Best Free Photoshop Software – Photoshop has been the industry’s top photo editing program for many years. This powerful program is an effective tool for photographers and graphic designers, and with good reason. However, as the need for less expensive gadgets grows, the demand for less expensive software increases. For Picture editing or graphic design, here are 20 Free Photoshop software alternatives, some of which give the best of both worlds.
Top 20 Best Free Photoshop Software
- PhotoWorks
- Luminar
- GIMP
- Krita
- Pixlr E
- Paint.NET
- Affinity Photo
- Photo Pos Pro
- PhotoScape
- Paintshop Pro
- Apple Photos
- Capture One
- Polarr
- Photopea
- Raw Therapee
- Darktable
- Microsoft Photos
- Canva
- Pixelmator Pro
- LightZone
1. PhotoWorks
PhotoWorks is one of the best free photoshop software alternatives. PhotoWorks is a clever picture editor for the PC that strikes the ideal harmony between approachable use and powerful capabilities. This program, intended for both amateurs and experts, provides all the fundamental photo-editing functions in addition to certain specialized tools.
When it comes to hardware requirements, PhotoWorks is delightfully low-demanding, running well even on low-end PCs. Although it provides non-destructive editing and a variety of one-click effects, it also supports traditional manual tweaks.
Portrait retouching in PhotoWorks is one of its best features. This picture editor streamlines a time-consuming retouching process into a one-click process without compromising the quality of the final product, thanks to PhotoWorks’ sophisticated face-recognition technology and a bank of beautifying presets.
2. Luminar
The free trial of Luminar is an excellent choice if you’re seeking complete free Photoshop alternatives. Advanced RAW processing and picture management are combined in Luminar. Professional photographers and designers will love Luminar.
In addition to picture management, Luminar also has outstanding photo editing features. Make accurate edits to RAW photographs with this tool. Detailed adjustments may be made to characteristics like contrast, highlights, saturation, and brightness. The AI-enhanced filters included in Luminar also include Accent AI 2.0 and Foliage improvement. These automated tools provide superb editing in a flash.
3. GIMP
Photographers seeking anything that can keep up with their modifications, no matter how basic or sophisticated, might consider the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP), one of the most well-known free alternatives to Photoshop.
GIMP is packed with functionality, and if you can get beyond the inability to edit RAW images and put in the effort to get used to the confusing user interface, this program will take care of all your needs.
4. Krita
Krita is another well-known photoshop alternative. It’s one of the tools photographers frequently suggest in discussion boards regarding editing and original picture design. Krita’s resemblance to Photoshop in terms of appearance and feel is its finest feature. The toolbars resemble one another almost exactly, and working with Adobe is brought to mind by the gloomy style. Unfortunately, there is no RAW filter provided, and the program occasionally lags a bit.
5. Pixlr E
Pixlr E is a free picture editing, graphic design, and batch editing program for novice and seasoned editors under pressure. You may use this free Photoshop substitute online without registering; browse the page and begin altering. The tools are accessible, and the UI is simple. You may select a rapid, automatic solution or take your time making manual modifications because it even provides alternatives for people with different ability levels.
Professional features, including cutting-edge tools, adaptable brushes, dynamic components, and skin-retouching tools, are included in the application. A wide range of design templates is included with Pixlr E for every type of social media post, as well as for advertisements, invitations, blogs, and even podcast covers.
6. Paint.NET
Most new users will find Paint.NET full of features, tutorials, and a helpful community to guide them through their learning curves and problems. It’s a fantastic alternative to Photoshop because it’s free to use and pretty capable as a basic picture editor for most people’s requirements.
Unfortunately, Photoshop is far more feature-rich, better for illustrations, compatible, and edited with more precision. Paint.NET could be limiting you at some point, in which case you probably need more sophisticated software.
7. Affinity Photo
Affinity Photo is one of three Serif products, along with Affinity Designer and Affinity Publisher. Users who are accustomed to using Photoshop will find Affinity Photo’s interface to be intuitive. They have a similar appearance and feel, and the software has the most comparable features and usefulness.
Affinity Photo supports layers much like Photoshop does, allowing for non-destructive editing. This is a significant benefit compared to some of the other alternatives on the market. However, it lacks some cutting-edge editing features that its main rival offers.
8. Photo Pos Pro
One of the top Photoshop alternatives available now is Photo Pos Pro. Photo Pos Pro is a cutting-edge piece of editing software created for anyone without access to Photoshop that is packed with amazing features. There are layers, layer masks, healing and clone brushes, as in Photoshop.
To help you save time with your adjustments, there are even options for scripts and match editing. Additionally, Photo Pos Pros has plugins to improve your editing capabilities. Additionally, you may create and save filters for later use.
9. PhotoScape
With a straightforward selection of projects to choose from, such as image editing and GIF creation, as well as a wizard to merge photographs or snap screenshots, PhotoScape is designed to be user-friendly. One of the greatest and most user-friendly picture editing programs available is PhotoScape.
It undoubtedly lacks some of Photoshop’s features, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be utilized as a strong image editor and GIF maker. It is a fantastic option if you are more of a novice due to its simplicity of usage.
