Paint.NET

Free Windows image and photo editor with layers, unlimited undo, effects and a plugin community.

Unclaimed

Pricing: Free · see prices
Platforms: Windows
Categories: Design & photo

About Paint.NET

Paint.NET is an image and photo editor for Windows PCs, maintained by Rick Brewster (dotPDN LLC). It began as a college project mentored by Microsoft, originally intended as a free replacement for Microsoft Paint, and grew into a layer-based editor with unlimited undo, special effects and a range of selection and drawing tools. Community plug-ins add effects and file types, and an online forum provides tutorials and help. It runs on Windows 10 (21H2 or newer), Windows 11 or Windows Server 2022, supports x64 and ARM64, pen input via Windows Ink, and HDR or wide-colour-gamut displays. It is available in about 35 languages.

Good for

Windows users who want a quick, lightweight editor for screenshots, simple photo fixes and layered graphics without paying for or learning a heavyweight tool.

Watch out for

Windows only, and it needs a 64-bit CPU with AVX2 (or ARM64), at least 4 cores and a Direct3D 11 GPU. Advanced features such as extra effects and file formats depend on third-party plug-ins.

Pricing notes

As of October 2026 the classic download is free; an identical paid version on the Microsoft Store is offered as a way to support development (price not shown on the pages read), and donations are accepted.