Adobe Photoshop is the best photo editing software, but it is also the most expensive. If you’re wondering what free alternatives to Photoshop there are, look no further than this article. Whether you want a free alternative for Windows, Mac or Linux, the best free design software will get you started with your next project!
Although there are other softwares that could perform even better. Here are the best Photoshop alternatives out there!
Krita
Works on Mac Also
Krita is the perfect free Photoshop alternative for photographers that need a little more flexibility when it comes to creativity.
In fact, artists looking to give everyone affordable art tools built Krita for conceptual artists, texture and matte painters, illustrators, and comic strip creators.
When it comes to coloring your photos, you can use the unique pop-up color palette. Plus, take advantage of Krita’s exclusive tagging system to swap out brushes that are being displayed. Also, access commonly used colors and configure all color settings with a few clicks.
Need something Krita doesn’t have? You can easily import brush and texture packs from other artists and expand your toolset. And if you need additional help, there’s always the Krita forum where other artists hang around to share their best work and ideas.
Notable Krita Features Include:
- Create shortcuts for commonly used tools
- Brush stabilizers to take the shakiness out
- Seemingly endless brush customizations
- Assistant tools for helping you create the perfect shape
- Open, save, edit, and author HDR and scene-referred images
| PROS | CONS |
| Very similar look and feel to Photoshop | No RAW filter |
| Customizable interface | No history toolbar |
| Supports most PSD | Can be slow at times |
| Includes advanced layer management system | Very few updates released |
| Available for Linux, Mac, and Windows | Outdated documentation |
| Poor touch controls |
Photopea Online Photo Editor
For starters, Photopea Online Photo Editor is a good web-based alternative for Photoshop that aims to solve the problem of having to download and install another program onto your computer.
It also aims to speed up the editing time, especially when it comes to simple tasks such as resizing a photo; instead of having to wait on Photoshop to load.
Since this is a web-based editor, it’s compatible with all platforms and it comes with native support for PSD, XCF, Sketch, XD, and CDR formats. You can also export your work as PSD, JPG, PNG or SVG file.
Features in Photopea Online include:
- Powerful pen and brush tool
- The ability to work with layers and apply layer masks
- Blend modes similar to Photoshop
- Various procedural adjustments such as changing brightness, sharpness, adding blur, and more
- Decent selection of premade templates to start from
| PROS | CONS |
| Photopea Online Photo editor comes with support for PSD and other popular file formats | Free version display ads in the sidebar which can be distracting |
| Can export to SVG format as well as PSD format | |
| Has a free plan which is good for basic use | |
| Doesn’t require a special browser plugin to work |
Get Started With Photopea Online
Photo Pos Pro
Photo Pos Pro is a complete image editing suite rivaling the expensive Photoshop software when it comes to enhancing photos and creating stunning pieces of art.
The interface is organized in a simple and easy to understand way, unlike other free Photoshop alternatives like GIMP. And if things become a little too overwhelming for you, you can always enable the ‘novice’ layout to help you stay on track and edit what’s important.
For those with a little more experience, the ‘expert’ layout offers users access to editing tools for fine-tuning works, such as manual curves and levels adjustments.
And it doesn’t matter if you use a Mac or prefer Windows, Photo Pos Pro works on both.
Features in Photo Pos Pro include:
- Magic eraser tool (remove, erase, and replace backgrounds)
- Add frames and collages
- Tons of pre-designed extension packs
- 24-hour customer support
- Plenty of layers and masks
- Healing and clone brushes
- Filter creation and saving to use later
| PROS | CONS |
| Beginner and advanced modes to meet your needs | The ‘expert’ layout can be haphazard and have a steep learning curve |
| Lots of help tutorials | Can run slow at times |
| Balance of one-click and manual editing tools | The exported file size is limited |
| Support for RAW files |
Get Started With Photo Pos Pro
Sumopaint
Sumopaint is one of the best free Photoshop alternatives when it comes to design and functionality. The layering, editing tools, and brush and wand types make it a viable option for anyone looking for mid-range editing features at zero cost.
This photo editing tool runs in most Flash-based browsers, though there is a Chrome Web App available for Chromebooks. It’s also cloud-based, meaning you never have to download or install anything to your computer or device.
You can open files with extensions such as GIF, JPEG, and PNG, and save projects using the same formats, as well as the native SUMO format.
