10 Best Free Photoshop Alternatives in 2024

November 21, 2024 By Christine Margret No Comments 9 minutes

Yes, using Photoshop can be intimidating and expensive. But are there free Photoshop alternatives that offer similar features, or simply put, get the job done? While Adobe Photoshop stands to its justified hype, let’s not ignore the impracitbility of it for beginners.

There are 10 top photoshop alternatives free online that can help with high-quality photo editing without spending an arm and a leg. Moreover, the software features are quite similar and easy to use. That said, let’s get the ball rolling!

Note: The alternatives covered in this article are either online or offer their mobile apps. And, due to them being Photoshop free alternatives, we recommend connecting to FastestVPN when using them.

Best Free Photoshop Alternatives: A Quick List

Short on time? Here’s a quick list of 10 best free Photoshop alternatives to try:

1. GIMP
2. Canva
3. Pixlr
4. Photopea
5. Adobe Express
6. Inkscape
7. Photoscape
8. Fotor
9. Krita
10. LunaPic

3 Factors to Consider When Choosing a Free Photoshop Alternative

Here are the 3 primary factors to consider before selecting your preferred Photoshop alternatives free:

1. Ease of Use

Photoshop sticks to its basic layout, and that makes it intuitive for its users. That’s what to look for in whatever Photoshop alternative you opt for. Ensure that it features a user-friendly interface with an easy access to the common editing tools, like Photoshop does.

2. Add Elements and Text

Not every editing software enables you to add elements or text within an image. This is where you must check the Photoshop alternatives come with the feature to add elements and text within a picture.

3. AI Design Integration

All editing apps enable you to adjust brightness or apply filters. However, a credible Photoshop alternative will allow you to offer high-end graphic design tools and an AI integration to streamline your workflow.

10 Best Free Photoshop Alternatives

Before getting to the details, here’s a quick overview of the 10 free alternatives to Photoshop:

Here’s a brief description of all the alternatives mentioned above:

GIMP

GIMP is a free and open-source photo editing software that offers impressive image editing features and a strong layer support. It also offers a one-time premium plan for additional features. Moreover, you can make voluntary donations to GIMP via:

• Patreon
• PayPal
• Checks
• Liberapay

This free Photoshop alternative is cross-compatible. Meaning you can use this Photoshop alternative on Mac and other platforms, including:

• GNU/Linux
• macOS
• Windows
• Other Operating Systems

You can use this Photoshop free for illustration, basic photo editing, graphic designing, and for other advanced requirements. Additionally, you can integrate other third-party plug-ins and customizations. It is one of the best alternatives to adobe Photoshop.

Features

• Supports layers
• Various painting tools
• Gradient editor
• Easy-to-use interface
• Animations with frame-as-layer format
• Supports plug-ins
• Non-destructive layers
• CMYK support

Canva

This is the best free photo editor online if you’re a beginner. It simplifies photo editing and designing by offering the drag and drop features. You can either use it online or install its dedicated mobile app.

Simply put, Canva is a holy grail to every amateur designer–think of it as the Chat GPT for designers. To add a dazzle of sparkle to the name of this Photoshop free, this designing software also offers generative AI copywriting to help generate content along with the designs. Moreover, it’s free to use but there are premium plans too for advanced features of this best free photo editor online .

Features

• Drag and drop elements
• Magic Write
• Free and premium templates
• Customized fonts and color palettes
• Photo Editing
• Social media scheduling

Pixlr

Pixlr comes with 2 apps: Pixlr E and Pixlr X. The former looks like Photoshop, however, the latter is a beginner-friendly option. That said, let’s first walk through what Pixlr E offers. This  Photoshop free alternative offers familiar tools to Photoshop’s, such as layers and the menu options. It also offers the same blending modes and opacity settings, including Soft Light.

On the other hand, Pixlr X is for beginners and offers AI-powered tools for a seamless user experience. It offers a simpler menu for image style adjustments and other settings. However, the free plan only allows 5 images/day.

Features

• AI tools
• Editing tools
• Quick design templates
• Photo grid maker
• Heal and brush tools
• Product shot creator
• Animations and Timeline Editor

Photopea

Photopea is a best free photo editor online  that offers a familiar Photoshop-like interface. It includes various editing tools and features, with AI tools available for an additional fee. While this Photoshop free alternative is ad-supported, you can remove them and get more storage with a premium account. If you’re searching for the best free photo editor online, Photopea is a great option.

