MediBang
MediBang is a Tokyo-based software company founded in 2014 that develops free and freemium digital painting and manga creation software (MediBang Paint and MediBang Paletta) for individual digital artists, illustrators, and manga creators across Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What MediBang does
MediBang Inc. (株式会社メディバン) is a Tokyo-based software company founded in December 2014 that develops and distributes digital painting and manga creation software for consumer and prosumer creators. The company's flagship product, MediBang Paint, is offered as a free, ad-supported application across Windows, Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Android, and is complemented by MediBang Paletta, a premium illustration app originally targeted at the iPad with Apple Pencil support and recently expanded to Android. The software stack emphasizes a lightweight, cross-platform desktop and mobile experience with customizable brushes, manga-specific tools (panel guides, screen tones, halftone layers), scan-and-import tradigital workflows, and cloud-based features including cloud storage, version history, team collaboration (Group Project), and cloud brush synchronization.
MediBang operates a product-led growth strategy anchored on a freemium model: revenue is generated through in-app advertising on the free version of MediBang Paint, one-time purchase of the premium MediBang Paletta app (regional pricing ranges of approximately $320 USD, ¥68 CNY, ₩14,000 KRW during Lunar New Year 2026 promotions), and a recurring annual MediBang Premium subscription that unlocks 200+ exclusive brushes, removes ads, and provides expanded team and cloud quotas. The customer base is primarily individual digital artists, illustrators, and manga creators, with strong engagement in Asia (Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan) and growing presence in North America and Europe through 10+ localized language editions. The product portfolio also includes JUMP PAINT, the official Shonen Jump manga creation software co-developed with Shueisha, and the ART street community platform where users publish works and participate in illustration contests.
At an organizational scale of 11-50 employees, the company is privately held and has not disclosed any external venture or growth funding. Traction is anchored by a 100 million cumulative-download milestone reached in October 2024, and recent product cadence includes MediBang Pro 2.0 (2024-08), Paletta Ver.4.0 with the Color Blend Brush (2025-12), and the Android release of MediBang Paletta (2026-05). The technology stack is dominated by Google Firebase, Google Mobile Ads, and IronSource ad mediation adapters, with no AI or ML capabilities disclosed in available source material.
MediBang firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MediBang
- Legal name
- 株式会社 MediBang
- Website
- https://medibangpaint.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- MediBang is a Tokyo-based software company founded in 2014 that develops free and freemium digital painting and manga creation software (MediBang Paint and MediBang Paletta) for individual digital artists, illustrators, and manga creators across Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where MediBang is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tokyo
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
MediBang business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Paid Application Purchase (MediBang Paletta): One-time purchase model for MediBang Paletta, the premium iPad illustration app. Users pay once to own the app permanently without subscription. International pricing varies by region: approximately $320 USD (sale), ¥68 CNY (China sale), ₩14,000 KRW (Korea sale). Original prices were $390 USD, ¥88 CNY, ₩19,000 KRW.
- MediBang Premium Subscription: Monthly or annual subscription service offering unlimited use of over 200 exclusive brushes and materials, no in-app ads, unlimited team members, unlimited version control, and additional cloud storage capacity.
- Advertising (Free Version): Free version of MediBang Paint displays ads (every 30 minutes in Paletta free version) to generate revenue from free users.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free Version with Ads |
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | MediBang Paletta Paid Version - Taiwan |
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | MediBang Paletta Paid Version - China |
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | MediBang Paletta Paid Version - Korea |
| Subscription | Annual | MediBang Premium Subscription |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
MediBang product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MediBang develops and distributes free, professional-grade digital painting and manga creation software across desktop and mobile platforms. Its core products — MediBang Paint and MediBang Paletta — provide customizable brushes, manga-specific tooling (panels, screen tones, halftone layers), cloud synchronization, and team collaboration, monetized through a freemium model with in-app advertising, one-time premium app purchases, and a MediBang Premium subscription service unlocking 200+ exclusive brushes and additional cloud storage.
Product overview
MediBang offers a suite of free digital painting and manga creation software spanning desktop (Windows/Mac) and mobile platforms (iPad, iPhone, Android). The flagship products include MediBang Paint (free version with ads) and MediBang Paint Pro (paid desktop version), available as cross-platform applications. MediBang Paletta is a newer, premium iPad-focused illustration app with a free tier (ad-supported) and one-time purchase option. The company also operates MediBang Premium, a subscription service that removes ads and unlocks over 200 exclusive brushes and materials across all products. Supporting platforms include the cloud-based ART street community, Group Project collaboration tools, Cloud storage and synchronization, and companion tools such as MangaName, MediBang Colors, and MediBang Neppuri. JUMP PAINT is an official Shonen Jump co-branded manga creation tool. The desktop version history traces back to MediBang Paint Pro (renamed from MediBang Paint in 2015), while MediBang Paletta represents a more recent mobile-first premium offering.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- MediBang Paint: Free digital painting and manga creation software available for Windows, Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Android
- MediBang Paletta
- JUMP PAINT
- MediBang Premium
Products and services
- MediBang Paint (Desktop) Free digital painting and manga creation application for Windows (64-bit and 32-bit) and Mac, available for direct download from medibangpaint.com. Offers customizable brushes, layers, manga templates, cloud synchronization, and team collaboration.
- MediBang Paint for iPad Free digital painting and manga creation app for iPad, supporting Apple Pencil with pressure sensitivity, layers, brushes, and comic creation tools including manga templates and panel splitting.
- MediBang Paint for iPhone Free digital painting and manga creation app for iPhone with drawing tools, layer support, manga features, and export options in PNG/JPG formats.
- MediBang Paint for Android Free digital painting and manga creation app for Android devices with brushes, layers, manga templates, cloud sync, and team collaboration features.
