There are a lot of free drawing apps out there.

If you’re just getting started with digital art, it’s overwhelming. Every program claims to be powerful. Every YouTube comment says something different. And somehow everything is either “industry standard” or “underrated.”

So I decided to test a bunch of free drawing apps and rate them based on one simple question:

Would I recommend this to someone starting digital art?

Even if you’re not a beginner, you might find something new worth trying.

Here’s what actually happened.

Krita – Powerful, Slightly Overwhelming, Extremely Good Drawing App

This was my first time opening Krita during this test session, and honestly… strong start.

The default brushes are fantastic. Like genuinely 10/10. There’s a huge selection, and they actually feel good to use — not just filler brushes that sit in the brush panel forever while you only use two of them.

You get sketch brushes, inking pens, textured painting brushes, and a bunch of experimental ones that are surprisingly fun to play with. It immediately feels like a tool that was built by people who actually draw.

Now, to be fair, when I first tried Krita I was already using Photoshop pretty regularly. So I went in with some expectations — and muscle memory. I was already comfortable with the Photoshop UI and workflow, so jumping into Krita meant I had to adjust a bit.

At first the interface felt a little different. Some things weren’t exactly where I expected them to be. But after a short time tweaking hotkeys and panels, it actually started to feel pretty natural.

Once I got past that initial adjustment period, Krita became surprisingly easy to sketch in. Within minutes I was already drawing comfortably, which is always a good sign for any art software.

And honestly, for a free program, it’s kind of ridiculous how powerful Krita is.

It has:

• Layers
• Liquify
• Lasso tool
• Transform
• Pressure sensitivity
• Smart colorize features
• A command search tool (which is honestly genius)
  

That command selector alone is a lifesaver. Forget how to Gaussian Blur something? Just search it. Done.

The downside?

It’s powerful… but a little identity-less. It tries to do everything. The learning curve is steeper than some other beginner drawing apps. If you’re easily overwhelmed by too many features, you might need a few days to settle in.

But overall?

Tier: S
An incredible free option. Especially if you want something long-term.

MediBang Paint – Simple, Manga-Friendly, Beginner-Friendly

MediBang feels lighter and more straightforward than Krita.

The brush selection is strong — especially if you like manga-style inking. G-pen, mapping pen, turnip pen… it’s very clearly inspired by Japanese comic tools.

Pros:

• Intuitive layout
• Easy to start drawing immediately
• Good brush variety
• Lightweight (good for weaker PCs)
  

Cons:

• No liquify (only mesh transform)
• Login prompts and ads
• Slightly cluttered brush duplication
  

If you’re the type of person who opens complex software and immediately closes it out of stress, MediBang might be better than Krita for you.

Tier: S
Held back slightly by ads and login friction, but very solid.

FireAlpaca – MediBang Without the Annoying Stuff

FireAlpaca is basically MediBang’s twin.

The main difference?
No login pop-ups. No ad interruptions.

If you want:

• Simple interface
• Decent brushes
• Lightweight performance
  

And don’t need cloud features — pick FireAlpaca.

Tier: S
Choose between this and MediBang based on your tolerance for pop-ups.

GIMP – Technically Powerful, Emotionally Exhausting

GIMP is not drawing software.

It’s photo editing software pretending it might be drawing software if you squint hard enough.

Yes, it technically has:

• Layers
• Liquify
• Lasso
• Transform
• Customization
  

But:

• The brush selection is limited
• Tablet compatibility can be inconsistent
• The layout is chaotic by default
• The color wheel is… confusing
  

If you’re a power user who loves customizing everything and rebuilding software layouts from scratch, you might enjoy it.

If you’re a beginner?

This will test your patience.

Tier: D
You deserve better.

Photopea – Browser-Based, Surprisingly Capable

Photopea runs in your browser. No installation needed.

That’s its biggest strength.

Feature-wise, it actually has almost everything you’d expect:

• Layers
• Layer modes
• Liquify
• Lasso
• Transform
• Pressure sensitivity (but you need to enable it)
  

The problems:

• No real shortcut customization
• UI resets between sessions
• Not optimized specifically for drawing
  

For quick edits or occasional sketches? Fine.

For seriously learning digital art? I wouldn’t recommend it long term.

Tier: C
Useful, but not ideal.

Ibis Paint – Great on Mobile, Awkward on PC

Ibis Paint is clearly designed for tablets and phones first.

And on mobile? It’s fantastic.

It has:

• Tons of brushes
• Clean interface
• Intuitive controls
• Good manga-style tools
  

But on PC?

It feels like a mobile drawing app awkwardly stretched onto desktop. Limited hotkey customization. Some gestures feel weird with a mouse and keyboard.

For iPad or Android?
I’d rate it much higher.

For PC beginners?

Tier: B
Solid, but not optimized for desktop artists.

MS Paint – The Unexpected Chaos Option

Look.

MS Paint technically has:

• Pressure sensitivity
• A lasso tool
• Some surprisingly decent oil brushes
  

But it has:

• No layers
• No liquify
• Awkward color picker
• Minimal control
  

You can draw in it.

Should you start your digital art journey there?

Probably not.

The lack of layers alone makes learning much harder than it needs to be.

Tier: E
Fun nostalgia. Not a serious recommendation.

Artweaver Free – Almost Good, But Not Quite

Artweaver feels like it wants to compete with MediBang and Krita.

But:

• I couldn’t get pressure sensitivity working
• Liquify is missing
• Some shortcut customization is paywalled
• Layer blending felt inconsistent
  

It’s intuitive. It has lots of brushes. But compared to other free options, it just doesn’t stand out.

Tier: C
Not terrible. Just overshadowed.

Blender (Grease Pencil) – Technically Insane, Practically Unhinged for Beginners

Blender is incredibly powerful.

You can:

• Animate
• Use 3D space
• Sculpt
• Paint
• Do 2D with Grease Pencil
  

But recommending Blender to a digital art beginner is like teaching someone to drive in a spaceship cockpit.

Everything is hidden.
Nothing is intuitive.
You’ll need tutorials before you can even move comfortably.

Is it powerful? Yes.
Should a beginner start here?

Absolutely not.

Tier: D
Cool. Not beginner-friendly.

Final Recommendations

If you’re just starting digital art:

Best Overall (Free):

• Krita
• MediBang
• FireAlpaca
  

If you’re on mobile:

• Ibis Paint
  

Avoid for beginners:

• GIMP
• Blender
• MS Paint (unless you’re intentionally embracing chaos)
  

At the end of the day, the “best” drawing software is simply the one that gets out of your way and lets you focus on the fundamentals.

Because no drawing app will magically make you a better artist overnight.

But the wrong one?
Yeah… it can definitely slow you down.

No matter what program you use, the real progress comes from learning things like lighting, anatomy, and color. If you’re still figuring out how colors work together, I’d highly recommend checking out my guide on Color Theory: A Guide for Beginner Artist — it’ll help your paintings look better regardless of what software you use.

And once you’re comfortable sketching, the next step is learning how to actually turn those sketches into finished pieces. I break that process down in From Sketch to Render: A Beginner’s Guide to Painting in Blender or Photoshop.

If your focus is character art, especially anime-style characters, you might also find my tutorial on How I Draw Anime Faces (And How You Can Too) helpful.

And if you’re completely new to the whole thing, you should probably start with What is Digital Painting, where I explain the tools, workflow, and what to expect when getting started.

At the end of the day, software is just a tool.

Your skills, practice, and consistency are what actually level up your art.