Which is better, Krita or Penpot?

Both are Design tools. Krita is open source and self-hostable. Penpot is open source and more popular on GitHub (61,023 stars) and self-hostable. The best choice depends on your specific requirements, team size, and infrastructure preferences.

Can I self-host Krita or Penpot?

Both Krita and Penpot can be self-hosted using Docker. This gives you full control over your data and infrastructure.

←Back to Directory

Unbiased Comparison

Krita vs Penpot

Is it time to switch? We break down the differences so you can stop bleeding money.

Our Verdict

Choose Penpot.

If you want to own your data, save money, and avoid vendor lock-in, Penpot is more popular among developers.

Get Started View Krita Alternatives

What Actually Matters

No fluff — just the differences that affect your decision

🔓

Openness

Both open source, different licenses: Krita uses GPL-3.0, Penpot uses MPL-2.0. Check the fine print if you're building commercial.

🐳

Self-Hosting

Both can run on your own metal with Docker. Full data ownership, no cloud dependency. We have deploy guides for each.

⭐

CommunityPenpot wins

Penpot has the bigger crowd: 61.0k stars vs 10.5k. More contributors, more integrations, more momentum.

🏗️

Tech Stack

Krita is built in C++, Penpot in Clojure. Matters if you want to contribute, extend, or debug internals.

⚡

Bottom Line

Try both — most offer free tiers. The right pick depends on your stack size, team, and tolerance for DevOps.

Open Source🐳 Self-Hostable

Krita

Design

Krita is a free and open source cross-platform application that offers an end-to-end solution for creating digital art files from scratch built on the KDE and Qt frameworks.