Notable Sumopaint Features Include:
- Sumopaint online community
- Exclusive SUMO format for working offline
- Over 300 brushes
- Comprehensive color picker
- Selection tools with undo feature
- Clone stamping for real-time drawing
- Layers, layer effects, and layer blending modes (up to 100 layers with effects)
| PROS | CONS |
| Very similar to the Photoshop interface | Requires Flash and runs on-page ads |
| Always updated every time you open the application | Limited file support with no support for Photoshop’s default PSD format |
| Symmetry tools with symmetry points, gravity, and modes to help | No support for rulers or guides |
| Gradient editor with a collection of preset gradients | Lacking pen tool, Camera RAW filter, and auto-snapping |
Seashore
Works with Apple – doesn’t support .psd files
Seashore is a basic image editing solution that still competes with the top free Photoshop alternatives in the market. Though inspiration was drawn from GIMP, Seashore seeks to offer a simpler interface for Mac users.
It comes with support for TIFF, PNG, JPEG, JP2000, BMP, PICT, PDF, XBM, and GIF, making it one of the most versatile editing tools in terms of file formats. Plus, there’s support for layers so your creations can go from being okay to amazing with a few simple edits. And if you need gradients, textures, and anti-aliasing for both text and brush strokes, Seashore has you covered.
Most notable, however, is the fact that Seashore supports pressure sensitivity. So what does this mean? If you’re using a pressure-sensitive drawing tablet, you’ll be able to use all of its pressure levels to customize your photos.
Notable Seashore Features Include:
- Layers and merging effects
- Anti-aliased paint brushes
- 6 gradient effects, including transparency
- Full support for TIFF, PNG, GIF, JPEG, JPEG 2000, XCF and HEIC formats
- Arbitrary selections using a lasso tool
| PROS | CONS |
| Very user-friendly and suitable for beginners | Only available in the Apple App Store |
| Menu layout mimics Photoshop interface | No built-in effects |
| Stripped down version of advanced GIMP solution | UI looks outdated |
| Doesn’t support any PSD files |
Colorcinch
Colorcinch is a very user-friendly web-based editor and a great alternative to Photoshop. It has an extensive collection of presets, graphics, and other creative assets.
One of the biggest strengths of Colorcinch is the fact that it features a handful of AI-powered specialty effects. The Cartoonizer is one of them and it can neatly transform images into cartoons, sketches and paintings.
This photo editor is a web platform, so you don’t have to download and install anything in order to use it. It works on Mac, Windows PC, and Linux, as long as you have a reliable internet connection.
Colorcinch gives you access to over 1.5 million high-resolution stock photos for both personal and commercial use. There are also hundreds of artistic borders and mask to choose from, as well as tens of thousands of vector graphics & icons.
Colorcinch allows you to export your work in PNG, JPG, or PDF format. The available quality goes up to 300DPI.
Notable Colorcinch Features Include:
- AI-powered filters that can turn photos into cartoons, sketches, and paintings
- A modern text tool and hundreds of overlays, frames, and masks
- A collection of non-generic artistic effects and filters
- Thousands of vector icons and graphics to add extra details
- Tools to crop, resize, straighten, and rotate pictures
- Built-in options for enhancing your photo’s look (vibrance, exposure, color, brightness, contrast, etc.)
| PROS | CONS |
| Intuitive, clean, and user-friendly interface | Doesn’t work offline, you need access to a good internet connection in order to use the photo editor |
| It is web-based and works on Apple, Windows, and Linux devices | |
| It features some great AI-powered filters that can transform your photos into cartoons, sketches, and paintings | |
| No registration needed, you can edit for free | |
| 50,000+ vector graphics & icons to choose from |
GIMP
GIMP (short for GNU Image Manipulation Program) is an excellent, open-source Photoshop alternative for those on limited budgets that still need advanced image editing capabilities. This program is an advanced raster editor similar to Photoshop.
In fact, GNU Image Manipulation Program can be used as a basic paint program, an expert photo retouching program, an online batch processing system, an image format converter, and more depending on what it is that you’re looking for.
You’ll be happy to hear that it’s available for both Mac and Windows as well as Linux, making it a versatile tool for photographers.
This program as a free photoshop alternative also recognizes most of the popular file formats that you’d expect in a paid editor like Photoshop, including GIF, JPEG, PNG, and TIFF. You can also find support for some PSD, though not all layers may be readable.
With an active developer community that listens to user feedback and suggestions, this program comes packed with what most photographers need to edit their photos before publishing them.
