ibis Paint X
by ibis
ibis Paint X is a free, ad-supported drawing and animation app for iPhone, iPad and Android with a huge online library of brushes and materials.
- Price
- Free with ads; Premium $4.49/month or ad removal $15.99
- Runs on
- iOS, iPadOS, Android
- Rating
- ★ 4.7 on the App Store (298K ratings)
Krita
by the Krita Foundation
Krita is a free and open-source painting program for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android tablets and Chromebooks, made by artists and volunteers.
- Price
- Free and open source
- Runs on
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, ChromeOS
- Get it
- Not on the App Store; download from its website
Key differences
Only ibis Paint X has
- iPad
- iPhone: Yes, same app
- Apple Pencil: Supported
Only Krita has
- Ad-free
Feature comparison
| Feature | ibis Paint X |
Krita |
|---|---|---|
| Price and platforms | ||
| Price | Free with ads; Premium $4.49/month or ad removal $15.99 | Free and open source |
| Free version | Yes, ad-supported | Yes, everything is free |
| Subscription | Optional Premium membership | None |
| Ad-free | No, ads unless removed for $15.99 | Yes |
| No account needed | Not advertised | Yes |
| iPad | Yes | No |
| iPhone | Yes, same app | No |
| Mac | Not advertised | Yes |
| Android and Chromebook | Yes | Tablets and Chromebooks; Android is in beta |
| Brushes | ||
| Built-in brushes | 130,000+ | 100+ presets on several brush engines |
| Brush customization | Customizable brushes | Multiple brush engines, deep customization |
| Brush import | Online brush library | Resource bundles and Photoshop .abr |
| Apple Pencil | Supported | No (no iPad version); pen tablets supported |
| Comics and manga | ||
| Comic panel layouts | Not advertised | Comic page templates |
| Screentones | 46 screentones | Not advertised |
| Text and lettering | 3,000+ fonts | Text tool |
| Layers and editing | ||
| Layer limit | Not advertised | Limited by memory |
| Blend modes | 27 | Dozens |
| Masks | Clipping | Transparency, filter and transform masks |
| Adjustments and filters | 86 image filters | Non-destructive filter layers and masks |
| Selection tools | Selection tools | Rectangle, ellipse, polygon, freehand, contiguous, similar color, Bezier, magnetic |
| Liquify and distortion | Not advertised | Liquify transform |
| Clone tool | Not advertised | Clone brush |
| Drawing aids | ||
| Symmetry | Symmetry and radial rulers | Mirror tools and multibrush |
| Perspective guides | Not advertised | Perspective and vanishing point assistants |
| Shape correction | Shape and vector tools | Assistants and shape tools |
| Gradients | Not advertised | Gradient tool |
| Paintable materials | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Seamless patterns | Not advertised | Wrap-around mode |
| Extras | ||
| Animation | Frame-by-frame, with music and audio | Frame-by-frame |
| 3D painting | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Timelapse | Yes | Recorder |
| Live collaboration | Not advertised | Not advertised |
| Generative AI | No image generation; AI Disturbance protects art from AI training | None advertised |
| Files | ||
| Photoshop PSD | Not advertised | Import and export |
| Export formats | Images and timelapse video | KRA, PSD, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, EXR and more |
| CMYK and print | Not advertised | CMYK, LAB and HDR color |
| App Store | ||
| Rating | 4.7 / 5 (298K ratings) | Not on the App Store |
| Last updated | September 29, 2026 | Not on the App Store |
| Languages | 18 | Not on the App Store |
Price
Krita is free with every tool included, while ibis Paint X is free to download with paid upgrades.
ibis Paint X is free with ads. Ads can be removed for $15.99 once, or Premium membership, which adds extra features and materials, costs $4.49 a month or $27.99 a year on the US App Store.
Krita is completely free and open source under the GNU GPL, with no ads, subscription or paid tier. Development is funded by donations, and you can also buy it on some app stores to support the project.
Platforms
Both run on Android. Only ibis Paint X runs on iPad and iPhone. Only Krita runs on Windows, Mac, Linux and Chromebook.
ibis Paint X is one app for iPhone and iPad, and it is also available on Android.
Krita runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, plus Android tablets and Chromebooks, where the Android version is still in beta. It is not available for iPad or iPhone.
Brushes
ibis Paint X advertises more than 130,000 brushes along with 30,000+ materials and 46 screentones, which makes it one of the biggest brush collections of any drawing app.
Krita ships with more than 100 brush presets built on several brush engines, from pixel and color smudge to bristle and particle engines. It imports Photoshop .abr brushes and resource bundles.
Comics and manga
ibis Paint X is popular for manga, with 46 screentones, more than 3,000 fonts for lettering and a large online library of inking brushes.
Krita includes comic page templates and a Comics Project Management Tools plugin for organizing multi-page projects.
Layers and editing
ibis Paint X: It offers 27 layer blend modes, clipping, 86 image filters, vector tools and a reference window, which is a lot of power for a free app.
Krita: Its layer system is one of the deepest anywhere: paint, vector, filter and fill layers, transparency and filter masks, dozens of blend modes, and color management with CMYK, LAB and HDR support.
Drawing tools and extras
ibis Paint X: Drawing aids include radial and symmetry rulers. ibis Paint X also does frame-by-frame animation with music and audio, records a timelapse, and has an AI Disturbance feature meant to protect your art from AI training.
Krita: Drawing assistants cover perspective, vanishing points and ellipses, and mirror tools, multibrush symmetry and wrap-around mode make patterns easy. Krita also has frame-by-frame animation, a text tool and a recorder for timelapses.
Which should you choose?
Choose ibis Paint X if
- You want a huge library of brushes, materials and fonts
- You want a powerful free app and do not mind ads
- You mostly draw on a phone
- You want screentones for manga
Choose Krita if
- You paint on a Windows, Mac or Linux computer with a pen tablet
- You want a completely free, open-source program
- You want deep customization with many brush engines
- You need CMYK, LAB or HDR color management
Frequently asked questions
Is ibis Paint X better than Krita?
Neither is better for everyone. ibis Paint X is the better pick if you want a huge library of brushes, materials and fonts, or you want a powerful free app and do not mind ads. Krita suits you better if you paint on a Windows, Mac or Linux computer with a pen tablet, or you want a completely free, open-source program.
Is ibis Paint X free?
Yes, ibis Paint X is free with ads. You can remove ads for $15.99 once, or subscribe to Premium for $4.49 a month or $27.99 a year for extra features and materials.
Is Krita free?
Yes. Krita is completely free and open source, with no ads, subscription or locked features. You can donate or buy it on some stores to support development.
Which works on iPhone, ibis Paint X or Krita?
ibis Paint X runs on iPhone in the same app as on iPad. Krita is not available on iPhone.
Do ibis Paint X and Krita work on Android?
ibis Paint X has an Android version. Krita runs on Android tablets and Chromebooks, though the Android version is still in beta.
Do ibis Paint X or Krita use generative AI?
ibis Paint X does not advertise AI image generation, and its AI Disturbance feature is designed to make your artwork harder for AI to learn from. Krita does not advertise any built-in generative AI features.
Sources
Facts checked on October 2, 2026. Prices are from the US App Store, and features from each app's listing and official site. Apps change often, so check the App Store for current prices and features. ibis Paint X and Krita are trademarks of their respective owners. App icons come from each app's App Store listing and belong to their owners. Krita logo by Wolthera van Hövell tot Westerflier and Timothée Giet for KDE, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Paintrix Studio is not affiliated with the makers of ibis Paint X and Krita.