MediBang Paint

MediBang Paint is a drawing app with tools for both illustration and comic pages. It suits artists who want to work across desktop and mobile, especially comic makers who value panel layouts, speech balloons and a character library. Its clearest trade-off is that paid plans chiefly scale cloud storage, rather than add features.

Overview

With apps for Windows, macOS, iOS and Android, MediBang Paint can fit workflows that move between computers and phones or tablets. Illustration tools make it relevant beyond comics, while panel layouts, speech balloons and a character library give comic creators concrete page-making tools.

This is a focused art app, not a general-purpose design suite: it has no template library, presentation design or brand kit. Its maker, MediBang Paint, was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan.

Readers weighing other digital painting software or comic creation software can compare their needs for drawing, comic-specific tools and storage.

Key features

Illustration and comic creation

Panel layouts and speech balloons make the app more directly suited to arranging comic pages than a drawing tool with illustration features alone. The character library adds another comic-oriented resource. These features sit alongside illustration tools, so the app can serve both standalone artwork and comics without requiring a presentation or brand-design workflow.

Formats and workflow

Export formats include MDP, PNG, JPG, BMP, GIF, PSD, TIF and WebP. That range includes both the app's MDP format and familiar image formats, plus PSD. MediBang Paint has desktop and mobile apps, but the feature set does not include real-time collaboration; it is a less compelling choice for teams that need to work together live.

Pricing

MediBang Paint uses a freemium model, with a free plan and paid plans from 300 JPY per month. The paid tiers are distinguished by cloud-storage allowance, making them a practical choice for users who need more room for stored work rather than a different feature set.

• Free plan: A no-cost starting point for trying the app, but no storage allowance is specified for this plan.
• MediBang Premium (20GB): ¥300 a month for 20GB of cloud storage. The lowest-priced paid tier is suited to users who want a defined storage allowance without moving to a larger plan.
• MediBang Premium100: ¥500 a month for 100GB, a fivefold capacity increase over the 20GB plan for 200.00 JPY more each month.
• MediBang Premium300: ¥1,000 a month for 300GB, for users whose work requires substantially more cloud space.
• 500GB plan: ¥2,000 a month for 500GB.
• 1TB plan: ¥3,000 a month for 1TB.
• 1.5TB plan: ¥5,000 a month for 1.5TB, the largest stated allowance.

All paid prices are web prices billed by auto renewal. Choose the smallest tier that matches the storage you need, and account for the recurring charge; the listed plans do not specify seat counts or usage quotas beyond storage.

Platforms

MediBang Paint supports Windows, macOS, iOS and Android, with both desktop and mobile apps. That breadth is useful for artists choosing between computer and mobile workflows, though platform availability alone does not establish that every feature behaves identically across devices.

Who it's for

MediBang Paint is a strong fit for individual illustrators and comic creators who want drawing tools, comic-page elements and several export formats in one app. It is also worth considering for artists who want to choose a paid cloud-storage allowance. Look elsewhere if your work depends on a template library, brand kit, presentation design or real-time collaboration.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Comic-specific panel layouts and speech balloons support page creation, while illustration tools also suit non-comic artwork.
• Pros: Windows, macOS, iOS and Android coverage provides desktop and mobile app options.
• Pros: MDP, PSD and six other export formats give artists several ways to save or share work.
• Cons: Paid plans are differentiated by storage, so they are a poor fit for buyers seeking a stated upgrade in creative features.
• Cons: No real-time collaboration limits its appeal for teams working on the same project live.
• Cons: The absence of templates, presentation design and brand-kit features makes it unsuitable as an all-purpose visual-design suite.

Alternatives

For other comic-oriented options, compare GenToon, which has free and paid credit-based plans and apps for Android, iOS and the web; Anifusion, a web app with a one-time 2,000-credit pack; ComicsAI, a web app with a free tier and trial; Dashtoon Studio, a free web option; and StoryComic AI, which offers a free tier and a yearly Starter plan.

Clip Studio Paint is a paid alternative with a free trial and apps for Android, iOS, macOS, web and Windows. LlamaGen.ai is a web-based freemium alternative with credit-based plans. Weekly Comic Studio is another freemium option, available on the web and Windows.

For broader design needs, compare the graphic design software category.

Verdict

Choose MediBang Paint if you want illustration tools and practical comic-page features across desktop and mobile, with export options and paid storage tiers to suit your needs. Its focused drawing workflow is the main reason to pick it; the lack of collaboration and broader design features is the reason to look elsewhere.