Notable GIMP Features Include:
- Paint features like paint tool (brush, pencil, airbrush, and clone)
- Custom brushes and patterns
- Transformation tools like rotate, scale, shear, and flip
- Editable text layers
- Color correction
- MNG support for animations
- Editing tools like layers, masks, curves, and levels
- Huge collection of plugins to extend (some even pre-installed)
| PROS | CONS |
| Tons of advanced editing options | A steep learning curve, proving difficult for beginners |
| No ad displays or limitations | Cluttered and outdated UI |
| Comprehensive layer support with blending modes | Preset brushes share the same settings |
| History toolbar | No drawing capabilities |
| Support for image slicing | No Camera RAW filter |
Both Gimp and Photoshop use vector methods (mathematics) for general layout and elements such as text, but are equipped to deal with raster images down to the pixel and often have special capabilities in doing so, such as brightness/contrast, and even adding “lighting” to a raster image or photograph.Get Started With GIMP
Pixlr x
Pixlr X
Pixlr provides an online Photoshop alternative and a Canva alternative, making it one of the top choices on this list, seeing as how you can make more complex designs in Pixlr E while also going for the quicker design process in Pixlr X. Overall, Pixlr X is a solid choice that’s also cheaper than Canva.
Features:
- Access to both an advanced photo and graphic editor and a simpler Canva alternative.
- Thousands of stock images, overlays, and stickers.
- An AI CutOut tool for eliminating parts of your design.
- Access to thousands of texts, icons, and other assets.
- Beautiful templates and preset dimensions.
- One of the more advanced image editors, especially when compared to Canva and most options on this list.
Pricing:
- Free – $0 for full access to the Pixlr basic editing tools, along with limited access to overlays and stickers. This version is supported by ads.
- Premium – $7.99 per month for more overlays, icons, and stickers. You also get video tutorials, templates, and more assets, not to mention an ad-free environment.
- Creative Pack – $29.99 per month for the largest collection of templates, assets, overlays, and stickers.
Yearly plans are cheaper in the long run.Try Pixlr X
Based on HTML5, rather than Flash, this program will work well in any modern browser (even iPads and iPhones!). This expands its usability and makes it more appealing to photographers around the world. Plus, it comes with a slick and modern interface, complete with dark and light color schemes.
Pixlr X is an online photo editor, meaning you can use it with any operating system. In other words, it won’t matter if you use Linux, Mac, or Windows, you’ll be able to access this program with ease. Not to mention, it comes with all the basic adjustments you might need to create well-edited images, and some extras too, like the de-hazing and curves tools.
Feeling overwhelmed by the number of modifications you can make? Pixlr x also has an Auto-Fix tool that helps prevent over-editing.
Notable Pixlr X Features Include:
- Rotate, flip, and straighten all images
- Crop using one of seven preset image ratios
- Instagram worthy filters to add to any photo you upload
- Built-in text tool, complete with stylish font sets to choose from
- Tweak vibrance, highlights, and shadows
- Extensive layer support with multiple blending modes
| PROS | CONS |
| Accessible on any platform, including mobile devices | Must have an internet connection to access |
| History tools | Since it’s new, some tools are still in beta |
| Uses HTML5 rather than Flash | Some tools, such as the healing brush are slow (even Pixlr developers admit so) |
| Opens images from desktopor URLs | Not as easy to install additional font sets as it is with Adobe Photoshop |
Paint.NET
Paint.NET is another Photoshop alternative for digital photo editing that was initially designed to be a free replacement for the Microsoft Paint software that came with Windows.
Fast forward to now, and Paint.NET is one of the most powerful yet simple image and photo editing tools in the market.
One of Paint.NET’s most notable features is the fact that it uses a tabbed document interface. In other words, you can work with multiple documents or panels within one single window and use the tabs to move between them all. And to make things even simpler for you, Paint.NET displays a small thumbnail image of each tab instead of a text description.
Adding to this, the developers behind Paint.NET have worked hard to make sure the editing software is blazing fast for users. This not only speeds up editing time, but it also prevents a lot of frustration. And when it comes to performance, don’t worry about a thing. Paint.NET automatically updates and always comes with new features, improvements, and bug fixes.
Notable Paint.NET Features Include:
- 3D rotate zoom function to help with the recomposition of images
- Support for multiple layers with blending modes (one of Photoshop’s most used features)
- History tool for multiple quick undo’s (unlimited)
- Supports rulers, drawing, and gradients
- Clone stamping for copying or erasing parts of images
- Tons of formats supported like PDN, BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG, TIFF, TGA, and DDS
| PROS | CONS |
| Easy to use interface, even for beginners | Only works for Windows operating systems |
| Great support – forum, tutorials, and plugins to extend the software | Does not natively support PSD |
| Free to use for business and commercial use with no restrictions | UI lacks a way to manage plugins |
| Doesn’t support auto-snapping | No text correction after applying other effects |
| Very lightweight and never sacrifices speed and performance |
Conclusion
The best free Photoshop alternative is Sketch but its not free, it costs $99. I’m working on some videos and a full review comparing other popular options like GIMP and Paint.NET to get an idea which is the best program for designers…will let you know when the video is up.