Top 5 compared
The best acrylic paint sets
Bold, bright color for a first canvas, a homemade card or a weekend craft project.
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The top 5 at a glance
Acrylic paint is the friendliest kind to start with: it’s water-based, dries fast, cleans off brushes with soap and water and sticks to almost anything, from canvas and paper to pebbles, wood and plant pots. Once dry it’s water-resistant, so layers go on top of each other without lifting. Sets come as tubes for mixing on a palette or squeeze bottles for crafts.
The bottle sets here are made for rocks, wood and fabric as well as canvas and dry matte; the tube sets dry to a gloss or satin that suits canvas work. The Winsor & Newton Galeria is for learning to mix your own colors from ten good tubes rather than picking from a big box of ready-mixed shades.
What matters
- Paint per color, not the color count: small tubes run out fast.
- Brushes in the box save a separate purchase.
- Student ranges are fine for beginners; artist grade has stronger pigment.
- Heavy-body paint for texture; soft-body for smooth, flat coverage.
#1ARTEZA Acrylic Paint Set (60 × 0.74 fl oz)
$50–$75
Sixty colors, five of them metallic gold, silver and pearl, in 0.74 fl oz tubes grouped in trays: a full palette for color studies, mixed media and canvas work without endless mixing. The creamy paint holds a brushstroke, or thins with water for softer washes.
What owners say: The rich pigment and the shimmer of the metallics win most owners over, and beginners find the paint easy to handle. Drying time divides them: fine on canvas but too quick on the palette for some, and a few had caps split.
A closer look: Squeeze out only what you’ll use in the next few minutes, as this paint skins over quickly; a mist from a spray bottle keeps a palette workable for longer. Wipe the tube necks before recapping, so the caps don’t glue shut or split when forced open.
- Creamy paint keeps brush marks
- Thins with water for washes
- Tubes grouped in trays
- Certified non-toxic
Best for: A full palette of colors
- Colors
- 60, incl. 5 metallic
- Paint per color
- 0.74 fl oz tubes
- Brushes included
- No
- Finish
- Gloss, 5 metallic
#2ARTEZA Craft Acrylic Paint Set (20 × 2 fl oz)
$20–$30
ARTEZA’s craft range rather than its artist tubes: twenty soft-body colors in 2 fl oz squeeze bottles, from brights and fluorescents to two metallics, drying to a flat matte finish. It’s made for decorating, on rocks, wood, glass, ceramics, fabric and leather as well as canvas.
What owners say: The smooth, quick-drying paint makes light work of T-shirts and home décor, owners say, and washes off brushes easily. Whether it’s thick or thin is the one thing they disagree on.
A closer look: Soft-body paint spreads easily and dries flat, so it suits signs, ornaments, stenciling and painted rocks more than textured brushwork. Squeeze out a little at a time and snap each cap shut between colors; the quick-dry formula is made for layering, which also means a puddle left on the palette won’t last long.
- Includes fluorescent colors
- Paints rocks, wood, glass, fabric
- Snap-on caps
- Soap-and-water cleanup
- Quick-dry, made for layering
Best for: Crafts and home décor
- Colors
- 20, incl. 2 metallic
- Paint per color
- 2 fl oz bottles
- Brushes included
- No
- Finish
- Matte, 2 metallic
#3Caliart Acrylic Paint Set (24 × 2 fl oz, with 12 brushes)
$10–$20
Twenty-four colors in 2 fl oz bottles with twelve brushes: plenty of paint for a class, a pile of pumpkins or a run of canvases. It dries to a matte finish and takes to canvas, wood, stone, fabric, clay and metal.
What owners say: Vibrant, thick and quick to dry, with easy soap-and-water cleanup, it goes down well in art classes and works on canvas and 3D-printed models alike. Several buyers had brushes missing from the box.
A closer look: The squeeze bottles make it easy to put out just a dot of each color, which suits a group of children sharing one set. Matte paint shows brushstrokes less than glossy paint, and a coat of varnish adds some shine to a finished canvas or protects painted rocks left outdoors.
- Paints canvas, wood, stone, clay
- Non-toxic
- Soap-and-water cleanup
Best for: Classes and big projects
- Colors
- 24
- Paint per color
- 2 fl oz bottles
- Brushes included
- 12 brushes
- Finish
- Matte
#4Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic Set (10 × 2 fl oz)
$30–$50
Winsor & Newton has made artists’ paint in London since 1832 and was granted a Royal Warrant in 1841. Galeria is its student range: big on color and easy to mix.
What owners say: Owners like the ten rich colors and how they go on without streaks. The consistency is less agreed on, smooth to some and watery to others, as is whether the tubes are big enough.
A closer look: Rather than a box of ready-made shades, the ten tubes form a true mixing palette: one yellow, a warm and a cool red, a blue, a green, three earth colors, black and white. The buttery paint holds brush marks and dries to a satin finish, and it sits happily alongside artist-grade tubes if you move up later.
- Warm and cool reds included
- Buttery, holds brush marks
- Works alongside artist-grade tubes
Best for: Learning to mix shades
- Colors
- 10
- Paint per color
- 2 fl oz tubes
- Brushes included
- No
- Finish
- Satin
#5Benicci Complete Acrylic Paint Set (24 × 0.4 fl oz, with 12 brushes)
$10–$20
Everything to start painting: 24 colors in 0.4 fl oz tubes, twelve nylon brushes, a palette knife for mixing and a sponge for dabbed textures, a favorite with children. Benicci backs it with a 365-day guarantee.
What owners say: Beginners and seasoned painters alike rate the colors, and the brushes and palette knife earn as much praise as the paint. Everything arrives as described, and it works for model painting as well as canvas.
A closer look: The little tubes go quickly on a big canvas, so it’s best for small pieces, practice boards and children’s projects; a large tube of white is worth adding, as white runs out first when mixing. The nylon brushes rinse clean in soapy water and, Benicci says, work for watercolor and oil too.
- Non-toxic, quick-drying
- 365-day guarantee
- Brushes suit watercolor and oil
- Non-shed nylon brushes
Best for: Kids and first-time painters
- Colors
- 24
- Paint per color
- 0.4 fl oz tubes
- Brushes included
- 12 brushes, knife and sponge
- Finish
- Gloss
How they compare
Swipe sideways or rotate device to see all 5.
| Feature | #1ARTEZA 60 | #2ARTEZA Craft 20 | #3Caliart 24 | #4Winsor & Newton Galeria | #5Benicci 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall | Most paint | Best for mixing | Best budget | ||
| Picked Rating | 9.5 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.3 |
| Price | $50–$75 | $20–$30 | $10–$20 | $30–$50 | $10–$20 |
| Colors | 60, incl. 5 metallic | 20, incl. 2 metallic | 24 | 10 | 24 |
| Paint per color | 0.74 fl oz tubes | 2 fl oz bottles | 2 fl oz bottles | 2 fl oz tubes | 0.4 fl oz tubes |
| Brushes included | No | No | 12 brushes | No | 12 brushes, knife and sponge |
| Finish | Gloss, 5 metallic | Matte, 2 metallic | Matte | Satin | Gloss |
| Best for | A full palette of colors | Crafts and home décor | Classes and big projects | Learning to mix shades | Kids and first-time painters |
| Buy now | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon |
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