5 Free Photoshop Alternatives Worth Using (2026)

Photoshop is $23 a month. It is genuinely the best raster image editor on earth. It is also, for the vast majority of people who install it, an overkill tool that they use to crop images and remove backgrounds. If you are in that majority, you do not need Photoshop. You need one of five free tools that will do everything you actually do.

This is a short, honest ranking. No affiliate links, no vague “here are 20 options” padding — just what each tool is good at and who should pick it.

At a glance

1. Photopea — Photoshop in your browser

Photopea is a browser-based image editor that looks and behaves almost identically to Photoshop. Menus in similar places, keyboard shortcuts mostly the same, opens PSD files with layers intact, exports to every format you would expect. It is free and runs entirely in your browser tab.

• Strengths: zero install, opens PSD files perfectly, familiar to anyone who has ever used Photoshop, works on any device including Chromebooks.
• Weaknesses: ads on the free tier (the paid tier is $5/mo to remove them). Big files can be slow because it is a browser app. No plugin ecosystem.

Pick Photopea if: you have used Photoshop before, or you need to open a .psd file someone sent you, or you just want the fastest “I need to edit this image right now” option that requires nothing installed.

2. GIMP — the free desktop veteran

GIMP has been the free open-source Photoshop alternative for over 25 years. It runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux, and it can do essentially everything Photoshop can do — layers, masks, filters, color adjustments, plugins. The learning curve is steeper than Photoshop because the UI has its own conventions built up over decades.

• Strengths: genuinely free forever, extremely capable, huge community, extensible via plugins and Python scripts.
• Weaknesses: the UI is polarizing. Many people find it frustrating compared to Photoshop. If you have never used Photoshop, GIMP’s workflow is fine; if you have deep Photoshop muscle memory, everything is subtly wrong.

Pick GIMP if: you want a serious desktop app, are on Linux (where Photoshop does not run), or are willing to invest the learning time for a tool you will use for years.

3. Krita — the one for illustration and painting

Krita is free, open source, and built for digital painting and illustration rather than photo editing. If you draw with a tablet — comics, concept art, illustrations — Krita is the tool. Its brush engine is genuinely competitive with Photoshop’s and better than GIMP’s.

• Strengths: exceptional brush engine, built for tablet workflows, animation timeline, gets regular updates from an active developer team.
• Weaknesses: not the best choice for photo editing or graphic design. If your work is illustration, Krita is a top pick. If it is not, use something else.

Pick Krita if: you draw or paint digitally with a tablet.

4. Pixlr — the “fast, casual, ad-supported” option

Pixlr is a browser-based editor (also has apps) aimed at casual users. It has two versions: Pixlr X (super simple, great for quick edits) and Pixlr E (more Photoshop-like). The free tier is heavily ad-supported and pushes you toward the paid tier ($5-15/mo).

• Strengths: fast for quick edits, good for people who find GIMP intimidating and Photopea too complex.
• Weaknesses: ads on the free tier are aggressive. Feature limits push you to pay. Some features that used to be free have moved behind the paywall.

Pick Pixlr if: you want the simplest possible browser-based editor and do not mind the ads.

5. Affinity Photo — the “buy once, own forever” option

Affinity Photo is not free — but it is a one-time purchase (~$70) rather than a subscription. This is a very different economic model from Adobe. And it has a free trial (formerly 30-day, sometimes extended to 6 months for promotions), which many people use to complete a specific project without paying.

• Strengths: genuinely competitive with Photoshop for most workflows, no subscription, professional-grade output, RAW editing, non-destructive workflow.
• Weaknesses: not truly free — you will pay eventually if you keep using it. Owned by Canva since 2024, and long-term direction is uncertain.

Pick Affinity Photo if: you want a professional tool without a subscription and are willing to spend once. This is the closest thing to “buy Photoshop but only once” that exists.

Which one for which job

• Open a PSD file someone sent me — Photopea.
• Remove a background from a photo — Photopea (has a one-click AI remove-bg) or the free remove.bg website.
• Basic photo edits: crop, adjust colors, resize — any of them. Pick the one you already have open.
• Serious photo editing: layers, masks, retouching — Photopea if you have Photoshop experience, GIMP if you do not.
• Digital illustration or comics — Krita.
• Batch processing hundreds of images — GIMP with a script, or a dedicated tool like ImageMagick.
• A tool you will use professionally for years — Affinity Photo (paid once) or GIMP (free forever).

The recommendation for most people

Photopea in the browser + remove.bg for backgrounds + Canva for anything with text. That covers 95% of what people install Photoshop for, costs nothing, and requires no downloads.

Only install GIMP or Krita if you have a real reason (working offline, heavy layered editing, tablet-based illustration). Only pay for Affinity Photo if you are doing this professionally and want a real desktop app without a subscription.

Do not pay Adobe $23/month unless you are actually using Photoshop’s pro features every week. If you are — you already know it and you are not reading this article.