This article will introduce you to the most popular painting software currently on the market, including the scope of application of each software. There are software for professionals as well as software for beginners. It compares 11 different tools, including both free and paid options, detailing their features, pricing, and compatible devices. Popular tools like Clip Studio Paint and Photoshop are highlighted as top choices among users. You can refer the article to choose the right tool based on your environment (e.g., PC, tablet, or smartphone) and your artistic goals, such as casual illustration, manga creation, or professional work.
Popular PC drawing apps include Clip Studio Paint, SAI, and Photoshop. In recent years, the performance of smartphones and tablets has improved, making it possible to create professional illustrations even on mobile devices. Procreate and ibisPaint are multifunctional and easy to use, and are popular among people who draw on smartphones and tablets.
It always depends on your goals and your skill level. To find the perfect drawing tool, think about what kind of work you want to create. The software and apps you find easy to use will change depending on what you want to do.
The way to choose a drawing app depends on the user's purpose. It is important to clarify each goal, such as "I want to draw illustrations and manga seriously" or "I want to enjoy creating illustrations and manga casually.
■ Enjoy creating illustrations and manga casually
- Clip Studio Paint【iPad/iPhone/AndroidWindows/macOS】
- ibisPaint 【iPad/iPhone/AndroidWindows】
- MediBangPaint【iPad/iPhone/AndroidWindows/macOS】
- Adobe Fresco【iPad/iPhoneWindows】
- FireAlpaca【Windows/macOS】
- Krita【Windows/macOS】
- openCanvas【Windows】
- GIMP2【Windows/macOS】
■ Draw illustrations and manga seriously (for work/printing)
- Photoshop【iPad/Windows/macOS】
- Clip Studio Paint【iPad/iPhone/AndroidWindows/macOS】
- Procreate【iPad】
- Paint Tool SAI【Windows】
Photoshop【iPad/Windows/macOS】
Overview:
Primarily a photo editing software, Photoshop is also used for drawing, particularly in design schools and professional studios. It offers high customizability.
Excels at multi-page project exports for web, print, and video. Notably supports CMYK for print-ready projects, a feature lacking in many drawing apps.
Recommended for users comfortable with software customization and clear project goals. For a drawing-focused Adobe experience, Adobe Fresco is suggested.
Trial Version:
- Download the seven-day free trial here. Requires Adobe ID registration and a valid payment method (auto-billed post-trial).
Pricing:
Costs $22.99 USD/month, with payments via credit card, PayPal, or wire transfer.
Support:
Assistance is available through Adobe's official contact form, chat feature, and community forums. Resources for digital art and comics are limited.
Community:
Boasts a large, active user base ranging from amateurs to professionals. Users often share custom brushes and resources to enhance drawing features.
Clip Studio Paint【iPad/iPhone/AndroidWindows/macOS】 
Overview:
CSP is a leading app for digital painting, comics, and animation, designed for artists of all levels.
Features include timelapse recording, watermarks, noise patterns, and access to over 70,000 downloadable materials via Clip Studio Assets.
Offers 3D tools like poseable models to aid character drawing from various angles.
Highly versatile across PC, iPad, iPhone, and Android, with support for exporting to web, print, and video formats.
Versions:
PRO: Ideal for illustrations, single-page comics, and short animations.
EX: Includes PRO features plus tools for multi-page comics and full-length animation production. Recommended for 2D animation or serialized webtoons/comics.
Trial Version:
A 3-month free trial is available (up to 6 months via Galaxy Store).
Pricing:
Perpetual License (Windows/macOS): $58.50 USD for PRO; $258 USD for EX.
Subscription (iPad/iPhone/Android/Windows/macOS): Starting at $0.99 USD/month.
Additional offers exist for multi-device use.
Support:
Dedicated support site with FAQs and detailed troubleshooting guides.
Artists can share solutions and tips on the Clip Studio Ask platform.
Community:
CSP features an active community sharing brushes and materials through Clip Studio Assets.
Official tutorials and user-created guides are available on Clip Studio Tips, along with an online user manual.
Procreate【iPad】 
Overview:
Procreate is a powerful iPad drawing app with a user-friendly interface, offering tools like brush customization, perspective rulers, clipping masks, and text tools. It provides a seamless digital art experience.
The app includes an instructional video and sample artwork when first opened. Procreate Dreams, a separate app, is available for simple animation creation.
Device Compatibility:
Exclusive to iPad. An iPhone version, Procreate Pocket, exists but with fewer features. No trial version is available for either app.
Pricing:
$12.99 USD on the App Store.
Support:
Includes a mail contact form on the official site, as well as online user-made tutorials.
Community:
Procreate Folio is a dedicated community platform showcasing artwork by other users.
Paint Tool SAI【Windows】
Overview:
A popular drawing software among illustrators, known for its stabilization and smooth drawing experience.
Simple, intuitive interface suitable for sketching and coloring but lacks advanced features like color adjustments, text editing, and CMYK output.
Best for beginners or artists seeking a straightforward drawing tool. Version 2 is in development, adding text input and ruler features.
Trial Version:
A 1-month trial is available for download from the official website.
Pricing:
Costs 5,500 JPY (approximately $40 USD), payable via PayPal or credit card.
Support:
Features a FAQ page and simple manual on the official website.
Community:
No official community exists, but extensive books and online resources are available due to the software's longstanding popularity.
ibisPaint 【iPad/iPhone/AndroidWindows】
Overview:
ibisPaint is a free app designed for manga creation, offering over 47,000 brushes and textures, 80+ filters and tones, as well as paneling tools and manga templates.
Supports A4 and B4 canvas sizes with up to 600 dpi resolution for printing black-and-white comics.
