Photoshop Alternative reviews from Reddit
Summary
We analyzed 371 Reddit reviews across 40 subreddits and 65 posts to rank the best Photoshop Alternative brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/photography, r/software, r/AskReddit, r/macapps, r/photoshop. Top-rated brands include GIMP (4.0/5), Affinity Photo (4.3/5), Photopea (4.2/5).
Stats
Reviews371
Subreddits40
Posts65
Brands59
Products14
371 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
GIMP
4.0
(83)
"GIMP (free, desktop app)"
"GIMP, easily"
"Heard good things about GIMP"
"I used to use gimp before going to photoshop"
"I think gimp is pretty similar"
"Gimp."
"It's very functional, open source, and free of charge in full."
"I vote for GIMP. It is an amazing program, and hasn't let me down yet."
"Gimp..... 100% It's free Open source And easy to use"
"GIMP"
#2
Affinity Photo
4.3
(56)
"1 time fee."
"Affinity Photo. Similar layout to Photoshop and one-time purchase so no need for renewals."
"Affinity is hands down the best for me as a photoshop alternative"
"Try affinity photo."
"I hear Affinity Photo is really good."
"Just recently hopped off the adobe train for affinity, no regrets."
"Affinity Photo is an actual Photoshop alternative."
"Affinity is incredible!!"
"Affinity Photo is outstanding."
"I use Affinity Photo all the time for stuff like this."
#3
Photopea
4.2
(56)
"Photopea (free, online app, very similar to Photoshop)"
"Photopea when my photoshop subscription expired"
"Photopea.com is a great, free replacement for photoshop"
"Photopea is basically photoshop in browser"
"Photopea (basically an online Photoshop)"
"Photopea (basically an online Photoshop)"
"Photopea runs in a browser (nothing to install, even works on an iPad), and its UI is a near clone of early versions of Photoshop."
"It's almost identical interface to Photoshop, including a 'Frames from Layers' feature."
"Photopea is a great choice. I've been using it for over five years."
"Photopea is a blessing"
#4
Krita
4.2
(26)
"Krita is also an excellent option"
"Krita is currently the program that is the most like Photoshop"
"Krita is good for drawing"
"Krita is better for digital art stuff"
"[https://krita.org/en/features/]"
"All hail krita, donate or buy it on steam if you can to support the developers."
"Krita's probably the best free Photoshop alternative on the market."
"Krita is also pretty great and is constantly worked on."
"Krita, no doubt about it"
"For drawing and artwork: Krita works the best with drawing tablets in my experience, and it's easier to install custom brushes."
#5
Affinity
4.8
(20)
"Affinity for PS"
"Affinity Pro after that"
"Use Affinity for rest"
"Affinity (one time payment, desktop app)"
"Affinity is good too"
"Checkout affinity, imo better than adobe suite"
"Affinity is insanely good"
"Affinity - as good and free"
"Affinity, I THINK is more comparable to Photoshop"
"Affinity Photo"
#6
Pixlr
4.0
(14)
"Pixlr is always my go to (Pixlr editor not the quick version) - but if you have the play store there is Lightroom and PS Express."
"Pixlr"
"Or just buy an old copy of Photoshop CS3-5 or whatever for <$40 on eBay, or 'obtain' a free copy"
"Use https://pixlr.com/editor/ instead of the express one."
"Pixlr. Has the basic functions that I need without the need to install anything."
"Pixlr is the best alternative ive found!"
"Maybe try pixlr! its rly similar to photoshop."
"Pixlr.com is free and no need to download anything"
"Pixlr is what I use. I make all my thumbnails in this"
"Pixlr even uses the same keyboard shortcuts as PS plus it’s pretty good for browser based freeware"
#7
Pixelmator
4.0
(14)
"Not free but Pixelmator is around $29 and is SO GOOD."
"Pixelmator is user friendly and powerful. But no where near as powerful as Photoshop. If you want an editor that can truly give Photoshop a run for its money, try Gimp!"
"Either pixelmator or affinity photo"
"Least Photoshop-like but a great software: Pixelmator"
"I've used all three alternatives you mentioned and found Pixelmator the best."
"Pixelmator is the way to go!"
"Pixelmator any day of the week"
"Pixelmator."
"Have you ever tried Pixelmator for osx? It does a lot for less than Adobe products."
