For decades, Adobe Photoshop has been the industry standard for graphic design. However, its higher price tag and recent transition to a subscription model have many users seeking tools with a smaller price tag. Thankfully, there are plenty of alternatives for one-off edits or lengthy-term utilize.
This article will compare the 15 best free alternatives to Photoshop. We’ll describe each software in detail, offer a list of features, and discuss the pros and cons of each so you can determine on the best free Photoshop alternative for your business.
Key takeaways
Versatile options: There are numerous free Photoshop alternatives available, each with unique features for different needs, from professional photo editing to casual design.
Platform availability: These free photo editors bolster various platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, offering flexibility in your workflow.
Cost-effective solutions: Many tools are free or offer affordable premium options, making them accessible for hobbyists and tiny businesses.
Community and bolster: Open-source free alternatives to Photoshop, like GIMP, have powerful community bolster, providing extensive plugins and customization options.
The best free online Photoshop alternatives
When it comes to free photo editing software similar to Photoshop, there are plenty of options. Whether you’re looking for a powerful Photoshop clone, an open-source alternative, a flexible mobile option for editing photos, or top illustration tools, our list has every free Photoshop alternative you can aspiration of.
Below, you’ll discover descriptions of the creative tools and performance of the best free alternatives to Photoshop. verify out the pros and cons for a fast overview of how the platforms compare.
1. PicsArt
PicsArt is a versatile photo editor available for iOS and Android. It’s an ideal Photoshop alternative for beginners needing fast edits on mobile devices, but it also suits professional artists and photographers. The app includes effects, stickers, remixes, drawing tools, and a collage feature.
With so many tools to attempt out, including filters and text options, PicsArt is an excellent free Photoshop alternative for those who desire to edit pictures and enhance photos without any technical hurdles. It also connects with social media to let graphic designers promote their labor online.
Overall, this is the best free Photoshop alternative for mobile devices. It has many of the same features as desktop versions, enabling you to craft and design without spending the large bucks.
Platforms: iOS and Android
Pricing: Free with in-app purchases (Premium subscription starting at $13/month)
Import/Export Formats: Supports most standard image formats
Color Space: RGB
Pros:
Advanced image editing resources
Has tools usually found only in desktop applications
Social features to engage with the community
Cons:
Not all features are available in the free version
Can be overwhelming because of so many features
Color grading could be better
2. GIMP
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a popular open-source photo editing software that is usually one of the first free Photoshop alternatives that designers transition to.
As one of the best free alternatives to Photoshop, GIMP maintains a huge community for bolster and resources, consistently delivers novel tools and plug-ins for free utilize, has a layer function for editing images, and supports a customizable interface for efficient batch editing.
GIMP includes many of the professional features found in paid software, like advanced vector tools, and can even manage tasks like CMYK color printing and RAW photo editing.
Its extensive documentation and energetic user base provide ample resources for learning and troubleshooting, making it accessible despite a steep learning curve.
Platforms: Windows, macOS, and Linux
Pricing: Free
Import/Export Formats: PSD, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and more
Color Space: RGB, CMYK (via plugins)
Pros:
Professional and advanced editing tools
Works with vector graphics
Completely free
Cons:
Editing layers can be challenging
Lags in automatic adjustments
Steep learning curve
3. Paint.NET
Paint.NET is another fantastic alternative to Photoshop. It started as an improved version of MS Paint and has since evolved to offer more features, including pen and drawing tablet bolster with pressure sensitivity. Users can delight in basic photo editing tasks and manage high-quality image projects in multiple file formats.
Paint.NET is highly intuitive and faster than most paid and free photo editors. It also supports plugins for additional effects and custom brushes downloaded from an energetic online community.
Like GIMP, Paint.NET’s community and plugins extend its functionality, letting users dig around and mimic features found in more advanced software without the associated costs.
Platforms: Windows
Pricing: Free (Optional paid plugins available)
Import/Export Formats: PNG, JPEG, BMP, GIF, and PSD files (via plugins)
Color Space: RGB
Pros:
Completely free
User-amiable and powerful
Accepts Photoshop plugins
Cons:
Only available for Windows
elderly-school interface
No customer bolster besides forums and docs
4. Photopea
Photopea is a powerful online photo editor with features comparable to professional desktop software. This excellent free alternative to Photoshop is entirely browser-based but has the same editing shortcuts as its Adobe counterpart. It’s effortless to access, and you can initiate using it immediately.
