Free Photoshop Alternatives for Windows

There are many alternatives to Adobe Photoshop for Windows if you are looking for a replacement. The best free Windows alternative is GIMP, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Adobe Photoshop and loads of them are free and available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free Windows alternatives to Adobe Photoshop are Krita, Paint.NET, Pixlr and Affinity.

filter to find the best alternatives

Adobe Photoshop alternatives are mainly Image Editors, but if you're looking for Photo Editors or Digital Painting Tools you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Open Source, Mac, Online, Free, Windows, Linux and Windows + Free. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Adobe Photoshop.
More about Adobe Photoshop
Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard
Adobe Photoshop alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. GIMP icon

    GIMP

     4722 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    GIMP delivers powerful functionalities for photo retouching, image composition, and format conversion. As a versatile tool, it serves as both a simple paint program and a high-end retouching suite, and offers batch processing for mass image tasks in an accessible open-source platform.

    190 GIMP alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku
    • Flatpak
    • AmigaOS
    yes
     
    |
    111
    1883
    Comments about GIMP as an Alternative to Adobe Photoshop
    Comment summary: GIMP is praised for being a free, open-source alternative to Adobe Photoshop with many features and community support. However, users find its interface unintuitive and criticize its limitation in handling PSD files and advanced Photoshop features. It is considered a less comparable alternative mainly for simpler editing tasks, with suggestions for plugins like PhotoGIMP to bridge some gaps.
    Top Positive Comment
    Conner Vieira
    4

    If you're used to Photoshop, GIMP will feel very unusual, since it has very different ways of doing things. That being said, its more than capable of keeping up with Photoshop on a technical level, and well exceeds Photoshop's abilities (if at the cost of intuitiveness) in my opinion

    Top Negative Comment
    Marek
    24

    Irritating, totally unintuitive, completely unthought-out interface. It may have a lot of possibilities, but a lifetime is not enough to discover them and understand the twisted logic of this program.

    Mike-Fulton
    Negative
    0

    On paper, GIMP would seem to match up quite well against Adobe Photoshop, but when you actually try to use it, it's got a user interface that not even a mother could love. Most features are implemented in a very non-intuitive fashion. Want to crop an image? In Photoshop you enter the desired size and then drag a rectangle around the portion of the image you want to keep. It automatically constrains the selection to the aspect ratio of the size you entered. Gimp offers a variety of options for the crop tool but none of them is as simple and quick to use as PS. I've tried using GIMP several times over the past few decades and it always makes me want to tear my hair out.

    Show more comments
    3 of 111 comments
    Adobe Photoshop Icon
    GIMP icon

    • Almost everyone thinks GIMP is a great Adobe Photoshop alternative.

    • GIMP is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Adobe Photoshop.

    • GIMP is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Adobe Photoshop.

    • GIMP is Free and Open SourceAdobe Photoshop is Paid and Proprietary
    • GIMP is Customizable, Privacy focused and LightweightAdobe Photoshop is not according to our users
  2. Krita icon

    Krita

     1411 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Free, open-source painting software designed by artists for artists. Offers customizable UI, 9 brush engines, color management, tablet support, non-destructive editing, and privacy features. Portable and available on major platforms, supporting seamless texture creation.

    142 Krita alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android Tablet
    • KDE Plasma
    • Epic Games Store
    • PortableApps.com
    • Steam
    • F-Droid
    Main Window
     
    |
    46
    633
    Comments about Krita as an Alternative to Adobe Photoshop
    Comment summary: Krita, praised for its open-source nature and ease of use, is a strong alternative for those focusing on digital art and animation. While not as robust for photo editing, many users find it complements freeware like Photopea for certain projects. Its intuitive interface and almost complete feature set for drawing resonate with artists, although it lacks some newer features available in Photoshop.
    Top Positive Comment
    Atoshi
    18

    It's kinda more intuitive to use than GIMP (which is a briliant PS alternative too) interface-wise, and supports CMYK out of the box if one needs it. As of version 3.1 it has pretty advanced support for animation, including opacity curves (GIMP fails completely in that field, animathing anything is a major PITA in it)

    Top Negative Comment
    Soul Rain
    36

    photoshop is a photo editing software; krita is a painting and sketching app

    Tomás Barão
    Positive
    0

    I often use complex layer layouts. From my experience, Krita offers ways of combining and compositing layers much more powerful than Photoshop. Some things Krita can do non-destructively that Photoshop can't.

    Krita is often branded with an anime and cartoons focus, but I use it in my professional work for raster processing in general.

    Show more comments
    3 of 46 comments
    Adobe Photoshop Icon
    Krita icon

    • Most users think Krita is a great Adobe Photoshop alternative.

    • Krita is the most popular Android Tablet alternative to Adobe Photoshop.

