Brushes are a painter’s most important tool — you can’t possibly function without a good set of paint brushes. They provide you with the control you need over the amount of paint you’re applying to a surface while also allowing you to create precise masterpieces. Different kinds of brushes are meant for different mediums, and since there are so many mediums to choose from, there are equally as many (if not more) kinds of brushes to pick from as well!
When you pick the right paint brush, you allow your creativity to flow from your mind to your hands and onto your canvas through that brush. To help you determine which brushes you should use, we’ve compiled a list of the top-rated paint brush sets of 2025. Let’s take a look!
The Tritart Paint Brush Set is a great choice for painters of any skill level. The set includes 25 durable synthetic hair brushes, providing plenty of options for a variety of painting projects. These brushes come with two mixing pallets to make creating custom and unique blends easier. The tips of the brushes are designed to be absorbent and soft, providing a smooth and even application of paint. The bristles do not split or shed, so they are capable of producing fine details on a wide variety of surfaces.
Whether you are painting on canvas, detailing fantasy figurines, or doing face painting, this set is suitable for acrylics, watercolors, and oil paints. The handles of these brushes have been designed for maximum comfort and ease. This allows you to maintain precise control over your work without sacrificing grip. Plus, the handles feature a secure grip that prevents slipping and helps you stay in control during lengthy painting sessions. This paint brush set is an ideal choice for both amateurs and professionals alike and the best overall on our list.
This paint brush set by Benicci is the perfect choice for amateurs and professionals alike. This set contains a dozen brushes, which include all the sizes and shapes of brush you’ll ever need. These brushes look great and work even better regardless of whether you’re going to be working with watercolors, acrylics, or oil paints.
The nylon bristles of these brushes are capable of holding a decent amount of paint, while the ergonomic handle is easy to grip and provides you with excellent control. This ideal set of paintbrushes also comes at an affordable price. Plus, the manufacturer is a well-known brand in the art industry, so it’s hard to go wrong with their products.
The Artlicious Paint Brush Set is a fantastic value pack that offers 15 different heads and sizes, making it easy to find the perfect brush stroke for any art project. The quality materials provide a variety of different shapes and textures to work with. These brushes can be used with any medium, canvas, or craft. They work great with watercolor paints and even washable paints, which makes them perfect for children’s projects.
This set is extremely versatile and can be used for any artistic occasion, such as school projects, children’s birthday parties, camps, and more. It also makes an excellent gift idea for birthdays or holidays. Your children will love creating amazing art projects with these brushes! The Artlicious Paint Brush Set is a great choice for any artist looking for a variety of high-quality brush heads to work with.
CONDA’s 24-piece professional paint brush set contains brushes of various sizes and shapes, all organized in a handy nylon roll-up carrying case. The brushes themselves are of premium quality. They’ve all undergone rigorous testing to ensure that the nylon bristles provide excellent performance on all surfaces. Incredibly easy to clean, the intensive ferrules of these brushes do not fall out easily.
Each one of these brushes makes smooth strokes, and the bristles maintain their shape even when they’re being used. The wooden handle is super light and easy to hold, so you can paint for hours without your fingers starting to ache.
This paint brush set by Artstorys contains 20 brushes, coming in a variety of 10 different sizes. The handle is made of high-quality wood covered with a UV coating, which ensures that the paint or wood doesn’t chip off when soaked in water. The heads of the brushes are tipped with nylon hairs, which are held tightly in place to minimize shedding. These brushes are great for beginners, hobbyists and professionals alike.
Easy to clean, all these brushes need is a mixture of soap and water, and almost any kind of paint will come off. As long as you avoid scrubbing the hairs, the brush tips will spring back into place with every stroke.
The ARTIFY Paint Brush Set is a set of 10 paint brushes containing a diverse variety of decent-quality brushes. It includes round brushes that are great for detailing and fine lining, as well as thick, flat ones that are suitable for covering large areas. This unique brush set also includes angular, filberts, and fan brushes. Plus, they’re easy to take with you anywhere, thanks to the included convenient storage case.
