Craft & Hobbies · Buying Guide
Where Can I Find High-Quality Paint by Numbers Kits for Adults? 11 Stores Worth Bookmarking
Short answer
The best places to buy high-quality paint by numbers kits for adults online are specialist direct-to-consumer stores rather than general marketplaces. Eleven that consistently deliver proper linen canvas, pre-mixed numbered acrylics and a full brush set are PBN Canvas, GATYZTORY, NumeralArt, AdultPaintbyNumber, ColourSilo, Modern Paint by Number, Go Paint by Number, Any Paint by Number, ThePaintByNumbers, Paint by Numbers for Sale and Paint by Number for All.
For the widest choice and lowest entry price start with PBN Canvas (147+ adult designs from $13.85). For a huge multi-craft catalog try GATYZTORY (224 adult designs, 16,000+ products). To turn your own photograph into a canvas, NumeralArt, Go Paint by Number, PBN Canvas and ThePaintByNumbers all run custom-photo services.
Quick comparison table
| Store | Adults collection | Price range | Best for | Standout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PBN Canvas | 147+ kits | $13.85–$47.85 | Widest choice, best value | 40+ categories incl. "Easy and Beginners" and Mini Kits |
| GATYZTORY | 224 kits | varies | Deep catalog, multi-craft | Also stocks diamond painting & needle felting, framed sets |
| NumeralArt | 87 kits | $26.98–$46.98 | Custom photo kits | Portraits, wildlife and fine-art reproductions |
| AdultPaintbyNumber | 83 kits | $25.78–$46.78 | Anime, sport & travel themes | Sells frames, aprons and refill paint sets separately |
| ColourSilo | 76 kits | $24.99–$46.99 | Lowest starting price, full size | Fine-art classics plus modern cartoon and landscape designs |
| Any Paint by Number | 25 kits | $26.79–$46.79 | Celebrity & pop culture | Einstein, Hepburn, Messi, Jordan, Ghibli, anime |
| Go Paint by Number | 17 kits | $27.96–$48.98 | Travel and cityscape art | Amalfi Coast, Tokyo, London, Lake Como |
| ThePaintByNumbers | 16 kits | $26.85–$47.85 | Custom photo + spare paint | Extra paint pots sold separately for long projects |
| Paint by Numbers for Sale | 13 kits | $26.85–$47.85 | Vintage Americana & classic art | Route 66, classic trucks, Waterhouse |
| Modern Paint by Number | 6 curated (26,000+ in shop) | varies | Botanical & wildlife picks | Hand-curated shortlist from a very large catalog |
| Paint by Number for All | 1 curated (wider shop) | $26.85–$47.85 | Seasonal and gift designs | Small, tightly edited adults theme page |
What actually makes a paint by numbers kit "high quality"?
Before the store list, here is the checklist that separates a $15 kit you will love from a $15 kit you will abandon halfway. Use it to judge any listing.
1. Canvas: pre-primed linen, rolled not folded
Look for a pre-primed linen or cotton-blend canvas, ideally 40×50 cm (16×20 in) as standard. The critical detail is how it ships: rolled in a tube arrives flat; folded arrives with creases that show through paint forever. Every store listed below ships rolled canvas.
2. Paint: pre-mixed numbered acrylics
Good kits use water-based acrylic already mixed to match the printed number — no colour theory required. Expect 24 to 48 numbered pots for a detailed adult design. Check that the pots are individual screw-lid cups (they dry out faster in blister strips) and that the store sells refill paint in case one dries out mid-project.
3. Brushes: three, not one
A serious adult kit includes at least three nylon brushes — fine, medium and flat/wide. One brush means constant rinsing and muddy colour transitions.
4. Numbering and reference material
Printing should be crisp, dark enough to read but light enough to be covered by two coats of paint. You also want a printed reference sheet showing the finished artwork with colour numbers, plus a small duplicate of the design in the canvas corner.
