Microsoft Paint Mac Alternative: Best Free Options

Updated 6 November 2026 · Standard formula, shown below

If you’re looking for a Microsoft Paint alternative for Mac, the best free options are Preview (built into macOS) for basic editing and Paintbrush for a near-identical Paint experience. Both let you draw, crop, and add text without paying anything, and neither requires a download for the first option.

Why You Need a Paint Alternative on Mac

Microsoft Paint has been a staple of Windows since 1985, offering a simple canvas for drawing, doodling, and quick image edits. Macs don’t ship with an equivalent app, so users switching from Windows often find themselves searching for a tool that feels familiar. The built-in Preview app can handle many basic tasks, but it lacks the freehand drawing tools and simple brush options that Paint users expect. Third-party apps fill this gap, and most are free or very cheap.

Built-in Option: Preview

Preview is already on every Mac and can do more than you might think. To edit an image, open it in Preview, then click the Markup toolbar icon (a pencil tip in a circle). From there you can:

Draw with a pen, highlighter, or shapes (rectangle, oval, arrow)
Add text boxes with custom fonts and colors
Crop, rotate, and resize the image
Adjust exposure, contrast, and saturation
Insert your signature or a shape outline

Preview is perfect for quick annotations, but it’s not designed for pixel-level drawing or creating art from scratch. The brush options are limited, and there’s no eraser tool in the Markup toolbar. For anything beyond simple edits, you’ll want a dedicated drawing app.

Best Free Paint Clone: Paintbrush

Paintbrush is the closest free equivalent to Microsoft Paint on a Mac. It was first released in 2007 and has been updated sporadically since. The interface is almost identical to Paint’s classic layout, with a toolbar of drawing tools on the left, a color palette at the bottom, and a canvas in the middle. You can draw freehand with a pencil or brush, draw lines and shapes, fill areas with color, add text, and erase. It supports the most common image formats (PNG, JPEG, GIF, BMP). The main limitation is that it’s not actively developed—the last stable version was released in 2015—so it may not be fully optimized for the latest macOS versions. However, many users report it still works fine on recent systems. You can download it free from its official website or via Homebrew.

More Powerful Free Options

If you need something more capable than Paint but still free, consider these:

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program): A full-featured image editor that runs on Mac. It has a steeper learning curve but supports layers, filters, and advanced tools. It’s often compared to Photoshop.
Krita: Aimed at digital artists, Krita offers a huge range of brushes, stabilizers, and animation features. It’s free and open-source, and it’s a great choice for drawing and painting.
LibreOffice Draw: Part of the LibreOffice suite, this vector-based drawing tool can also handle raster images. It’s useful for diagrams and simple graphics.

These apps are more complex than Paint, but they’re free and actively maintained. If you’re willing to invest time in learning, they offer far more creative potential.

Paid Alternatives Worth Considering

For those who want a polished, Mac-native experience, there are affordable paid options:

Acorn (around $20 on the Mac App Store): A lightweight image editor that’s easy to use and supports layers, non-destructive editing, and many filters. It’s often described as “Paint for pros.�
Pixelmator Pro (one-time purchase, around $40): A more advanced editor with machine learning features, but still approachable for beginners. It’s not a Paint clone, but it covers all basic editing and drawing needs.
Affinity Photo (around $55): A professional-grade editor that rivals Photoshop, but with a one-time price. It’s overkill for Paint-like tasks, but if you plan to grow your skills, it’s a solid investment.

All of these are available on the Mac App Store, which simplifies installation and updates.

How to Choose the Right One

Your choice depends on what you need to do:

Quick edits and annotations: Use Preview.
Simple drawing and painting: Paintbrush is the most faithful to Paint.
Serious digital art: Krita or GIMP (both free).
Professional image editing: Pixelmator Pro or Affinity Photo.

If you’re just looking to recreate the Paint experience, start with Paintbrush. If you find it lacking, move up to GIMP or Krita. Don’t pay for an app unless you’ve tried the free options first.

Common Problems and Fixes

Users often encounter a few issues when switching to a Paint alternative on Mac:

Paintbrush won’t open on newer macOS: This is usually due to the app not being updated for 64-bit or Apple Silicon. Try running it in Rosetta mode (if on an Intel Mac) or check for a beta version. If it still fails, switch to Krita or GIMP.
Preview’s drawing tools are too limited: You can add more shapes by copying them from other apps, but for freehand drawing, you’ll need a dedicated app.
GIMP’s interface is confusing: GIMP’s multi-window layout can be off-putting. You can switch to single-window mode via the Windows menu. There are also tutorials online.
Text tool in Paintbrush is buggy: Some users report that the text tool doesn’t work well with certain fonts. Try using a different font or type the text in Preview, then paste it as an image.

For most people, these issues are minor and don’t prevent basic use.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a version of Microsoft Paint for Mac?

No, Microsoft has not released a Mac version of Paint. The alternatives listed here are third-party apps that mimic its functionality.

Can I use the web version of Paint on a Mac?

Microsoft offers a free web-based version of Paint at paint.microsoft.com. It runs in any browser, including Safari, and works on Mac. However, it requires an internet connection and has fewer features than the desktop version.

Is Paintbrush safe to download?

Paintbrush is open-source and available from its official website. It’s generally considered safe, but because it’s not updated often, some antivirus programs may flag it. Always download from the official source and check the checksum if you’re concerned.

What’s the best free Paint alternative for Mac?

For a direct Paint clone, Paintbrush is the best free option. For more advanced needs, GIMP and Krita are excellent and free.

Can I use the Apple Pencil with these apps?

Yes, if you have an iPad and a Mac, you can use Sidecar to mirror your Mac’s screen to the iPad and draw with the Apple Pencil in any of these apps. On a MacBook with a trackpad, drawing is less precise, but you can use a mouse or a graphics tablet.

Do these apps support transparent backgrounds?

Yes, all the apps mentioned (except Preview) support transparency. In Paintbrush, you can set the background to transparent when creating a new image. In GIMP and Krita, transparency is handled through layers.

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