Paint.NET
Hacker ApprovedRanked 4 of 11 image editors by recommenders
A simple, quick, free image editor that people use for small edits and as a lighter alternative to MS Paint. Critics mainly note that it is closed source.
A simple, quick, free image editor that people use for small edits and as a lighter alternative to MS Paint. Critics mainly note that it is closed source.
38 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 30
- criticize it
- 8
- approval share
- 79%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 30 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Go-to tool for daily use
“Paint.net is my go-to image editing software.”
Comment from 2 Sep 2026 in “Paint.net 5.2 alpha now runs on Linux” “I like Paint.NET. It's a valuable resource.”
Comment from 30 May 2026 in “Paint.NET developer gets "paint.net" domain from scammers after 22 years” “Paint.net is a must have tool on windows.”
Comment from 29 May 2026 in “Paint.NET developer gets "paint.net" domain from scammers after 22 years” - Comment from 2 Sep 2026 in “Paint.net 5.2 alpha now runs on Linux”
- Comment from 2 Sep 2026 in “Paint.net 5.2 alpha now runs on Linux”
Simple, quick, no-nonsense editing
“a simple, quick, no-nonsense image editor - while there are image editor alternatives, as far as I can tell there's nothing quite like it”
Comment from 3 Jan 2026 in “Microsoft kills official way to activate Windows 11/10 without internet” “the only software I find reasonably simple AND reasonably advanced”
Comment from 2 Sep 2026 in “Paint.net 5.2 alpha now runs on Linux” “It’s lighter, simpler, and faster with a much more intuitive UX.”
Comment from 2 Sep 2026 in “Paint.net 5.2 alpha now runs on Linux” - Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Interview with Øyvind Kolås, GIMP developer”
Best for quick, small edits
“paint.net is undeniably the best for quick image edits”
Comment from 29 May 2026 in “Paint.NET developer gets "paint.net" domain from scammers after 22 years” “I had to switch to Paint.net for doing small edits.”
Comment from 23 Jan 2026 in “Satya Nadella: "We need to find something useful for AI"” “paint.net is amazing for basic png editing”
Comment from 2 Sep 2026 in “Paint.net 5.2 alpha now runs on Linux” - Comment from 29 May 2026 in “Paint.NET developer gets "paint.net" domain from scammers after 22 years”
Better than MS Paint
“OP didn't like that, so they went and downloaded Paint.Net to avoid having to deal with (MS) Paint shenanigans.”
Comment from 24 Aug 2026 in “MS Paint and Photos inivisibly watermark even locally generated output with GUID” “Paint.net has done Paint right for many years now”
Comment from 16 Oct 2026 in “MS Paint Adds Freeform Rotation (2026)” “Paint.net is just better in every way.”
Comment from 1 Sep 2026 in “Paint.net 5.2 alpha now runs on Linux”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Closed source, not open
“PDN isn't FOSS. Linux platform knowledge was scraped from FOSS Linux software, trained into AI, and is being used to port a closed source program to Linux”
Comment from 3 Sep 2026 in “Paint.net 5.2 alpha now runs on Linux” “Paint.net is closed source”
Comment from 2 Sep 2026 in “Paint.net 5.2 alpha now runs on Linux” Questions about AI-generated code
“PDN isn't FOSS. Linux platform knowledge was scraped from FOSS Linux software, trained into AI, and is being used to port a closed source program to Linux”
Comment from 3 Sep 2026 in “Paint.net 5.2 alpha now runs on Linux” “It is very buggy, was AI slop coded, and barely works.”
Comment from 2 Sep 2026 in “Paint.net 5.2 alpha now runs on Linux”
Other image editors people recommend
The four most recommended other image editors, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GIMP | 179 | 216 | 45% | 13 | 20 yrs17 owners | — |
| Adobe Photoshop | 152 | 187 | 45% | 12 | 25 yrs22 owners | — |
| Moss pixel canvas | 46 | 6 | 88% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Paint.NETThis page | 30 | 8 | 79% | 7 | — | Approved |
| MS Paint | 22 | 43 | 34% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
32 of the 38 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Paint.net has done Paint right for many years now”
“That was the last software that held me to windows”
“PDN isn't FOSS. Linux platform knowledge was scraped from FOSS Linux software, trained into AI, and is being used to port a closed source program to Linux”
“the only software I find reasonably simple AND reasonably advanced”
“I love PDN. It isn't as capable as Photoshop, but it isn't a rental, and it does 99% of what I need it to do.”
“Paint.net is closed source”
“trying to win an award for most popup advertising on one web page”
“I made heavy use of Paint.net”
“Paint.net is my go-to image editing software.”
“It’s lighter, simpler, and faster with a much more intuitive UX.”
“It is very buggy, was AI slop coded, and barely works.”
“paint.net is amazing for basic png editing”
“it actively spies on the user! Say no to telemetry.”
“just a happy user of that software”
“I also miss paint.net on Mac”
“Paint.net is the only thing I miss from my days on Windows machines”
“which I find more dubious than using MIT-licensed code without giving credit to the author”
“Paint.net is just better in every way.”
“There's a bunch of smaller editors that don't have such problems, like paint.net for example.”
“Which pushed me to install PaintdotNet onto my laptop instead.”
“OP didn't like that, so they went and downloaded Paint.Net to avoid having to deal with (MS) Paint shenanigans.”
“I like Paint.NET. It's a valuable resource.”
“One of the best tools and its quite fast:”
“paint.net is undeniably the best for quick image edits”
“Paint.net is a must have tool on windows.”
“Most are free and open source to boot.”
“It's really a shame the Paint.net author is so devoted to being Windows only.”
“had a UI that you'd be up and using without thinking twice”
“it's not quite as good as I remember psp being”
“I had to switch to Paint.net for doing small edits.”
“a simple, quick, no-nonsense image editor - while there are image editor alternatives, as far as I can tell there's nothing quite like it”
“If it comes down to FOSS/freeware stuff I am actually quite fond of Windows ecosystem.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.