6 Best Free Photoshop Alternatives in 2025 (Updated)

If Adobe Photoshop is out of your budget, then you should find a free Photoshop alternative. Photoshop is an expensive software, and the new subscription-based service can be a turn-off, especially for beginners.

This article will list the best Photoshop alternatives to help you find a free solution to your digital editing needs. Some excellent options are available that can perform similar tasks and produce great results.

person working at a laptop using a graphics tablet with a camera on the table — © Kawê Rodrigues

What is Photoshop?

Adobe Photoshop is the industry-standard digital manipulation software. Photoshop allows you to edit photos as well as create graphic designs. It has revolutionized the way we interact with our images.

It has done this by allowing the user to select specific parts of the images for editing. Cutting out, resizing, and editing an area different from the rest of an image is a unique experience Photoshop brings to the user. This makes enhancing your photographs much easier.

On top of editing, Photoshop has many tools to manipulate and skew your images to make special effects. Thanks to this software’s continued development, only your creativity can limit the outcome of your photos and designs.

people sitting around a computer using photoshop — © Pavel Danilyuk

What is the Best Free Photoshop Alternative?

Let’s now look at the options for the best free Photoshop alternative available today. Each program will have a different approach, so the top options may not be the best for you. Make sure you read about each version to find what suits your style best.

1. Photopea

Format	Format Web-based application
Platform	Platform All
AI Features	AI Features Yes
Best For	Best For Photographers who want a simple to navigate but comprehensive alternative to Photoshop

Photopea is the best free Photoshop alternative. Its design and workflow are more similar to that of Photoshop than other alternatives. So, it is best for beginners, those who want to use Photoshop in the future, or those who already know how to use Photoshop.

Of course, Photopea is not as advanced as Photoshop, but you will still find some AI and content-aware abilities. These factors alone make Photopea worth considering as a free Photoshop alternative. Aside from these features, there aren’t many tools or adjustments that are missing from Photoshop. The adjustments are not as high-end, but they still perform to a good standard.

Overall, the workspace and usability of Photopea make it a worthy software to consider. One downside to Photopea is that there are display ads in the application. But this is a great price to pay for free software. Many photographers could prefer it over GIMP if you prefer a simple workflow.

2. GIMP

Format	Format Desktop application
Platform	Platform macOS, Windows, Linux
AI Features	AI Features No (but some made in open-source)
Best For	Best For In-depth Photoshop alternative with specialist capabilities

GIMP is another great free Photoshop alternative thanks to its open-source approach. By making the application an open-source software, GIMP allows you to make custom adjustments and changes to the program. You are then able to share these online. The main advantage of this is that someone may have already made a change that is needed for your specific editing style.

This software has a wide selection of filters, textures, brushes, and more. These tools are equipped to work with photo editing or graphic design. The interface is fully customizable but can be hard for beginners to navigate.

GIMP is the most popular free Photoshop alternative. It is taught in places where Adobe Photoshop cannot be affordable for a wide range of people. Thanks to its open-source approach, you can find many tutorials online on how to perform specific edits.

3. Pixlr Editor

Format	Format Web-based application
Platform	Platform All
AI Features	AI Features Yes
Best For	Best For Beginners who want a simple interface and easy workflow

Pixlr Editor is a free web-based application that is a Photoshop alternative. It is a stripped-back version of Photoshop, which includes a wide range of crucial photo editing tools. It includes adjustments as well as clone stamp and heal brushes.

A big positive is that the interface is simple and easy to navigate around. This is particularly relevant if you are familiar with Photoshop. If not, Pixlr Editor can be a good way to get familiar with the Photoshop interface. A negative is that there will be an ad on the interface, but this isn’t too distracting.

In addition to basic Photoshop features, you will also find some auto photo editing tools. Auto Adjust, Auto Pop, and Auto Black and White are ideal for beginners to help with their edits. You will also find an AI sharpening tool and an AI removal noise tool.

4. Adobe Express

Format	Format Web-based application
Platform	Platform All
AI Features	AI Features Yes
Best For	Best For Beginner who want to make simple photo edits or graphic designs using their images

Adobe Express is not really a Photoshop alternative but is free and allows you to create and customize various graphic designs. You can use your photos and videos to create graphics ready for social media content, posters, and many more.

Adobe Express is a web-based application, so there is no need to download anything. It only performs a few photo editing abilities, but the ones it does are important features. You can perform actions like removing the background, cropping, and making a collage can be done with this app. Adobe Express even has AI generation, which is free and at a very high standard.

Adobe Express is a great free Photoshop alternative if you are a complete beginner and you want to make simple photo edits. This could be from adding text onto an image to combining a couple of different photos onto one document.

5. Krita

Format	Format Desktop application
Platform	Platform macOS, Windows, Linux
AI Features	AI Features No (but some made in open-source)
Best For	Best For Illustrators and digital artists

Krita is an excellent free Photoshop alternative specifically for digital illustrators. It features brilliant brush controls, which some say are better than Photoshop. It is another open-source software that allows you to create your own tools as well as download some from the community.

Even though it is primarily for illustration, photographers can use this software for photo editing. This is not advisable for beginners, as you have to get creative with the tools you can access.

Overall, Krita is a great free Photoshop alternative if you are a digital illustrator. There are unique features that will make your workflow and designs much easier. I suggest this program to anyone who uses the brush as their main tool in Photoshop.

6. Photo Pos Pro

Format	Format Desktop application
Platform	Platform Windows (macOS needs emulator)
AI Features	AI Features No
Best For	Best For Photographers who want a simple software to perform a wide range of edits

Photo Pos Pro is another free Photoshop alternative. It claims to be the best free professional editing software, but we are unsure about it. It does have a great range of features, though.

Photo Pos Pro aims to be an all-in-one photo editing software. This means you will be able to perform basic and more complex edits in the same program. The software includes a good background removal feature and an easy way to remove unwanted objects. You will also find an easy way to add frames or make greeting cards.

The program takes a while to get used to the interface. This learning curve can be a turn-off, especially as there are fewer helpful tutorials online compared to other software on this list. Photo Pos Pro still functions as a good free Photoshop alternative.

Conclusion: Free Photoshop Alternative

From this list, we can see that there are some great options to avoid paying for Adobe Photoshop. Each software has its unique approach and offers a different solution to photo editing in the absence of Photoshop.

Thanks to the internet, there are many ways you can learn to use each software exactly how you want to. There is likely a video explaining exactly the actions you want to perform in each software. So, if you cant justify paying for Adobe Photoshop, these free Photoshop alternatives will still allow you to create brilliant photo edits.

What is Photoshop?