GIMP vs Paint.NET

GIMP: what it's good at

GIMP is a full-featured raster image editor covering photo retouching, compositing, masking, layers, channels and scriptable batch processing. For the majority of image editing tasks it is a capable Photoshop substitute at no cost.

• Layers, masks, channels and paths
• Extensive selection and retouching tools
• Scriptable batch processing
• Large third-party plugin ecosystem

Paint.NET: what it's good at

Paint.NET fills the gap between Windows Paint and a full professional editor: layers, effects and a genuinely simple interface that opens instantly. For quick edits it is often more practical than a heavyweight suite.

• Layers and adjustment effects
• Very fast to launch and learn
• Active plugin community
• Unlimited undo history

Which should you choose?

Both are free, so the honest answer is that you can install either and decide for yourself — that is the advantage of free software over a paid trial.

Both run on Windows. Only GIMP supports macOS, Linux. If open source matters to you, GIMP publishes its source code and Paint.NET does not.

We deliberately do not publish a star rating for either. We have no way to verify a rating that would be honest at scale, and an invented one would be worse than none — so we give you the facts and let you decide.

Frequently asked questions

Is GIMP better than Paint.NET?

Neither is universally better. GIMP the best-known free alternative to Adobe Photoshop, while Paint.NET the sweet spot between MS Paint and Photoshop. The right pick depends on your platform and workflow.

Are both really free?

GIMP is open source and Paint.NET is free. Both can be downloaded without paying.

Can I install both?

Yes. Since neither costs anything, installing both and comparing them on your own files is usually the fastest way to decide.