RindrawRindraw vs PaintTool SAI
Compared in October 2026. Both apps change. If something here is out of date, tell us and we'll fix it.
PaintTool SAI has been many artists' favorite for years: small, fast and smooth to draw with. Choose Rindraw if you want to draw on a Mac, an iPad or an iPhone, where SAI doesn't run. Stay with SAI if you draw on Windows with a pen tablet and it already does everything you need.
The main difference
SAI is a Windows app1. Its linework layers have their own tools for inking, so a line made with them can be edited afterwards2. Version 1 was last updated in 2016, and version 2 is still a technical preview1, 2.
Rindraw runs on iPad, iPhone and Mac, and keeps every stroke editable, on every layer and with any brush. When you recolor a line, bend it or export the drawing bigger, Rindraw paints the stroke again at the new size, so it stays sharp.
Side by side
| Rindraw | PaintTool SAI | |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | No | Yes1 |
| Mac, iPad and iPhone | Yes, in one purchase | No1 |
| Price | $12.99 once in the US | ¥5,500 once for a Ver.1 license, after a 31-day trial; Ver.2 is free for its owners1 |
| After the trial, unlicensed | No trial: you buy it once | Opening and saving files stop working1 |
| A stroke after it's drawn | Stays editable on every layer, with any brush | Editable on linework layers; pixels elsewhere2 |
| High-resolution screens | Yes | Ver.1 doesn't support high-DPI screens1 |
| Filters and adjustments | Adjustment layers and live filters | Brightness, contrast, hue and saturation2 |
| Animation | Frames, onion skins and playback, out as GIF, animated PNG or video | None |
| Since | 2026 | 20082 |
Where SAI is better
- Light and fast on Windows. It installs in a few megabytes and runs on old PCs1.
- Its linework tools. Curve, edit, pressure and weight tools made for inking on linework layers2, which many artists know by heart.
- Simplicity. SAI does painting and little else, so there's very little to learn.
- Years of use. SAI came out in 20082, and a great many tutorials are made for it. Rindraw 1.0 came out in 2026.
Where Rindraw is different
- On a Mac, an iPad and an iPhone. One purchase for all three, with your drawings, brushes and palettes in iCloud Drive on each. On a Mac, a pen tablet's pressure, tilt and eraser end work.
- Every stroke stays a stroke. Not only inks: sketches and painting too, with their texture. Recolor them, warp them or export them poster-size.
- Steady lines. A lazy string, stabilization and motion filtering, like SAI's stabilizer, smooth your hand as you draw.
- More of a studio. Adjustment layers, live filters, wet paint that mixes, animation, timelapse and painting on 3D models.
- Built not to lose work. Every stroke is saved as you draw it, and your undo history is still there after you close the app.
Moving from SAI
Rindraw doesn't open .sai files. Save your work from SAI as a PSD file2, then open it in Rindraw: its layers come in with their names, opacity, blend modes, clipping and masks.
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, Corel Painter, Krita, or Photoshop.
Sources
Checked on October 15, 2026.
- PaintTool SAI, SYSTEMAX: Windows XP to 11; Ver.1.2.5 of April 25, 2016; no high-DPI support; a 31-day trial after which opening and saving are disabled; a Ver.1 license at 5,500 JPY including tax; Ver.2 a free upgrade, in technical preview.
- PaintTool SAI, Wikipedia: first released February 25, 2008; linework layers and their tools; PSD export; brightness, contrast, hue and saturation adjustments.
PaintTool SAI is a product of SYSTEMAX Software Development. Rindraw is made by Sawir Studio and isn't affiliated with SYSTEMAX.
