Open Source Photoshop Alternatives for Windows

There are many alternatives to Adobe Photoshop for Windows if you are looking for a replacement. The best open source Windows alternative is GIMP. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Adobe Photoshop and 18 are open source and available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source Windows alternatives to Adobe Photoshop are Krita, MyPaint, LazPaint and PhotoGIMP.

filter to find the best alternatives

Adobe Photoshop alternatives are mainly Image Editors, but if you're looking for Digital Painting Tools or Photo Editors you can filter on that. 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.
Adobe Photoshop iconAdobe 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...

More about Adobe Photoshop
More about Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop alternatives page was last updated Jun 4, 2025
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  1. GIMP icon

    GIMP

     4663 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.

    182 GIMP alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

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

    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
    5

    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
    20

    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
    Richard
    Positive Apr 28, 2025
    2

    The newest version of GIMP is a huge improvement and make it more look like PS

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    3 of 107 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

    Krita

     1369 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.

    136 Krita alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • NL flagNetherlands
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

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

    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
    33

    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
  4. MyPaint icon

    MyPaint

     381 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.

    120 MyPaint alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • CH flagSwitzerland

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • PortableApps.com
    MyPaint screenshot 1

    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
  5. LazPaint icon

    LazPaint

     43 likes
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    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.

    39 LazPaint alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • FR flagFrance
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Main UI

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Support for Layers
    2.  Reads PDN Format
    3.  Transparent images
    4.  Portable
    5.  Pixel accuracy
    6.  Debian package
    7.  Support for SVG
    8.  Export to SVG

    LazPaint VS Adobe Photoshop

     
    Comments about LazPaint as an Alternative to Adobe Photoshop
    maurosoft391
    Negative Aug 25, 2022
    -2

    the software is poorly designed

    Adobe Photoshop Icon
    LazPaint icon

    • Some users think LazPaint is a great Adobe Photoshop alternative, some don't.

    • LazPaint is Free and Open SourceAdobe Photoshop is Paid and Proprietary
    • LazPaint is LightweightAdobe Photoshop is not according to our users
  6. PhotoGIMP icon

    PhotoGIMP

     14 likes
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    A Patch for GIMP 3+ for Photoshop Users.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • BR flagBrazil

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    PhotoGIMP screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  No registration required
    2.  Custom Brushes
    3.  Hardware Accelerated
    4.  Dark Mode
    5.  Non Destructive Editing
    6.  Ad-free
    7.  Works Offline
    8.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    9.  No Tracking
    10.  Support for Layers
    11.  Pressure Sensitivity
    12.  Built-in Color Picker

    PhotoGIMP VS Adobe Photoshop

     
    Comments about PhotoGIMP as an Alternative to Adobe Photoshop
    John Gringo
    Positive Jun 14, 2024
    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
  7. PhotoDemon icon

    PhotoDemon

     32 likes
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    PhotoDemon provides a comprehensive selection of photo editing tools in an 8 MB download. It runs on any Windows machine (XP through Win 10) and does not require installation. It can easily be run from a USB stick or SD card.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Windows
    PhotoDemon screenshot 1

    Top PhotoDemon Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  Retouch photos
    3.  Support for Layers
    4.  Color correction
    5.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    6.  RAW Photo Editors
    7.  Dark Mode
    8.  Works Offline
    9.  Non Destructive Editing
    10.  Custom Brushes
    11.  Ad-free
    12.  Batch Editing

    PhotoDemon VS Adobe Photoshop

     
  9. Glimpse Image Editor icon

    Glimpse Image Editor

     32 likes
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    Glimpse is an open source image editor based on the GNU Image Manipulation Program. The goal is to experiment with new ideas and expand the use of free software.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • International

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Glimpse Image Editor screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    The Glimpse editor has been discontinuedSource: https://glimpse-editor.org/posts/a-project-on-hiatus/

    Properties

    1.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Support for Layers
    2.  Retouch photos

    Glimpse Image Editor VS Adobe Photoshop

     
7 of 18 Adobe Photoshop alternatives