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 MyPaint.

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Adobe Photoshop alternatives are mainly Image Editors but may also be Photo Editors or Digital Painting Tools. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Adobe Photoshop.
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Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe for Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1987 by Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the most used tool for...

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Adobe Photoshop alternatives page was last updated Mar 21, 2025
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Alternatives
  1. GIMP icon
     4635 likes
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    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.

    189 GIMP alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku
    • Flatpak
    • AmigaOS

    Properties

    1.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Support for Layers
    2.  Photo effects
    3.  DRM Free
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    6.  High-resolution images
    7.  Retouch photos
    8.  Open PSD files
    9.  Image Processing
    10.  Dark Mode
    11.  Color to Alpha
    12.  Works Offline

    GIMP VS Adobe Photoshop

     
    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
    Jul 19, 2021
    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
    Dec 25, 2022
    21

    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.

    Most Recent Comment
    Digital Sorceress
    Positive Mar 21, 2025
    0

    It's pretty full featured and updated frequently.

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    3 of 106 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 CustomizableAdobe Photoshop is not according to our users
  2. Krita icon
     1347 likes
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    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

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • NL flagNetherlands
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android Tablet
    • Epic Games Store
    • PortableApps.com
    • Steam

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Digital Drawing
    2.  Blending brushes
    3.  Keyframe Animation
    4.  Drawing 2D
    5.  Advanced brush settings
    6.  Drawing Tablet Support
    7.  Digital-painting focused
    8.  Sketching
    9.  Color blending
    10.  Support for Layers
    11.  Texture painting
    12.  Custom Brushes

    Krita VS Adobe Photoshop

     
    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
    Dec 21, 2016
    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
    May 11, 2019
    34

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

    Most Recent Comment
    JT42JT42
    Positive Sep 21, 2024
    1

    krita in my opinion is great but it doesnt cover everything for many newer features of ps i recommend using photopea both krita and photpea in bundle are the ultimate solution for indie game devs, art makers, and much more i see krita very positive and everyone should have treid it once its learning curve is not as steep as gimps wich is a big plus krita and photopea can animate things easily even pixelart is possible wich gimp to this time sadly does not support.

    JT42JT42

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    3 of 45 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 LightweightAdobe Photoshop is not according to our users
  3. Paint.NET icon
     1633 likes
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    Free Windows image editor with support for layers, plugins, and special effects. Offers intuitive interface, works offline, ad-free, and portable, consuming fewer resources.

    166 Paint.NET alternatives

    License model

    • FreeProprietary

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • .NET Framework

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  User friendly
    3.  Minimalistic

    Features

    1.  Support for Layers
    2.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    3.  Dark Mode
    4.  Support for image plugins
    5.  Export to PNG
    6.  Community-based
    7.  Transparency
    8.  Ad-free
    9.  Portable
    10.  Built-in Color Picker
    11.  Works Offline
    12.  No registration required

    Paint.NET VS Adobe Photoshop

     
    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
    Mar 28, 2022
    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.

    Most Recent Comment
    Guest
    Positive Aug 27, 2022
    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.

    Guest
    Positive Mar 6, 2022
    1

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

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    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
  4. Pixlr icon
     383 likes
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    Explore this platform for free, web-based photo editing; it provides tools like overlays, double exposure, and color splash for detailed modifications plus Pro features like Influence Masks and advanced blending.

    217 Pixlr alternatives

    License model

    • FreemiumProprietary

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Chrome OS
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Web-Based
    2.  Retouch photos
    3.  Support for Layers
    4.  Gradients
    5.  Dark Mode
    6.  Correct Red Eyes
    7.  Photo effects
    8.  Multiple languages
    9.  Open PSD files
    10.  Custom overlays
    11.  AI-Powered

    Pixlr VS Adobe Photoshop

     
    Comments about Pixlr as an Alternative to Adobe Photoshop
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    Nov 3, 2017
    9

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

    Most Recent Comment
    Ilgazcl
    Positive Feb 16, 2025
    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 May 27, 2020
    3

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

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

    122 MyPaint alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • CH flagSwitzerland

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • PortableApps.com

    Properties

    1.  Distraction-free

    Features

    1.  Sketching
    2.  Support for Layers
    3.  Infinite canvas
    4.  Portable
    5.  Drawing Tablet Support
    6.  Fullscreen support
    7.  Ad-free
    8.  No registration required
    9.  Custom Brushes
    10.  Color blending

    MyPaint VS Adobe Photoshop

     
    Comments about MyPaint as an Alternative to Adobe Photoshop
    Top Positive Comment
    uhada
    Jan 19, 2021
    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
    Jul 4, 2015
    20

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

    Most Recent Comment
    sedeti
    Negative Nov 16, 2021
    0

    My paint is not a image editor

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    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
  6. Photoscape icon
     260 likes
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    PhotoScape is a fun and easy photo editing software that enables you to fix and enhance photos.

    195 Photoscape alternatives

    License model

    • FreemiumProprietary

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • KR flagSouth Korea

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Collage
    2.  Image Combining
    3.  RAW Photo Editors
    4.  Color correction
    5.  Batch Editing
    6.  Lossless quality
    7.  Batch processing
    8.  Custom Backgrounds
    9.  Image Morphing
    10.  Merge photos
    11.  Crop video
    12.  Retouch photos

    Photoscape VS Adobe Photoshop

     
    Comments about Photoscape as an Alternative to Adobe Photoshop
    Most Recent Comment
    DalsPhotography
    Positive Aug 26, 2023
    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 Sep 28, 2019
    1

    I like it because you can merge multiple photos easily.

    Guest
    Positive Aug 11, 2017
    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.

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    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
  7. PhotoFiltre icon
     108 likes
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    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

    License model

    • FreemiumProprietary

    Country of Origin

    • FR flagFrance
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com

    PhotoFiltre Features

    1.  Support for Layers
    2.  Portable
    3.  Special effects
    4.  Retouch photos
    5.  Multiple languages

    PhotoFiltre VS Adobe Photoshop

     
    Comments about PhotoFiltre as an Alternative to Adobe Photoshop
    Guest
    Positive Jan 31, 2017
    0

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

    Guest
    Positive Mar 17, 2017
    0

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

    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
7 of 73 Adobe Photoshop alternatives