Free Alternatives to Photoshop
The Ones Worthy of Serious Photographers
In today’s world, there are a seemingly endless number of options when it comes to photo editing tools. And with the rise of cell phone photography, the app stores for IOS and Android are littered with applications to help you edit and adjust your photos. Some are worthy of use; others, not so much. But back in the day, the OG, if you will, of photography editors was Adobe Photoshop. And to this day, it remains the gold standard.
That being said, older versions of Photoshop used to set people back $300, $400, $500 or more! And that might be even with a generous student discount. A few years ago, Adobe took the king of editors to a cloud-based format. And while it is helpful for some not to shell out all that cost at once, the monthly subscriptions can still be cost-prohibitive for some people.
So, what are serious photographers on a budget supposed to do? Well, one option is to check out some of these best free alternatives available.
PIXLR Express
(My Bronze Medal Option)
This web-based editor has a free version with some decent features. It tends to have a user-friendly feel and simplistic interface. It also keeps track of any files you recently opened in the program, which is nice if you want to go back and work on something later. There are built-in AI tools that can help with everything from removing backdrops and objects to adjusting sharpness and contrast. For basic editing and possibly a little more, this is a pretty solid choice.
The biggest negatives of PIXLR are the limited tools it provides compared to the feature-heavy GIMP and Photopea. It is web-based, so if you are more of the crowd that prefers software directly on your device, that might not sit well with you. It is also a bit lackluster when it comes to just how much control you have over the impact of some of the editing tools. And when it comes to layers, it’s not the best for working with this type of editing.
GIMP
(My Silver Medal Option)
Gimp is free and open-source and was introduced in 1998 and thus has been around a long time. Just the fact that it has had this kind of staying power says a lot. There are a lot of features, and it has a strong community of users to fall back on for support. There are highly effective tools for color correction and exposure adjustment. There are a plethora of great filters as well that allow you to easily enhance, distort or add artistic effects to any file. While I haven’t tried it myself, I do understand that it is also compatible with many Photoshop plugins.
On the downside, unlike either PIXLR or Photopea, it does require an actual software download. For those who prefer web or cloud-based options, this might be a turnoff. Updates are also very infrequent. Before the newest version was released, it had been several years without an update! And while it has tons of features, the names and locations of those features within the program can be confusing or hard to find, and the user manual is only available online, so if your Internet access is down, you’re out of luck.
Photopea
(My Gold Medal Option)
This editor has been around since 2013 and is loaded with tools similar to Photoshop like GIMP, but is easier to navigate. If you work with layers a lot, this one is fantastic. It allows for easy importing of files from various cloud-based storage options such as Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive and more. There is an upgrade from the free version that will run you just $5.00 a month if you are interested, but the free version is more than sufficient. From the most basic tools used for cropping, a healing brush and a dodge/burn feature, to more advanced options working with color correction, sharpening and blending, this is probably the best option of the three. However, that’s only really something you can know by checking them out for yourself.
There are a few drawbacks. Like PIXLR Express, it is web-based, and thus an Internet connection is always required. Unlike Photoshop, you cannot open multiple files and view them side-by-side. You will need to switch between tabs. Other than that, there is not much else to complain about.
Whichever free tool works for you, whether it be Photopea, GIMP, PIXLR Express or something else altogether, happy editing.
About the Creator
Jason A
Writer, photographer and graphic design enthusiast with a professional background in journalism, poetry, e-books, model photography, portrait photography, arts education and more.
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