Free PBNify alternative: paint by numbers generator comparison

Looking for a free way to turn a photo into a paint-by-numbers template? Here's an honest look at how paintbynumbers.build compares to PBNify and to custom paint-by-numbers kit sites.

Feature comparison

Feature	paintbynumbers.build	PBNify	Custom kit sites
Price	Free	Free	Paid (physical kit)
Runs in your browser (no upload)	Yes	Yes	No — server-side
Your photo stays private	Yes	Yes	Uploaded to order
Instant download — nothing emailed to you	Yes	Emails you the PDF	N/A
Vector SVG export	Yes	No	N/A
Printable PDF & PNG export	Yes	Image only	Ships physical canvas
Choose algorithm (K-Means / Median Cut)	Yes	No	No
Match colours to Crayola paints	Yes	No	Varies
Merge & split regions	Yes	No	No
Crop, rotate & colour adjustments	Yes	Limited	N/A
No sign-up or watermark	Yes	Yes	Account & checkout
Open source	No	Yes	No

Comparison based on publicly available features as of June 2026. Competitor features change over time — if something here is out of date, we'd genuinely like to fix it.

Where paintbynumbers.build stands out

True vector SVG export — scale or edit your template without it going blurry. Most free generators only give you a flat image. See our photo to paint by numbers SVG guide.
Real paint matching — map every region to a Crayola crayon preset so your template uses colours you can actually buy.
More control — pick the quantization algorithm, then merge or split regions to dial in exactly how detailed your painting is.
Private by design — the whole thing runs in your browser, even offline once loaded. Your photo is never uploaded. See our no-upload generator page.
Instant, nothing emailed — your template downloads immediately. We never ask for your email or send it to you later.

When PBNify or a kit might suit you better

We think it's only fair to say: PBNify is open source, so if you want to read or self-host the code, it's a great choice. And if you'd rather not paint from your own printout at all, a custom kit site will print your image on canvas and ship it with matched paints and brushes — a finished product, for a price.

But if you want a free, private template — especially one you can export as a clean SVG — give ours a try.

Create your paint by numbers template →