The thing about looking for the perfect digital art software is that you are often presented with a wide array of options.
When you are looking at all the options before you, you wonder which is the best of the best. Again, there is a list. When the best digital art software is listed, you will often come in contact with Procreate, Krita, and others. The issue with a list of bests is that the human mind is engineered to want the best among these bests, which is where the argument stems from.
Having software like Procreate and Krita can take your entire art creation to another level. Both of them are great, flexible, and have what you may need. However, you need to know which one among both software will be better for you to make use of. We will compare both and then, you can make your choice.
Which software is better, procreate or Krita?
If you want to work on an iPad, then Procreate is the drawing software you need. In case you want to work on a desktop, then you should consider Krita as your software of choice.
Procreate is more of an app than a software, given that it is created for iPad. It’s mostly used by professionals who want to design on the go. It responds to apple pencil, pressure and touch. It is easy to use the software.
Krita is a free and open-source software created by volunteer artists who want to create accessible tools for artists all over the world. It runs on every available software.
To make it easier for you to make your choice between Procreate and Krita, we have created sections in which one seemingly fares better than the other.
Brushes
For any digital design artist, brushes are the lifelines they need to create beautiful art. This is why there are so many customized brushes out there. Everyone wants a brush that would give them the exact image they have in their mind or at least, something closer. When there are limited brushes, the user is often inclined to create their own brushes. While this is something they may enjoy, they would often prefer that the software came with an inexhaustible list.
Other times some artists have a specific taste in brushes, and they would rather not go through the process of customizing one. They would rather the software has the exact brush they are looking for.
Between Procreate and Krita, procreate provides a wider brush range and all of them are free.
There are over 200 brushes on Procreate, and there is a very high chance that you will fall in love with all of them. This also allows you to customize your own brushes easily. To create a brush to your taste and style, you need a vast collection of brushes that you can pick out from, and procreate offers this on a platter. This is now a way for artists to make money. Procreate does not just offer you brushes, it offers you a way to earn through assets.
For Krita, they may not have a wide array of brushes, but they cater to specific tastes. Procreate does not have a vector brush, but Krita does. If you use vector brushes a lot, then you will be better off with Krita. Krita also offers customizable brush options. In all, users prefer to Procreate brushes to Krita. So, for this section, Procreate is the user favorite.
Compatibility
Artists usually prefer digital art software which can be used on any device to enable flexibility. No matter how cool a design software is, it is a bust if it can only work on limited devices.
Krita can work on all the desktop operating systems you know.
Procreate on the other hand can work on only iPads, with a pocket version for iPhones.
Both of these software are limited. While some artists would like to design and draw comfortably on the go, which Procreate offers. However, that is as far as you go with that software. It would not work on any other operating system rather than iOS. You would think that it is compatible with Macbooks, but it is not.
While Krita has its limitations, it remains a more suitable option to Procreate because of its compatibility with different OS and drawing tablets.
Usability
Usability is yet another important feature for artists, especially for beginners. While pros can handle challenges that come with using digital art software, they would not mind it being a little easier. No one wants to spend time navigating through the software, well unless you are into that kind of thing. Beginners, on the other hand, would not mind having very easy software when they start.
Both software are easy to use and learn. However, between the both of them, you would have an easier time navigating Krita than you will have navigating procreate. Ironically, procreate is said to be beginner’s software. This manly because of the simplicity of its UI, but Krita comes with an easier learning curve( specially if you are familiar with Photoshop, Illustrator, or any similar software. There may be a need to properly read the entire document before you understand Procreate.
Pricing
For artists, there is usually the thought of ‘open-source or paid? dangling in their minds when it comes to getting tools. While it is usual for an artist to spend a considerable or ridiculous amount of money on tools for their art, free stuff never killed anyone. Certainly, every artist would love to get all the cool stuff they want for free. This is why for this category, Krita is the user favorite. Procreate has neither a paid nor a free trial. If you intend to completely enjoy the software, then you will need to buy it from the very beginning.
