Quick answer: Paint by numbers and diamond painting are the two most popular guided craft hobbies, and they suit different people. Paint by numbers involves real brushes and real paint; it takes more skill to do neatly, produces a painting you can varnish and frame like any artwork, and leaves you with a transferable skill. Diamond painting involves pressing tiny resin gems onto a sticky printed canvas; it needs almost no skill, is very repetitive and calming, and produces a sparkly, mosaic-like picture. Choose paint by numbers if you want to make art and would like to improve at it. Choose diamond painting if you want a mindless, tactile activity with a glittering result. Many people end up doing both.
People often come to paint by numbers from diamond painting, or the other way round, and want to know how the two really compare before spending an evening on one. This is an honest comparison from a shop that sells only one of them — so we have tried to be fair, and to say plainly where diamond painting is the better choice.
What you will find in this guide
What each hobby actually involves
Paint by numbers: a canvas printed with outlined, numbered sections; numbered pots of acrylic paint; brushes. You fill each section with the matching color. The result is a genuine acrylic painting on canvas.
Diamond painting: a canvas printed with a coded grid and coated in adhesive; thousands of small faceted resin "drills"; a pen-like applicator with wax. You pick up one drill at a time and press it onto the matching coded square. The result is a mosaic of tiny gems that catches the light.
Side by side
| Paint by numbers | Diamond painting | |
|---|---|---|
| Skill needed | Some — a steady hand helps | Almost none |
| Improves with practice | Yes, noticeably | Barely — it is placement |
| Time for a 16 × 20 canvas | 15–30 hours | 20–40 hours |
| Mess | Water, a little paint | Loose gems everywhere |
| Mistakes | Paint over them | Prise the gem off |
| Finished look | A painting | A sparkling mosaic |
| Framing | Stretch, frame, or hang like any art | Usually behind glass; gems can fall off |
| Durability | Decades, sealed | Adhesive can weaken over years |
| Sitting position | Table or easel, flexible | Flat table, leaning over |
| Eyes | Numbers on canvas | Tiny symbols in a dense grid |
| Children | From about 8 with simpler designs | From about 8; small parts |
Skill and learning curve
This is the honest, central difference. Diamond painting asks almost nothing of you: pick up, place, repeat. It is impossible to do badly. Paint by numbers asks a little more: keeping inside a line, loading a brush, judging a second coat. The first canvas will have wobbly edges. The third will not. Most people find that the small challenge is exactly what makes the finished painting feel like theirs, and that by the third canvas they are painting with confidence they did not know they had. If you want a hobby you get better at, that is paint by numbers. If you want one that asks nothing, that is diamond painting, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Which is more relaxing?
Both are, in different ways. Diamond painting is repetitive to the point of hypnosis; people describe it as the closest thing to a meditation that still produces something. Paint by numbers is absorbing rather than hypnotic: you are making small decisions constantly, and the hour disappears because you are concentrating, not because you have switched off. Which suits you depends on what you want from an evening. If you want to stop thinking, diamonds. If you want to think about something pleasant instead of something stressful, paint. Our guide on painting for stress relief goes into the second kind.
One practical point: diamond painting is done bent over a flat table, and the fine grid is hard on the eyes. Paint by numbers can be done at an easel, sitting back, with larger sections. For necks, backs and eyes over sixty, that matters — see our guide for older painters.
The finished result
A finished diamond painting sparkles. Up close it is a grid of gems; from across the room it is a bright, slightly pixelated image. It looks best behind glass, and it photographs beautifully.
A finished paint by numbers is a painting. Up close you see brushstrokes; from across the room you see a picture. It can be varnished, stretched over bars, and hung with no glass at all, like anything else on the wall. Nobody has to be told it was a kit. If the aim is decoration that lasts and does not look like a craft project, paint has the edge. If the aim is sparkle, diamonds win outright.
Practical differences: mess, space, time, cost
Mess. Paint by numbers needs a jar of water and a paper towel; a spill is a wipe. Diamond painting sheds tiny gems that end up in the carpet, the sofa and the vacuum cleaner.
Space. Both need a table for a full canvas, but a paint by numbers canvas can go on an easel or a lap board, and can be picked up and put down. A diamond canvas must stay flat and its sticky surface must stay covered.
Time. Similar for a similar size. Diamond painting is slower per square inch but needs no drying time; paint by numbers is faster per section but you wait for coats.
Cost. Similar for a kit. Paint by numbers has cheap add-ons (a better brush, a bottle of varnish); diamond painting has cheap add-ons (trays, storage for spare drills). Framing costs about the same.
Mistakes. This is a real difference. A paint mistake is painted over in thirty seconds. A wrong gem has to be prised off, and the adhesive underneath may be weaker afterward.
Who should choose which
Choose paint by numbers if: you want a finished piece that looks like art; you would like to get better at something; you paint in a chair rather than bent over a table; your eyes prefer larger sections to a fine grid; you would rather not find gems in the carpet in March.
Choose diamond painting if: you want an activity with zero skill and zero decisions; you love sparkle; you find repetition deeply calming; you want something you can do while watching television without looking down much.
Do both if: you like a craft for the evening and a different one for the weekend. Plenty of people keep a diamond canvas for television nights and a paint canvas for quiet afternoons.
Frequently asked questions
Is paint by numbers harder than diamond painting?
A little. Diamond painting needs no skill at all; paint by numbers needs a steady hand and some patience, and it improves quickly with practice.
Which takes longer?
Roughly similar for the same size. Diamond painting is slower per square inch but has no drying time; paint by numbers is faster per section with pauses for coats to dry.
Which looks better finished?
Different, not better. Diamond painting sparkles like a mosaic; paint by numbers looks like a painting. For decoration that does not read as a craft project, paint has the edge. For sparkle, diamonds.
Which is better for seniors?
Paint by numbers is usually kinder to backs, necks and eyes: it can be done at an easel, sitting back, with larger sections rather than a dense grid of tiny symbols.
Which is better for children?
Both from about eight. Paint by numbers teaches a real skill and makes less mess; diamond painting has thousands of small parts to keep track of.
Can I frame a diamond painting like a paint by numbers?
Diamond paintings usually go behind glass to protect the gems. A paint by numbers canvas can be sealed and stretched over bars with no glass, like any painting.
If you are coming over from diamonds
Start with something forgiving: a set of mini paintings to test the water, or a bold design from best sellers. Read the beginner tips before the first evening, and keep our troubleshooting guide to hand for the wobbly-edge stage. By the third canvas you will not need it.
