updated
Aug 11, 2026
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Paint.NET is a free image editor for Windows 10 and 11 that sits between Microsoft Paint and Photoshop, offering layers, selection tools, effects and a large community plugin library, with the download from getpaint.net free in full and a paid Microsoft Store edition that adds automatic updates.
Paint.NET is a free image editor for Windows that sits in the gap between Microsoft Paint and Photoshop.
It gives you layers, selection tools, effects and a large plugin library, without the price or the learning curve of professional software.
Download Paint.NET 5.1.12 - the version here is free and complete, which is worth explaining before you meet the paid one in the Microsoft Store.
Free here, paid in the Microsoft Store.
Both are the same application. The download from this page and from getpaint.net costs nothing and holds nothing back - no watermarks, no trial period, no locked features. The Store edition charges a small amount for automatic updates, and buying it is how people support the developer.
What You Get
The layout is the first thing that makes sense: tools down the left, layers on the right, your image in the middle. Nothing is buried three menus deep.
Layers are the feature that separates it from Microsoft Paint. Each element of an image sits on its own layer, so you can move text, adjust one object or delete a mistake without touching anything underneath.
The toolset covers the everyday work: paintbrush, pencil, shapes and text, plus gradients, magic wand selection and a clone stamp for removing things you would rather were not in the photo.
Effects range from the practical - blur, sharpen, red-eye removal, levels and curves - to the decorative, and every one of them previews live before you commit.
Plugins Are Where It Gets Interesting
Paint.NET has an unusually active community that has been writing plugins for it for close to two decades.
They add effects, file format support and whole tools the base application does not ship with, and installing one is usually a matter of dropping a file into a folder and restarting.
The plugin section of the official forum is where they are published, and the tutorials section is worth a look once you are past the basics.
The wider community forum is also the fastest place to get an answer when something will not behave.
What It Needs to Run
Paint.NET stopped being a tool for old computers several versions ago, and it is worth checking your machine before you download 80 MB.
- Windows 11, Windows 10 version 21H2 or later, or Windows Server 2022.
- A 64-bit processor with at least four cores. Intel from 2013 onward or AMD Ryzen from 2017 onward covers it.
- A graphics card supporting Direct3D 11, which includes essentially any NVIDIA, AMD or Intel graphics from the last decade.
- An SSD. It will run from a hard disk, but the developer does not support that and you will feel it.
There is a hard cut-off.
If your processor does not support SSE4.2, Paint.NET will not start at all. Older chips without AVX2 will run it, but slowly, and the developer no longer tests against them.
Version 5.1.12 is the stable release and the one most people should take. A 5.2 alpha is published separately for anyone who wants new features early and can live with rough edges.
Who Should Look Elsewhere
The clearest tell is your processor. An Intel chip older than 2013 or an AMD older than Ryzen means Paint.NET will either crawl or refuse to open, whatever else your PC has.
The other tell is the work itself: if you need CMYK output, 16-bit-per-channel editing or non-destructive adjustment layers, Paint.NET will stop you before you finish.
GIMP is the free step up, with far deeper tooling and a correspondingly steeper start. Affinity now costs nothing either and brings photo editing, vector work and layout into one professional-grade application.
For photography specifically, darktable handles RAW files non-destructively in a way Paint.NET does not attempt - our guide to understanding RAW formats explains why that matters.
If painting rather than editing is the goal, Artweaver Free has the realistic brush engine Paint.NET lacks. For managing a large photo library, ACDSee Photo Studio is the paid option.
Tools That Pair Well With It
Paint.NET edits one image at a time, so a few companions cover the gaps.
- Converseen converts and resizes whole folders at once, which Paint.NET cannot do.
- FastStone Photo Resizer and Light Image Resizer do the same job with different interfaces.
- Greenshot captures and annotates screenshots, then hands them straight to an editor.
- ExifToolGUI edits the metadata inside your image files.
For newer image formats, the WebP Codec and the JPEG XL Image Extension add Windows-wide support so the files open everywhere, not just in your editor.
If you would rather work in a browser, Canva and Adobe Express cover template-driven design.
For anything three-dimensional, Blender is the free answer and a very different kind of undertaking.
Quick questions
Is Paint.NET free, and why does the Microsoft Store charge for it?
The download here and from getpaint.net is free and fully featured. The Store edition is the same application sold for a small amount, adding automatic updates and supporting the developer. Neither version is limited compared with the other.
Will it run on my old PC?
Probably not. It needs Windows 10 version 21H2 or newer, a 64-bit four-core processor and a Direct3D 11 graphics card, and it will not start at all on a CPU without SSE4.2. On older hardware, GIMP is the more forgiving choice.
Can it open PSD files from Photoshop?
Not on its own, but a community plugin adds PSD support and is one of the most widely used ones. You will find it in the forum plugin section.
Paint.NET or GIMP?
Paint.NET if you want to be productive within the hour and your work is everyday editing. GIMP if you need CMYK, 16-bit channels or scripting, and you do not mind a harder start.
Does it handle RAW photos from my camera?
Only through a plugin, and even then it edits them as flat images rather than non-destructively. darktable is built for that job.
Can it resize a whole folder of images at once?
No, it works one image at a time. Converseen or FastStone Photo Resizer handle batches.
Download Paint.NET 5.1.12 and see how it handles your images, or tell us how you got on if you have used it before.
The Graphics section has the rest of the editors and converters, and Image Viewers covers the lighter tools for simply looking at pictures.