Features

• Basic to advanced editing tools
• Extensive file support
• AI tools for premium plans
• Various filters
• 5 GB cloud storage

Adobe Express

Adobe Express is a cross-compatible software that you can use via the browser or its dedicated mobile app for an easier photo editing experience. This best free photo editor online helps maintain brand consistency and is great for making social media posts.

While it’s user-friendly for beginners, it also offers advanced tools for professional use. However, if you’re a first-time designer without any Adobe Photoshop experience, then it’s better to opt for Canva instead of Adobe Express.

Features

• Generative AI
• Professional templates
• Social media posts and scheduling
• One-click edits
• Illustrator and Photoshop assets
• Animation design tool

Inkscape

Inkscape is one of the oldest Photoshop alternatives free for vector graphics. It enables users to create professional-level designs via its advanced features. And, you can install the app on your device for convenient access.

You can create different designs, such as:

• Logos
• Business cards
• Fliers
• Websites
• Brochures

While the list goes on, put simply, Inkscape is an all-rounder software for designing and editing images.

Features

• Free plugins
• Adjustable vector resolutions
• Clones
• Live Path Effects
• Shape builder tool
• Image tracing
• Symbol libraries

Photoscape

This is a free, and cross-compatible best free photo editor online . Similar to other Photoshop alternatives free, it also offers a premium plan (Photoscape X) for advanced editing and designing features. You can use this fun and easy photo editors for creating collages, batch editing, inserting special effects and much more.

Features

• Batch edit photos
• Design animated GIFs
• Face finder
• Easy to use

Fotor

Tired of taking photos with a boring background? Step up your photo editing game with this free Photoshop alternative. Fotor offers premium tools for expert photo editing for free. For example, you can adjust photo brightness, retouch portraits or edit images in bulk.

With Fotor, you can automatically do it all with its generative AI tools. That said, you can now leverage features, such as:

• Text to Image
• AI Replace
• AI Expand
• AI Avatar

It offers other drag-and-drop elements, making it easier to edit images online. Simply put, it’s everything you need for editing images at an expert-level.

Features

• Photo retouching
• Fotor aigc banner
• Background remover
• Drag and drop features
• Red-eye removal
• Collage maker

Krita

Drifting from basic image editing, Krita is a raster graphic editor for 2D animation (Abode XD) and digital art (Adobe Illustrator). This best free photo editor online  is compatible with:

• Windows
• macOS
• Haiku
• Android
• Chrome OS
• Linux

It’s mainly used by concept artists, comic book artist, texture painters and others.

Features

• 2D animations
• Customizable brushes
• Supports different file formats
• Tool shortcuts
• Intuitive user interface
• Design simulation
• Designing assistants
• Multi-threaded filters

LunaPic

This is an easy-to-use online Photoshop alternative that you can use via your favorite browser or its mobile app. You can add social media images, or upload your file images to the online site. Following that, LunaPic enables you to remove the red eye, edit pencil strokes or others. However, the mobile app for iOS and desktop, macOS requires you to purchase the premium version of it.

Features

• Screenshot edits
• Background changer
• Red eye remover
• Eye color change
• Browser-compatible

What Is the Best Alternative of Photoshop?

The best Photoshop alternative depends on your preferences and requirements. While some may prefer the robust undestructive layers of GIMP, others can prefer the feasibility of drag and drop and undoable changes of Canva. Hence, the above-mentioned is already our filtered list of the best cheap Photoshop alternatives available.

Wrapping Up

The best alternatives to photoshop for you depends on your specific requirements, for example, for a beginner Canva can be a great option but at the same time, as a concept artist, Krita is the holy grail option. Conclusively, all the above mentioned options are the best free picks that we’ve tried and tested for the conclusive verdict of the best free photo editor online.

Morever, when editing online, we recommend connecting to FastestVPN for a safe online editing experience, especially if it’s an ad-supported site which can lead to unintended malware installations. However, connecting to the VPN can help evade the lingering threat when using the best free photo editor online.

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