T-shirt design, digital photo editing, and manipulation, and art creation – all these present a common similarity to the modern world. That’s right, these process can now all be done in Photoshop. It’s the ubiquitous image editing software by Adobe that, like Google, is now a verb. For example, if someone sees something out of the ordinary in a certain photo, then they might say, “It must’ve been Photoshop-ed.” Keep in mind that this software isn’t the only way to digitally create or edit images. There are Photoshop alternatives out there that do have similar features to Adobe’s powerful application.
Why the need for the best Photoshop alternative online?
One of the reasons why you’re searching for free Photoshop alternatives is because Adobe’s digital photo editing software isn’t free. In fact, it might even cost a pretty penny for some people. There’s also the company’s move to the Creative Cloud back in 2013 that brought about a broad range of alternatives to Photoshop.
Time to edit and create digital art like a pro!
While there are dozens or even hundreds of applications like Photoshop, not every alternative can provide a similar experience. Instead of trying each and every software you can find on Google’s search results, all you need to do is go through our list. We’ve already seen through the features and offerings of many similar Photoshop software on the Internet. So, without further ado, let’s check them out.
1) Affinity Photo
With so many digital image editing software with similar offerings to Photoshop, there are some applications that are almost clones of Adobe’s software. Enter Affinity Photo – Serif’s photo editing software that’s now creating quite the stir in creative communities everywhere. It’s perhaps one of the most serious alternatives to Photoshop to date.
This program is fully compatible with all files supported by Photoshop and a few others. However, it’s not for every creative mind out there. Affinity Photo is aimed at professional designers, digital image manipulators, and photographers. The main difference of Serif’s offering is perhaps its pricing structure for this application. It’s cheaper than Adobe’s software so a larger audience should have fewer problems getting this program.
Some might even argue that Affinity Photo is better than Photoshop thanks to its features. It promises fewer crashes, unlimited undos (for reference, Photoshop can only handle a maximum of 1,000 undos), and higher speeds.
2) Sketch
If you have a Mac device and would want to try out one of the best alternatives to Photoshop, then you should definitely check out Sketch. While Affinity Photo is aimed at digital photographers and photo manipulators, Sketch, on the other hand, is for vector artists. Hence, it’s also a great platform for web designers.
This image editing application offers a simple user interface with many similar features to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. It offers gradients, style presets, layers, and other tools to help create websites and other similar digital creations. The dawn of the fame of this application means there are now plugins you can download and install to Sketch. In doing so, you can extend this program’s functionality.
The developers behind Sketch made this program as flexible as possible, albeit it’s only available for installation and use for Mac OS X devices. Interested users can try Sketch for free but with limited features. To access all of its functionalities, there’s an annual payment but it won’t hurt most budgets.
3) GIMP
Are you looking for Photoshop alternatives mac/windows/android/Linux/Ubuntu? If so, then you should try out GIMP. Perhaps the main attraction of this digital creation and editing software is it’s completely free. You’ve read that right; you don’t have to pay one penny to download, install, and use all of its features. Furthermore, you can use it on your Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms. There’s even an Android application called GIMP Inkscape for your photo editing needs on-the-go.
GIMP is an open-source alternative to Photoshop and it’s been around for quite some time. For netizens who don’t know, the name of the program stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program. This software offers a broad range of tools which are similar to Adobe’s photo editing application in many ways. However, it differs when looking at its user interface. It doesn’t try to significantly imitate Photoshop’s user interface which may be a good sign for some users.
4) Photo Pos Pro
Sometimes, the user interface of certain photo editing applications may make or break the program. With that in mind, Photo Pos Pro presents a well-designed interface to easily help users in creating and editing a vast array of digital art and images. This free Photoshop alternative presents novice to advanced features and an intuitive design. It also has layers and masks so you can carefully edit photos without trying to damage the source material.
Just like Photoshop, it also has a slew of tools to help you create and edit your creative masterpieces. It has the clone tool, healing brushes, and more. There are also color-refining tools along with support for batch image editing. You can also record and perform scripts to help you save time on routine tasks like cropping and quick color changing.
Perhaps the main drawback of using Photo Pos Pro is the file size of saved images. The largest resolution you can save from this program is 1,024 x 2,014 pixels. So even if you shot an image with a resolution of 3,200 pixels, it’s going to be scaled down by the time you save the file.
