Buying guide · 6 brands compared
Best paints for miniatures: which brand to buy first
Every brand below is real acrylic hobby paint used by working painters — the difference isn't quality, it's which workflow each one is built around. Here's what separates them, and which one fits the model on your desk right now.
The best paint brand for miniatures depends on what you're painting: Citadel and Army Painter suit beginners with structured, step-by-step systems; Vallejo suits airbrushing and large armies where consistent flow matters; and Scale75 suits display-quality metallics. Six established brands cover nearly every hobbyist's actual need.
The six brands, side by side
No brand here will hold you back on its own — technique matters more than which pot you buy from. This is about which brand's workflow matches how you paint.
| Brand | Format | Known for | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citadel | 12ml pots | Base/Layer/Shade system, widest game-store stocking | First-time buyers, Warhammer/GW painters |
| Vallejo | Dropper bottles | Thin, consistent flow; Model Air pre-thinned line | Layering, airbrush work, large armies |
| Army Painter | Dropper bottles | Speedpaint one-coat shading, starter sets | Painting a whole army fast |
| Scale75 | Dropper bottles | High-pigment metallics, NMM/OSL specialty sets | Display and competition-standard finishes |
| AK Interactive | Dropper bottles | Weathering, washes and pigments for basing/scenics | Battle damage, mud, rust, worn edges |
| Reaper Master Series | Dropper bottles | Large affordable range, triads sold pre-matched | D&D/RPG single-mini painters on a budget |
Format is the packaging style each brand ships in; it's not a ranking. The highlighted row is the one we'd point a first-time buyer toward, not a "best overall" score — see how to choose for why it depends on what you're painting.
The brands, one at a time
Beginner default
Citadel
Games Workshop's own line, built around a Base/Layer/Shade/Technique system that maps directly onto the beginner workflow: base coat, wash, highlight, done — the same three-step order PaintMini's own Beginner tier uses for its 3-5 color schemes. Slightly thicker out of the pot than the other brands here — good for coverage, needs more thinning for smooth layering. Widest availability of any brand on this list, since it's stocked in every Games Workshop and most hobby stores.
Consistency
Vallejo
Dropper bottles instead of pots, which makes it easier to control exactly how much paint you dispense. Thinner, more consistent flow out of the bottle than Citadel — a common pick for painters doing a lot of layering or airbrush work. Model Color and Game Color cover most tabletop needs; Model Air is pre-thinned specifically for an airbrush.
Speed
Army Painter
Best known for Speedpaint: a one-coat paint that bases, shades and highlights in a single application, built for painting a whole army fast rather than one showcase model slowly. Also sells affordable starter sets aimed squarely at people painting their first army box. See how Speedpaint compares to Citadel Contrast if you're choosing between the two.
Display quality
Scale75
Smaller range than Citadel or Vallejo, but genuinely strong metallics and specialty sets built for non-metallic metal and object source lighting work — the 10-15 color palettes PaintMini's Expert tier reaches for. Priced higher per bottle. Less useful as an everyday basecoat brand, more useful as the brand you reach for when a model needs to clear tabletop-standard.
Weathering
AK Interactive
Comes from the scale-model and diorama side of the hobby, not pure miniature-army painting — its strength is washes, pigments and weathering effects rather than a full basecoat range. Reach for it when a model needs battle damage, rust streaks, mud or worn metal edges, especially on bases and vehicle-scale kits.
Budget
Reaper Master Series
A large, affordable dropper-bottle range especially popular with D&D and other RPG miniature painters in the US. Colors are sold in pre-matched triads (a base, a shade and a highlight for the same hue), which takes some of the guesswork out of a first purchase.
How we picked these
We didn't run a lab test — nobody needs one to tell you acrylic paint is acrylic paint. These six are the brands that show up consistently across the hobby: wide community use, an established range built for miniatures specifically (not repurposed craft paint), and real coverage of the three technique tiers PaintMini's own generator uses — Beginner, Intermediate and Expert. If a brand only does one of those things well, it's mentioned for that reason, not left off the list entirely.
How to choose
Answer these in order and you'll land on a brand, not a shelf of options.
- Are you painting a Games Workshop system? Citadel's color names match official Warhammer and Age of Sigmar schemes directly, which removes a whole layer of guessing.
- Are you using an airbrush, or painting a large batch? Vallejo's thinner, more consistent flow is built for exactly that.
- Do you need a whole army painted, not one showcase model? Army Painter's Speedpaint exists for this specific problem.
- Is this model going in a display case or a competition? Scale75's metallics and specialty sets are worth the extra cost there.
- Does the model need damage, mud or weathering rather than a clean finish? AK Interactive's washes and pigments are built for that, not for basecoating.
Not sure what colors a scheme actually calls for? PaintMini's paint library filters by brand and shows exact name/hex matches, and the scheme generator can build a full plan from paints you already own, regardless of brand.
Questions people ask about miniature paint brands
Can I mix brands on the same miniature?
Yes. All six brands here are acrylic and intermix freely, and most painted armies use whichever brand has the closest color match for a given part, regardless of range. There's no compatibility issue to worry about.
Which brand should a total beginner start with?
Citadel, mainly because its Base/Layer/Shade system is built around the beginner workflow and it's the easiest to find in a physical store. Army Painter's starter sets are a close second if you'd rather paint a whole army fast than learn layering first.
Is Army Painter Speedpaint the same as Citadel Contrast?
They solve the same problem — one coat that shades and highlights at once — but they're not identical formulas or ranges. See the full comparison for the real differences.
Is a more expensive brand actually better?
Not universally. Scale75 costs more per bottle and it shows in metallics and specialty effects, but for ordinary basecoating and layering, Citadel or Vallejo do the same job for less. Price tracks the specialty, not general quality.
Do I need to match my paint brand to my game system?
No — any acrylic hobby paint works on any miniature regardless of game. Matching Citadel to Warhammer just saves you time looking up which color the box art used; it's convenience, not a requirement.
Does pot vs. dropper-bottle format actually matter?
Mostly for control and mess. A dropper bottle lets you dispense one drop at a time onto a palette, which wastes less paint and mixes more precisely. A pot is faster to dip a brush straight into, which some painters prefer for basecoating.
Pick your paints, then let PaintMini plan the scheme
Upload a photo of your primed miniature, filter to the paints you already own from any of these brands, and get a full painted preview plus a step-by-step guide before you touch a brush.