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Free alternatives to Adobe Photoshop

Top pick: Affinity. Switching saves about $264 USD a year.

Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop single app, annual plan

$263.88 USDa year

$347.88 CAD

Every pick below has a free version.

Runs on
  • Windows
  • macOS
  • Web
  • iOS
  • Android
Key file formats
.psd.psb.tiff.png.jpg.webp

Filter alternatives

5 alternatives

Top pick

1 tool

The editor’s first choice for most people switching.

  1. Rank 1: Affinity

    Best for pros who want a polished desktop editor

    License: Freeware
    • Windows
    • macOS
    Status: Verified
    • PSD: opens and saves, partial fidelity. Layers and adjustment layers import; smart objects are rasterized unless smart-object import is turned on
    • PSB: opens only, partial fidelity. Opens PSB files
    • TIFF: opens and saves, full fidelity
    • PNG: opens and saves, full fidelity
    • JPG: opens and saves, full fidelity
    • +5 more

    Free since 30 Oct 2025 with a Canva account. Opens PSD files with layers and adjustments; smart objects are rasterized by default.

Strong

2 tools

Covers most of the same work, with trade-offs noted on each card.

  1. Rank 2: GIMP

    Best for open-source editing on any desktop

    License: Open source
    • Windows
    • macOS
    • Linux
    Status: Active
    • PSD: opens and saves, partial fidelity. Layers, groups, masks and CMYK carry over; adjustment layers and smart objects do not
    • PSB: opens and saves, partial fidelity. PSB import since 3.0 and export since 3.2
    • TIFF: opens and saves, full fidelity
    • PNG: opens and saves, full fidelity
    • JPG: opens and saves, full fidelity
    • +1 more

    GIMP 3 added non-destructive filters and better PSD import. The interface and shortcuts differ from Photoshop's.

  2. Rank 3: Photopea

    Best for opening PSD files in a browser

    License: Free tier
    • Web
    Status: Verified
    • PSD: opens and saves, partial fidelity. Keeps layers, adjustment layers, smart objects and styles; some newer Photoshop features are lost
    • TIFF: opens and saves, full fidelity
    • PNG: opens and saves, full fidelity
    • JPG: opens and saves, full fidelity
    • WEBP: opens and saves, full fidelity

    Free with ads and no account. Runs in any browser and keeps working offline once loaded. Not open source. Free version: Every editing tool is free with ads. Premium removes the ads and adds cloud storage and AI credits.

Situational

2 tools

Right for specific needs, or not yet mature enough to recommend widely.

  1. Rank 4: Krita

    Best for digital painting and illustration

    License: Open source
    • Windows
    • macOS
    • Linux
    • Android
    Status: Active
    • PSD: opens and saves, partial fidelity. Layers, groups, masks, styles and text carry over; adjustment layers and smart objects are not documented
    • TIFF: opens and saves, full fidelity
    • PNG: opens and saves, full fidelity
    • JPG: opens and saves, full fidelity
    • WEBP: opens and saves, full fidelity

    Built for painting rather than photo retouching. Free from krita.org; store builds on Steam and other stores cost about $10.

  2. Rank 5: PhotoCraft

    Best for trying an open-source Photoshop clone

    License: Open source
    • Windows
    • macOS
    • Linux
    • Self-hosted
    Status: Active
    • PSD: opens and saves, partial fidelity. Re-saved files render the same for 307 of 309 test files but are not byte-identical
    • PSB: opens and saves, partial fidelity
    • TIFF: opens and saves, full fidelity
    • PNG: opens and saves, full fidelity
    • JPG: opens and saves, full fidelity
    • +1 more

    Early alpha (v0.3.0, October 2026). Photoshop-style menus and real PSD round trips, but its makers say it is not yet ready for daily professional work.

Sponsor this page: $149 for 30 days. Sponsors appear above the ranking, labeled; the ranking itself is not for sale.

Feature parity

How each alternative covers what people use Adobe Photoshop for. Numbers link to editor notes.

