Abstract Fatty acid-based alkyd resins prepared with different amounts of glycerol and pentaerythritol were characterized. Sacha inchi oil and linseed oil (comparative purposes) were used as fatty acids’ sources. FT-IR and 1H NMR spectroscopy were done for alkyd structural verification. Alkyd resins were evaluated through physico-chemical (colour, density, viscosity) and thermal characterization. Film coating performance (drying, hardness, chemical resistance) was also studied. The oxidative crosslinking time tendency was corroborated by the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) technique. Alkyd resins obtained with fatty acids from sacha inchi and linseed oils had similar properties. Results indicated that lighter resins can be obtained from sacha inchi oil, whereas pentaerythritol increases viscosity and thermal stability, and retards drying time of fatty-acid based alkyd resins.