[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"guide-/guides/cheaper-alternatives-to-citadel-paints":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"category":489,"date":490,"description":491,"extension":492,"heroImage":493,"intro":494,"lastUpdated":490,"marketEditions":495,"meta":496,"navigation":495,"noShopFooter":497,"path":498,"related":499,"seo":502,"shopSearch":503,"stem":504,"tags":505,"__hash__":506},"guides/guides/cheaper-alternatives-to-citadel-paints.md","Cheaper Alternatives to Citadel Paints - Price Per ml",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":479},"minimark",[9,13,20,25,28,138,153,193,197,200,222,225,229,291,295,298,387,391,394,397,405,409,412,444,452,456,463,466,469],[10,11,12],"p",{},"\"Are Citadel paints overpriced?\" is almost always asked the wrong way round. People compare the number on the shelf edge - one pot against one bottle - when the pots are not the same size. A Citadel Base pot and a Vallejo Model Color dropper can carry a similar price and hold very different amounts of paint, and the gap is bigger than most painters realise.",[10,14,15,16],{},"This site tracks every range's price across the shops that stock it, so the honest version of the question is answerable: ",[17,18,19],"strong",{},"what does a millilitre of paint cost you, in each range, today?",[21,22,24],"h2",{"id":23},"start-with-the-pot-sizes","Start with the pot sizes",[10,26,27],{},"These are fixed facts about the ranges, and they do most of the work before a single price is involved.",[29,30,31,44],"table",{},[32,33,34],"thead",{},[35,36,37,41],"tr",{},[38,39,40],"th",{},"Range",[38,42,43],{},"Bottle",[45,46,47,56,64,72,80,87,94,101,108,115,122,130],"tbody",{},[35,48,49,53],{},[50,51,52],"td",{},"Citadel Base, Layer, Dry, Glaze",[50,54,55],{},"12ml",[35,57,58,61],{},[50,59,60],{},"Citadel Shade and Contrast",[50,62,63],{},"18ml",[35,65,66,69],{},[50,67,68],{},"Reaper Master Series",[50,70,71],{},"14.78ml",[35,73,74,77],{},[50,75,76],{},"Vallejo Model Color, Model Air",[50,78,79],{},"17ml",[35,81,82,85],{},[50,83,84],{},"Scale75 Scale Color, Fantasy & Games",[50,86,79],{},[35,88,89,92],{},[50,90,91],{},"Green Stuff World Acrylic Colors",[50,93,79],{},[35,95,96,99],{},[50,97,98],{},"Vallejo Game Color, Xpress Color",[50,100,63],{},[35,102,103,106],{},[50,104,105],{},"Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic, Speedpaint 2.0",[50,107,63],{},[35,109,110,113],{},[50,111,112],{},"AK Interactive 3rd Gen",[50,114,63],{},[35,116,117,120],{},[50,118,119],{},"Privateer Press Formula P3",[50,121,63],{},[35,123,124,127],{},[50,125,126],{},"Monument Pro Acryl",[50,128,129],{},"22ml",[35,131,132,135],{},[50,133,134],{},"Vallejo Premium Airbrush Color",[50,136,137],{},"60ml",[10,139,140,141,144,145,148,149,152],{},"Against a 12ml Citadel Base pot, a 17ml dropper is ",[17,142,143],{},"42% more paint",", an 18ml dropper is ",[17,146,147],{},"50% more",", and a 22ml Pro Acryl bottle is ",[17,150,151],{},"83% more",". Two pots at the same price are not the same purchase.",[10,154,155,156,161,162,161,166,161,170,161,174,161,178,182,183,187,188,192],{},"That is why the comparison a shelf edge invites is the wrong one, and why every paint page here shows the per-millilitre figure next to the price at each shop: see ",[157,158,160],"a",{"href":159},"/paints/citadel","Citadel",", ",[157,163,165],{"href":164},"/paints/vallejo","Vallejo",[157,167,169],{"href":168},"/paints/army-painter","Army Painter",[157,171,173],{"href":172},"/paints/ak-interactive","AK Interactive",[157,175,177],{"href":176},"/paints/scale75","Scale75",[157,179,181],{"href":180},"/paints/green-stuff-world","Green Stuff World"," and ",[157,184,186],{"href":185},"/paints/monument","Monument",". For sets rather than single pots, ",[157,189,191],{"href":190},"/guides/best-miniature-paint-sets","every paint set is ranked by price per millilitre"," with its exact contents.",[21,194,196],{"id":195},"the-dropper-bottle-advantage-is-bigger-than-the-label-says","The dropper-bottle advantage is bigger than the label says",[10,198,199],{},"Bottle size is only half of it. A Citadel pot is a flip-top tub you dip a brush into; a dropper bottle dispenses drops through a nozzle. Three