Don’t use Paint.NET without these essential plugins

Paint.NET is one of my favorite image editing tools. It ticks all the boxes for me and my limited range of skills and requirements for an image editing tool.

It's free, works on relatively low-power devices, and best of all, has heaps of free plugins that massively extend the functionality of the base software.

Over the years, it's that last point that has kept me using Paint.NET. So whether you're just about to start using Paint.NET for the first time or have been using it for years, these are the plugins you absolutely must download.

BoltBait's Paint.NET Plugins

This classic pack features nearly 50 plugins

BoltBait's Paint.NET plugin pack is one of the go-tos for anyone using this free image editing tool. It's often the first port of call when folks want to start expanding on the base software's capabilities, and it's highly rated for good reason.

It brings nearly 50 different new effects and tools to Paint.NET, covering adjustments, objects, photos, renders, and much more. The Combined Adjustments tool in this plugin pack is one of my go-to tools, allowing you to make changes to saturation, brightness, hue, temperature, and more from a single window, as well as check how your changes apply with the press of a button.

It also includes a handy text editor with some additional functionality that the base version of Paint.NET sorely lacks.

Content Aware Fill

It's not like Photoshop, but great for small patches

Another really handy Paint.NET plugin is Content Aware Fill, which basically matches the content of your selection with the edges to fill in the gaps.

This is super handy for erasing small imperfections in photos and other images, and unifying textures when required. I've noticed that it doesn't always work well on larger areas and is best used in small doses. For example, in the images above, I was testing it out on removing a Nothing Phone 3 from a table, with varied results. Whereas previous when I have used Content Aware Fill to remove small imperfections, it's all good. I can't now find the images, but at one point, I took a series of review photos without noticing a tiny slip of dust under the sensor. I then had to spend my editing time using Content Aware Fill to remove the blemish—and no-one noticed. I just wish I could remember which review it was for!

But considering this is free and still receives regular updates, it's a welcome addition to the Paint.NET plugin roster.

Pyrochild Plugins

This one is absolutely packed with goodies

My main use of Pyrochild's plugin pack is Curves+, which is like the default Curves tool in Paint.NET but with some really useful extra functionality. First up, it enables presets, which is great if you want to apply the same set of parameters to a series of images. It also highlights one of Paint.NET's issues, in that you can't easily apply effects to a group of images, but Curves+ is a great workaround. Pyrochild's plugins also include other handy tools like gradient mapping, a gradient grid, color matching, random effect, and plenty more.

G'MIC

Everything about this plugin is incredible

GREYC's Magic for Image Computing (G'MIC) is an open source framework solely focused on digital image processing. It's a super powerful Paint.NET plugin, bringing more than 600 new filters and effects to the free image editing tool, each with a range of parameters and adjustments you can make from its window.

It's really quite vast, almost to the point where it's a little overwhelming having so many new options to choose from (especially considering that Paint.NET vanilla is on the basic side). It's not just gradients and color mapping. G'MIC brings a plethora of image sequencing, 1D, 2D, and 3D image tools, and so much more to the table.

Plugin Browser

Once you've installed all those plugins, you need a way to manage them

My final must-have Paint.NET plugin is the Plugin Browser. Once you start installing various plugins, plugin packs, and maybe the odd random plugin you find on the Paint.NET forums, it all starts to pile up.

The Plugin Browser is a really handy way to keep track of them and figure out where everything is. It's especially useful in those moments where you know you have the plugin, but can't quite remember what it's called or which of the numerous menu trees it's hidden in.

Don't skip Paint.NET just because it's not flashy

I know that there is other software that can do most of the tasks I use Paint.NET for. However, it's great that a free tool has such a passionate developer community, still bringing updates to plugins and adding new features, and making sure Paint.NET remains a wonderful free image editing tool.

And for many people, having a free tool like Paint.NET is super handy. You don't need to splash the cash to edit images to a high level, make custom designs, or even just make a small, quick change to an image. The huge range of plugins is just an absolute bonus, and one that makes it worth your time.