We sell paint by numbers, not diamond painting, so take this with the appropriate pinch of salt. Several of our customers do both, and this is written from what they tell us plus our own attempts at the other side.

What each one is

Paint by numbers: a printed canvas with numbered zones, acrylic pots to match, brushes. You paint. Diamond painting: a printed adhesive canvas with coded squares, bags of tiny resin "drills", a wax pen. You place one drill per square. Both end as a picture on canvas; the resemblance stops there.

The finished result

A completed paint by numbers canvas, varnished and framed, looks like a painting. People who did not watch you make it assume you painted it freehand. A finished diamond painting looks like a mosaic of glitter. It is striking under light, and it is unmistakably a diamond painting. Which you prefer on your wall is taste; which one guests mistake for art is not in doubt.

How the hours feel

Diamond painting is almost purely mechanical: pick up, place, repeat. Many people find that deeply soothing, and it is easier to do while watching television. Paint by numbers asks slightly more of you: brush control, keeping edges clean, thinking a little about order. It is harder to do in front of a screen, and it has a learning curve over the first canvas. Customers who do both describe diamond painting as "fidgeting" and paint by numbers as "making something". Both are valid evenings.

Cost to buy and to display

Kits are similar in price, roughly $15 to $30 for a 16x20 inch design in either hobby. The difference is afterwards. A diamond painting weighs more and must be sealed, and the drills can fall off at the edges over time; most people frame it under glass. A painted canvas can be stretched on $15 of bars and hung as is.

Mess and practicality

Diamond painting: hundreds of thousands of 2.5 mm drills, a tray that tips over, a vacuum cleaner that finds them for months. No water, no drying time. Paint by numbers: water cup, occasional drip, brushes to rinse, 24 hours of drying before framing. Neither is dangerous; acrylic is water-based and non-toxic.

Who should choose which

• Want something to do with your hands while watching a series: diamond painting.
• Want to end up with a painting you would hang in the living room: paint by numbers.
• Arthritis or shaky hands: diamond painting's pen grip is often easier than a fine brush.
• Children under ten: diamond painting is more forgiving. Over ten, either.
• Want to learn something transferable: paint by numbers teaches real brush control. Several customers have moved on to freehand acrylics; nobody moves from drills to mosaics.

If you are trying our side of it

Start with a design that shows off what paint does and drills cannot: soft gradients and blended petals. Florals are the clearest demonstration.

A similar comparison with needlework is in paint by numbers vs cross stitch.

Shipping is free to the US, Canada, the UK, the EU, Australia and New Zealand, with no minimum. Orders leave the workshop within 1 to 3 business days and arrive in 7 to 15. Put two kits in the cart and the third one is taken off at checkout, no code to type.