The program’s design makes accessing the varied tools easy, and it works great whether you’re creating compositions, tweaking a photo, or even drawing. While there are certainly complaints to be made about Photoshop, at the end of the day, it’s still an excellent, all-encompassing photo editor. The Best Overall: Affinity Photo (Windows/macOS/iPadOS) Serif
We’ll lay out everything in detail for each program, but we also have some free options here if you’re on a budget.
Platforms: Photoshop was available on Windows and macOS, along with a largely identical iPadOS version.This is inevitable, but we still made sure the programs we included here are optimized to cut down on performance issues. Performance: When dealing with advanced features, it’s easy to bog down a computer’s performance while photo editing.We’ll make a special note of the programs that accept these files. PSD files), so you don’t lose any projects. Fortunately, many high-end photo editors can accept Photoshop project files (or. Photoshop Compatibility: If you’ve used Photoshop for years, then chances are you have a lot of old projects you don’t want to lose.If you’re a photographer, you’ll definitely want the ability to edit these files, so we made sure every program on this list could handle them. They capture more detail, allowing for more freedom in the editing process. RAW File Editing: RAW files are often used in photography since they don’t compress the quality of photos.Of course, Photoshop includes a lot more than that, but those are the features a program needs to have to even be considered. Most desktop photo editors feature effects, resizing, trimming, and color adjustment and are found in every program on this list. The Features: Every person’s editing needs are different, but regardless, the program you switch to should still provide the basics, even if it’s focusing on simplicity.We weren’t looking for programs that perfectly match Photoshop, but they still needed to meet criteria to be worth including. Here are some general things to look out for when considering a different image editor.
What to Look for a Photoshop Alternative The Best Overall: Affinity Photo (Windows/macOS/iPadOS) The Best for Windows Users: Corel PaintShop Pro 2021 (Windows) The Best Free Option: GIMP (Windows/macOS/Linux) The Best for Mac Users: Pixelmator Pro (macOS/iOS) The Best for Automation: Luminar AI (Windows/macOS) The Best Cross-Platform Option: Fotor (Windows/macOS/Android/iOS/Web) The Best Web App Editor: Pixlr The Best for Drawing: Krita (Windows/macOS/Linux) What to Look for a Photoshop Alternative