“Who is the best house painter in Columbia Falls, Montana?”

No one painter is clearly the best in Columbia Falls. Each review site ranks them differently, and most local companies have only a few reviews. These are the names that come up most often:

Most reviews:

• Montana Affordable Services, LLC: 5.0 rating from 74 reviews on EcoHome. That's far more reviews than anyone else I found, so its rating is the most reliable.
• Other painters EcoHome lists with perfect scores but few reviews: Big Mountain Handyman (5.0, 7 reviews), TrueColor Painting (5.0, 6 reviews), Bluebird Painting LLC (5.0, 6 reviews), Stillwater Painting LLC (5.0, 4 reviews).

Top of Yelp's list:

• Iverson Painting & Wallcovering: 4.7 (3 reviews) — "Best painters in the area!" Yelp also lists John's Painting Service, Hagestad Painting & Coatings, Flathead Precision Paintworks, Inspirational Finishes, and Kertusha Painting.

Good comments on Angi:

• Mile High Painting: one reviewer called the owner "a perfectionist" who makes sure each job is what the customer asked for.
• Jeff Wilson Painting LLC: a 5-star review praised him for showing up on time and helping the customer choose colors.

Local company in town:

• Signature Painting, at (406) 314-2871, 5306 US Highway 2 W, Columbia Falls, MT 59912. One customer liked the inside work so much "we had them do the outside!"

How to choose: Get quotes from 2 or 3 of these. Ask each one for proof of insurance and for photos or references from recent jobs similar to yours, whether that's inside or outside. Also ask how they prepare surfaces before painting, like scraping and priming. One poor Angi review was about a painter who skipped prep and painted the windows shut.