The 11 Best Photoshop Alternatives That Take Your Photo Editing to The Next Level

Adobe Photoshop is the most recognizable name for designers, photographers and image editors across the world. Having somewhat of a monopoly on the market, it’s important to know that there are other Photoshop alternatives you can try.

From a price or functionality perspective, you’ll want to explore what these dependable alternatives to Photoshop have to offer.

Keep reading to learn about these Photoshop replacements!

[Summary] Best Photoshop alternatives

11 top Photoshop alternatives to try

Ready to learn more about the top Photoshop alternatives? Let’s dive in!

1. Affinity Photo 2

Price: $69.99 one-time cost, $18.49 for iPad version, or $164.99 for a Universal License

Affinity Photo 2 is one of the best Photoshop alternatives on the market. Its advanced features make it an effective tool for professional photographers and designers. There are a number of features that make Affinity Photo stand out from Photoshop and its other alternatives.

Here’s where Affinity Photo 2 shines:

• Compatibility: Affinity Photo runs on a variety of platforms and devices like Windows, macOS, and iPad, making it a good choice regardless of what platform you use. There’s also 100% file format compatibility across all devices, making it easy to work on projects.
• Precision: The precision of this program’s software makes it easy to select any part of an image or photo down to single strands of hair. Every detail can be edited and selected with the many brushes, pens and photo editing tools available in Affinity Photo 2.
• Variety: There is an enormous variety of brushes, pens and even customizable brush strokes that are available to you. This is one of the alternatives to Photoshop that offers one of the most natural painting experiences you can find among design software.
• Retouching capabilities: Smoothing skin and textures in photos has never been easier. Using the Dodge, Clone, Burn, Patch and Blemish Removal tools you can greatly enhance any photos and images with ease in Affinity Photo.

2. GIMP

Price: Free

Another free Photoshop alternative you can try is GIMP. This photo editing program has been around for a long time, and is considerably popular because it’s a free option.

While Photoshop offers stronger pixel manipulation and has more intuitive tools than GIMP, it is still a considerably powerful tool for a free Photoshop alternative. Here are some of the factors that make GIMP stand out from the crowd:

• Affordable: GIMP is a great tool for beginners who want to improve their editing skills without making a large financial commitment. While the user interface can be a bit difficult to figure out initially, it is an ideal place to practice the basics of graphic design and hone your skills. While it may cost you time to watch online tutorials and experiment, it’ll ultimately become an affordable Photoshop alternative once you master it.
• File size and storage: GIMP uses much less storage space on your computer than the other design software including the Photoshop alternatives on this list. This makes it easy to run on just about any kind of computer regardless of age. If file size and storage are issues for you then GIMP is an excellent choice.
• Customization: Is Photoshop lacking some features you wish you had? If so, GIMP is a great Photoshop alternative because it’s open-source — meaning you can customize it to your needs. It’s a great alternative if you want to customize your photo editing space.

3. Luminar Neo

Price: $99 per year

Another alternative to Photoshop is Luminar Neo. This alternative to Photoshop offers many of the same great tools, including AI editing tools.

The biggest benefits to Luminar Neo include:

• AI photo fixing tools: Replace and enhance elements like skin and landscapes in your photo with the powerful AI tools available in Luminar Neo.
• Easy to use: The user interface of Luminar Neo is easy for a beginner to use.
• Capabilities: Luminar Neo has a wide range of capabilities like lens correction, layer support, batch processing, dodge and burn, and non-destructive editing. Everything a photo editing tool needs and more is available with this software.

4. PhotoDirector 365

Price: $59.99 to $99.99 per year

There is a tool amid the Photoshop alternatives that combines the functionality of both Photoshop and Lightroom to create the ultimate tool for professional and advanced graphic designers and photographers — it’s name is PhotoDirector 365.

PhotoDirector 365 gives you access to powerful photo editing tools that allow for pixel-level editing. There are a lot of incredible features that PhotoDirector 365 can provide designers with including:

• Powerful AI tools: Enhance and edit photos with AI tools that reduce noise, remove backgrounds, brighten up images and sharpen details.
• More to use: Use PhotoDirector’s AI to make stickers, create styled effects, replace skies, do depth blurring, and more.
• Layer work: From object selection and layer templates to adjustment layers and layer masks, this tool provides incredible resources for layer work. These tools are useful for a variety of different projects and types of work making this tool one of the most versatile Photoshop alternatives for what it can be used for.

5. Procreate

Price: $19.99 one-time cost

Another alternative to Photoshop is Procreate. This app is available to use on iPad and serves as a great replacement for people who want to do more creating with their photo editing software.

Procreate is primarily used for artists that want to sketch, draw, and design, but it offers numerous great features for anyone to use:

• Color control: Procreate makes it easy for you to get your color choices right. It offers numerous tools to help you create a cohesively colorful piece.
• Fast processing: Procreate moves as fast as you do. Whether you’re drawing, painting, sketching, or moving pictures around, Procreate keeps up the pace and works lightening fast. There’s no input delay, making it a great alternative for people who want a smooth photo editing system.
• Intuituive: Procreate offers a simple layout that’s packed with features any creator would want. It also offers palm support, meaning you won’t ruin your creations by dragging your hand across as your write, draw, and paint. It’s an intuitive option that makes creating hassle-free.