Photopea is highly versatile, supporting around 60 editing tools, including layers, brushes, and advanced selection tools, for both simple and complex projects. The software connects with Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive and handles raster, vector, and RAW files.
Platforms: Web-based
Pricing: Free with ads ($5/month for AI tools, ad-free, and email bolster)
Import/Export Formats: PSD, AI, XCF, SketchUp, and more
Color Space: RGB, CMYK
Pros:
All advanced features are available for free
Supports files from all major competitors
Around 60 editing tools
Cons:
Can become lethargic after many edits
Requires a great internet connection
Steep learning curve
5. Canva
Canva is one of the most popular free alternatives to Photoshop. This free photo editor is great for creating social media images and fast graphic designs for websites and printed products. It offers a vast library of templates, free stock images, and customizable design elements.
While considered a freemium graphic design tool, Canva has an intuitive interface and provides plenty of free templates and graphic design features for web utilize. Canva’s design features include image editing, resizing, AI-powered tools for image generation, and special effects and filters. Its drag-and-drop interface simplifies the design process, making it accessible even for those with little to no design experience.
Platforms: Web-based, iOS, and Android
Pricing: Free (Premium plans, starting at $12/month)
Import/Export Formats: PNG, JPEG, PDF, and more
Color Space: RGB
Pros:
User-amiable and flexible
Free plan with hundreds of thousands of templates and graphic elements
Intuitive interface for fast design tasks
Cons:
Lacks professional photo editing
Cloud storage is limited to 5GB
Background removal requires Premium
6. Pixlr X
The Pixlr suite of photo editing tools offers various programs and apps as free alternatives to Photoshop, including a mobile app and web-based photo editing tools. The solution’s curated interfaces are most similar to popular editors like Photoshop Elements and GIMP.
Pixlr X has plenty of templates, from collages, social media posts, and Etsy banners to flyers, posters, invitations, and business cards. It provides background or object removal, a collage maker, an AI generator, and all the tools necessary to edit photos rapidly and efficiently.
Pixlr E, another free editor, offers more advanced tools similar to Photoshop’s earlier versions. If you desire an image editor with all the photo editing features you’re already used to, this is about as close as you can get to free software like Photoshop in a web-app format.
Platforms: Web-based, iOS, and Android
Pricing: Free with ads (Premium plans starting at $1.99/month)
Import/Export Formats: JPEG, PNG, SVG, and PSD
Color Space: RGB
Pros:
gorgeous interfaces
A broad range of free features
AI generator
Cons:
Requires Flash
Ads can be intrusive
Some functions underperform
7. VistaCreate (ex Crello)
VistaCreate is an online design app focused on creating graphic assets for social media and marketing. Although it’s considered freemium, it includes fonts, animations, backgrounds, effects, frames, more than 50,000 animated templates updated weekly, and a brand kit with logos and palettes.
It offers a solid background remover (with a transparent background option), flipping, rotating, cropping, and resizing images, and basic tools for adding text and speech bubbles to photos.
The app is recommended for freelance graphic designers or people needing fast graphic solutions without as much skill required as other free Photoshop alternatives.
Platforms: Web-based, iOS, and Android
Pricing: Free (Pro plan from $10/month)
Import/Export Formats: JPEG, PNG, PDF, MP4, and GIF
Color Space: RGB
Pros:
useful tools like background removal
Ample assortment of graphic assets
Generous free plan
Cons:
Lack of in-depth editing tools
Some assets have royalty restrictions
The mobile interface can be challenging to design on
8. Sumopaint
Sumopaint is part of the comprehensive Sumo suite designed for content creation. All the suite apps are available online and on desktop. While the online option is free, the desktop version requires a subscription plan.
The whole suite offers tools for graphic design, digital painting, audio production, video editing, and 3D modeling, with a user-amiable interface for intricate designs and professional photo editing.
The recent suite updates greatly improved its quality and range, as well as the effects controls and software performance. This makes the full Sumo suite an excellent free Adobe Photoshop alternative. However, on its own, the Sumopaint app faces comparatively stiff competition.
