Free Color By Number Generator Online: Top 5 Tools for 2026
A free color-by-number generator can save hours of manual work — but not every "free" tool actually delivers. Some are buggy, some watermark every export, some only work on a handful of cell shapes. We tested the five most-searched free color-by-number generators online in 2026 and ranked them by real-world usefulness.
What Makes a Good Free Color By Number Generator?
Before jumping into the rankings, here's what we evaluated each tool on:
- Output quality — sharp, printable pages with clean number placement
- Cell shapes — more variety means more creative options
- Palette control — can you choose how many colors appear?
- KDP readiness — 300 DPI output in Amazon-compatible book sizes
- Privacy — does your image stay on your device, or get uploaded to their servers?
- Commercial rights — can you sell what you create?
1. Color By Number Pro Best Overall
Website: colorbynumber.pro
Free tier: Unlimited use, watermarked exports
Paid: One-time $27–$97
Cell shapes: 5 (Square, Circle, Hexagon, Diamond, Triangle)
KDP-ready: Yes — 300 DPI PDF export in all KDP sizes
Privacy: 100% client-side — images never leave your computer
Color By Number Pro is the most feature-complete free generator on this list. The free trial is genuinely unlimited — no time limit, no feature lockouts, only a small watermark on exports. It supports batch processing, answer keys, color palette pages, and one-click KDP PDF export. The paid version is a one-time payment (not subscription) and includes commercial rights.
Best for: KDP publishers, Etsy sellers, and anyone who wants a production-ready color-by-number tool.
2. PBNify Simple but limited
Website: pbnify.com
Free tier: Completely free, no watermark
Cell shapes: None — produces only outlined color regions
KDP-ready: No — PNG only, no book-size export
Privacy: Client-side processing
PBNify is a beloved classic. It's fully free and produces simple outlined color-by-number pages. But it doesn't support cell shapes (no mosaic/hexagon styles), doesn't export PDFs, and has no batch mode. It's a good quick-and-dirty tool for a single page, but not for publishing.
Best for: Hobbyists making one-off printables for personal use.
3. Culur.io Nice output, heavy paywall
Website: culur.io
Free tier: 3 generations/month, watermarked
Paid: $9.99/month subscription
Cell shapes: Square only
KDP-ready: Partial — limited book sizes
Culur produces clean output but the free tier is extremely limited — just 3 generations per month. The paid version is a recurring subscription, which adds up fast if you're producing a lot of content.
Best for: Occasional users who want clean output and don't mind a subscription.
4. SnapXam / MosaicMaker Basic only
Free tier: Free with watermark
Cell shapes: Square, Circle (2 total)
KDP-ready: No — PNG export only, no 300 DPI guarantee
A handful of niche sites offer basic "mosaic maker" tools. Most produce low-resolution PNGs suitable for screen use only. Not recommended for print or publishing.
Best for: Experimenting. Not for serious projects.
5. Photoshop / GIMP (DIY) Powerful but slow
Free tier: GIMP is free. Photoshop is $22.99/month.
KDP-ready: Depends entirely on your skill
You can technically create color-by-number pages manually in Photoshop or GIMP using posterize + grid overlays. It's powerful but slow — expect 30–60 minutes per page, and you'll need to manually place hundreds of numbers. Not practical unless you're doing just one custom project.
Best for: Designers who want total control over a single flagship project.
Quick Comparison Table
- Color By Number Pro — 5 shapes, KDP-ready, batch mode, one-time payment. Winner for KDP and serious users.
- PBNify — free, simple, no cell shapes. Good for one-off hobby prints.
- Culur.io — nice output, subscription paywall.
- SnapXam and similar — too basic for print.
- Photoshop — total control, enormous time cost.
Try the best free color by number generator
No signup. No credit card. Unlimited exports.
Try Free Now →FAQ
Is there a completely free color by number generator with no watermark?
PBNify is fully free with no watermark, but produces only basic outline pages (no cell shapes, no PDF export). For richer output, Color By Number Pro's free trial is unlimited with a small watermark — the watermark is only removed when you upgrade.
Can I use a free generator to publish books on Amazon KDP?
Only if the generator outputs 300 DPI and gives you commercial rights. Most free tools output 72–150 DPI and restrict commercial use. Color By Number Pro's paid plans include KDP-compliant 300 DPI PDF export and full commercial rights.
What's the difference between a color-by-number generator and a paint-by-number generator?
Same concept, different medium. Color-by-number usually means a printable page for pencils/markers. Paint-by-number typically refers to physical canvas kits with matching paints. See our paint-by-number guide for more.
Final Thoughts
The best "free color by number generator" for you depends on what you're doing. For a one-time hobby print, PBNify works. For anything serious — publishing a coloring book, selling on Etsy, making custom gifts at scale — start with Color By Number Pro's free trial and upgrade when you need the watermark gone.
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