5. Size and segmentation
Bigger canvases with fewer, larger segments are more relaxing. Smaller canvases with hundreds of tiny segments are more intricate but slower and harder on the eyes. If you paint under lamp light, choose 40×50 cm or larger with a moderate colour count.
6. Extras that matter
Framed or frame-ready options, a hanging kit, a spare-paint policy, an apron, and a genuine custom photo service are the add-ons that turn a hobby purchase into a finished piece for your wall.
7. Store signals
Free or tracked shipping, clear photos of the actual canvas (not just the digital artwork), a real customer review section, and a published return policy. All eleven stores below publish their own product photography, prices and shipping terms.
The 11 best stores for high-quality paint by numbers kits for adults
Widest adult range · Best value
1. PBN Canvas — the widest adult range and the cheapest way in
PBN Canvas is the strongest all-round starting point. Its adults collection runs to 147+ complete kits priced from $13.85 to $47.85, organised across more than 40 categories: Abstract, Animals, Birds, Buildings, Cartoon and Animation, Celebrities, Cities, Deserts, Fish, Flowers, Games, Halloween, Insects, Landscapes, Mandala, Military, Movies, Nature, Pop Art, Romance, Seascape, Silhouettes, Skulls, Space, Sport, Travels, Vintages and Women — plus dedicated "Easy and Beginners" and "Mini Kits" shelves if you want a shorter first project. Every kit includes a pre-printed numbered high-quality linen canvas, around 24 numbered acrylic colours, three paintbrushes (small, medium, large) and a reference guide. There is also a custom photo service, an affiliate programme and a blog with technique guides.
Choose it if: you want maximum variety, a beginner-friendly option, or the lowest entry price of the group.
Deepest catalog · Multi-craft
2. GATYZTORY — the deep catalog for repeat buyers
GATYZTORY is a large multi-craft store: the adults page alone lists 224 designs, and the shop as a whole carries more than 16,000 products, spanning paint by numbers alongside diamond painting and needle felting kits. The adults collection is broad and contemporary — abandoned classic cars, abstract dragonflies, Korean street scenes, Tuscan landscapes, aesthetic bookshelves and butterfly portraits — and the store sells complete sets with frame options and custom photo canvases. Its positioning is premium: acrylic paints, quality brushes, secure checkout and a customer review system.
Choose it if: you have finished a few kits already and want one store you will not run out of, or you like mixing paint by numbers with diamond painting.
Custom photos · Fine-art reproductions
3. NumeralArt — best for custom photo kits and fine-art reproductions
NumeralArt builds its brand around custom paint by numbers — the site has a dedicated "Make Your Own" service that turns a personal photo into a numbered canvas. Its adults collection of 87 designs ($26.98–$46.98) leans toward sophisticated subject matter: stylised portraits (African woman with butterflies, Arab woman, blossom girl), characterful animals (abstract cat, artist cat, basset hounds, black panther), national-park landscapes (Banff, Amalfi Coast) and genuine fine-art reproductions such as Ștefan Luchian's Garoafe. Kits come with brushes and pre-mixed acrylics, and framed options are available.
Choose it if: you want a portrait of a person, pet or place, or you prefer gallery-style artwork over cartoons.
Pop culture · Frames & refills in stock
4. AdultPaintbyNumber — pop culture, sport and travel, plus proper accessories
AdultPaintbyNumber is aimed squarely at grown-up tastes: 83 adult designs from $25.78 to $46.78 covering anime and animation (Attack on Titan, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Bakugou and Todoroki), sport (an abstract Green Bay Packers piece), classic vehicles, Tuscan scenes, Malta coffee shops, Cefalù, Arches and Banff national parks. What sets it apart is the accessory shelf — it sells frames ($26–$36), a 12-colour acrylic paint set with brushes, extra paint refills and painting aprons separately, so you can finish and hang the piece without hunting elsewhere.