"Your best bet is Pixelmator which is cheaper than PS, but just as polished."
#8
Paint.net
4.0
(13)
"Paint.NET blew my MIND! IT IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED PAINT TO BE!"
"Paint.Net but not from the ms store. It's free from getpaint.net"
"Paint.net for free."
"Surprised no one suggested paint.Net"
"Personally I really like paint.net"
"Paint.NET or PhotoFiltre for something simple, and GIMP for something more complicated."
"Paint.NET - image editor (layers, clone stamp, undo/redo, effects, filters and other standard features)"
"Paint.net with a shittonn of plugins"
"If you want something a little less complex, try paint.net."
"I use paint.net. it's free and not too complicated."
#9
Pixelmator Pro
4.3
(7)
"Pixelmator isn’t free, but it’s a one-off fee, and it’s good. If you can stretch to the Pro version, it does about everything that Photoshop does, nice clear interface."
"Is a great alternative."
"It’s not free but Pixelmater pro is relatively inexpensive."
"I have Affinity, Pixelmator Pro, and ArtStudio Pro, but I still use Pixelmator Pro the most because it’s very Apple like."
"Pixelmator Pro. If you need less color manipulation options and features, then Acorn works great."
"By Pixelmator, I am sure people are recommending Pixelmator Pro (last update 4 days ago)."
"Pixelmator Pro if you're on Mac"
#10
Canva
4.0
(7)
"A free online app like Photopea or Canva will probably be sufficient."
"The easiest option is Canva"
"I've been using Canva and it works very well :D"
"I use Canva for all my thumbnails. Super easy to use and intuitive."
"Canva is straightforward and very user friendly"
"Been using this since the pandemic at super life changing."
"It's a free online site that allows you to do a ton of stuff."
#11
Clip Studio Paint
4.2
(5)
"Clip Studio Paint goes on sale, I’d recommend that"
"I really like clip studio paint."
"For me its Clip Studio Paint to replace Photoshop"
"Has pretty much all the same features."
"Clip Studio"
#12
Darktable
3.8
(5)
"For RAW editing: Darktable and Canon DPP4 are what I've used with good results."
"I used Darktable as well. It’s open source so you can’t go wrong with that."
"DarkTable is a solid Lightroom alternative."
"Check out dark table."
"Other alternatives are DarkTable and GIMP."
#13
Skylum
4.0
(4)
"There are actually some great Photoshop alternatives now like Skylum that are budget-friendly and don’t require a subscription."
"Luminar Neo is a strong contender. It doesn’t offer native Linux support, but its AI tools for enhancing photos can make a huge difference."
"Luminar Neo is worth checking out. It has a lot of the same capabilities with easier-to-use AI tools for things like sky replacement and portrait retouching."
"I really like the Sky Replacement and GenErase tools—they work well. They've also introduced a new feature similar to Photoshop's Gen Fill."
#14
Acorn
4.7
(3)
"ACORN! Hands down best lightweight photoshop alternative!"
"Acorn for Mac. $30 gets you a program that is incredibly full featured."
"Not free, but less than $40, it’s called Acorn, I think the developer is Fresh Meat, or something like that. It has all features of PS and very similar in every way."
#15
Photoglory
4.7
(3)
"Photoglory"
"Photoglory"
"Check out Photoglory! It's much easier than Adobe stuff and yes, it's paid but way more budget friendly anyway, and it does all the necessary things: repairing, colorizing, automatically enhancing etc"
#16
Photodiva
4.7
(3)
"Photodiva (also free)"
"Photodiva (also free)"
"Https://photodiva.net/ for portrait editing (it's a destop software)"
#17
PhotoWorks
4.0
(3)
"Photoworks, it's easy to use and budget friendly."
"Photoworks would make a great Photoshop alternative"
"Photoworks, it's an amazing one."
#18
Polarr
5.0
(2)
"Yep, Polarr is very good, available here:"
"I've enjoyed Polaar too."
#19
Luminar
5.0
(2)
"Luminar neo"
"Luminar neo
Way better than Affinity"
#20
Photoworks
5.0
(2)
"Photoworks"
"Photoworks"
#21
PhotoGIMP
4.5
(2)
"GIMP com o patch brasileiro PhotoGIMP"
"There's a plugin called PhotoGIMP that restructures the layout of GIMP to that more like Photoshop"
#22
Capture One
4.0
(2)
"Capture One to replace Lightroom, Affinity Photo to replace Photoshop."
