paint.net
FreedotPDN LLC
- Category
- Images
- Version
- 5.1.12
- Manifest checked
- 2026-10-23
- Size
- ~80 MB
- Licence terms
- Free for personal and business use (Microsoft Store edition is paid)
- Supported OS
- Windows 11 · 10
- Install method
- Automatic install supported
- Developer
- dotPDN LLC
- Downloads via this site
This links to dotPDN LLC’s own download source. AfterFormat neither stores nor modifies installer files.
What it is
Paint.NET sits between Windows Paint and Photoshop: more capable than the former, far lighter than the latter. It has layers and the usual adjustment tools, which is enough for cropping, resizing and simple compositing. It is free from the official site; the Microsoft Store edition is a paid way to support development.
When to pick this
When Paint is not enough and GIMP is too much. For batch-adjusting or stitching many photos, PhotoScape is easier.
Details
Layers
Unlike Paint it supports layers, so you can add text or shapes and reposition them later.
Startup speed
It is light and opens instantly — no reason to launch a heavy editor just to crop one image and save it.
Plugins
Third-party plugins extend it, though it never reaches GIMP’s depth for retouching and compositing.
After a reformat
Put the plugins back
Downloaded plugins sit in the Effects and FileTypes folders of the install directory (Documents\paint.net App Files for the Store version). Copy those folders before formatting.
Almost no settings
Custom palettes are in %LOCALAPPDATA%\paint.net. Everything else is fine at its defaults.
Distribution
- winget ID
- dotPDN.PaintDotNet
- Redistribution policy
- Permission required
- Manifest checked
- 2026-10-23
- Official site
- https://www.getpaint.net/
The date the version and installer URL were checked in winget. This is separate from a usage-terms review or an installation test.
Original winget manifest