The Best Miniature Paint Brands in 2026: Citadel vs Vallejo vs The Army Painter vs Scale75

There has never been more choice in hobby paint. Here's an honest look at the four brands most miniature painters actually reach for, and how to mix them without guesswork.

Citadel

Games Workshop's own range is the de-facto standard. Huge color selection, excellent Contrast and Shade ranges, and tutorials for everything. Downsides: pots dry out, and it's the most expensive per ml.

Vallejo

Game Color and Model Color are beloved for dropper bottles (no waste, precise mixing) and a massive catalog. Great value. Model Air is a favorite for airbrushing.

The Army Painter

Warpaints and the newer Fanatic line offer strong value and a famous Speedpaint range for fast results. A solid all-rounder, especially for army painters on a budget.

Scale75

Artist-grade pigments with a matte, highly blendable finish. Favored for display pieces and faces. A steeper learning curve, but the metallics and fleshtones are superb.

Which should you buy?

• Starting out / following GW guides: Citadel.
• Best value + mixing: Vallejo.
• Speed and big armies: The Army Painter.
• Display-level blending: Scale75.

You don't have to pick just one

Most painters mix brands. The trick is knowing the equivalents so a tutorial's Citadel recipe still works with your Vallejo collection. brushmatch matches across all of these brands at once, so you can build a palette from whatever you already own.

Match paints across every brand →