Where to Download Paint.NET and Which Languages It Supports

Updated

You can download Paint.NET free from its official website, paint.net. The current version listed there is Paint.NET 5.1.12, released March 8, 2026, and it is available in a long list of languages, including both Simplified and Traditional Chinese. A Windows Store option also exists if you prefer to get it that way.

Downloading from the Official Site

The site presents the download as "Get it now (free download): Paint.NET 5.1.12." That is the direct entry point for the standard installer.

  • Platform: Paint.NET is image and photo editing software for PCs running Windows. The site does not list macOS or Linux versions, so plan on a Windows machine.
  • What you get: The official description highlights an intuitive interface with layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of tools, plus an online community offering help, tutorials, and plugins.
  • Verification: After downloading, confirm the version number shown in the installer or the app's About screen matches 5.1.12 (or whatever the site currently lists, since the version number will change over time).

Windows Store Alternative

The site also notes: "You can also support Paint.NET by purchasing it on the Windows Store." If you prefer Store-managed installs and updates, that is the route to take. The site frames the Store purchase as a way to support development; the website download is presented separately as the free download.

Available Languages

The download page lists the following languages for Paint.NET 5.1.12:

English, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Corsican, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Kazakh, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian.

If you need Chinese, both Chinese (Simplified) and Chinese (Traditional) are included. For other languages, check this list before downloading — if yours is not there, the interface will likely fall back to English.

Other Pages Worth Knowing

The official site links to several resources that answer common follow-up questions:

Page Use it for
Features What the editor can do
Tutorials Learning the interface and tools
Plugins Extending functionality
Frequently Asked Questions Common setup and usage issues
System Requirements Checking whether your PC can run it
Roadmap & Change Log Version history and planned work
Forum Community help

The System Requirements page is the one to open before installing if you are unsure about your hardware, since the download page itself does not spell out the minimum specs.

A Note on Cost and Licensing

The site describes Paint.NET as "free image and photo editing software" and labels the website download as a free download. It also offers a Donate option via PayPal and the Windows Store purchase as ways to support future development. The site does not state that the Store version is required or that the free download is time-limited, so treat the website download as the standard free option and the Store purchase as an optional way to contribute.

Paint.NET is a registered trademark of dotPDN LLC. It began as an undergraduate design project mentored by Microsoft and is now maintained by Rick Brewster; the site compares it to packages such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Paint Shop Pro, and The GIMP.