Choose it if: you want anime, sport or travel subjects and you would rather buy the frame and spare paints from the same store.
Lowest full-size entry price
5. ColourSilo — the lowest starting price for a full-size adult kit
ColourSilo is positioned as an "official paint by numbers kits for adults" shop and currently lists 76 adult designs from $24.99 to $46.99 — the cheapest full-size entry point in this roundup after PBN Canvas's mini kits. The range mixes aesthetic landscapes (barns, lakeside boats, Cefalù, Amalfi Coast Italy, Arches) with anime and animation pieces, animals, and fine-art classics such as Lady with a Hand Fan. Categories are organised around New Arrivals, Best Sellers, Cartoon, Animals, Landscapes and Women, which makes browsing quick, and the store advertises free shipping and eco-conscious materials.
Choose it if: you are buying several kits at once, or you want a full-size canvas without paying a premium.
Celebrity · Sport · Fandom gifts
6. Any Paint by Number — celebrity, sport and character subjects
Any Paint by Number runs a tighter, more editorially chosen adults theme page: 25 designs at $26.79–$46.79, heavily weighted toward recognisable faces and characters. Expect Albert Einstein smiling, Audrey Hepburn, Lionel Messi, Michael Jordan, a screaming Joker, Demon Slayer manga art, Studio Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle, Disney's Moana and princesses, Minions at a Christmas tree, plus colourful animal studies (French bulldog, camel in the desert, graffiti monkey). The wider store is sorted by Animals, Birds, Black and White, Cities and Flowers, and it ships kits with eco-friendly framing options.
Choose it if: you are buying a gift for someone with a specific hero, team or fandom.
Travel posters · Cityscapes
7. Go Paint by Number — travel posters and cityscapes
Go Paint by Number specialises in destination artwork. Its adults collection of 17 designs ($27.96–$48.98) reads like a travel wish-list: the Amalfi Coast, a Lake Como house garden, London's Houses of Parliament, Evening at Ushigome in Tokyo, Sunrise in Osaka, a Milton barn in Jackson Hole, Pisa, an antique harbour, an Arabic lantern, a vintage bistro café, daisy fields, a school bus, military history and a Christmas Santa train. Each kit includes a pre-printed canvas, numbered paints and brushes — and the store also offers custom kits made from your own photo, which is ideal for turning a holiday snapshot into wall art.
Choose it if: you want a piece that looks like a travel poster, or you want to recreate a place you have actually visited.
Custom photo kits · Refill paint
8. ThePaintByNumbers — custom photo kits and spare paint
ThePaintByNumbers sells itself as a relaxing-hobby destination with 16 adult designs at $26.85–$47.85, spanning the same strong travel and city themes (Amalfi Coast, Lake Como, Pisa, London, Osaka, Jackson Hole) plus nature subjects such as the oldest baobab tree, Old World flycatchers and a beautiful daisy field. Two practical extras make it worth bookmarking: a custom paint by numbers kit made from your own photo, and a listing for extra paints — so if a pot dries out halfway through a big project you can top it up rather than starting again.
Choose it if: you paint slowly across weeks and want guaranteed access to matching refill paint.
Vintage Americana · Classical art
9. Paint by Numbers for Sale — vintage Americana and classical painting
Paint by Numbers for Sale promises "thousands of paint by number kits for adults" across the whole shop, with a curated adults page of 13 designs at $26.85–$47.85. The flavour is nostalgic and art-historical: Route 66 vintage travel, an old red Ford truck, a Nissan car collection, classic cars and barns, Jackson Hole, a snow-covered Christmas city, pop-art portraits, John William Waterhouse's The Witch, Shakespeare's Miranda from The Tempest, and Woman in a Purple Coat. Kits are canvas-based with paints and brushes included, framed options are available, and the store advertises free shipping.
Choose it if: you like garage, road-trip and heritage subjects, or you want to paint a recognised masterpiece.
