RindrawRindraw vs Corel Painter
Compared in October 2026. Both apps change. If something here is out of date, tell us and we'll fix it.
Corel Painter has been the professional's natural-media studio for decades, with hundreds of brushes and photo-art tools. Choose Rindraw if you want to paint on an iPad or iPhone, and on a Mac, for $12.99 once. Choose Painter if you paint on a computer, need its depth of brushes and media, or turn photos into paintings.
The main difference
Painter is a desktop app for Windows and macOS1, 2, made to simulate traditional media as closely as possible: thick paint, watercolor, pastel, fluid paint, particles and more, on textured papers1. It's sold as a license or a subscription1.
Rindraw is a drawing and painting app for iPad, iPhone and Mac, built around Apple Pencil. Its wet brushes mix on the canvas, and every stroke stays editable: recolor a line, bend it or export the drawing bigger, and it stays sharp.
Side by side
| Rindraw | Corel Painter | |
|---|---|---|
| iPad and iPhone | Yes | No app; an iPad can be a Sidecar display for the Mac version1 |
| Mac | Yes | Yes1 |
| Windows | No | Yes1 |
| Regular price | $12.99 once, in the US | $429 for a license, or $19.99 a month or $199 a year1 |
| Account and activation | None | Online registration to activate1 |
| Paint | Wet brushes that mix on the canvas, grain and dual brushes | Thick paint, watercolor, fluid paint, pastel, particles and hundreds of brushes1, 2 |
| Photo art | No | Auto-painting and cloning from photos, and AI styles1 |
| Since | 2026 | 19912 |
Where Painter is better
- Depth of media. Hundreds of brushes across thick paint, watercolor, pastel, particles, fluid paint and more, with deep control over each1, 2.
- Photo art. Auto-painting and cloning turn a photo into a painting1. Rindraw doesn't do this.
- Windows, and big screens. It runs on Windows and macOS with Wacom, Xencelabs, Huion and other tablets1.
- Years of use. Painter came out in 19912, and many professional painters and teachers use it.
Where Rindraw is different
- On the iPad itself. Pressure, tilt and barrel roll on Apple Pencil, without a Mac attached, plus iPhone and Mac in the same purchase, with your drawings, brushes and palettes in iCloud Drive on each.
- $12.99, once. No license tiers, no subscription and no activation.
- Every stroke stays a stroke. Recolor finished lineart, warp a pose or export poster-size from a sketch, without redrawing it.
- Drawing as well as painting. Steady lines, Procreate and Photoshop brush import, animation and painting on 3D models.
- Nothing collected. No account, no analytics and no tracking. See the privacy policy.
Moving between them
Rindraw doesn't open Painter's own files. Painter keeps files compatible with Photoshop1, so save your work as a PSD, and Rindraw opens it with its layers, masks and blend modes. Rindraw saves layered PSD files too, for finishing a piece in Painter.
Moving from another app? See how to bring your work over from Procreate, Clip Studio Paint, ibisPaint, MediBang Paint, Infinite Painter, Sketchbook, Adobe Fresco, Tayasui Sketches, ArtRage, Rebelle, PaintTool SAI, Krita, or Photoshop.
Sources
Checked on October 15, 2026.
- Corel Painter, Corel: Painter 2023 for Windows and macOS; regular prices $429, or $19.99 a month or $199 a year; Sidecar and Apple Pencil tilt on a Mac; online registration to activate; brush categories, photo-art and AI style tools; Photoshop file compatibility; supported tablets.
- Corel Painter, Wikipedia: first published in 1991; Painter 2023 released June 21, 2022; macOS and Windows.
Corel and Painter are trademarks of Corel Corporation. Rindraw is made by Sawir Studio and isn't affiliated with Corel.
