Photoshop has become so dominant that you can use its name as a verb, but if you want to get your hands on it you need to shell out at least $10 a month. Don't worry! There are plenty of completely free alternatives to Photoshop; here are a few of the best.
Krita is a free tool like Photoshop that is almost as feature rich in the options it offers as Photoshop is. It also happens to be one of the tools that are highly recommended by people in online forums about photo editing and creative editing. Effects Tools Photoshop is a nice, free program only available for Mac, that is part of the category Design & Photography with subcategory Graphics Editors. More about Effects Tools Photoshop Since we added this program to our catalog in 2011, it has reached 1,092 downloads, and last week it had 0 downloads.
The best free photo editing software for Mac isn't lacking features. Often lauded as the 'free Photoshop,' it does have an interface and features similar to Photoshop. These features mean that Pinta is also a viable tool for users looking for an application to allow them to edit and improve their digital photos. Canva is the ideal free Photoshop alternative if you’re trying to create print assets, including business cards and presentations. And Sumo Paint has a library of Photoshop-like tools such as brushes, layering tools, filters, magic wands, and patterns. Plus, you can check out other fellow users amazing artwork for some creative inspiration. Here is a list of the best Photoshop alternatives for Mac which are cheaper or free to download in 2018. The Best Free Photoshop Alternative for Mac and Windows. Platform: Mac and Windows. For multiple resolutions and constructing new graphics from primitive shapes or begin anew with the vector or pencil tool.
For those of you who'd rather spend that cash on a Netflix or Spotify subscription (or groceries), then there are a stack of free Photoshop-replacement apps to consider. We've cast our eye over the very best of what you can use without paying a penny.
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Adobe Photoshop Express
The most basic of Photoshop features, free of charge. You can use Photoshop Express in your browser, or pick up the app for Android, iOS or Windows Phone. The app lets you crop, rotate and resize pictures, adjust the usual variables like brightness and contrast, and remove red-eye. There's also a useful Touchup tool that lets you correct minor blemishes in your pictures.
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Photoshop staples such as Dodge, Burn, and Highlight are here, though you don't get the same level of control as you do in the desktop version (there are only three brush sizes to choose from, for instance). A small but handy set of effects can be applied, including Crystallize, Pixelate, Sketch, Distort and Pop Color. It's simple and fun to use, and changes can be undone in a click or two.
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You're not going to get the same pixel-by-pixel control as you do in the full Creative Cloud package but then this does cost an awful lot less. Nothing at all, in fact! Give it a test run and see if it's capable enough to meet your image editing needs before committing to a monthly fee.
GIMP
GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program) is usually the default go-to alternative for anyone looking for Photoshop-level capabilities in a freeware desktop program. It's not quite as feature-rich as Adobe's powerhouse, but it comes with an impressive stack of tools that can be bewildering for first timers. Fortunately, it doesn't take long to get to a grip on GIMP, and you'll be glad you invested the time and effort.
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Many of the higher-level tasks people look to Photoshop for—advanced image filtering, stitching multiple pictures together, and so on—can be achieved with aplomb in GIMP. Versions are available for Windows, OS X and Linux, and you'll find a ton of tutorials and resources on the Web to help you dig deeper into the software.
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GIMP's development history stretches back nearly 20 years, and the more time you spend with the program the more it shows. From the wide selection of brushes available to the tweaks you can apply to the filters, there's enough functionality here to take on almost any image editing task.
Pixlr
If you find desktop software all a little bit 2010, then Pixlr is here to meet your browser-based editing needs. It looks and feels a lot like Photoshop, but it's free and runs online from anywhere—you can load in an image from your computer, or point it directly to a URL elsewhere on the Web.
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With the likes of Dodge, Burn, Blur, and Clone stamp available, as well as numerous selection tools, the toolbox is very Photoshop-esque. Text overlays and layers are supported, and if you open up the Filter menu you'll find all kinds of weird and wonderful effects to play around with.
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From the advanced color picker to the plethora of image adjustment options, there's a lot to like about Pixlr, and the fact that you can tweak many of the tool options adds to the appeal for advanced users. Not just one of the best online image editors, but one of the best Web-based applications period.
