Adobe Photoshop and Affinity, one of its free alternatives, side by side.
Adobe's raster editor for photo retouching, compositing and digital art, sold as a subscription.
Best for pros who want a polished desktop editor
| Fact | Adobe Photoshop | Affinity |
|---|---|---|
| License | License: Paid | License: Freeware |
| Maintenance | Status: Verified | Status: Verified |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Web | Yes | No |
| iOS | Yes | No |
| Android | Yes | No |
| Self-hostable | No | No |
| Works offline | Yes | Yes |
| No account needed | No | No |
| Parity with Adobe Photoshop | The reference | 75% |
License classes: Paid and Freeware. Status rules: Active means a commit in the last 90 days. See the methodology.
How Affinity covers what people use Adobe Photoshop for.
| Feature | Affinity |
|---|---|
| Editing | |
| Layers, masks and blend modes | Yes |
| Adjustment layers and smart filters | YesNote 1Live filters and adjustment layers |
| Selection | |
| Subject selection and edge refinement | PartialNote 2Selection and refine tools are free; Select Subject needs a paid Canva plan |
| Retouching | |
| Healing, clone and content-aware fill | YesNote 3The Inpainting brush works like content-aware fill |
| AI | |
| Generative fill and expand | NoNote 4Generative Fill and Expand need a paid Canva plan |
| Design | |
| Editable type and vector shapes | YesNote 5Vector and layout tools are built into the same app |
| Photo | |
| RAW development (Camera Raw) | PartialNote 6Separate RAW develop step with fewer tools than Camera Raw |
| Output | |
| CMYK and print color management | YesNote 7CMYK, ICC profiles and PDF/X export |
| Parity score | 75% |
| Format | Adobe Photoshop | Affinity |
|---|---|---|
| .psd | Opens and savesFull fidelity | Opens and savesNote 1Layers and adjustment layers import; smart objects are rasterized unless smart-object import is turned onPartial fidelity |
| .psb | Opens and savesFull fidelity | Opens onlyNote 2Opens PSB filesPartial fidelity |
| .tiff | Opens and savesFull fidelity | Opens and savesFull fidelity |
| .png | Opens and savesFull fidelity | Opens and savesFull fidelity |
| .jpg | Opens and savesFull fidelity | Opens and savesFull fidelity |
| .webp | Opens and savesFull fidelity | Opens and savesFull fidelity |