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The best Photoshop Alternatives are no longer just bad copies of Adobe’s industry-leading image editing programme. Photoshop has been a standard in the industry for many years, but it’s expensive for people who only use it occasionally or for basic photo editing. Photoshop is full-featured software for editing photos and making graphics, but it takes up a lot of space and can slow down your computer.
Photoshop has been a standard in the industry for many years, but it’s expensive for people who only use it occasionally or for basic photo editing. If you want a free alternative to Photoshop, you’ve come to the right place. This guide will show you free alternatives to Photoshop. Some are good for simple photo editing, some are good for graphic design, and some are good for both.
Best Photoshop Alternatives
Affinity Photo
Affinity Photo is the most similar thing we’ve seen to Photoshop so far. It works well with Photoshop and other file formats and is made for professional photographers and designers. It’s also much cheaper in the long run than Photoshop because you can buy it once and not have to pay for it every month.
When we tested it, we also found that Affinity Photo was easier on hardware than Photoshop, though that may depend on what you’re using. It doesn’t have all of Photoshop’s features, especially when it comes to things like neural filters, but it still has a lot to offer. We liked the Personas, which are customised toolkits for different jobs.
Features
Pros
- Professional tool
- Advanced features
Cons
- No Android version
Procreate
If you want to paint on your iPad, Procreate is a great app to use. What started out as a simple drawing app in 2010 has become a very professional tool over the years. It’s so good that it’s won a couple of Apple Design Awards.
Our tests showed that the easy-to-use layout is full of features that artists will love, like realistic pencils and inks, advanced layer compositing, and unique digital tools. With the new palm support, you won’t accidentally draw over your canvas anymore, and the growing library of Procreate brushes will help you add style to your work.
Features
Pros
- Low cost
- Apple Pencil support
- Rich with features
Cons
- iOS only
Photopea
As web technology keeps getting better, you don’t always need a separate app to do many of the things you’d do in Photoshop. Photopea, which can be used in a browser, is a good example. It was made to be a professional editor with advanced tools. It looks a lot like Photoshop and has most of the tools you’ll need for everyday image work.
It can open most common file types, like JPG, PNG, and RAW, and it can also read Sketch, GIMP, and Photoshop PSD files. Photopea has a lot of selection tools, from standard marquees to a magnetic lasso and a quick selection tool. It also works with layers and layer masks and lets you use blend modes. It is one of the best Photoshop Alternatives that you can download.
Features
Pros
- Free version
- Cross-platform
- Responsive to feedback
- Same basic shortcuts as in Photoshop
Cons
- Ads with free version
- It takes time to get used to the interface
Luminar Neo
If you want comprehensive free alternatives to Photoshop, the free trial of Luminar Neo is a great choice. Luminar Neo has both smart AI tools and an easy-to-use interface, which makes it great for both professional photographers and people who are just starting out. Luminar Neo has great tools for editing photos.
You can use it to edit RAW photos with a high degree of accuracy, make mesmerising collages with Layers and smart masking, or style your image with Presets. When it comes to editing photos of different types, you can do anything you want. Luminar Neo has tools that use AI, such as Sky AI, which replaces the sky seamlessly and automatically, Smart Contrast, Portrait Bokeh AI, Structure AI, and more.
Features
Pros
- Unique AI photo-fixing tools
- Simple, pleasing interface
- Lots of adjustment tools, filters, and effects
Cons
- Some operations are slow
- No face recognition or keyword tagging
GIMP
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a professional, open-source photography programme that works on Linux, Windows, and macOS. So, it’s both the best free alternative to Adobe Photoshop and the best alternative in general. In our hands-on review, we said that Gimp was “our top pick for the best free photo editor.”
It has a huge number of professional-level features that you can use to fix photos and make your own artwork from scratch. GIMP has a lot of features and functions that are just as good as those in Photoshop. There is also a large community of developers and artists who have made a wide range of plugins. this is one of the Best Photoshop Alternatives.
Features
Pros
- Huge number of features, easily extensible
- Raw and PSD compatible
- Free and open source
Cons
- Complex interface and steep learning curve
Pixlr X
Pixlr is one of the best free alternatives to Photoshop online, so you can use it as a web app. During our review of the HTML 5 photo editing software, we said, “It has so many features that it really puts desktop apps to the test.” The interface of Pixlr is simpler than that of Photoshop or GIMP, which isn’t a bad thing. You can download Pixlr X from here and use it.
The workflow is simple and easy to understand. You can drag-and-drop a photo from your laptops or add a URL, and then use familiar one-click filters and sliders to make changes to the image. Even though Pixlr is a web app, it has surprisingly good support for layers. This is one of the reasons why it’s thought to be one of the best Photoshop alternatives.
Features
Pros
- Clean design
- Intuitive workflow experience
Cons
- Online only
Luminar AI
Luminar AI is one of the best alternatives to Adobe Photoshop that you don’t have to pay for. It’s not the cheapest option, but it’s powerful photo editing software that uses AI and machine learning to help artists make amazing photos with just a few clicks.
In our review of Luminar AI, we called it “a great new option for photographers who know their photos could use some changes but don’t have the time or skills to make them.” Luminar is an editor that can be used on its own or as a plug-in for Adobe products.
Features
Pros
- Leverages AI for impressive features
- Available as standalone or Adobe/Apple plug-in
Cons
- Can be heavy on system resources
FAQs
Is there a better alternative to Photoshop?
One of the best-known free alternatives to Photoshop is the GNU Image Manipulation Program, or GIMP. GIMP is a great choice for photographers because it has a lot of features and can do almost everything that Photoshop can. GIMP does have some problems, though. For example, a lot of the settings for the brushes that come ready to use are the same.
Is there a free alternative to Photoshop?
Right now, GIMP is the best free alternative to Photoshop for editing photos. GIMP, which stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program, has everything a photo editor needs. It’s easy to use, has everything you need, and works on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
What is like Photoshop but cheaper?
- GIMP.
- Affinity Photo.
- Pixlr.
- Sketch.
- Sumo Paint.
- paint.NET.
- Canva.
- Photoshop Express.
Is GIMP as good as Photoshop?
Gimp is good enough for some professional work, but it can’t compete with Photoshop when it comes to high-level retouching and print colour spaces. So, no, most pros don’t use Gimp. Instead, they use Photoshop or other paid software.