Platforms: Web-based, Windows, and macOS
Pricing: Free online version (Desktop plan from $4/month or a one-time payment of $89)
Import/Export Formats: PSD files, PNG, and JPEG
Color Space: RGB
Pros:
User-amiable interface
Affordable paid options
No ads in the free version
Cons:
The free version may be buggy
Some resources require upgrading
Other tools may have better specializations
9. PhotoScape X
PhotoScape X is a free photo editor with features like photo management, image stitching, semi-automatic cropping, animated GIFs, color correction, screen capture, skin retouching, and RAW image processing, but could be better in terms of memory and file processing.
Great for previous Adobe users, PhotoScape is a free photo editor like Photoshop that even lets you import your elderly Photoshop brushes. That, combined with its enhancing tools and image editing tools for photo restoration, formulate it a great Photoshop alternative with a similar layout.
Platforms: Windows and macOS
Pricing: Free (Pro version available for $39.99)
Import/Export Formats: RAW files, JPEG, PNG, and TIFF
Color Space: RGB
Pros:
Plenty of functions and enhancing tools
Works with RAW files
Edit multiple images
Cons:
Can be laggy with large files
Decreased image quality when saving
Some features are glitchy
10. MyPaint
MyPaint is an open-source raster graphic editor focused on digital painting. It integrates well with Wacom tablets and emulates traditional painting tools – ink, paint, pencil, and charcoal. This free photo editor is great for artists looking for a tool to for realistic sketching and painting.
MyPaint aims to deliver great expressivity and reaction to pressure and stroke speeds. It takes a simple approach with a streamlined interface. Its full-screen mode emulates the experience of painting and illustrating with real tools on a physical canvas. If you desire to generate digital art rather than edit photos, this is the free Photoshop alternative for you.
Platforms: Windows, macOS, and Linux
Pricing: Free
Import/Export Formats: PNG, JPEG, and ORA
Color Space: RGB
Pros:
Great for artists and skilled users
Custom brush packages
Focus mode
Cons:
Niche-specific
Lack of bolster
Latest version (V2.0.1) released in 2020
11. MediBang Paint
MediBang Paint is a Japanese paint app for digital art, illustrations, and comics. It’s available for desktop and mobile and has a wide range of tools and brushes. It’s free, but you can subscribe for more features. Much like the other free apps like Photoshop on this list, the platform focuses on illustrations.
MediBang Paint lets you scan and import images, combine traditional and digital art, and allows the artist to color or paint over sketches drawn on paper. Its PC version is free, but you’ll have to pay to enable it for other platforms.
The mobile app is user-amiable, and its interface is well-notion-out and clean, making great utilize of the scarce space on a smartphone screen.
Premium MediBang Paint users can get exclusive brushes and filters, specify the folders in which files are saved, utilize local fonts, and access more exporting options. Premium is also ad-free.
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS
Pricing: Free on PC (paid subscription from 2480 Yen or about $17/year)
Import/Export Formats: PNG, JPEG, and PSD files
Color Space: RGB
Pros:
great screen optimization for mobile devices
Well-implemented Wacom integration
Wide selection of tools and brushes
Cons:
Subscription required for essential features
Niche-specific for illustrations
Confusing website search tools
12. FireAlpaca
FireAlpaca is a free Photoshop alternative aimed at illustrators, especially those interested in Manga. The software can sprint smoothly on lower-complete devices, has a user-amiable interface, and serves artists interested in designing without too many overwhelming technical requirements.
The tool is powerful and reliable, packed with features for users interested in creating illustrated designs, including selection tools, brushes, pencils, 3D perspective, light performance, and layer manipulation. Users can verify out the FireAlpaca Hub for many hands-on software tutorials.
Platforms: Windows and macOS
Pricing: Free (ads-free version on Steam for $39.99)
Import/Export Formats: PNG, JPEG, and BMP
Color Space: RGB
Pros:
Comic templates
Extensive brush options
useful tutorials
Cons:
Very niche-focused
Lacks advanced features like vector design
Dated website style
13. Photo Pos Pro
Photo Pos Pro checks all the boxes for a free Adobe Photoshop alternative. It offers various comprehensive photo editing tools, like custom brushes, layers, healing tools, effects, and filters.
