. Additionally, it includes advanced features like image layer support, uncommon in basic image editors.
Jonathan Probst, the original creator of Pinta, acknowledges that his software drew inspiration from Paint.NET, designed as an open-source alternative to MS Paint. However, Pinta primarily features original code, borrowing only adjustment and effects code from Paint.NET. Hosted on Github, Pinta undergoes active development, although Probst is no longer involved.
Download: Free (Windows, macOS, Linux)
5. Paintbrush
Exploring free and open source software for Windows and Linux reveals numerous options, yet the selection for Mac users is more limited. If you’re a Mac owner feeling excluded, consider trying Paintbrush, a basic, free image editor and annotator exclusive to Mac. Paintbrush, a free and open source program, serves as a modern replacement for MacPaint, an outdated image manipulation software from the late ’80s. Its simplistic interface mirrors that of Paint, offering essential tools such as freehand drawing, an eraser, a spray can, and basic annotation features.
Paintbrush is possibly the least powerful software on this list, a simple 2D bitmap editor with no vector capabilities. Nevertheless, you can save edited and annotated images as PNG, JPG, BMP, GIF, and TIFF.
Download: Free (macOS)
6. Greenshot
Greenshot, a free and open-source editing and annotation software, is available for Windows under the GNU Public License. It serves as a great MS Paint alternative for saving screenshots. Specializing in screenshots, Greenshot enables users to create, annotate, and edit them. It offers optional plugins for Office, Imgur, Dropbox, Flickr, and Confluence. Users can resize, rotate, or crop images and annotate them with rectangles, ellipses, lines, and arrows, similar to Paint.
Greenshot, a highly capable program, is resource-efficient yet feature-rich. It offers extensive configurability, allowing you to capture the mouse cursor in images, unlike the default PrtScn tool. The program integrates a superb screenshot tool with a compact image editor.
Download: Free (Windows)
7. Paint 3D
Lastly, for those seeking an alternative to MS Paint on their Windows PCs, consider Microsoft’s upgraded image editing software, Paint 3D. Forming a part of the Windows 10 Creators Update, Paint 3D is a matured version of the classic software, now incorporating 3D functionality. Alongside View 3D and 3D Builder, Paint 3D is among the new 3D applications accessible via the Windows Store. Retaining the simplicity of its predecessor, Paint 3D introduces support for various 3D elements such as humans, animals, geometric shapes, texts, and doodles.
Paint 3D is a significant improvement over its predecessor, yet it still has room for improvement to compete with other programs listed. It introduces many new features but lacks fundamental ones like multi-window support. Overall, Paint 3D is a decent program worth exploring, but there are more powerful free MS Paint alternatives.
Download: Free (Windows)
MS Paint Alternatives: The Best Free Photo Editing Software For Your Computer
While MS Paint remains available for download from the Windows Store, it will no longer be the default photo editing application on Windows PCs. Despite its nostalgia, we must acknowledge its outdated utility even as far back as 2017. There are alternatives that perform basic tasks with more flair and efficiency, minus the steep learning curve of programs like Photoshop or GIMP. What do you use for your everyday image editing? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Pritam Chopra is a seasoned IT professional and a passionate blogger hailing from the dynamic realm of technology. With an insatiable curiosity for all things tech-related, Pritam has dedicated himself to exploring and unraveling the intricacies of the digital world.
