While not always as intuitive as Photoshop in terms of functionality and design, GIMP makes up for some of its perceived clumsiness with several in-depth tutorials for both beginning and advanced users that help you use the majority of its components with little or no pre-existing knowledge of the open-source application. With a very active developer community that has historically listened to user requests and feedback, this free option continues to advance as raster editor technology expands. They say that you get what you pay for, but in GIMP's case, that idiom doesn't necessarily ring true.

One of the most full-featured Photoshop alternatives, GIMP (short for GNU Image Manipulation Program) offers such a large set of features that even the most complex tasks can be achieved without any strain on your budget. So if you haven’t looked into Photoshop for a few years because of it’s $700 price tag, I recommend looking again.Limited support for layers, macros, and custom shapes.Ĭluttered UI with annoying floating windows. Yes, I’m putting Photoshop itself on this list, and here’s why: its current pricing scheme is, depending on your situation, cheaper than it used to be. Photoshop-Yes, the Photoshop ($10 a Month on Windows and Mac) Affinity Photo can replace Photoshop for photographers, but Pixelmator can do it for everyone. What sets Pixelmator apart from Affinity Photo is that you can do a lot more design and vector work. There is a learning curve if you want to switch.

The biggest problem is that the workflow can be very unintuitive, especially if you’re coming from Photoshop, or Photoshop-like apps.

Like Affinity Photo, Pixelmator is a worthy Photoshop alternative that’s a massive step up from GIMP. At $29.99, it’s the cheapest great app you can get. It’s not as fully featured as Photoshop, but it can still do a lot. $49.99 may seem steep for some, but compared to Photoshop, it’s a steal, and a big step up from GIMP. The only thing you really miss out on is Adobe’s ecosystem, and a bit of Photoshop’s extra polish and more advanced features.įor everyday users and amateur photographers, it does pretty much everything you need. Affinity Photo is a great alternative to Photoshop, and like with GIMP, it can do almost anything Photoshop can.

Best alternatives to photoshop free