Feature parity with Adobe Photoshop
FeatureAffinityGIMPPhotopeaKritaPhotoCraft
Editing
Layers, masks and blend modesYesYesYesYesYes
Adjustment layers and smart filtersYesNote 1PartialNote 2YesNote 3YesNote 4YesNote 5
Selection
Subject selection and edge refinementPartialNote 6PartialNote 7PartialNote 8PartialNote 9PartialNote 10
Retouching
Healing, clone and content-aware fillYesNote 11PartialNote 12PartialNote 13PartialNote 14PartialNote 15
AI
Generative fill and expandNoNote 16NoNoNote 17NoNote 18NoNote 19
Design
Editable type and vector shapesYesNote 20PartialNote 21YesPartialNote 22PartialNote 23
Photo
RAW development (Camera Raw)PartialNote 24PartialNote 25PartialNote 26PartialNote 27NoNote 28
Output
CMYK and print color managementYesNote 29PartialNote 30PartialNote 31YesNote 32YesNote 33
Parity score75%50%63%63%56%
  1. Affinity, Adjustment layers and smart filters: Live filters and adjustment layers
  2. GIMP, Adjustment layers and smart filters: Non-destructive filters since GIMP 3.0; no adjustment layers yet
  3. Photopea, Adjustment layers and smart filters: Adjustment layers, smart objects and smart filters
  4. Krita, Adjustment layers and smart filters: Filter layers, filter masks and transform masks
  5. PhotoCraft, Adjustment layers and smart filters: 16 adjustment layers, smart objects and smart filters
  6. Affinity, Subject selection and edge refinement: Selection and refine tools are free; Select Subject needs a paid Canva plan
  7. GIMP, Subject selection and edge refinement: Foreground Select and paths; no AI subject selection
  8. Photopea, Subject selection and edge refinement: Quick Selection, Magic Wand and Refine Edge
  9. Krita, Subject selection and edge refinement: Magnetic and color-based selection; no AI subject selection
  10. PhotoCraft, Subject selection and edge refinement: Select Subject and Select and Mask run locally; early alpha quality
  11. Affinity, Healing, clone and content-aware fill: The Inpainting brush works like content-aware fill
  12. GIMP, Healing, clone and content-aware fill: Heal and Clone are built in; content-aware fill needs the Resynthesizer plug-in
  13. Photopea, Healing, clone and content-aware fill: Spot Healing, Healing Brush and Clone Stamp
  14. Krita, Healing, clone and content-aware fill: Clone and Smart Patch tools; made for painting more than retouching
  15. PhotoCraft, Healing, clone and content-aware fill: Healing and Clone tools; no content-aware fill listed
  16. Affinity, Generative fill and expand: Generative Fill and Expand need a paid Canva plan
  17. Photopea, Generative fill and expand: AI tools run on credits that come with Premium
  18. Krita, Generative fill and expand: A third-party AI Diffusion plug-in can run local models
  19. PhotoCraft, Generative fill and expand: Its makers list AI features as the biggest gap
  20. Affinity, Editable type and vector shapes: Vector and layout tools are built into the same app
  21. GIMP, Editable type and vector shapes: Text layers; no editable vector shape layers
  22. Krita, Editable type and vector shapes: Text and vector layers, less flexible than Photoshop's
  23. PhotoCraft, Editable type and vector shapes: Editable type and shape layers; typography is less deep
  24. Affinity, RAW development (Camera Raw): Separate RAW develop step with fewer tools than Camera Raw
  25. GIMP, RAW development (Camera Raw): Opens RAW files through darktable or RawTherapee
  26. Photopea, RAW development (Camera Raw): Opens DNG, CR3, NEF and other RAW files with basic adjustments
  27. Krita, RAW development (Camera Raw): Imports RAW files through a basic develop dialog
  28. PhotoCraft, RAW development (Camera Raw): RAW development lives in LightCraft, a separate ArtCraft app
  29. Affinity, CMYK and print color management: CMYK, ICC profiles and PDF/X export
  30. GIMP, CMYK and print color management: Soft-proofing and CMYK export since 3.0; editing stays in RGB
  31. Photopea, CMYK and print color management: Limited CMYK and print color tools
  32. Krita, CMYK and print color management: Paints natively in CMYK with ICC profiles
  33. PhotoCraft, CMYK and print color management: CMYK and Lab documents, ICC profiles and soft proofing

Not covered by any free alternative yet: Subject selection and edge refinement, Generative fill and expand, RAW development (Camera Raw). See all feature gaps

File formats

Can each alternative open and save Adobe Photoshop files?

Opening and saving Adobe Photoshop files
FormatAffinityGIMPPhotopeaKritaPhotoCraft
.psdOpens and savesNote 1Partial fidelityOpens and savesNote 2Partial fidelityOpens and savesNote 3Partial fidelityOpens and savesNote 4Partial fidelityOpens and savesNote 5Partial fidelity
.psbOpens onlyNote 6Partial fidelityOpens and savesNote 7Partial fidelityNoNote 8NoOpens and savesPartial fidelity
.tiffOpens and savesFull fidelityOpens and savesFull fidelityOpens and savesFull fidelityOpens and savesFull fidelityOpens and savesFull fidelity
.pngOpens and savesFull fidelityOpens and savesFull fidelityOpens and savesFull fidelityOpens and savesFull fidelityOpens and savesFull fidelity
.jpgOpens and savesFull fidelityOpens and savesFull fidelityOpens and savesFull fidelityOpens and savesFull fidelityOpens and savesFull fidelity
.webpOpens and savesFull fidelityOpens and savesFull fidelityOpens and savesFull fidelityOpens and savesFull fidelityOpens and savesFull fidelity
  1. Affinity, .psd: Layers and adjustment layers import; smart objects are rasterized unless smart-object import is turned on
  2. GIMP, .psd: Layers, groups, masks and CMYK carry over; adjustment layers and smart objects do not
  3. Photopea, .psd: Keeps layers, adjustment layers, smart objects and styles; some newer Photoshop features are lost
  4. Krita, .psd: Layers, groups, masks, styles and text carry over; adjustment layers and smart objects are not documented
  5. PhotoCraft, .psd: Re-saved files render the same for 307 of 309 test files but are not byte-identical
  6. Affinity, .psb: Opens PSB files
  7. GIMP, .psb: PSB import since 3.0 and export since 3.2
  8. Photopea, .psb: PSB is not among the formats Photopea lists

What switching saves

Switching saves about $264 USD / $348 CAD a year. Prices checked .

Based on Photoshop single app, annual plan. Price source.

About this page

Last verified . Ranking: tier first, then the published score.

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Related

Adobe Photoshop is a product of Adobe, named here for comparison only. Platforms listed for Adobe Photoshop: Windows, macOS, Web, iOS, Android.