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Paintbrush vs Pinta: catalog facts
Paintbrush	Pinta
Best for: Mac users who need a basic bitmap editor for quick edits	Best for: Quick edits that Paint cannot do and GIMP makes too complicated
Free The source describes Paintbrush as freeware.	Free Free and open source under the MIT licence, with code from Paint.NET 3.36 used under the same licence.
macOS	Windows, macOS, Linux
Opens and saves BMP, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, and GIF Supports transparency in PNG and GIF All 3 strengths for Paintbrush Opens and saves BMP, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, and GIF Supports transparency in PNG and GIF Can paste images from common Mac applications	The Paint.NET workflow on macOS, Linux and BSD as well as Windows Unlimited undo with a history pane All 4 strengths for Pinta The Paint.NET workflow on macOS, Linux and BSD as well as Windows Unlimited undo with a history pane Layers, effects and live previews without GIMP's learning curve Small download and quick to start
Aims to provide a basic, streamlined image editor rather than replace high-end image editors	Nowhere near GIMP or Krita for serious editing No plugin ecosystem comparable to Paint.NET's All 4 limitations for Pinta Nowhere near GIMP or Krita for serious editing No plugin ecosystem comparable to Paint.NET's Releases are occasional; 3.1.2 dates from April 2026 GTK theming on Windows and macOS looks out of place
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Not open source	Open source
License not stated	License: MIT
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Paintbrush paintbrush.sourceforge.io Catalog checked October 8, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Pinta pinta-project.com github.com/PintaProject/Pinta Catalog checked September 21, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.