Paint.NET
Paint.NET was originally conceived as a more feature-rich version of the default Paint tool that shipped with the operating system, but has evolved over time to become a favorite of Windows users for several years now. It's less powerful but easier to use than GIMP, and comes with a more familiar interface.
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You have full control over the translucent interface, so you can drag around windows and dialogs to suit your own preferences. As for its capabilities, Paint.NET takes care of all the basics and then some: it features layer support, and a small but useful list of effects, while plug-ins developed by the community extend its capabilities even further (adding support for extra file types, for example).
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It's certainly one of the most human-friendly Photoshop alternatives around, and though it doesn't have too many top-end features, there are plenty of users who'll be glad for a less cluttered toolbox and list of menu options. With text, shape, and brush tools available it's a decent option for creating artwork too.
PicMonkey
PicMonkey has helped to fill some of the void left by the shuttering of Picnik, which Google acquired in 2010 and promptly rolled into Google+. Picnik engineers Justin Huff and Brian Terry moved on to create PicMonkey, and you can see some of the same polish and power has survived the transition.
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The online app manages to strike that difficult balance between an intuitive user interface and an advanced set of features. Getting started is as simple as clicking Edit a photo on the website, but once you're in you have a pile of different tools to use. Shapes, textures, and text can be added with a couple of clicks, and there are some cool Instagram-style effects to play around with too.
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It's not so suitable for those traditional Photoshop tasks—putting the head of Han Solo on the body of Chewbacca, and so on—but it's more than adequate for making quick changes or playing around with effects and overlays. Of course, as it works in your browser you can access it from anywhere too. You can upgrade to a paid-for version to get your hands on some extra features and to remove the adverts from the bottom of the screen.
Those are our picks, but there are others out there. Got a favorite that we didn't mention? Share it below!
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Photoshop is such a powerful brand that, like Google, it's become a verb: nobody really talks about editing an image, it's all about Photoshopping these days. It all adds up to great PR for Adobe, but it might make you believe that no other software could possibly do as good a job as the big PS.
In fact, Adobe doesn't necessarily have the market cornered and its move to the Creative Cloud in 2013 actually helped to spur on a wide range of alternatives to Photoshop. These options can be just as powerful, and produce results that are just as professional.
So whether you're looking elsewhere because you can't afford the subscription, you want to support smaller development houses, or you just don't need all the millions of features that come with Photoshop CC, there's a selection of photo editing software open to you. Here are the best Photoshop alternatives.
01. Affinity Photo
Fully compatible with Photoshop and other file formats, Affinity Photo is aimed squarely at professional photographers and designers, and although it is hugely cheaper than Photoshop (with no subscription), its creators argue it's actually better. We think it's perhaps the most serious Photoshop alternative we've seen to date.
It comes with a promise of higher speeds, fewer crashes and unlimited undos but in truth, the amount of improved performance you'll get will probably depend what equipment you're using (it's been specifically designed to take advantage of the latest quad core technology).
Available for both Mac and Windows, if you're looking for an alternative to Photoshop, Affinity Photo is definitely worth investigating.
02. Photopea
Thanks to continual advances in web technology you don't always need a discrete app to do much of what you'd use Photoshop for, and Photopea is the latest browser-based image editor that can handle a decent chunk of your workflow.
Designed to be an advanced editor with pro tools, Photopea bears a distinct resemblance to Photoshop and features most of the tools you'll need for everyday image work. It'll open most standard file formats such as JPG, PNG and RAW, and it'll accept Sketch, GIMP and even Photoshop PSD files.
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Photopea supports layers and layer masks, lets you use blend modes and features a stack of selection tools, from standard marquees through to a magnetic lasso and a quick selection tool. While it doesn't offer the sort of advanced features you'd expect in Photoshop CC such as content-aware fill, it still has a more than enough going on to keep most designers and artists happy, and it's completely free to use.
However if you don't like ads, there's also the option to subscribe to a premium version which gets rid of them and also gives you extra levels of undo - 60 rather than 30.
03. Sketch
Sketch is a professional vector graphics app for creatives that has created enormous buzz within the design community, and web designers in particular.
The development team behind Sketch has made it as flexible as possible, with it supporting infinite zooming and vector shapes that are perfect for multiple resolutions. You can build a new graphic from primitive shapes or start a new one with the Vector or Pencil tool.
