Pinta
Drop-in replacementFreeWritten as an open source take on Paint.NET, with the same simple layout and layers. The closest thing there is.
Your files: Opens .png, .jpg and .bmp, and its own layered format. Does not open .pdn files.
Does Paint.NET run on Linux?
Verdict: No
No. Paint.NET is built for Windows only and its own site says so. Pinta is the free Linux program that was deliberately modelled on it and is the obvious replacement.
The Paint.NET website describes it as image and photo editing software for PCs that run Windows. There is no Linux or Mac version, and the program depends on Windows graphics components, so compatibility layers do not give a good result either.
Pinta exists precisely because of this. It was written as an open source program in the same spirit as Paint.NET: a simple window, a tool palette, layers, adjustments and effects, without the complexity of a professional editor. If Paint.NET was your everyday tool for cropping, resizing, drawing arrows on screenshots and light touch-ups, Pinta will feel familiar within minutes and it installs from your app store in one click.
If you occasionally pushed Paint.NET further, GIMP or Krita will cover it. GIMP is the general purpose editor with layers, masks and serious retouching. Krita is the better one for drawing and painting.
Your files come across fine. JPEG, PNG and BMP images open in all of these. The exception is Paint.NET's own .pdn format, which keeps layers and which nothing on Linux opens. Before you leave Windows, open any .pdn files you care about and save them again as layered .ora or flattened .png files, and keep the originals on a USB drive just in case.
What to use instead of Paint.NET
GIMP
Close matchFreeA step up in power and in difficulty. Worth it if you found Paint.NET limiting.
Your files: Opens common image formats and .psd files. No .pdn support.
Krita
Different way of workingFreeBest if what you did in Paint.NET was drawing rather than editing photos.
Your files: Opens common image formats and .psd. No .pdn support.
This doesn't have to stop you
One stubborn program doesn't have to decide the whole question. You can keep Windows on the same PC and restart into it only when you need Paint.NET. Everything else you do can move.
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