Krita is open source, as it was created by artists who wanted to make painting tools accessible to everyone. This should explain some of its limitations. If you are looking for something free, Krita is your go-to.
Based on the above, Krita is the user favorite for pricing, it is free.
Support
When using digital art software, oftentimes, you find yourself wanting support, tutorials, and the rest. This is very important to artists because if you are going to learn completely, how drawing software works, you need support. For paid software like Procreate, there is an inexhaustible list of support available, of course, powered by your money.
Krita on the other hand is sponsored by volunteers, and there is a limit to the support you can get from software run by volunteers.
So for support, Procreate is your best bet.
The tweak feature
Some artists want to be able to tweak an image with ease. It is not exactly like editing. It is more like playing around with colors, creating a new filter or something like that, and using it on an already existing image. This is something that Procreate offers with ease. Some artists really like this.
Yes, you can tweak images on Krita as well, but the entire process is with a little less ease than it is on procreate. It also requires more attention to detail than is required on procreate. Unless it is for something serious, some artists would not like to spend so much time on image tweaking. They would rather it be something they could do easily and move on from it.
This may have something to do with the fact that Procreate was created for iPads which is mostly carried around, hence the ease.
Illustration tools
There is no need to start explaining things further in this section because one of the things Procreate is loved for is the illustration tools. Some people would argue that Procreate is a lot better than Photoshop when it comes to illustration tools.
While Krita has great illustration tools as well, procreate is better, it is on the top 5 list of illustration tools software and it is not number 3 to 5. With Procreate, the drawing looks just as real as possible. It is the illustrator’s software.
Editing layers
The editing layers in Krita are non-destructive. You could move one layer without ruining the entire thing you are working on. To be able to manipulate an element of a design without running other parts of the creation is something an artist looks forward to. Krita gets this right.
Procreate has non-destructive editing layers as well, as it uses the same model as photoshop. However, your best bet at having a completely non-destructive editing layer is using Krita. This is not to say procreate will make a mess of your design. Just that you are better off with Krita.
Longevity
Not sure how this plays out, but you may not like the idea of a software that suddenly goes out of existence. It is strange to compare based on longevity, but people are loyal to software. Some people have never used anything other than photoshop since it came out. They keep updating from version to version while retaining the use of the software.
In cases like these, you are forced to look at longevity.
Between Procreate and Krita, which would last longer? Naturally, you will think of the limitations of compatibility with procreate and assume that it would phase out because of this. Nevertheless, while you may be right, there is a chance that as time goes on, the owners will make it compatible with other devices and operating systems. Also, we are not certain that Apple will wake up one day and decide to phase out iPads.
Krita on the other hand is a free software run solely by volunteers. The chance that it would be around for a long time is not very high. Unless there exists some paid or ad feature in the future, the volunteers will have to carry the software for as long as possible, and we know that can be hard. Then again, Krita has been around for over two decades, it might just remain for more.
Based on the fact that Procreate is paid for, it has a higher longevity chance than Krita
User Base
Finally, we will be looking at the user base. Naturally, this should not mean much to you because personal preferences are personal. However, when it comes to software, there is this thing about following the crowd based on reviews.
If a million people try a product, and 60% of them think it is bad. It sometimes does not matter so much that 40% thought it was good. Between Procreate and Krita, Procreate has a wider user base, than Krita. Mostly because users say it meets their business and professional requirements more than Krita does. So it has a larger base, even though Krita is free.
These two digital art software have been laid side by side so that you can decide which one is best for you. Despite the limitations on both sides, they are two very impressive software that can take your digital artistry to another level. Digital painting requires more than talent and experience to get it right, it requires a software that meets all your needs. Now, we may not know what your needs are, but we sure do know that some of the categories listed above, you can relate with. So, look through these categories and answer the question for yourself. Procreate or Krita, which one is better?