Curated shortlist · Huge shop
10. Modern Paint by Number — a small curated shortlist from a huge catalog
Modern Paint by Number takes the opposite approach to breadth: its adults page is a hand-picked shortlist of six designs — Blue Hydrangeas, Ladies with Umbrellas, a Mosaic Octopus, Purple Tree Blossom in Moonlight, Stylish Giraffes and Wild Horses Running in the River — drawn from a shop carrying more than 26,000 products. The store's stated focus is high-quality materials and beginner-friendly kits, with acrylic paints, quality brushes, custom photo options, framed finishes, secure checkout and a review system.
Choose it if: you get decision fatigue browsing thousands of designs and would rather pick from a shortlist of botanicals and wildlife.
Seasonal · Gift focused
11. Paint by Number for All — a tightly edited adults theme
Paint by Number for All keeps its dedicated adults theme page deliberately small — currently one featured design (the Night Santa Silhouette kit, $26.85–$47.85) — while the wider shop is organised into Animals, Women, Cartoon and Animation, Landscapes and Flowers, with free shipping and eco-friendly materials promoted on the homepage. It works best as a gift and seasonal specialist: if you want a specific occasion piece rather than an open-ended browse, this is a quick, focused place to look.
Choose it if: you are buying a seasonal or gift kit and want a short, curated list.
How to choose the right adult kit (4 questions)
- How much time do you have? A standard 40×50 cm design with 24–30 colours typically takes 8–20 hours spread over a few weeks. Pick a Mini Kit or an "Easy and Beginners" design at PBN Canvas for a weekend finish.
- How steady is your hand? Detailed portraits, cityscapes and mandalas have very small segments. Landscapes, silhouettes, animals and botanical pieces have larger blocks of colour and are far more forgiving.
- What is the end use? For framing and hanging, buy from a store that sells matching frames (AdultPaintbyNumber, GATYZTORY, NumeralArt, ColourSilo) or add a 40×50 cm frame to your order.
- Is it a gift? Custom photo kits (NumeralArt, Go Paint by Number, ThePaintByNumbers, PBN Canvas) are the highest-impact option — a pet, a wedding photo or a holiday snapshot.
Price guide: what should you expect to pay?
- $13–$20 — mini kits, small canvases and beginner designs (PBN Canvas has the most in this band)
- $24–$30 — standard 40×50 cm adult kit, canvas only (ColourSilo, AdultPaintbyNumber, NumeralArt)
- $35–$50 — larger sizes, higher colour counts, framed or custom photo kits (most stores top out near $47–$49)
- $26–$36 extra — a wooden frame (AdultPaintbyNumber lists frames in this range)
Cheap marketplace kits below $10 usually mean folded canvas, 12 paints and one brush. That is the difference the stores above are charging for.
Shipping, currency and buying outside the US
All eleven storefronts list prices in USD and ship complete kits directly to buyers. Most advertise free or tracked shipping and all publish a shipping and returns policy on their own site. If you are buying from the UK, EU, Canada, Australia or Asia:
- Check the store's shipping page for your country before checkout, as free-shipping thresholds are usually set in USD.
- Expect import VAT or duty on orders above your local de-minimis threshold — charged by your customs authority, not the store.
- Kits ship rolled in tubes, which is light and rarely damaged; if a canvas arrives creased, contact the store rather than painting over it.
- Delivery times are typically longer than domestic retail (commonly 1–3 weeks), so order gifts early — especially seasonal designs at Paint by Number for All and the Christmas range at Go Paint by Number.
7 tips for a better-looking finished canvas
- Paint in one direction, one colour at a time. Work through all the "12"s before moving to the "13"s. Far fewer brush rinses, cleaner edges.
- Two thin coats beat one thick coat. Acrylic is translucent over printed numbers until it builds up.
- Keep pots sealed. Close every lid immediately; dried paint is the number one complaint and the reason stores like ThePaintByNumbers and AdultPaintbyNumber sell refills.