    • Krita is Free and Open SourceAdobe Photoshop is Paid and Proprietary
    • Krita is Lightweight, Customizable and Privacy focusedAdobe Photoshop is not according to our users
  4. Paint.NET icon

    Paint.NET

     1652 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Free Windows image editor with support for layers, plugins, and special effects. Offers intuitive interface, works offline, ad-free, and portable, consuming fewer resources.

    165 Paint.NET alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • .NET Framework
    Paint.NET screenshot 1
     
    |
    21
    327
    Comments about Paint.NET as an Alternative to Adobe Photoshop
    Comment summary: Paint.NET is appreciated for being lightweight and easy to use, offering better PSD compatibility than GIMP. However, it cannot fully replace Photoshop due to its minimal features and lack of object support. Users note that while Paint.NET is free and useful for small edits, Photoshop remains superior yet slower for more advanced tasks.
    Top Positive Comment
    Thatstinkyguy
    1

    While it doesn't beat GIMP in terms of features, open-source, or cross-platform accessibility, it's still a solid program that's lightweight, fairly easy to use, and with a plugin (among many other ones), it seems to have better compatibility with PSD files than GIMP.

    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Well, it as the first image editor I have used other than... paint, So I might be a little biased. But its great, I love it, it has stuff, and its good.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    1

    I was able to use it from day one and get better over time the more I worked in it.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Show more comments
    3 of 21 comments
    Adobe Photoshop Icon
    Paint.NET icon

    • Most users think Paint.NET is a great Adobe Photoshop alternative.

    • Paint.NET is Free and ProprietaryAdobe Photoshop is Paid and Proprietary
    • Paint.NET is Lightweight and MinimalisticAdobe Photoshop is not according to our users
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    PicsArt icon
    PicsArt

    Offers photo filters, magic effects, drawing tools, stickers, and customizable text. Includes collage layouts, color adjustments, and cropping. Features a built-in camera, live effects, drawing layers, and direct sharing to a glo...

    https://picsart.com
    Learn More
  6. Pixlr icon

    Pixlr

     389 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Web-based editor with AI image generation, quick fixes, overlays, intricate lighting and texture adjustments, customizable templates, advanced filters, support for layers, high-res export, and ad-free premium features for accessible image and design editing.

    225 Pixlr alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Chrome OS
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    Pixlr screenshot 1
    Promotion 😀

    Get a 30% discount on Pixlr Premium Plans with AlternativeTo, use code AW30OFF

     
    |
    10
    114
    Comments about Pixlr as an Alternative to Adobe Photoshop
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    9

    The fact that Pixlr is browser based is cool at places like school where you can't just install GIMP.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Ilgazcl
    Positive
    0

    It was acquired by Apple so you should make sure multi-platform and even Web support continues. Apple doesn't have a good history of maintaining other platforms compatibility.

    Ömer Emin Onaran
    Positive
    3

    You do not need to download a program, you enter from the web.

    Show more comments
    3 of 10 comments
    Adobe Photoshop Icon
    Pixlr icon

    • Most users think Pixlr is a great Adobe Photoshop alternative.

    • Pixlr is the most popular Android & iPhone alternative to Adobe Photoshop.

    • Pixlr is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe Photoshop is Paid and Proprietary
    • Pixlr is LightweightAdobe Photoshop is not according to our users
  7. Affinity icon

    Affinity

     52 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Unified design solution merging advanced photo, vector, and layout tools for seamless workflow, non-destructive editing, RAW support, batch processing, AI enhancements, GPU acceleration, file compatibility, cloud asset integration, and tailored workspace options.

    66 Affinity alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    Affinity screenshot 1
     
    |
    2
    Comments about Affinity as an Alternative to Adobe Photoshop
    OMGparticles
    Positive
    0

    Affinity has most of Photoshop's features without the predatory subscription scheme. It includes many of the full Adobe suite's features, combining vector and rasterized graphics editing. The UI is clean, familiar, and easy to understand and customize.

    ctrl
    Positive
    0

    It have so many feature and excellent interface. And it's FREE.

    Adobe Photoshop Icon
    Affinity icon
    • Affinity is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe Photoshop is Paid and Proprietary
  8. MyPaint icon

    MyPaint

     387 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    MyPaint is a fast, distraction-free, and easy painting tool for digital artists. It supports graphics tablets made by Wacom, and many similar devices.

    126 MyPaint alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • PortableApps.com
    MyPaint screenshot 1
     
    |
    5
    43
    Comments about MyPaint as an Alternative to Adobe Photoshop
    Top Positive Comment
    uhada
    2

    If you're looking for a painting app, MyPaint may be a good alternative to Photoshop. It has infinite canvas, good, natural brushes and overall good tools.

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    20

    MyPaint is only a drawing program, but it can't edit images. Adobe Photoshop can do both.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    sedeti
    Negative
    0

    My paint is not a image editor

    Show more comments
    3 of 5 comments
    Adobe Photoshop Icon
    MyPaint icon

    • Most users think MyPaint is a great Adobe Photoshop alternative.

