The Store version of supports plugins and all other features that make the desktop version one of the most popular free image editors on the Windows platform. The creator of accepts donations on the official program website to support continued development of the program. If you buy Paint.NET in the Windows Store, you'll be supporting its development directly (normally we ask for a donation).

Windows users who purchase the application support the development of the application directly according to the article's description. The Windows Store version of is available for $8.99 regularly, but currently for an introductory price of $5.99. The biggest difference between the two versions is that the UWP version of is not a free application like the desktop version. The Windows Store version of seems to be a converted port of the desktop program that supports pretty much all the functionality of its Win32 counterpart. is a popular image editor for Windows that is available for free. While developers may add UWP specific features to it or change some of the converted code, it is less time consuming and in best case an automated process that requires little development time.

The converter does all the hard lifting in best case.

It is not that uncommon for Windows programs to be published as Windows apps to the Store thanks to Microsoft releasing tools like the Desktop Bridge converter which help developers port their software programs to the store with minimal effort.

Paint.NET 5.0.9 for windows instal