consequences, all in the dropper's favour:",[201,202,203,210,216],"ul",{},[204,205,206,209],"li",{},[17,207,208],{},"Nothing skins over."," An open pot dries at the rim and on the lid every time you use it. A sealed dropper does not.",[204,211,212,215],{},[17,213,214],{},"You use what you meant to use."," Dipping loads more paint than a model needs, and the excess dries on the palette.",[204,217,218,221],{},[17,219,220],{},"Thinning is repeatable."," \"Three drops of paint, one of water\" is a recipe you can repeat; \"a brushful\" is not.",[10,223,224],{},"None of that appears in a per-millilitre figure, and all of it makes the real gap wider than the arithmetic.",[21,226,228],{"id":227},"the-substitutes-range-by-range","The substitutes, range by range",[201,230,231,238,251,258,269,276,283],{},[204,232,233,237],{},[17,234,235],{},[157,236,165],{"href":164}," - the default answer. Model Color is the realistic/military line at 17ml, Game Color the fantasy line at 18ml, and between them they cover almost anything a Citadel recipe asks for. Both are dropper bottles.",[204,239,240,245,246,250],{},[17,241,242],{},[157,243,244],{"href":168},"The Army Painter"," - Warpaints Fanatic at 18ml, with the strongest washes and metallics of the budget ranges and the widest set coverage. The ",[157,247,249],{"href":248},"/sets/warpaints-fanatic-starter-set","Warpaints Fanatic Starter Set"," includes primer, a brush and a practice miniature.",[204,252,253,257],{},[17,254,255],{},[157,256,173],{"href":172}," - 18ml 3rd Gen bottles, exceptional on historical and vehicle colours, thinner out of the bottle than Citadel and worth a shake and a moment's patience.",[204,259,260,264,265,268],{},[17,261,262],{},[157,263,181],{"href":180}," - 17ml, and the themed six- and eight-paint sets are consistently among the best value on our ",[157,266,267],{"href":190},"set ranking",".",[204,270,271,275],{},[17,272,273],{},[157,274,177],{"href":176}," - 17ml artist-grade paints with a very matt finish. Not a budget choice; a quality one that happens to be in bigger bottles.",[204,277,278,282],{},[17,279,280],{},[157,281,126],{"href":185}," - 22ml, the largest standard miniature bottle here, and bought direct from the maker.",[204,284,285,290],{},[17,286,287],{},[157,288,68],{"href":289},"/paints/reaper"," - 14.78ml (a US half-ounce), so a smaller step up than the others, but a very deep colour range.",[21,292,294],{"id":293},"the-swaps-that-are-genuinely-straight","The swaps that are genuinely straight",[10,296,297],{},"These are our editorial calls, not official equivalences, and they are the four places where a Citadel pot has an in-hand substitute that behaves the same way on the model:",[201,299,300,321,340,357],{},[204,301,302,305,306,310,311,315,316,320],{},[17,303,304],{},"Black."," ",[157,307,309],{"href":308},"/paint/citadel-abaddon-black","Abaddon Black"," does nothing that ",[157,312,314],{"href":313},"/paint/vallejo-black","Vallejo Black"," or ",[157,317,319],{"href":318},"/paint/army-painter-matt-black","Army Painter Matt Black"," does not.",[204,322,323,305,326,330,331,315,335,339],{},[17,324,325],{},"White.",[157,327,329],{"href":328},"/paint/citadel-white-scar","White Scar"," against ",[157,332,334],{"href":333},"/paint/vallejo-white","Vallejo White",[157,336,338],{"href":337},"/paint/army-painter-matt-white","Army Painter Matt White",". All three need two or three coats; none of them is a shortcut.",[204,341,342,305,345,330,349,315,353,268],{},[17,343,344],{},"Steel.",[157,346,348],{"href":347},"/paint/citadel-leadbelcher","Leadbelcher",[157,350,352],{"href":351},"/paint/vallejo-gunmetal","Vallejo Gunmetal",[157,354,356],{"href":355},"/paint/army-painter-gun-metal","Army Painter Gun Metal",[204,358,359,305,362,330,366,315,370,374,375,330,379,315,383,268],{},[17,360,361],{},"The two workhorse washes.",[157,363,365],{"href":364},"/paint/citadel-nuln-oil","Nuln Oil",[157,367,369],{"href":368},"/paint/army-painter-dark-tone","Army Painter Dark Tone",[157,371,373],{"href":372},"/paint/vallejo-black-wash","Vallejo Black Wash","; ",[157,376,378],{"href":377},"/paint/citadel-agrax-earthshade","Agrax Earthshade",[157,380,382],{"href":381},"/paint/army-painter-strong-tone","Army