The best acrylic paints are a great choice for many artists. They're super-convenient and easy to start working with, and they're versatile too because they're effective across a range of different surfaces and they come in different sizes, including in tubs big enough for larger pieces of art.
Like most paints, acrylics come in professional and student quality, and there's a real chasm between the two in terms of quality. Professional paints are more pigmented, and include other ingredients to improve consistency. We've tested a wide range of both types to pick out the best acrylic paints for different needs. In our tests, all carried out by artists, we evaluated pigmentation and consistency, colour shift and value.
See the pointers at the bottom of the page if you have doubts about how to choose. Once you've picked your paints, make sure you grab the best acrylic paintbrushes, too. And don't forget about the best easels and the best watercolour pencils.
The best acrylic paint available now
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Best overall
Quality: professional
Presentation: 60ml (some colours in up to 3.78l)
Our top choice as the best acrylic paint is Golden’s Professional Acrylics range. We've found this to be a high-quality acrylic paint with lots of body and strong pigmentation, and there's a wide variety of colours available (130+). It's especially thick paint that holds brushstrokes well, but I also find it easy to mix and dilute at the same time. I found no significant shift in colour when the paint dries, though different colours may have slightly different sheens as the range has very few additives. This can be compensated for by adding your own acrylic medium. This is the best acrylic paint for professional projects, especially large pieces or impasto work since It's also available in large quantities.
Best for smooth layers
Quality: professional
Presentation: 59ml (some colours up to 946ml)
Liquitex’s professional acrylic paints range offers bright colours in a fairly thick and versatile paint. It has a buttery texture that spreads smoothly on a variety of different surfaces, and covers well, not leaving any streakiness. They're relatively expensive, but I've found these acrylics to be fast drying, which is excellent for anyone opting for a more layered painting approach. They don’t retain brushstrokes as easily either, which, again, puts them among the best acrylic paints for layered approaches. For impasto techniques, it's a good idea to add an acrylic medium.
Best for thinner washes
Quality: professional
Presentation: 20ml (some up to 237ml))
Winsor and Newton’s professional range offers solid-quality paint that behaves in a predictable way. It has an even, smooth consistency, and readily mixes without any clumping or unevenness. I've found very little colour shift as the paint dries too. This all makes the paint easy to work with. The paints are highly pigmented and substantially brighter than any student quality range, and the colours still appear vivid when thinned out. Combined with how water-soluble they are, this makes these some of the best acrylics for thinner washes. These are also a good choice for anyone who prefers a smooth application over visible brushstrokes. No large containers available with these.
Best for students
Quality: student
Presentation: 29.5ml (some up to 2.25l)
If you're looking for the best acrylic paints for students, Daler Rowney’s System 3 is a solid choice. They have a reasonably thick and smooth consistency which holds brushstrokes surprisingly well, though I found it doesn't always have the best opacity. With the exception of the fluorescent colours, these paints use fairly lightfast pigments that are clearly labelled and works created with them should last well. They're the best acrylic paints at student grade for working on large-scale pieces as they're available in larger containers than other brands. This makes them an affordable choice for big projects without sacrificing too much quality.
Best intermediate
Quality: student/intermediate
Presentation: 20ml (100ml, some colours in 250ml)
Pebeo’s studio acrylic has noticeably richer colour and better opacity than most student acrylic ranges, with less of a change when it dries too. The paint is a little on the runny side, and I found it less able to hold brushstrokes because of this. It mixes and dilutes better than student paints though; thinning it out with water showed it diluted readily, with an even consistency. I'd recommend Pebeo’s studio acrylic is the best acrylic paint for those looking to upgrade from student paint but can't afford professional ranges. The biggest weakness is that the range includes a number of paints that aren't lightfast. There are 60 colours in total.
Best for beginners
Quality: student
Presentation: 60ml (some in 250ml and 500ml)
Winsor and Newton’s Galleria range is designed for students and beginners. The paint is on the thicker side for cheaper paints, with a good consistency, and it's reasonably good at retaining the brushstrokes. It also has a fairly consistent surface finish when dry. As student paints go, the colours are quite bright and vibrant, although they tend to need a little more layering to cover a surface as the opacity is rather weak. Another issue I found is that they're not great for mixing. The paint tends towards clumping when diluted with water or mixing.
What are acrylic paints?
Most acrylic paints are water-based, and they comprise pigment particles in an acrylic polymer emulsion as a binder, which keeps the pigment in place after the paint dries. The best acrylic paints have several benefits: they're fast-drying, the flex, you can clean them with water when they're wet and they're permanent when dry.
They're particularly versatile because they stick to almost any surface and they come in a range of consistencies and presentations to suit different types of work. For even more flexibility, you can change the character of acrylic paints using different mediums.
The most common forms of acrylic paint are heavy body, soft body (runnier) and acrylic ink. In the guide above, we've focused on heavy-body acrylic paints because these thicker paints suit most use cases. You can learn more about the differences between those and acrylics in our comparison of acrylics vs oils, and we also have a guide to the best oil paints.
Why choose acrylic paints?
Water-based acrylic paints have a number of advantages. As we've noted above, they're quick and easy to set up and learn to use, and they don't require the addition of solvents. They're also very versatile, serving a range of different uses. Acrylics can also be combined with other water-based media – I find it's often useful to use watercolour pencils for initial drawings as they won’t muddy the colours.
How do I choose the best acrylic paints?
The first thing you'll need to decide to choose the best acrylic paints for you is to decide whether you're looking for professional or student paints, like the last option on our list. The latter contain less pigment and have a more plastic-looking surface when dry. They're useful for sketching and more affordable for big projects that require lots of paint.
Professional paints contain more pigment and tend to have extra ingredients to improve consistency and surface quality. Better quality paints usually cover a surface more thoroughly, while poorer quality paints may be too see-through.
Another important quality to look out for is colour shift – that is how much the paint changes colour as it dries. Minimising this removes the need to compensate for changes in colour. Meanwhile, some acrylic paints have a longer working time – how long it takes for the paint to dry – than others, making blending and mixing colours easier, but slowing down layered approaches. Consider what you need your paint for and choose what is best for your needs.
Is there a difference between cheap and expensive acrylic paint?
In short, yes. And it can be a big difference. Cheaper acrylic paint contains more filler in the form of acrylic polymer, and less pigment. This means it will be less vibrant and the colour will look flat. Though there are some good options for those on a budget (such as Winsor and Newton Galleria Acrylics), spending a bit more will give you a much better finish and consistency.