Written by Paul Worrall
I picked up my first paint by numbers kit a few years back during a genuinely stressful stretch, half expecting to feel silly about it, and ended up finishing the whole canvas in an evening because it turned out to be exactly the mindless, absorbing thing I needed. It’s a much bigger category than people give it credit for, and the quality gap between a good kit and a poor one is bigger than you’d expect too.
I’m Paul Worrall. I spent nearly a decade running digital marketing for ARTdiscount, one of the UK’s largest online art retailers, and I now run Discount Art Supplies — a price comparison platform used by over 41,000 UK artists every week. If you’re after a kit made from your own photo rather than a ready-made design, I’ve covered that separately in my Best Personalised Paint by Numbers guide. This one’s about the off-the-shelf kits worth actually buying.
Quick Picks
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Ledgebay
This is the one I’d point most people toward first. The canvases are vacuum-sealed to keep the paint fresh in transit, which sounds like a small thing until you’ve opened a cheaper kit to find half the pots already dried out. Ledgebay’s licensed artwork designs are a genuine step up in composition compared to a lot of the generic landscape scenes that flood this category, and the framed options come with a tabletop easel included, so there’s importent nothing extra to buy before you can start painting.
They’re not the cheapest option here, and if you’re buying for a child or just want to try the format once before committing, the price difference over a budget kit is hard to justify. For a genuine gift or a kit you actually intend to frame and hang, though, the quality shows.
Winnie’s Picks
Genuinely the widest design range I’ve come across in this category — over 200 kits covering everything from European landscapes to more romantic, vintage-styled scenes, which matters more than people expect since a design you’re not drawn to is the fastest way to abandon a kit halfway through. Reviewers consistantly praise the thick, wrinkle-resistant canvas and the eco-friendly acrylic paints, and the colour accuracy holds up well against the reference image.
Being a US brand shipping internationally, delivery to the UK naturally takes a little longer than a UK-based company, so it’s worth factoring that in if you need something for a specific date. The breadth of choice makes the wait worthwhile for most people though.
Ravensburger CreArt
Ravensburger’s name carries real weight in the UK toy and hobby space, and their CreArt range brings that same reliability to paint by numbers. Everything’s clearly numbered and the paint pots are genuinely well labelled, which sounds basic but is where cheaper unbranded kits often let themselves down. It’s the kit I’d recommend to someone who’s never tried the format at all and wants a genuinely low-risk way to test whether they enjoy it.
The design range skews a little more mainstream and less specialist than Winnie’s Picks or Ledgebay, and canvas sizes tend to run smaller, so it’s not the one to pick if you want a large statement piece for a wall. As a reliable, well-made entry point, though, it’s hard to fault.
Royal & Langnickel
The budget pick, and a genuinely sensible one rather than a compromise pick included just to fill out a price bracket. Royal & Langnickel have been making art and craft materials for decades, and their paint by numbers kits deliver perfectly usable paint coverage and clear canvas printing at a price that makes buying two or three at once to try different designs a realistic option.
The brushes included tend to be the weakest part of the kit — thin, and prone to shedding bristles after a few uses — so it’s worth having a proper brush or two of your own on hand rather than relying entirely on what’s in the box. For the canvas and paint quality alone, though, it’s genuinely good value.
What to Check Before You Buy
Canvas size matters more than people think — a small 20x30cm kit can feel fiddly and frustrating on detailed designs, so if you’re new to the format, a mid-size 40x50cm canvas with a simpler design is genuinely the easier starting point. Check whether the kit comes framed or as a rolled, unframed canvas too, since that affects what you’ll need to sort out seperately once it’s finished. And if brush quality worries you, it’s worth having a small synthetic brush set on hand regardless of which kit you choose — the included brushes are rarely the strongest part of any paint by numbers kit.
FAQ
Are paint by numbers kits actually good for complete beginners?
Yes — that’s genuinely the whole point of the format. No drawing skill or colour theory knowledge is needed, since the canvas is pre-printed and numbered, and every kit on this list is suitable for a genuine first-timer.
How long does a paint by numbers kit take to finish?
It depends heavily on canvas size and detail level, but a standard 40x50cm kit typically takes somewhere between 10 and 25 hours of painting time, often spread across several sittings.
Do paint by numbers kits come framed?
Some do and some don’t — check the listing carefully. Framed kits are ready to hang once finished, while unframed rolled canvases need stretching or framing separately afterward.
Prices on paint by numbers kits vary more across UK retailers than you’d expect, especially around gift-buying seasons, so it’s worth a quick check before you buy. At Discount Art Supplies we compare prices across all the major UK art and craft retailers in real time, so you can find the best current deal before you buy.