Features include timelapse recording, cloud storage for syncing artwork across devices, and the ability to export files to Clip Studio Paint.
Versions and Pricing:
Free version (ads included) is available.
Paid options include:
Ad-free mobile version: $14.99 USD.
Pro Add-on (PC version): $41.99 USD.
Prime Membership: $4.49 USD/month or $27.99 USD/year.
Support:
FAQs and tutorials are provided on the official website, and users can contact support via the contact form.
Community:
Includes a YouTube channel and a website gallery with user-created tutorials and artwork for inspiration.
MediBangPaint【iPad/iPhone/AndroidWindows/macOS】
Overview:
A free and beginner-friendly drawing app with essential manga creation tools like frame borders and screentones.
Offers over 1,000 screen tones and 3GB of cloud storage for device synchronization (brush settings cannot transfer across different operating systems, except between Windows and macOS).
While less flexible than paid apps, it’s a solid choice for creating black-and-white comics.
Trial Version:
Available with ads displayed.
Pricing:
Free to download from the official site.
Premium membership available for 2,480 JPY or $18 USD/year, offering increased storage and advanced features.
Support:
Support is accessible via email on the official website, which also features tutorials, materials, and an FAQ section.
Community:
The developer manages ARTstreet, a social platform for sharing art, joining contests, and finding resources.
Adobe Fresco【iPad/iPhoneWindows】
Overview:
Adobe Fresco features live brushes that mimic the blending and bleeding of traditional paints, allowing natural color mixing and achieving watercolor or oil painting effects. It supports raster and vector brushes on the same canvas.
Ideal for users familiar with Adobe products, as it integrates well with Photoshop brushes and Adobe cloud services.
Trial Version:
Available for testing.
Pricing:
Fresco offers a free basic version and a subscription plan at $9.99 USD/month for full features.
Included in Adobe Creative Cloud ($59.99 USD/month for individuals).
Support:
Assistance available via the inquiry form on the official website, including chat and email.
Community:
Limited user-generated tutorials and no dedicated Fresco community, but the official site provides tutorials focusing on watercolor and oil painting techniques.
FireAlpaca【Windows/macOS】 
Overview:
Ads are displayed upon startup but disappear once dismissed until the next relaunch.
Compared to paid software, the variety and customization of brushes are limited, but the app supports expressions like pen and watercolor effects, as well as unique features like rotational symmetry.
Features include paneling tools, rulers for drawing effect lines, and the ability to create color or black-and-white manga.
Supports exporting PSD files in CMYK mode, compatible with print guidelines from certain printing companies.
Onion skin mode allows for creating animation GIFs by collaborating with other web services. While simple in functionality, it is versatile for various creations.
Ideal for beginners in digital drawing, offering sufficient functionality for a free software.
Support & Usage:
Instead of an in-app manual, the official website provides a manual and illustration tips collection. This includes guides on using the software and explanations of CG terms used in it. Books on how to use the software are also introduced on the official site.
How to Obtain:
Downloadable from the official website.
Pricing: Free (with some ads displayed).
Krita【Windows/macOS】 
Overview:
Krita is a free, open-source digital painting software compatible with Linux, Windows, and macOS.
Offers features like unlimited layers (including vector layers for scaling text/shapes), symmetry tools, and frame-by-frame animation with real-time audio previews.
Brushes can be customized, and user-created resources can be imported.
A drawback is its slower brushstroke performance, making it feel sluggish compared to apps like Clip Studio Paint.
Pricing:
Free to download from the official website.
Paid version ($12.99 USD) available for automatic updates.
Trial Version:
Available for testing.
Support:
Includes a support contact form, FAQ page, tutorials, and an online user manual.
Additional resources and a user gallery are accessible.
Community:
Maintained by the Krita Foundation, supported by passionate developers and artists.
Purchases from official stores fund its development and ensure continual improvements.
openCanvas【Windows】 
Overview:
This Windows-only app supports pen pressure sensitivity and multi-touch gestures on tablet PCs, allowing for illustration creation on the go.
Includes an "Event Function" that records drawing progress as a video, enabling edits or additions at any stage. You can export GIFs for use as making-of videos or share them on social media.
Features "Palm Control" and "Shortcut Control" displayed on-screen for operations without a menu or keyboard.
Supports resolutions of up to 600dpi and canvas sizes up to 10,000px. PSD data compatibility allows for creating large print files. Resolution must be input manually, so values should be noted during creation.
Versions:
Available in both perpetual and download versions, with a 120-day free trial for download users.
Boxed versions can be purchased at electronics stores, with options for bundled plans with pen tablets.
Developer: P-G-N Inc.
Support & Usage:
The app links to "openCanvas Online Help," which is divided by software versions for easy access.
How to Obtain:
Downloadable from the official site or Steam, or purchasable as boxed versions at retail stores or online platforms.
Pricing:
Download Version: New Purchase: 6,800 JPY (tax included) / Upgrade Purchase: 2,700 JPY (tax included).
Boxed Version: Standard Edition: 7,800 JPY (excluding tax) / Guidebook Bundle Edition: 8,800 JPY (excluding tax).
GIMP2【Windows/macOS】
Overview:
GIMP is a free, open-source image editing software, originally developed for web image processing rather than print or animation.
Offers robust color adjustment and image processing features, with the ability to add community-made plugins for customization.
Limited to desktop use; not available for iPads, Android tablets, or smartphones. Adjusting default settings may be necessary to optimize it for drawing.
Trial Version:
Available for testing.
Pricing:
Free to download from the official website.
Support:
No dedicated support team; the website offers FAQs, a user manual, and tutorials.
Community:
No official user forum, but the site encourages participation in development tasks like bug reporting, testing, and tutorial creation.