The brush hairs won’t shed onto your paintings, and the ferrule will hold tight to the wooden handle. The bristles themselves are super soft and capable of holding paints of varying consistencies. This set of paint brushes is designed to be able to sit in water for up to two days without being damaged in any way.
If you’re new to painting, you may not want to spend too much money on a set of paint brushes. The AROIC Paint Brush Set is the perfect choice for you. The package contains six packs of 10 paint brushes each. Apart from the very reasonable pricing, these brushes offer excellent quality and smooth color application, especially if you need them for acrylic painting.
While there aren’t many large brushes in either pack, the brushes included — flat, round, filbert, and liner brushes — are excellent for working on different line widths. Each brush features hair that is made of synthetic nylon that’s soft and flexible.
Picking the right set of paintbrushes can be a daunting task, especially if you’re new to painting. Since there are so many options on the market to choose from and since there are so many different painting techniques to pick from as well, paint brush shopping requires a bit of reading up before you head out to the store. This buying guide will tell you everything you need to know!
Brushes with natural hair or bristles use hair from goats, hogs, ponies, horses or sables. Each of these has its own features. Goat hair is coarse and has little to no spring, while pony hair is soft and strong. Sable hair is the best for paintbrushes because it’s soft, springy, and flexible, which makes it perfect for watercolor and oil paints.
Synthetic bristles are made of either nylon or polyester. Brushes with synthetic hair are typically cheaper but more durable.
Paint brushes are available in a variety of different shapes and sizes, all meant for different purposes. Angular brushes are for highlighting, shading and filling in small areas. Daggered brushes are ideal for striping and freehand lettering, while fan-shaped brushes are made for feathering, blending and smoothing. Grainers are designed for producing repetitive lines, and liner brushes are made for fine lining and detailing. A few others include deerfoot, eggberts, filberts, mops, rounded and spotters.
The size of a brush is usually indicated on the handle to show how big or wide the brush is. The greater the number, the bigger or wider the brush. Larger brushes are best for covering big areas, while smaller ones are meant for covering small areas, lettering and fine lining.
While most brushes can be used for almost all mediums, professionals tend to use different brushes for different mediums. Stiff synthetic brushes are more suitable for acrylic paints because natural ones can get damaged by the chemicals in acrylics. Hog bristles are best for oil paints because hog hairs are strong and durable. For watercolors, natural brushes with sable or squirrel hair are ideal, as these brushes are able to retain their shape for longer. Soft synthetic brushes work for watercolors as well.
If you have a set of synthetic paint brushes, you can use a mix of water and mild soap to remove the fresh wet paint from the bristles. For natural-haired brushes, you’ll need a conditioning brush dip and a clean cotton rag. After they’ve been cleaned and conditioned, the brushes should be left out to dry until your next painting session.
You should designate different brushes for different purposes and mediums. You should also try to store your brushes in their original package or bag once you’re done using them to maintain their original shape. Avoid soaking them in solvent or water for too long because that could damage the bristles and distort their shape permanently. Also, never store your brush on its tip because that can lead to curling.
You could, but keep in mind that might affect the final product. This is because different brushes are meant for applying different kinds of paints because they all hold different mediums in specific ways. A brush meant for oil painting may not work as well if you use it for watercolor.
You should designate a specific brush for applying varnish and keep that aside for this specific purpose. You don’t want to use the same brush you’re using to apply varnish to apply your paint.
As often as you need to! If you notice that your brushes are starting to wear out and you’re not getting the desired results out of them, it might be a good time to buy a new set.
When comparing two types of products, in this case, natural versus synthetic fibers, the quality of each particular type matters greatly. A low-quality natural fiber will not beat a decent-quality synthetic one. In regards to equal-quality fibers, each has its place. Some artists thing that synthetic fibers are better with water-based paints and natural fibers are better with oil.
Round paintbrushes are among the most commonly used. They are very versatile, which makes them popular. Other specialty heads create specific lines which are less commonly used.
At Art Life Today, our passion for arts and crafts is at the heart of everything we do. We understand that the right tools and materials can make all the difference in your creative projects, so we take our responsibility as reviewers seriously. Our goal is to help you discover the best products that will inspire your creativity and bring your artistic visions to life.