A paint by numbers kit takes anywhere from 5 hours to 40+ hours, depending on the canvas size, the difficulty level, and how many paint colours are in the kit. A small 20×30cm beginner kit is a weekend project. A large 60×70cm advanced kit is a multi-week one, painted a little at a time. Below is the real breakdown we use ourselves, built from producing and shipping over 1,300 custom kits.
Most "how long does paint by numbers take" articles give you one number, like "2 to 6 hours," and leave it there. That's true for a small 8×10" mini kit. It is not true for a full-size 40×50cm canvas with 36 colours, which is the size most Paint A Moment customers actually choose. So instead of one number, here is the real matrix.
How Long Does Paint by Numbers Take by Difficulty Level?
Each difficulty level is calibrated against a specific completion-time range, section size, and colour count. These are the same ranges we use internally to grade every design before it goes on the site, based on patterns across thousands of kits sold.
| Difficulty | Estimated completion time | Paint colours | Section size | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 5–10 hours | 24 (36 optional) | Large, clearly defined areas | First kit, gift recipients, casual painters |
| Intermediate | 15–25 hours | 36 (24 optional) | Mix of medium and small areas | Anyone who's finished 1–2 kits already |
| Advanced | 25–40+ hours | 36 minimum | Small to very small (under 8mm² average) | Experienced painters who want a real project |
Notice the jump between levels isn't small. Advanced kits can take four to eight times longer than beginner ones, mostly because the sections shrink and the colour transitions get more subtle, not because the canvas itself gets that much bigger.
How Long Does Paint by Numbers Take by Canvas Size?
Size matters, but less than difficulty does. A large beginner-level canvas with big colour blocks can still finish faster than a small advanced one packed with detail. That said, here's roughly how size alone shifts the estimate within a given difficulty level, using the sizes we actually stock:
| Canvas size | Imperial | Typical time added vs. the size below |
|---|---|---|
| 20×30cm | 8×12" | Baseline — our smallest size |
| 30×40cm | 12×16" | +3–5 hours |
| 40×50cm | 16×20" | +5–8 hours |
| 50×60cm | 20×24" | +5–8 hours |
| 60×70cm | 24×28" | +6–10 hours |
40×50cm is the size most people land on, and not by accident — it's large enough to feel like a real piece for the wall, small enough that a beginner in that size still finishes inside the 5–10 hour beginner range above.
What Actually Changes Your Painting Time
Three things move the number more than anything else: colour count, subject detail, and whether it's a standard design or a custom photo kit.
Colour count: 24 vs. 36
More colours means more definition, but also more paint-pot switching. One recent reviewer, Isabel, told us straight: "Although a lot of similar colors. Less colors would have been fine." That's honest feedback we take seriously — if you want a faster, more relaxed session, the 24-colour option on any size is the better call. If you want the finished piece to hold more detail, 36 is worth the extra hour or two.
Subject detail
A single Highland cow against a soft background paints faster than a busy woodland scene with a dozen small elements, even at the same size and difficulty tag. Faces, fur, and feathers tend to carry the most small sections.
Custom photo kits
Custom kits, where we turn your own photo into a kit, often sit at the more detailed end of their difficulty band. A pet's face or a person's features usually need finer colour transitions than a landscape does, simply because our eyes are so tuned to spotting anything off in a face we know. If you're choosing a custom kit and want a faster finish, a simpler background photo will paint quicker than a close-up portrait. Our custom paint by numbers kit page has more on choosing a good source photo, and our guide on turning a photo into a paint by numbers kit walks through it step by step.
How People Actually Pace a Kit
Almost nobody sits down and finishes a paint by numbers kit in one sitting, and you shouldn't expect to. The completion-time ranges above assume total painting time spread across several sessions, not one marathon.
The average American spends about 5.16 hours a day on leisure and sport activities, and more than half of that is spent watching TV, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2025 American Time Use Survey. Swap even one of those evenings a week for a kit instead of a screen, and a beginner canvas is done inside two to three weeks without ever feeling like a chore.
That's the pattern we see in real orders too. Customers rarely buy one kit and stop. One repeat customer, Kip, wrote in after a recent order: "Well done, Marcus and Sarah, now we have another project to work on. Thanks." That's the honest shape of it — not a single race to the finish line, but an ongoing, low-pressure project that fits around a life, one evening at a time. If you want to build that unhurried pace into how you actually paint, our guide to mindful painting covers how to settle into a session without rushing the detail.
Common Questions About Paint by Numbers Time
Can I finish a paint by numbers kit in one day?
Yes, if it's a small, beginner-level canvas (20×30cm) with large colour blocks — that's roughly 5–10 hours total, so a full weekend day or two shorter sessions will get you there. Anything intermediate or advanced is realistically a multi-day to multi-week project.
Do custom paint by numbers kits take longer than standard kits?
Often slightly, yes. Custom kits are generated from your own photo, and faces, pets, and portraits tend to carry more small detail sections than a standard landscape or floral design at the same size, which adds painting time.
Does the number of paint colours affect completion time?
Yes. A 36-colour version of the same design will generally take a little longer than the 24-colour version, mainly from switching between paint pots more often, not because the canvas changes size.
What's the fastest way to finish a kit without rushing it?
Paint the large background sections first, work in one colour at a time across the whole canvas rather than jumping around, and pick a well-lit spot. None of that changes the total hours much, but it makes each session more efficient and less frustrating.
Choosing the Right Kit for the Time You Have
If you've got a free weekend and want something finished by Sunday night, start with our beginner kits. If you've done one or two already and want a proper multi-week project, our intermediate kits are the next step up. And if you want something that genuinely takes over your evenings for a month, in the best way, our advanced kits are built for exactly that. New to the hobby altogether? Our complete beginner's guide covers everything else you'll want to know before you start.
Written by Marcus, founder of Paint A Moment. Before this brand existed, we ran MegaPaws, an Etsy shop that shipped thousands of custom pet paintings, which is where most of what's in this article actually comes from — watching real completion patterns across thousands of real orders, not guessing at them.
