Krita is a free, open-source painting and image editor for Windows, macOS and Android, with no company behind it. It suits people who want a full-featured painting app without ever paying or making an account, and it suits less well anyone looking for AI editing tools, since Krita ships none.
What is Krita?
Krita is a KDE community project that traces back to 1998, run day to day by the non-profit Krita Foundation, registered in the Netherlands. There is no company selling it. Krita is an installed desktop application for Windows and macOS, with an Android version currently in beta, and it requires no account: nothing about your work is sent anywhere.
Editing images in Krita
Krita opens and saves PSD files, including layers, and its transform masks and filter masks apply transforms and adjustments non-destructively rather than baking them into the pixels. CMYK is a selectable color model you can paint in directly, not just an export step, though the documentation still recommends working in RGB and converting for print. Pressure-sensitive tablet input is supported, and templates give you a preset starting point for a new document.
Third-party Python plugins can be installed and enabled, and Krita publishes a documented Python scripting API for developers. There is no batch-processing feature for handling multiple files at once, only per-file Python scripting. Krita has no AI-based editing tools: no generative fill, AI upscaling, one-click background removal or automatic subject selection.
Working with other people
Krita is built for one person painting locally, with no real-time collaboration or comment workflow. In place of company support, the project runs on a community forum and a bug tracker, plus a built-in manual for reference.
Krita pricing: what it costs
Krita is free, with no paid tier of any kind. Paid listings on the Microsoft Store, Steam, Epic Games Store and the Mac App Store sell the identical free app as a way to support development, not a separate tier with more features. Commercial use of what you create is explicitly allowed.
Privacy and support
Questions about training on your work, SOC 2 and GDPR do not arise for Krita: it is installed desktop software with no account and no vendor server your files pass through. Support runs through the community forum and bug tracker, along with the built-in manual.
Who Krita suits
Krita suits anyone who wants a free painting and image editor with layers, non-destructive masks, PSD compatibility and Python-based extensibility, and who is comfortable with a volunteer-run project instead of a company with a support line. It also suits anyone who wants an Android option alongside desktop, since a beta version exists there too.
It suits less well anyone who wants to process many files at once, since there is no batch feature beyond per-file scripting, or anyone who wants AI tools such as generative fill or automatic background removal, since Krita has none of those. It also does not run on iOS or iPadOS.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Krita really free?
Yes. Krita has no paid tier at all: the whole application is free, and the paid store listings sell the same app as a way to support development, not extra features.
Does Krita open Photoshop's PSD files?
Yes, both importing and exporting PSD files with layers.
Can I paint in CMYK in Krita?
Yes, CMYK is a color model you can select and paint in directly, though the documentation recommends working in RGB and converting for print.
Does Krita collect or train on my files?
The question does not really apply: Krita is installed software with no account and no server your images pass through, so nothing of yours is collected or sent anywhere.