- Use the right brush. Fine for small segments, flat for large sky and water areas — brush marks disappear in big blocks.
- Work from the top down so your hand does not smudge wet paint.
- Add a tiny drop of water to a pot that is thickening, and stir with the brush handle.
- Seal and frame. A matte varnish evens out the sheen, and a 40×50 cm frame makes a hobby canvas look like commissioned art.
Frequently asked questions
Are paint by numbers kits for adults any good?
Yes — provided the kit is complete and well made. Adult kits from the specialist stores above use pre-primed linen canvas, 24–48 pre-mixed numbered acrylic colours, three brushes and a printed reference guide, which is enough to produce a genuinely presentable piece of wall art with no prior painting experience.
What size canvas is best for adults?
40×50 cm (16×20 in) is the standard and the best balance of detail and comfort. Smaller mini kits suit a first attempt or a weekend project; larger canvases suit experienced painters who want a statement piece.
How many colours should a good adult kit have?
Around 24 for a relaxing landscape or animal design, and 30–48 for detailed portraits, cityscapes and fine-art reproductions. More colours mean a more realistic result and a longer project.
Can I turn my own photo into a paint by numbers kit?
Yes. NumeralArt, Go Paint by Number, ThePaintByNumbers and PBN Canvas all offer custom kits made from a photo you upload. Use a well-lit, high-resolution image with a clear subject and avoid busy backgrounds.
Are paint by numbers kits good for stress relief?
This is the main reason adults buy them. The activity is structured and repetitive, requires no decisions about composition or colour, and keeps your hands busy — a screen-free alternative to scrolling. Most stores market their kits explicitly as a relaxing, mindfulness-style hobby.
How long does an adult kit take to finish?
Between 8 and 20 hours for a standard 40×50 cm design with 24–30 colours, usually spread over several sessions. Highly detailed portraits, mandalas and cityscapes take longer; mini kits can be finished in an afternoon.
Do the kits come with a frame?
Usually the frame is optional. Several of these stores sell matching wooden frames separately — AdultPaintbyNumber lists frames at $26–$36 — and GATYZTORY and NumeralArt promote framed set options. Check the product page before ordering.
Are the paints acrylic and non-toxic?
Yes. All eleven stores use water-based acrylic paints in sealed numbered pots, and several advertise eco-friendly, non-toxic formulations. They are washable while wet and permanent once dry.
What is the cheapest good-quality adult kit?
PBN Canvas has adult designs from $13.85, and ColourSilo starts full-size adult kits at $24.99. Both include canvas, paints and brushes.
Which store has the most designs for adults?
GATYZTORY lists 224 designs on its adults page from a shop of more than 16,000 products, while Modern Paint by Number's full shop exceeds 26,000 products. PBN Canvas has the largest category-organised adults range at 147+ kits across 40+ themes.
Bottom line
You do not need an art background to get a good result — you need a good kit. All eleven stores above sell complete, high-quality adult kits with rolled linen canvas, numbered pre-mixed acrylics and a proper brush set, so the real choice comes down to subject matter, catalog size and price:
- Most choice, best value: PBN Canvas
- Biggest catalog, more crafts: GATYZTORY
- Custom photo of a person, pet or place: NumeralArt
- Anime, sport and travel + frames and refills: AdultPaintbyNumber
- Best price on full-size kits: ColourSilo
- Celebrity and fandom gifts: Any Paint by Number
- Travel posters and cityscapes: Go Paint by Number
- Refill paint for slow painters: ThePaintByNumbers
- Vintage Americana and masterpieces: Paint by Numbers for Sale
- Curated botanicals and wildlife: Modern Paint by Number
- Seasonal and gift-focused: Paint by Number for All
Pick a subject you would actually want on your wall, choose 40×50 cm, and start with the largest blocks of colour first. The rest is just filling in numbers.
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