It has a pleasingly simple UI and has many features similar to that of Photoshop and Illustrator, including layers, gradients, colour picker and style presets. Its popularity means there are also plenty of community-created Sketch plugins you can use to extend its functionality.
04. GIMP
A free, open-source alternative to Photoshop that's been around for donkey's years, GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program. Today it's available in versions for Linux, Windows and Mac.
GIMP offers a wide toolset, similar to Photoshop in many ways, and is a great option if you're looking for a no-cost image editor. The interface differs somewhat from Photoshop, but a version of GIMP is available that mimics Adobe's look and feel, making it easier to migrate over if you're ditching Photoshop.
The full suite of tools is available here – everything you're accustomed to is within easy reach, including painting tools, colour correction, cloning, selection, and enhancement. The team that oversees development has worked hard to ensure compatibility too, so you'll be able to work with all the popular file formats without any trouble at all. You'll also find a very capable file manager built in, along similar lines to Adobe's Bridge.
Overall, this is a great option whether you've either got a limited budget, or want to move away from Photoshop for other reasons.
05. Pixelmator Pro
Pixelmator has been around for a while now, but more recently the team released the Pixelmator Pro. While the previous tool used floating windows, the Pro version has a more usable single-window UI, and offers non-destructive image editing. The team have pared back the interface, which should make it easy to pick up – and there's a 'hidden interface' option you can activate if you just want to see your image, with no distractions.
This Photoshop alternative is geared up especially for use on a Mac, and it supports features like tabs, fullscreen and split view.
06. Pixlr
Pixlr is a free Photoshop alternative that boasts more than 600 effects, overlays and borders. It also lets you do all the main things you'd expect from a basic photo editor, from cropping and re-sizing to removing red-eye and whitening teeth.
And if you're used to using Photoshop, then you'll find Pixlr's user interface easy to pick up quickly, as it's very similar. This free app is available in both iOS and Android varieties, or use can use it as a web app.
07. Corel PHOTO-PAINT
PHOTO-PAINT is a dedicated photo editor in the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite. The suite has been updated for 2018 to offer a Corel AfterShot 3 HDR support, as well as interactive tools for straightening photos and adjusting perspective. There's also improved stylus control, with the PHOTO-PAINT responding to different pressures, bearing tilt and rotation.
The suite is geared up to work perfectly with Windows 10, offering multi-monitor viewing and support for 4K displays.
Photoshop For Mac08. Paint.net
Paint.net is a Windows-based alternative to the Paint editor that Microsoft shipped with versions of Windows. Don't let that put you off, though: it's a surprisingly capable and useful tool, available completely free of charge. The software started out life as a Microsoft-sponsored undergraduate project, and has become an open source project maintained by some of the alumni.
The focus is on ease of use, and there's a definite tendency towards photo editing rather than artistic creation. That said, there are a range of special effects available, allowing you to easily create fake perspective, blend and push pixels around the canvas, tile and repeat selections, and so on.
A good range of selection tools, support for layers, and adjustments such as curves and brightness/contrast mean that Paint.net is a great alternative to Photoshop for photo editing, especially if you can do without some of the more recent additions to Photoshop's toolset.
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09. SumoPaintFree Photoshop Like Tool For Mac
SumoPaint is a highly capable, free browser-based image editor. All the standard features you'd expect from a desktop tool are present and correct. It's lightweight and quick to load, and the free version is very usable. There's also a paid-for Pro version and a paid-for iPad app.
The standard range of tools and adjustments you'd expect are all included. Brushes, pencils, shapes, text, cloning, gradients, etc are all quickly accessed from the Photoshop-esque floating toolbar. It can also open saved documents from your hard drive, making SumoPaint a perfectly viable option for editing and reediting.
Some tools work in different ways to Photoshop, offering possibilities that would be difficult to match in Adobe's offering. There are, however, limitations that will put off some users.
10. AcornFree Photoshop Program For Mac
Free Photoshop Like Tool
Image editing software Acorn debuted back in 2007 and has provided hobbyists and artists on a budget with a great, affordable alternative to Photoshop ever since. Features of the software include layer styles, non-destructive filters, curves and levels, blending modes and much more.
The most recent edition – Acorn 6 – includes new Scale and Transform options, the ability to use the Clone tool across layers or images, and the ability to use emoji on a path (if you so wish).
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