10. Paintshop Pro
Because it has tools for drawing, painting, and filling in addition to layers and masks, brushes, intuitive text tools, textures, and patterns, Paintshop Pro is one of the popular free Photoshop alternatives for graphic artists. Paintshop also comes with built-in templates for brochures, business cards, social media photos, web banners, greeting cards, and other items. Additionally, it has a frame tool for easily arranging raster items into forms, in addition to hundreds of effects and preset filters.
This Photoshop alternative includes features including AI picture improvement, lens correction tools, a straightening tool for curved horizons, and perspective correction to modify the angle of an image. With a scratch remover and fading correction, restore and mend aged images. Additionally, there are crucial tools like crop and resize.
11. Apple Photos
Every Mac computer comes with Apple Photos, which provides straightforward editing tools for enhancing your photos quickly. You may arrange photos into folders or categorize them by date, making it a perfect location to save your pictures. You may click a button to make simple modifications like color correction, brightness, saturation, and contrast.
Apple Photos is easy to use and functions as an editor and a system for organizing photos. The interface is especially straightforward for Apple users because the tools for altering images are the same on the PC and in the iOS app.
12. Capture One
The main competition for Lightroom is a powerful application called Capture One. This may be the solution if you perform most of your processing in Lightroom and want to leave Adobe. At its foundation, Capture One is all about managing images and shines at this.
The program includes layer-based editing, lens correction, levels, and curve changes, spot removal, cloning, and color grading. It also supports editing RAW images. Both Windows PCs and macOS can run the software.
13. Polarr
Polarr is a powerful online photo editor that you can use right now without having to download anything. Using the left panel, you may crop overlays, add text and shapes, apply filters, and edit the image. You may make precise changes, undo or redo any editing history, and utilize an A/B testing tool to evaluate changes on the right.
14. Photopea
One popular free browser-based Photoshop substitute is Photopea. With many of the tools you’re accustomed to using in high-end picture editing software, you may start a project right away on the internet. With Photopea, you can blur, add text, crop, and adjust colors, among other things.
Additionally, you may export the finished project in a variety of formats, including PNG, JPEG, SVG, and others. This is perhaps the free tool in this list that most closely resembles Photoshop.
15. Raw Therapee
Raw Therapee is excellent for new users. You may quickly organize photos, enhance exposure, change the color and white balance, boost clarity, and more with just a few clicks. You can also make collages and apply frames to your photographs with Raw Therapee.
16. Darktable
Darktable is a free, open-source picture editor that supports RAW files, non-destructive editing, tethered shooting, and sophisticated color management. Darktable also supports exporting in several file formats, ranging from low-resolution JPG and PNG photos to 16-bit TIFF and high dynamic range EXR images. The application is compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux.
17. Microsoft Photos
If you have a Windows PC/laptop or phone, you can use Microsoft Photos to edit and add filters to your photographs, as well as save. There are several excellent picture editing tools for Windows, but Microsoft Photos is also quite good.
The software is simple to use, and while it will not provide you with the same level of picture editing expertise as Photoshop, it may suit you if you only want to make minor changes to your image and aren’t seeking to do anything too complicated.
18. Canva
Canva Free is a free Photoshop alternative that may help you with all of your marketing and branding requirements. It is an ideal alternative for small businesses with no graphic design skills because it is straightforward to use. Canva provides over 250,000 free templates to help you get started, or you can start from scratch.
This Photoshop alternative also has strong team functionality, allowing you to invite people, discuss, and comment on projects in real-time. Upload your own photographs to create invitations, business cards, advertisements, social media posts, and more, or select from over 100,000 free photos and graphics.
19. Pixelmator Pro
This program is easy to use because of its clean interface and quick functioning. Pixelmator Pro is ideal for expert hobbyists or creatives who do not require really complex PS capabilities.
Pixelmator Pro is a Mac-only image editing application that employs cutting-edge technology such as machine learning to provide users with highly useful and interesting features such as layer management, non-destructive scaling, layouts, retouching, selects, painting, and image repair.
20. LightZone
LightZone is a free, simple picture editor that lets users conduct basic color adjustments, modify the white balance, and enhance exposure in real-time. This is a simple application that is ideal for novices and people who do not make any changes to their images. Although it is a simple editor, it does support RAW files.
Frequently Asked Questions
- PhotoWorks
- Luminar
- GIMP
- Krita
- Pixlr E
If you want a real Photoshop replacement, you need to invest in a high-quality picture editor. Although some free editors, such as PhotoDirector Essential, have extensive tools, the output is often subpar.
- Organizational tools
- User-friendliness
- Color correction and filters
- Beauty retouching
- Photo effects
References
- https://blog.appsumo.com/alternatives-to-photoshop/
- https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-free-alternatives-photoshop/
- https://skylum.com/blog/best-free-photoshop-alternatives
- https://wp-modula.com/free-photoshop-alternatives/
- https://www.cyberlink.com/blog/photo-editing-best-software/162/best-photoshop-alternative
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