Layer 5 · self-hosting reality check
What it actually takes to self-host Krita
The docs say 2 GB. In practice you want 8 GB for large canvases at print resolution. Here is the honest version — real requirements, real monthly cost, what you will be maintaining, and the one thing that catches people out.
Usually reached from Adobe Photoshop alternatives, where Krita is one of the picks.
Wondering whether you need to at all? Is Photoshop free? — what the free tier actually allows, and where the wall is.
| RAM — documented minimum | 2 GB |
|---|---|
| RAM — what it really needs | 8 GB for large canvases at print resolution |
| CPU | Multi-core helps brushes noticeably |
| Disk | 1.5 GB installed |
| Monthly cost | $0 — it runs on the machine you already own |
| Setup time | 20 minutes |
| How you install it | Platform installer, Steam, or Flatpak |
| Ongoing maintenance | None beyond updates. |
| Where it stops scaling | Large canvases; memory is the limit and Krita will tell you when it is close. |
The thing that catches people out
Krita is a painting application, not a photo editor, and the distinction bites in one specific place: its raster tools are excellent and its photo-retouching and batch-processing tools are thin. People install it as a Photoshop replacement, find the brush engine better than Photoshop's, and then discover there is no healing brush worth the name. Use it alongside GIMP rather than instead of it.
When not to self-host Krita
You need photo retouching or print CMYK output. Krita's strength is digital painting and illustration.
Every guide here carries this section. A site that only ever tells you to self-host is selling something — the useful answer is sometimes no.
Other Layer 5 self-hosting guides
- Self-hosting LibreOffice2 GB with a large spreadsheet open
- Self-hosting ONLYOFFICE6 GB for the Document Server with a handful of concurrent editors
- Self-hosting Collabora Online4 GB, and roughly 1 GB per 20 concurrent documents
- Self-hosting CryptPad2 GB for a small instance
- Self-hosting Mattermost4 GB for a team of 50 with PostgreSQL on the same box
- Self-hosting Rocket.Chat6 GB with MongoDB on the same machine
Common questions
- How much RAM does Krita actually need?
- 8 GB for large canvases at print resolution in practice. The documented minimum is 2 GB, which is the figure at which the process starts rather than the figure at which it works under real use. Multi-core helps brushes noticeably alongside it.
- What does self-hosting Krita cost per month?
- $0 — it runs on the machine you already own This is commodity VPS pricing and excludes your time, which is the larger cost for most people — budget for none beyond updates.
- How long does it take to set up Krita?
- 20 minutes, via Platform installer, Steam, or Flatpak.
- When should I NOT self-host Krita?
- You need photo retouching or print CMYK output. Krita's strength is digital painting and illustration.
- What is the most common mistake when self-hosting Krita?
- Krita is a painting application, not a photo editor, and the distinction bites in one specific place: its raster tools are excellent and its photo-retouching and batch-processing tools are thin. People install it as a Photoshop replacement, find the brush engine better than Photoshop's, and then discover there is no healing brush worth the name. Use it alongside GIMP rather than instead of it.