Photoshop Alternatives

Adobe Photoshop serves as a professional raster graphics editor for Windows and macOS, handling advanced image editing, retouching, and digital art. Users praise its extensive feature set for graphics and design, though many complain about high pricing compared to other editors.

GIMP tops the rankings as the leading Photoshop alternative, offering broad image-editing and retouching tools completely free and open-source. Many users switch to GIMP specifically to escape Photoshop's cloud licensing and subscription model. Affinity Photo ranks second with its polished interface and one-time purchase model, repeatedly highlighted as a cost advantage over subscription pricing. Luminar Neo brings AI tools like GenErase and GenExpand plus focus stacking and HDR merging for photographer-centric workflows.

Krita ranks third, focusing on digital painting with advanced brush control and animation support for artists. The alternatives landscape splits between pro photo editors and art-first painting apps, with Photopea standing out as a free, install-free option with PSD support and a familiar interface.

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For open source transparency, GIMP and Krita lead with community-driven development and no proprietary licensing restrictions. Linux users have native options in GIMP, Krita, and MyPaint without relying on Windows or macOS-only tools. Windows-only picks include Paint.NET and Corel PaintShop Pro for desktop editing with layers, effects, and selection tools.

Web-based editors like Photopea, Pixlr, and Sumo Paint work in browsers when you can't install software on school or locked-down computers. Users avoiding subscriptions can choose Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer for predictable one-time licensing. For PSD workflows, Photopea, Affinity Photo, and Pixelmator open Photoshop-format documents to maintain collaboration compatibility. iPad workflows benefit from Affinity Photo, Pixelmator, and Pixlr for editing on tablets rather than desktop-only setups.

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Alternatives list

  1. PicMonkey icon
     50 likes

    PicMonkey is a feature-rich online photo editor that works right in your browser; no downloads necessary. Touch-up tools like Teeth Whiten, Blemish Fix, Weight Loss. Effects like Orton, Cross Process, Color Boost, with drag and drop ease.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
     
  2. Comprehensive tool for image editing, retouching, bitmap creation, digital painting, and RAW editing. Streamlined web exporting makes it ideal for professionals seeking to enhance visual elements efficiently.

    15 Corel Photo-Paint alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  3. Rebelle icon
     19 likes

    Emulates realistic watercolor, acrylic, and dry media with physical paint diffusion, drying control, textured canvas, custom brushes, tilt and pressure support, color blending, masking tools, paint granulation, backruns, stencils, rulers, and high-res export.

    42 Rebelle alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
     
  4. GPS (aka Gimp Paint Studio) is a collection of brushes, patterns, color gradients, accompanying tool presets and dynamics. Tool presets are a simply saved tool options, highly useful feature of the GIMP.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • GIMP
     
  5. Fog Panther icon
     3 likes

    Raster graphics editor featuring non-destructive layer-based editing with 24 blend modes, 18 advanced tools, masks, Unicode text, CMYK color support, pro filters, unlimited undo, PSD and AVIF compatibility, visual history, print workflows, and high-res image support.

    12 Fog Panther alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
     
  6. Ayin icon
     9 likes

    Free and open source photo editor supporting 21+ filters, multiple tabs for editing, undo and redo stack, device theme adaptation, cross-platform compatibility for Windows, Linux, and macOS, as well as a lightweight, user-friendly interface and transparent development.

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  7. AliveColors icon
     3 likes

    AliveColors is comprehensive graphics and photo editing software for Windows and Mac. It comes in Free, Home, and Pro versions, with differing levels of functionality.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  8. Photomator icon
     4 likes

    Mobile editor offers 30+ color adjustments, AI upscaling, smart selection, noise removal, object eraser, RAW and Apple ProRAW support, film-style presets, batch edits, real-time histograms, deep Photos and iCloud integration, plus LUT export and pro-level features.

    61 Photomator alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad
     
  9. HEAVYPAINT icon
     8 likes

    A simple yet secretly powerful painting app! Focus on pure colors and shapes with a streamlined interface. Ideal for plein air painting, color notes, sketches and studies.

    33 HEAVYPAINT alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
     
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