"CaptureOne is my choice."
#23
DxO PhotoLab
4.0
(2)
"I'm liking DxO PhotoLab as a Lightroom alternative."
"DXO Photolab."
#24
RawTherapee
3.5
(2)
"Rawtherapee+gimp Gets my vote."
"Rawtherapee."
#25
Photo Studio Pro
5.0
(1)
"Been using it a couple yes now and i love it..now that i thnk about i get it free because i subscribe to google play."
#26
Snapseed
5.0
(1)
"Snapseed; Ideal for mobile, it includes blending tools"
#27
Luminar Neo
5.0
(1)
"I’d recommend Luminar Neo."
#28
Affinity Photo 2
5.0
(1)
"Really fun to use on an iPad or desktop/laptop."
#29
Affinity Design Suite
5.0
(1)
"As a former Photoshop user it is awesome."
#30
Affinity Suite
5.0
(1)
"The entire Affinity suite is so good!"
#31
Corel Painter
5.0
(1)
"Corel Painter is really good if you like that painterly look."
#32
Aviary
5.0
(1)
"Aviary.com might be of use to you. It looks and functions like photoshop, and it's free."
#33
Pizelmator
5.0
(1)
"Pizelmator pro ... worth the price"
#34
Mockofun
5.0
(1)
"Mockofun (free, online app, great for beginners)"
#35
MediBang
4.0
(1)
"Just like photoshop pero more on the painting side and comics stuff."
#36
Procreate
4.0
(1)
"My absolute number one is Procreate for painting something."
#37
Superimpose X
4.0
(1)
"SuperimposeX for iOS is a bad ass little program."
#38
Photomator
4.0
(1)
"Photomator, Affinity Photo, Darkroom, all have one time license option."
#39
ON1 Photo Raw
4.0
(1)
"I am loving ON1 Photo Raw."
#40
ON1
4.0
(1)
"I'm using On1 as a replacement to Lightroom."
#41
Superimpose
4.0
(1)
"Another vote for superimpose, it’s a great app."
#42
RawTherapee & Darktable
4.0
(1)
"RawTherapee & Dark table (photo editing) Krita (art)"
#43
PhotoFiltre
4.0
(1)
"PhotoFiltre (portable) - image editor (layers, clone stamp, undo/redo, effects, filters and other standard features)"
#44
Photoshop Elements 2024
4.0
(1)
"Photoshop Elements 2024 is very capable and the one I still use alongside Affinity Photo."
#45
Paint Shop Pro
4.0
(1)
"I use Paint Shop Pro. Started with Ver 2.0 many years ago because it was simple. The cost is quite reasonable."
#46
Darkroom
4.0
(1)
"Darkroom and for a couple of bucks: Affinity."
#47
digiKam
4.0
(1)
"Digikam and for Nikon workflows NX studio is extremely capable."
#48
NX Studio
4.0
(1)
"Digikam and for Nikon workflows NX studio is extremely capable."
#49
Apple Photos
4.0
(1)
"Apple Photo app on both desktop and iOS (plus Pixelmator Pro) are also worth mentioning."
#50
Corel
4.0
(1)
"Humblebundle.com has the Corel bundle for $30. After that you can pay another $20 to upgrade Paint shop pro 2023 to ultimate if you want."
#51
Inkscape
4.0
(1)
"If you work in the UI-UX field and also create vector illustrations, Inkscape would be a great choice."
#52
PhotoScape
4.0
(1)
"Photoscape and it's free.."
#53
Corel Photo-Paint
4.0
(1)
"Corel Photo Paint is the best Paid Alternative."
#54
FireAlpaca
4.0
(1)
"I’ve been getting along okay with a combination of FireAlpaca and going online to use Photopea!"
#55
Autodesk SketchBook
4.0
(1)
"Autodesk Sketchbook can be a solid substitute."
#56
Adobe Express
3.0
(1)
"Adobe Express is free and has a lot of great functionality for a beginner."
#57
Corel Photo Paint
3.0
(1)
"Corel Photo Paint"
#58
PhotoLine
3.0
(1)
"You can try PhotoLine. It does bitmap & vector and has some support for PS .8bf plugins. 59 €."
#59
PaintShop Pro
3.0
(1)
"Paintshop"
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