    • MyPaint is Free and Open SourceAdobe Photoshop is Paid and Proprietary
  10. Photoscape icon

    Photoscape

     262 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    PhotoScape is a fun and easy photo editing software that enables you to fix and enhance photos.

    194 Photoscape alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    Photoscape screenshot 1
     
    |
    4
    37
    Comments about Photoscape as an Alternative to Adobe Photoshop
    DalsPhotography
    Positive
    0

    It's a bit outdated for Mac, but nevertheless it's useful, light weight, and with some funny tools that you can use for daily tasks.

    Guest
    Positive
    1

    I like it because you can merge multiple photos easily.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Simple, no layers, but brushes are available. Cheap, light weighted and goes easy on your machine resources. Even as professional I do use Photoscape for a first review of my photos.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Show more comments
    3 of 4 comments
    Adobe Photoshop Icon
    Photoscape icon

    • Most users think Photoscape is a great Adobe Photoshop alternative.

    • Photoscape is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe Photoshop is Paid and Proprietary
    • Photoscape is LightweightAdobe Photoshop is not according to our users
  11. PhotoFiltre icon

    PhotoFiltre

     109 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    PhotoFiltre 7 is a complete image retouching program. It allows you to do simple or advanced adjustments to an image and apply a vast range of filters on it. It is simple and intuitive to use, and has an easy learning curve.

    126 PhotoFiltre alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    PhotoFiltre screenshot 1
     
    |
    2
    35
    Comments about PhotoFiltre as an Alternative to Adobe Photoshop
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    In my opinion it provides most intuitive way to edit photos.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Very fast & lightweight but still powerful with great features. Doesn't take forever to load for quick edits

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Adobe Photoshop Icon
    PhotoFiltre icon

    • Most users think PhotoFiltre is a great Adobe Photoshop alternative.

    • PhotoFiltre is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe Photoshop is Paid and Proprietary
  12. Polarr icon

    Polarr

     119 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Offers advanced filters, high-precision color and light tools, clarity, dehaze, batch export, watermarking, custom filter creation, touch and mouse access, infinite undo, HSL/RGB curves, blending, and workspace customization for versatile editing needs.

    139 Polarr alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Chrome OS
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    Polarr screenshot 1
     
    |
    3
    28
    Comments about Polarr as an Alternative to Adobe Photoshop
    Guest
    Negative
    0

    This more like a photo editor, doesn't come close

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    kreela
    Positive
    0

    I couldn't find an option for layers.

    Guest
    Positive
    1

    Free version is the most capable offline editor available in Chromebook. Excellent masking tools in paid version.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Adobe Photoshop Icon
    Polarr icon

    • Most users think Polarr is a great Adobe Photoshop alternative.

    • Polarr is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe Photoshop is Paid and Proprietary
  13. FireAlpaca icon

    FireAlpaca

     89 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    FireAlpaca is the image editor that can be used readily and easily. We made it possible to provide the completely free download, in order for our products to be experienced by more users from all over the world. It is available for both Mac and Windows users!

    123 FireAlpaca alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    FireAlpaca screenshot 1
     
    |
    1
    14
    Comments about FireAlpaca as an Alternative to Adobe Photoshop
    Ryvaa
    Positive
    1

    I really like how smooth is to paint on Fire Alpaca, It's a wonderful software for painting. And faster then Krita.

    Adobe Photoshop Icon
    FireAlpaca icon

    • Most users think FireAlpaca is a great Adobe Photoshop alternative.

    • FireAlpaca is Free and ProprietaryAdobe Photoshop is Paid and Proprietary
  14. PhotoGIMP icon

    PhotoGIMP

     19 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    A Patch for GIMP 3+ for Photoshop Users.

    14 PhotoGIMP alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    PhotoGIMP screenshot 1
     
    |
    1
    Comments about PhotoGIMP as an Alternative to Adobe Photoshop
    John Gringo
    Positive
    2

    It's a good way for Photoshop users to be able to use GIMP.

    Adobe Photoshop Icon
    PhotoGIMP icon
    • PhotoGIMP is Free and Open SourceAdobe Photoshop is Paid and Proprietary
    • PhotoGIMP is Privacy focusedAdobe Photoshop is not according to our users
  15. LazPaint icon

    LazPaint

     45 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Raster & vector graphic editor with many tools and filters, written in Lazarus. Portable, 32bit & 64bit versions, ORA format & 16384x16384 image support. In app 3D import & rendering.

    41 LazPaint alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Main UI
     
    |
    1
    10
    Comments about LazPaint as an Alternative to Adobe Photoshop
    maurosoft391
    Negative
    -2

    the software is poorly designed

    Adobe Photoshop Icon
    LazPaint icon

    • Most users think LazPaint is a great Adobe Photoshop alternative.

    • LazPaint is Free and Open SourceAdobe Photoshop is Paid and Proprietary
    • LazPaint is LightweightAdobe Photoshop is not according to our users
12 of 73 Adobe Photoshop alternatives