Welcome to our comparison of Krita vs. GIMP, two of the most popular free and open-source alternatives to Adobe Photoshop. Artists, designers, and photographers looking for robust image-editing software that won’t break the bank often find themselves choosing between these two powerful tools. This guide will help you decide which of these top-tier programs best suits your creative needs, by examining their user interfaces, features, and compatibility.
Content
- Krita vs. GIMP: Quick Comparison
- What Is Krita?
- What Is GIMP?
- Krita vs. GIMP: A Comprehensive Comparison
- Krita vs. GIMP: Which App Wins
Krita vs. GIMP: Quick Comparison
This quick comparison of Krita vs. GIMP can help you get a better understanding of which software will best meet your creative needs:
| Aspect | Krita | GIMP |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Focus | Digital painting and 2D animation | Image manipulation and retouching |
| User Interface | Easy to use | Steeper learning curve |
| Distinct Features | Extensive brush library, wraparound mode, non-destructive editing | Powerful selection, layers, masking tools, Resynthesizer plugin |
| Compatibility | Windows (8.1+), macOS (10.12+), Linux | Windows (7+), macOS (10.12+), Linux |
| Best For | Illustrators, concept artists, and comic book creators | Photographers and graphic designers |
What Is Krita?
Initially developed as part of the KOffice suite in 1999, Krita is a free and open-source raster graphics editor, designed primarily for digital art and 2D animation. The name “Krita” is derived from the Swedish word “krita,” meaning “crayon” or “chalk,” and “rita,” which means “to draw.”
The software is available on multiple platforms and provides a comprehensive digital painting studio for artists. Despite its focus on painting, many people increasingly have been using Krita for photo-editing tasks, attracted by its user-friendly interface, excellent documentation, and a growing set of tools. Interestingly, Krita can even be used to generate AI images.
What Is GIMP?
GIMP, short for GNU Image Manipulation Program, is a free and open-source raster graphics editor, primarily used for image manipulation, retouching, and editing. The software also supports free-form drawing, transcoding between different image file formats, and more specialized tasks. While not originally designed for drawing, some artists and creators have used GIMP for this purpose as well.
GIMP was initially developed in 1995 by Spencer Kimball and Peter Mattis as a semester-long project at the University of California, Berkeley. The name GIMP was inspired by the 1994 film Pulp Fiction, and the acronym was created first, with the letter “G” being added to “-IMP” to form the application’s name.
Krita vs. GIMP: A Comprehensive Comparison
Krita and GIMP, despite being developed with different target audiences in mind, share many similarities, which is why it can be difficult to decide which one to choose. Below, we compare them in detail to give you a clearer picture of which application best suits your creative needs.
User Interface
Krita presents a sleek, minimalist design from the get-go, prioritizing ease of use, without sacrificing functionality. Its interface is intuitively organized, with a toolbar on the left and dockable panels for palettes, brush settings, and layer information on the right. This arrangement allows for a clutter-free workspace that focuses on the artist’s canvas.
Krita also offers several preset workspaces tailored to different tasks, like painting, animation, and vector work, enabling users to switch seamlessly between different types of projects. The ability to customize the workspace further – adjusting toolbars and dockers – means that Krita can be tailored to suit the workflow of any artist, from beginners to professionals.
In contrast, GIMP’s interface has historically been one of its most criticized aspects, primarily due to its default multi-window mode, with scattered tools and options across the screen. Although recent versions of GIMP now default to single-window mode, the user experience is still far from flawless (but it can be improved with some tweaks), and it certainly presents a steeper learning curve than Krita.
One infamous example of GIMP’s unintuitive interface is the complexity involved in drawing a simple circle. This seemingly straightforward task has become the subject of many jokes within the digital art community, as it takes a lengthy tutorial to explain the process. It also doesn’t help that the GIMP UI isn’t as visually appealing as Krita’s, as it can be difficult to focus on creating something beautiful when surrounded by visual clutter.
Winner: Krita
Features
Both Krita and GIMP offer a wide range of features, making them powerful alternatives to Adobe Photoshop. However, each program has its strengths and weaknesses, depending on the user’s specific needs.
Krita shines as a digital painting application, thanks to its inclusion of many different brushes, right out of the box, and its highly customizable brush engine. Krita’s dedication to artists is further evidenced by features like a wraparound mode for creating seamless patterns and textures. The software is also designed with non-destructive editing in mind, which is another reason why it’s generally perceived to be more beginner-friendly than GIMP.
GIMP’s biggest strength, as far as features go, lies in the powerful selection, layers, and masking tools, which enable users to perform complex edits with precision. There’s also a wealth of filters and effects for altering images, and the powerful Resynthesizer plugin, which excels at removing and repairing parts of images.
Using GIMP for painting can be an unpleasant experience, as there’s no filter layer like there is in Krita, so you can’t really adjust your image without permanently altering its content – something digital painters often need to do in the creative process. Likewise, some image-editing features in Krita, namely those that work with text, are not sophisticated enough to meet the needs of more demanding graphic artists, but they do the job fine when it comes to basic image editing.
Winner: Tie
Compatibility
Krita and GIMP are compatible with major operating systems. Krita supports Windows (8.1 or newer), macOS (10.12 or newer), and Linux, while GIMP works with Microsoft Windows (7 or newer), macOS (10.12 or newer), and Linux.
Krita and GIMP support a wide range of file formats. File formats supported by both include BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, PSD, TIFF, and SVG (import only in Krita).
Krita-specific file formats include Krita Document, OpenRaster document, PPM,, PGM, PBM, JPEG XL, XBM, XPM, EXR, SCML, ICO, TGA, CSV, and QM, while GIMP-specific file formats include MNG, PCX, PS, and XCF.
Winner: Tie
Krita vs. GIMP: Which App Wins
It could be argued that Krita is a slightly better Photoshop alternative, thanks to its more polished user interface, but it really boils down to what your priorities are:
- If you’re primarily focused on digital painting, Krita is the clear winner. Its intuitive interface, extensive range of brushes, and features tailored for artists make it an ideal choice for illustrators, concept artists, and comic book artists.
- If your primary focus is image manipulation and photo editing, GIMP may be the better choice. Its powerful selection, layers, and masking tools, along with a wide range of filters and effects, make it a great alternative to Adobe Photoshop for photo-editing tasks.
For those who may be looking for alternatives or wish to complement these powerful tools with other options, we recommend checking out the best online photo editors.
All images and screenshots by David Morelo.
Subscribe to our newsletter!
Our latest tutorials delivered straight to your inbox
Sign up for all newsletters.
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and European users agree to the data transfer policy. We will not share your data and you can unsubscribe at any time. Subscribe
David Morelo –
Staff Writer
David Morelo is a professional content writer in the technology niche, covering everything from consumer products to emerging technologies and their cross-industry application. His interest in technology started at an early age and has only grown stronger over the years.
Comments (3)