5) Paint.NET
Paint.NET is closer to GIMP than it is to Photoshop. Despite its close similarities to the open-source photo editing software, it offers a lightweight offering to computers who may not have powerful specs. Don’t doubt this application just because it’s a comparably lighter spiritual version of GIMP. This software grew over the years and is now a powerful image editor in its own right.
Similar features include layer support, one-click tools, manual image editing instruments, and very fast load times. Since it’s a lightweight program, there’s a limit to its total number of offerings. As such, it’s less customizable to the likes of GIMP or Photoshop. Still, Paint.NET is one of the great Photoshop alternatives out there that offers an excellent list of automatic filters.
There’s also no limit to the maximum resolution of saved files. Still, it could do better if it had more customizable tools and other photo editing features.
6) Corel Photo-Paint
Time is an essence which Corel Photo-Paint values. With tools that allow for easy image creation and navigation to the quick processing times, it helps users create and edit in as little time as possible. Furthermore, its recent update gives users the Corel AfterShot 3 HDR support. With this new feature, this application lets users create masterpieces with more “pop” than before.
Professionals in the field of photography will definitely love how you can use three strong photo effects in Corel Photo-Paint. Quickly improve images in a short amount of time while making the colors pop. You can also import RAW files from your DSLRs or mirrorless cameras straight to this application. In doing so, you have more color profile to work with as opposed to editing a JPEG image.
Aside from the new HDR support, its latest update greatly improves stylus control. Now, you can have better stylus movement with as it better reacts to pen pressure, bearing tilt, and rotation. This image creation and editing suite is fully compatible with Windows 10 providing multi-monitor viewing and support for 4k displays.
7) Sumo Paint
Most alternative applications to Photoshop prompt you to purchase it before you can download and use it on your PC. However, Sumo Paint doesn’t require you to pay anything from your wallet. It has a host of features to let users effectively edit photos with this free browser-based image editor. While it does have a premium model, the free version lets you use its basic tools for simple editing functions like editing contrast and brightness.
It’s surprisingly lightweight for a web-based editing program. Even slow Internet connections will find this site quick to load. The common editing tools are still present on Sumo Paint. It has brushes, pencils, shapes, texts, cloning tools, gradients, and more. All of its features are easy to access by the floating toolbar. You can upload and save documents from your PC making it easier to edit photos anytime.
8) Acorn
Some applications similar to Photoshop proved their point by making their features and interfaces user-friendly while letting people stay within their budgets. Acorn provides hobbyists and artists to get a bargain rate with an amazing list of tools. It has layer styles, non-destructive filters, curves, levels, and many more. You can also use blending modes and other basic features that you can use for editing your work.
The Acorn 6 update has additional tools like the clone tool to use across layers or images. You can also put emojis or fun stickers on your creative project if you desire.
9) Pixlr
Pixlr is a trusted web application. Why do we say that? It’s because there are some harmful websites on the web that disguise themselves as image editing tools. Accessing these fraudulent sites puts harm to your computer which may even cause devastating results.
The beauty of Pixlr is you can use it on an iOS or Android device through the use of a dedicated app. This alternative has about 600 effects, overlays, and borders all usable for free. It can give the basic photo editing functions which include cropping and resizing. You can even whiten teeth and remove red eyes from bad photos.
Like other Photoshop alternatives, the interface of Pixlr is easy to use. It doesn’t hurt to try out this free web app to help you save time and money when doing quick edits on your photos and digital creations.
10) Pixelmator Pro
Pixelmator Pro promises a faster working environment as a great substitute for Photoshop. Its pro version lets you use a single-window user interface as compared to the multi-window setup of the previous version of the software.
This program allows users to do non-destructive image editing. Beginners looking to learn photo editing and image manipulation techniques can start with Pixelmator Pro. However, the software is dedicated to the Mac OS X system. Windows and Linux users may want to use other alternatives found on this list.
Searching for suitable Photoshop alternatives need not be a daunting task. It shouldn’t require you more than a few minutes to get the best image editing software that fits your preferences. Just use our list as a guide to help you download and use the right program for your creative needs. Don’t forget that you can always bookmark this page if you need more information about a particular photo editing software.