- MediBang Paletta Premium illustration app designed specifically for iPad with Apple Pencil, featuring customizable brushes, artistic filters, customizable gesture controls, scan-and-import for traditional art, cloud text fonts, and offline drawing capability. Available as a free version (with ads every 30 minutes) and as a one-time purchase version.
- JUMP PAINT Official Shueisha manga creation software and app for manga creators, distributed by MediBang and co-branded with the publisher of Weekly Shonen Jump, providing access to manga creation tools and a gateway for discovery by Shueisha.
- MediBang Premium Subscription service offering unlimited use of over 200 exclusive brushes and materials, removal of in-app ads, unlimited team members, unlimited version control, and additional cloud storage capacity across MediBang Paint products, available on monthly or annual billing.
Quantifiable outcome
- 100 million+ cumulative downloads of MediBang Paint applications
Companies that use MediBang
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
MediBang technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration27 records
Feature9 records
MediBang partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Shueisha (JUMP PAINT)coreShueisha, publisher of Weekly Shonen Jump, partnered with MediBang to create JUMP PAINT, the official manga creation software and app. JUMP PAINT is powered by MediBang technology and distributed as Shueisha's official tool for manga creators, providing access to manga creation tools and serving as a gateway for aspiring manga artists to potentially be discovered by Shueisha.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
MediBang competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Autodesk Sketchbook: Autodesk's Sketchbook is a cross-platform sketching and painting app previously positioned for professionals. It overlaps with MediBang's drawing functionality across desktop and mobile, and competes for the same illustrator and designer user base with a different brand backing and feature emphasis.
- Corel Painter: Corel Painter is a long-established professional natural-media painting application. It competes with MediBang in the professional digital illustration space, particularly for traditional-media-style painting, but at a much higher price point and with a desktop-focused product.
- Adobe (Photoshop, Fresco, Illustrator): Adobe is the dominant creative software suite and competes with MediBang across painting (Fresco), photo/raster editing (Photoshop), and vector (Illustrator). While MediBang targets a different price point and feature depth, Adobe's subscription bundle and brand power make it the benchmark competitor in any digital creator's toolset consideration.
Direct peers
- Celsys (Clip Studio Paint): Celsys develops Clip Studio Paint, the dominant manga and illustration software used by professional illustrators worldwide. It is the most direct competitor to MediBang Paint in the manga creation category, offering similar paneling, screentones, and brush tools but with stronger professional positioning and an EX version tier.
- ibisPaint: ibisPaint is a mobile-first digital painting app with a similar freemium + premium subscription model to MediBang Paint. It has a large global user base (especially in Asia), offers comparable brushes, layers, and manga features, and competes for the same casual-to-prosumer mobile illustrator segment.
- Procreate (Savage Interactive): Savage Interactive's Procreate is the leading premium iPad illustration app, directly comparable to MediBang Paletta. Both target the Apple Pencil/iPad illustration segment, but Procreate is positioned as a premium one-time purchase tool with no ads, competing for the same prosumer iPad artists.
- Krita Foundation (Krita): Krita is a free, open-source digital painting application popular with concept artists and illustrators. It competes with MediBang Paint in the free-tier drawing app space, particularly among hobbyists and budget-conscious creators on desktop platforms, and offers a comparable brush engine and painting workflow.
Others
- Shueisha (JUMP PAINT co-brand parent): Shueisha is MediBang's strategic partner for JUMP PAINT and the publisher of Weekly Shonen Jump. While primarily a publisher rather than a software competitor, Shueisha shapes the manga creator ecosystem and is both a partner (JUMP PAINT) and a potential gatekeeper for the professional manga market that MediBang targets.
Regional players
- LINE (LINE Manga / LINE Digital Frontier): LY Corporation (LINE) operates LINE Manga, one of the largest manga distribution platforms in Japan and Taiwan. While not a direct drawing tool competitor, LINE operates in the same manga creation-to-distribution ecosystem that MediBang targets, making it an adjacent player shaping the manga creator economy.
Emerging players
- Concepts App (TopHatch): Concepts is a vector-based sketching and illustration app focused on iPad and Apple Pencil with an infinite canvas approach. It competes with MediBang Paletta for the iPad prosumer illustrator segment, particularly among design-oriented users, with a different (vector-first) technical approach.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
MediBang social profiles
Digital presenceMediBang financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MediBang leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
MediBang funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MediBang M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about MediBang
What does MediBang do?
MediBang develops and distributes free, professional-grade digital painting and manga creation software across desktop and mobile platforms. Its core products — MediBang Paint and MediBang Paletta — provide customizable brushes, manga-specific tooling (panels, screen tones, halftone layers), cloud synchronization, and team collaboration, monetized through a freemium model with in-app advertising, one-time premium app purchases, and a MediBang Premium subscription service unlocking 200+ exclusive brushes and additional cloud storage.
Is MediBang a public or private company?
MediBang is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was MediBang founded?
MediBang was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is MediBang based?
MediBang is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does MediBang make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Paid Application Purchase (MediBang Paletta) is the primary driver. The others are mediBang Premium Subscription and advertising (Free Version).
Who are MediBang's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Autodesk Sketchbook, Corel Painter and Adobe (Photoshop, Fresco, Illustrator). Direct peers are Celsys (Clip Studio Paint), ibisPaint, Procreate (Savage Interactive) and Krita Foundation (Krita). Shueisha (JUMP PAINT co-brand parent) is listed as an others. LINE (LINE Manga / LINE Digital Frontier) is listed as a regional player. Concepts App (TopHatch) is listed as an emerging player.
Does MediBang have an API?
No public API is recorded for MediBang.