Citadel vs Vallejo Paints
Roughly double the price for about a third less paint. What the premium actually buys.
The short answer
Vallejo gives you more paint for less money in 18 ml dropper bottles, with a full color wheel including metallics. Citadel's Base paints cover better in a single coat and, more importantly for a beginner, every tutorial names Citadel colors. Start on Citadel if you are following guides, switch to Vallejo once you are choosing your own colors.
The quick version
| # | Product | Best for | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Citadel Colour: Warhammer 40,000 Paints + Tools SetThe only starter set that hands you paints, a brush, clippers and a moldline scraper at once, so nothing else is needed to finish a first squad. | Following tutorials literally | 9.0 | Check price on Amazon |
| 2 |  Vallejo Game Color Introduction Set (72.299)Sixteen 18 ml bottles covering the whole color wheel plus three metallics. The cheapest honest route to a complete working palette. | Most paint per dollar | 8.4 | Check price on Amazon |
| 3 | Citadel Colour: Base Paint SetFifteen of the most-used Base colors in one box. The right second purchase once a starter set has told you which colors you actually run out of. | Best single-coat coverage | 7.8 | Check price on Amazon |
Scores are our own editorial read against the criteria stated below — not a lab measurement and not a user rating. Tap a row for the full write-up.
The numbers, as published
A Citadel pot holds 12 ml. A Vallejo Game Color dropper holds 17 or 18 ml. Vallejo is also the cheaper of the two per unit at typical retail. Put those together and Vallejo is substantially less per milliliter — the gap is large enough that it is not worth arguing about and large enough to notice across a full palette.
We do not publish prices here, because they move constantly and a number on a page is wrong within weeks. Check the current price at the retailer; the volumes above are from the manufacturers and do not change.
The comparison
| Citadel | Vallejo | |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | 12 ml | 17–18 ml |
| Format | Flip-top pot | Dropper bottle |
| Single-coat coverage | Better, especially yellows and whites | Good; some colors want two coats |
| Consistency from the container | Thicker | Thinner, more pre-thinned |
| Named in tutorials | Almost always | Rarely |
| Range breadth | Fantasy and sci-fi focused | Also covers scale-model, air and metal lines |
| Washes | Shade range, excellent flow | Game Color Wash, cheaper, less predictable |
| Shelf life once open | Lid seal degrades, paint can skin | Dropper does not skin |
What the premium actually buys
Two things, and only one of them is paint.
Opacity on difficult colors. Citadel Base paints are the most opaque in the hobby. For a mid-tone blue or green, the difference against Vallejo is small enough to ignore. For yellow, orange, red and white over a dark primer, it is real — one Citadel coat where Vallejo wants two or three. If your scheme is bright, that is worth money.
The naming ecosystem. This is the bigger one and it is not about chemistry at all. Official painting guides, box-art recipes, the Citadel Colour app and an enormous share of online tutorials all specify Citadel colors. Owning them turns a tutorial into a set of literal instructions. That is worth a lot for the first few months and nothing afterwards.
A conversion chart buys you most of the second benefit for free, which is why it is worth having bookmarked whichever range you choose.
Where Vallejo is simply better
Beyond price:
- Pre-thinned consistency. Vallejo comes out of the bottle closer to the consistency you want on the model, which means less thinning and fewer mistakes while you are learning to thin.
- Breadth beyond miniatures. Surface Primer, Model Air, Metal Color — Vallejo makes airbrush-ready primers and lacquer metallics that Citadel has no equivalent of. If you are heading towards an airbrush or model kits, that matters.
- Droppers do not skin. A Citadel pot opened two years ago often has a film under the lid. A dropper does not.
Pick this if
- You are in your first few months and learning from guides: Citadel. Pay the premium for the instruction-matching and stop worrying about it.
- Your scheme is heavy on yellow, orange, red or white: Citadel Base for those colors specifically, Vallejo for the rest. Mixing ranges is fine.
- You are painting a large army, or you already know your colors: Vallejo. The premium buys you nothing you still need.
- You are moving towards airbrushing or scale models: Vallejo, because the supporting ranges exist.
If Army Painter is also in the running, the three-way comparison has all of them side by side, and the picks are in the starter set roundup.
The picks in full
Citadel Colour: Warhammer 40,000 Paints + Tools Set
The only starter set that hands you paints, a brush, clippers and a moldline scraper at once, so nothing else is needed to finish a first squad.
What it gets right
- Covers all five Citadel paint types, so tutorials that name a Citadel color just work
- The clippers and moldline scraper mean you can go from box to painted without a second order
- Agrax Earthshade and Armageddon Dust are in the box, so shading and basing are solved on day one
Who it is wrong for
- Wrong buy if you are not painting Space Marines or Tyranids — the 13 colors are chosen for those two schemes
- 12 ml pots are the most expensive way to buy paint per milliliter
- The starter brush is a starter brush; you will replace it
Scored against this page’s criteria
Specs from the manufacturer: Citadel product page
We do not publish prices. Amazon shows the current one, which is the only one that is ever right. #ad · how this is funded
Vallejo Game Color Introduction Set (72.299)
Sixteen 18 ml bottles covering the whole color wheel plus three metallics. The cheapest honest route to a complete working palette.
What it gets right
- 288 ml of paint in one box — roughly double a Citadel starter set for comparable money
- Includes the three metallics most sets leave out, so you are not buying silver separately
- Spans the full color wheel rather than one faction's scheme, so it fits any army
Who it is wrong for
- No brush, no primer, no shade — it is paint and nothing else
- Some colors need two thin coats where a Citadel Base needs one
- Vallejo names match no tutorial you will watch; keep a conversion chart open
Scored against this page’s criteria
Specs from the manufacturer: Vallejo product page
We do not publish prices. Amazon shows the current one, which is the only one that is ever right. #ad · how this is funded
Citadel Colour: Base Paint Set
Fifteen of the most-used Base colors in one box. The right second purchase once a starter set has told you which colors you actually run out of.
What it gets right
- Base paints are the opaque workhorses; this is the range you empty fastest
- Every color name matches the official painting guides exactly
- Cheaper per pot than buying the same fifteen individually
Who it is wrong for
- No brush, no tools, no shades — this is a refill, not a starter kit
- Paying Citadel prices for colors Vallejo sells in bigger bottles for less
- Fifteen Base colors with no Shade in the box leaves you unable to finish a model
Scored against this page’s criteria
Specs from the manufacturer: Citadel product page
We do not publish prices. Amazon shows the current one, which is the only one that is ever right. #ad · how this is funded
FAQ
Questions people actually ask
Is Citadel paint worth the extra cost per ml?
Can you mix Citadel and Vallejo paints?
Does Vallejo cover as well as Citadel?
Is Vallejo Game Color or Model Color better for miniatures?
More in Miniature Paints and Paint Sets, or start from the beginning with what to buy first.
Sources
- Games Workshop / Citadel Colour — official product rangechecked October 2026
- Acrylicos Vallejo — official product rangechecked October 2026