6. Photopea

Price: Free

Another free Photoshop alternative is Photopea. This photo editing platform operates out of your Internet browser, so it doesn’t require any additional downloads.

Photopea is a simple option for people who want most of the tools Photoshop offers, but don’t want to pay for Photoshop. If you can look past the ads, it’s a great photo editing option because it offers:

• Mutiple file formats: From Photoshop .PSD files to RAW files, Photopea is versital in the file formats you can use for your projects. It makes it easy to transfer any current Photoshop files you have to the new editor.
• A variety of tools: Much like Photoshop, Photopea offers numerous tools to edit images. From blending modes to the magnetic lasso, you’ll have all the tools you need to edit pictures.
• Features you’d find in a downloadable editor: If you’re editing on the web, you might think it wouldn’t be as intuitive as a downloadable program. The opposite is true — Photopea offers a right-click menu option, importation of custom brushes, and more. You get all the benefits of a photo editor without it taking up file space.

7. Sketch

Price: $10 per month per editor, or $120 per seat for a Mac-only license

One of the top replacements for Photoshop is Sketch. If you’re a designer, Sketch is a great option for creating graphics, building website features, and more.

If you opt to choose Sketch, you’ll harness tons of great features, including:

• Reusable design templates: Feel like you need help getting started with a project? Sketch offers design templates to help you start projects faster and get inspired.
• Feedback: Working on a team design project? Sketch enables you to leave comments for collaborators and work seamlessly to create the best designs.
• Color control: Having a design that fits your brand or style is paramount. With Sketch, you have complete control to create your color schemes, so every piece fits your brand like a glove.

8. Krita

Price: Free from Krita website, $12.99 from Mac App Store, $14.99 on Microsoft Store

Next up on this list of Photoshop replacements, let’s talk about Krita. Krita is a great alternative for people who use Photoshop to sketch and paint images.

Here’s what Krita offers:

• Customization: As an open-source program, Krita can easily be customized to your needs. Numerous artists commit to adding new tools and improving the platform.
• Tons of tools: Krita offers numerous tools to make creating a breeze. They even offer over 100 brush types to help you get the exact look you need!
• Community connections: One unique aspect of Krita is that they offer a supportive community of artists and designers that can give you feedback on your creations. This community can help you discover new features, get tips for optimizing your work while using the tool, and more!

9. Pixelmator Pro

Price: $49.99 one-time cost

If you’re looking for a Mac-exclusive Photoshop replacement, check out Pixelmator Pro. This platform offers many of the basic features Photoshop offers, making it a great option for photo-editing newbies.

Pixelmator Pro is one of the best Photoshop alternatives because it offers:

• A simple interface: You don’t need to worry about trying to navigate complicated features with Pixelmator Pro. It offers an interface that is beginner-friendly and easy to figure out.
• Advanced coloring options: Pixelmator Pro makes it easy to edit and color images. It offers numerous tools that enable you to adjust colors and create layered compositions with ease.
• Templates and mockups: Pixelmator Pro offers tons of templates and mockups to help you get the creative ideas flowing.

10. Paintshop Pro

Price: $79.99 one-time cost for Pro, $99.99 one-time cost for Pro Ultimate

One of the longest-standing Photoshop alternatives is Corel PaintShop Pro. This photo editor is only for Windows users, but it offers a lot of great features to help you make eye-catching graphics and designs.

If you opt to use PaintShop Pro instead of Photoshop, here’s what you’ll get:

• AI tools: PaintShop Pro offers numerous AI tools to help you enhance and improve your photos. You can use these tools to help create better and sharper images for your projects.
• Numerous tools: PaintShop Pro offers dozens of tools to help you create better graphics. From texture tools to painting tools, you have everything you need to design better images.
• Customizable workspaces: With PaintShop Pro, you can create a unique workspace to help optimize your creation process. Need multiple workspaces for different projects? PaintShop Pro makes it easy to create what you need when you need it.

11. LunaPic

Price: Free

Despite LunaPic’s interface looking outdated, it’s a high-powered photo editing tool that you can use instead of Photoshop. This browser-based photo editor offers numerous similar features to Photoshop, all for free.

Despite LunaPic’s simple interface, it offers a lot of great things, including:

• Advanced editing tools: LunaPic offers numerous advance options for editing photos, including background removal, object removal, and colorization.
• Multiple source options: Whether you have a photo link or an image on your computer, you can easily upload it to LunaPic’s photo editor.
• Browser access: You don’t need to make space for LunaPic on your computer — it’s hosted on the web and easy to access through a browser.

How to choose between the Photoshop alternatives for your editing needs

Don’t be afraid to dive right in and start creating. The best way to learn is to practice and explore these Photoshop alternatives, so feel free to test out different photo editing software until you find one that suits you best.

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