Painter Strong Tone",[157,384,386],{"href":385},"/paint/vallejo-umber-wash","Vallejo Umber Wash",[388,389],"paint-products",{"ids":390},"citadel-abaddon-black,vallejo-black,army-painter-matt-black",[388,392],{"ids":393},"citadel-white-scar,vallejo-white,army-painter-matt-white",[388,395],{"ids":396},"citadel-leadbelcher,vallejo-gunmetal,army-painter-gun-metal",[10,398,399,400,404],{},"For everything else - a named Citadel colour in a recipe you want to follow in another brand - use the ",[157,401,403],{"href":402},"/tools/paint-matcher","paint matcher",", which compares the actual colour values rather than guessing from the name. A short name matching a longer product is the single commonest way a swap goes wrong.",[21,406,408],{"id":407},"when-citadel-is-still-worth-it","When Citadel is still worth it",[10,410,411],{},"Being honest about this is the point of the guide, and there are four real cases.",[413,414,415,421,427,438],"ol",{},[204,416,417,420],{},[17,418,419],{},"You are following a Citadel recipe and you are new."," Every official Warhammer guide, every box insert and most of YouTube names Citadel pots. Substituting while you are still learning what a recipe is doing adds a variable you cannot yet judge.",[204,422,423,426],{},[17,424,425],{},"The Shade range."," Citadel Shades are 18ml - the same as a rival's standard bottle - so the size penalty vanishes exactly where the paints are strongest. Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade have very good substitutes; they are still excellent.",[204,428,429,432,433,437],{},[17,430,431],{},"Contrast."," Also 18ml, also the widest and most consistent range of its type. See ",[157,434,436],{"href":435},"/guides/best-contrast-paints","best contrast paints"," for how it compares with Speedpaint and Xpress Color.",[204,439,440,443],{},[17,441,442],{},"You can buy it today."," A paint you can pick up in a shop on a Saturday beats a cheaper one that arrives on Thursday, if Saturday is when you paint.",[10,445,446,447,451],{},"What is ",[448,449,450],"em",{},"not"," a good reason: \"Citadel covers better.\" The current Base range covers well, and so do Vallejo Game Color, Warpaints Fanatic and Pro Acryl. Coverage is a property of individual pigments - yellows and reds are difficult in every brand - not of the label.",[21,453,455],{"id":454},"the-practical-answer","The practical answer",[10,457,458,459,462],{},"Buy your washes and contrasts wherever you like, because the pot sizes match. Buy your ",[17,460,461],{},"bulk colours"," - the black, the white, the two or three army colours you will empty - in droppers, where the 42-83% extra volume compounds over the ten or twenty bottles you will actually own.",[388,464],{"ids":465},"citadel-nuln-oil,army-painter-dark-tone,citadel-agrax-earthshade,army-painter-strong-tone",[10,467,468],{},"Then check the figure rather than trusting this page: prices move weekly, and every paint page here shows the current one per shop, per millilitre.",[470,471,476],"affiliate-shop",{"gear":472,"label":473,"search":474,"tid":475},"vallejo-game-color-starter,warpaints-fanatic-most-wanted","Shop dropper-bottle paint sets","vallejo model color paint set","cheaper-alternatives-to-citadel-paints",[10,477,478],{},"A dropper-bottle starter set is the cheapest way to move off single pots.",{"title":480,"searchDepth":481,"depth":481,"links":482},"",2,[483,484,485,486,487,488],{"id":23,"depth":481,"text":24},{"id":195,"depth":481,"text":196},{"id":227,"depth":481,"text":228},{"id":293,"depth":481,"text":294},{"id":407,"depth":481,"text":408},{"id":454,"depth":481,"text":455},"Buying Guides","2026-09-05","Citadel pots hold 12ml; most rivals hold 17-22ml. How the main miniature paint ranges compare per millilitre, which swaps are safe, and when Citadel still wins.","md","/images/guides/cheaper-alternatives-to-citadel-paints.webp","The comparison that matters is per millilitre, not per pot",true,{},false,"/guides/cheaper-alternatives-to-citadel-paints",[500,501],"best-paint-for-miniatures","best-miniature-paint-sets",{"title":5,"description":491},"miniature paint dropper bottle set","guides/cheaper-alternatives-to-citadel-paints",null,"FphdHSU5KhrE4nlPGjLt6eHsJC2ALovtaWRhbyreBHo"]