Its interface is organized like GIMP and similar free programs. However, Photo Pos Pro has a novice layout option that simplifies the software’s interface, making it easier for novel users to comprehend how everything works.
Photo Pos Pro is complex but well-rounded and suits both freelancers and beginners. However, some tools require upgrading to the premium version. This includes editing vectorial objects, intelligent AI selection, and grouping layers and objects.
Platforms: Windows
Pricing: Free (premium version for $34.90)
Import/Export Formats: PSD, JPEG, PNG, and RAW files
Color Space: RGB
Pros:
Versatile and full of resources
useful novice mode
Supports many file formats
Cons:
Hardware intensive
Some essential resources require purchase
The free version has ads
14. Fotor
Fotor is an online photo editor focused on fast edits for social media. It offers features like background removal and portrait retouching tools, making it ideal for non-professionals and hobbyists. This free photo editor is great for those needing basic photo editing tools.
Fotor provides tools for creating social media images, photo collages, and basic designs. Its portrait retouching capabilities and AI-powered tools for fast enhancements let users improve photo quality with just a few clicks.
While Fotor may not offer as many advanced features as other Photoshop alternatives, its simplicity and speed formulate it one of the best photo editing apps for casual users.
Platforms: Web-based, iOS, and Android
Pricing: Free (premium options available from $7.49/month)
Import/Export Formats: JPEG and PNG
Color Space: RGB
Pros:
Most features are free
User-amiable and fast to utilize
great for social media edits
Cons:
Limited functions compared to competitors
Better for beginners and enthusiasts
Lacks more advanced image layering
15. Polarr
Polarr is a mobile photo editing tool that focuses on filters, color correction, and skin adjustments. This free software is user-amiable with a clean interface but lacks the advanced editing features of more cutting-edge tools. Polarr is best used to edit photos rapidly and easily.
Polarr’s standout feature is its extensive range of customizable filters, which let users accomplish professional-looking results with minimal effort. Additionally, the app supports batch editing, making it effortless to simultaneously apply consistent adjustments to multiple photos.
While it may not bolster RAW files or third-party plugins, Polarr’s ease of utilize and fast performance formulate it one of the best free Photoshop alternatives for professional photographers’ everyday editing needs.
Platforms: Android, iOS
Pricing: Free (pro version from $7.99/month)
Import/Export Formats: JPEG, PNG
Color Space: RGB
Pros:
Easier to utilize than many other Photoshop alternatives
Comparison mode
Watermark bolster
Cons:
Lacking more advanced editing functions
No RAW file bolster
No third-party plugins
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FAQ
Is there a free version of Photoshop?
While there isn’t a free version of Photoshop, there are several other free alternatives:
Adobe Express is a fantastic free graphic design software for those who desire to stay with the Adobe Suite of products but don’t desire to pay for the related expenses.
Other great free Photoshop alternatives from different companies with similar features as Photoshop include GIMP, Paint.NET, Photopea, Picsart, FireAlpaca, and Sumopaint.
Is Picsart a great alternative to Photoshop?
Picsart is a great free Photoshop alternative if you’re looking for an online option for fast edits. The application provides powerful tools on a mobile device and responds to the needs of both beginner and advanced users. It lets you edit images rapidly and publish them on social networks.
Is GIMP as great as Photoshop?
GIMP delivers a consistent amount of professional resources and is considered by many as the best free alternative to Photoshop. GIMP requires less RAM and challenging disk space. However, Photoshop still has an edge with AI-powered filters, a wider variety of professional tools, and a more streamlined user interface.
Which is easier to utilize: GIMP or Photoshop?
Both GIMP and Photoshop offer advanced tools and have a steep learning curve. In terms of interface, Photoshop may be considered slightly easier to navigate due to its popularity and streamlined interface.
Conclusion
Adobe Photoshop’s subscription costs can be justified if you’re a professional. If you’re looking to utilize the entire Adobe suite with additional software like Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Cloud and have the business model to sustain it, stick to what works for you.
However, individual entrepreneurs, artists, and those who don’t require as many features can benefit from a free Photoshop alternative instead. Our list of the best free photo editing software like Photoshop options covers the graphic design needs of most designers, editors, artists, marketers, and hobbyists.
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