Adobe Photoshop has been considered an iconic tool for designers, illustrators, and other professionals involved in creating and editing images and designs for many years. However, there are many alternatives on the market that offer impressive functionality for editing images, as well as convenient tools for creativity and work. These alternatives are often cheaper or even free. In this article, we will tell you about the five best graphic platforms that can become a worthy replacement for Photoshop.
GIMP
The GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) platform is one of the most popular free alternatives to Photoshop. Wide customization options and many useful plugins have made this cross-platform open-source graphic editor highly popular among hobbyists, photographers, and professional designers.
Key features:
- Users can flexibly customize the platform interface: change the colors and sizes of icons, create the necessary sets of tools, and combine them into tabs, switch to full-screen mode, and so on.
- Image enhancement features help you effectively perform image correction: remove perspective distortions, apply filters, and mix channels.
- GIMP is ideal for professional photo retouching. The clone tool makes it easy to remove unwanted objects, and the restoration tool helps you fix small details.
- The editor supports many file formats: from universal (JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF) to special (Windows icon files and more). By connecting the appropriate plugin, you can add support for additional formats, including rare ones.
- The GIMP virtual file system allows you to load and save files via FTP, HTTP, SMB, and SFTP/SSH. To save disk space, any file can be saved as an archive (ZIP, GZ, or BZ2) without the need for third-party services.
- GIMP provides its own framework, allowing you to develop scripts for image processing in different programming languages (C, C++, Perl, Python, Scheme, and others).
- Open-source code gives third-party developers the freedom to modify and improve the program.
GIMP is considered one of the best free alternatives to Photoshop. This editor, as a desktop application, can be used on GNU/Linux, Microsoft Windows 7 or later, macOS 10.12 or later, Sun OpenSolaris, and FreeBSD.
Pixlr
The Pixlr platform occupies a well-deserved place among free alternatives to Adobe Photoshop in 2024. This convenient and functional online image editor offers a lot of useful tools for processing graphics manually or with the help of AI.
Key features:
- The service allows you to quickly and easily improve the quality of your photos using autocorrection tools (Auto BW and Auto Pop). In addition, you can do this by adjusting color (brightness, saturation, temperature), light (brightness, contrast, exposure), and details (sharpness, clarity, smoothness).
- Professional editing tools allow you to fine-tune images or make object-specific corrections with ease.
- Pixlr can flexibly customize images, allowing you to embed additional elements from an online library or external sources. You can also add text with different fonts and visual effects.
- The AI algorithms supported by the service efficiently edit photos and other graphic content based on text prompts entered by the user.
- With AI, you can change the size and position of the image, move objects, and even replace faces in the photo. For the latter, there is a function called Pixlr AI Face Swap.
- AI Backdrop Generator makes the process of designing and replacing image backgrounds much easier and faster. Users can create them from scratch based on text prompts and edit them using graphic effects (blur, motion, depth, splash, or posterization). This useful tool sets the platform apart from other Adobe Photoshop competitors.
- The Super Sharp function allows you to improve the quality of the image with just one click. It can significantly improve blurry, out-of-focus photos and sharpen their details.
Pixlr's basic tools are available for free. To access advanced features, you need to subscribe to one of the paid plans:
- Plus – $1.49 per month.
- Premium – $6.49 per month.
- Team – $11.99 per month.
The prices listed are valid if you pay for the entire year at once. If you pay monthly, the cost will be higher. Each plan includes a 7-day free trial.
Photopea
Over the past few years, the Photopea platform has consistently maintained its status as one of the best free alternatives to Photoshop. This photo and graphics editor demonstrates quite powerful functionality. It is available for both professionals and amateurs. It can be used through a web interface and applications for desktop and mobile devices.
Key features:
- The service has a large gallery with many types of PSD templates, including mockups, banners, and animations for social media, printed materials layouts, and more.
- Users have access to a range of image editing tools: brush, patch, spot healing, etc. Layers and their masks, selections, channels, smart objects, contours, filters, etc. are supported.
- Photopea is considered the easiest photo editing software because it has a user-friendly interface. It features a toolbar, sidebar, central work area, and top menu.
- The platform has its own file manager, which allows you to organize files and folders with working materials. In addition to local storage, it displays connected cloud storages (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and others).
- The service provides a wide range of tools for processing vector graphics: contours, vector masks, shape layers, and more.
- The program allows you to manipulate layers, including moving, rotating, bending, and performing other operations with them. Moreover, you can change colors and add color effects.
- Photopea offers several ways to automate workflows. Users can automate a specific sequence of actions, develop a script with the necessary program code, define variables, and enter values for each of them.
Canva
The graphic editor Canva is one of the most widely known and popular alternatives to Adobe Photoshop today. With its help, users can develop and edit many types of graphics: from logos and presentations to website layouts, content for social networks, and printed publications.
Key features:
- A huge set of tools for editing graphics allows us to call this service truly one of the best software for photo editing. They allow you to improve the quality of images, add effects, filters, animation, cut-and-paste objects, replace the background, and more.
- The built-in template library contains a lot of ready-made layouts of different types and formats for various tasks and areas: printing, video, business, marketing, etc. The free version of the service has more than 250,000 templates, and the paid version has over 600,000.
- The platform has a catalog of stock images with a lot of icons, pictures, buttons, infographics, clip art, and other auxiliary materials for working with graphics.
- A separate library of graphic elements contains various diagrams, gradients, illustrations, collages, animated captions, and much more. All elements are conveniently distributed into thematic categories.
- Canva has its own AI graphics generator that can create custom images in various styles based on text descriptions. With its help, users can create professional illustrations, icons, stickers, logos, infographics, and other graphic materials without any skills.
- The editor provides functionality for working with text, developing landing pages based on design layouts, and a collaborative mode.
- Magic Media Text to Video AI mode automatically creates dynamic videos based on text prompts. Finished materials are easily edited using filters, transitions, and other tools.
Canva offers 4 pricing plans:
- Free (basic functions for individual users).
- Pro (advanced tools + AI) – $15 per month or $120 per year per user.
- Teams (Pro features + collaboration mode) – $30 per month for 3 users.
- Enterprise – conditions and cost are discussed individually and are provided upon request.
Each paid plan comes with a 30-day free trial.
Krita
Our review ends with Krita – the best photo editing software for beginners. This platform is designed for working with raster and vector graphics. It is ideal for digital creativity, image editing, and 2D animation.
Key features:
- The program has a convenient, intuitive interface. Any panels and windows can be freely moved and customized, creating a personal workspace. In addition, different color themes and more than 30 dockers for connecting additional tools are available.
- Over 30 professionally designed brushes that provide a wide range of effects make this platform one of the best alternatives to Photoshop. It supports 3 ways of smoothing and stabilizing strokes, as well as a dynamic brush.
- Built-in vector graphics tools are ideal for creating comics. The service has its own library of vectors, a mode for adding text, and a number of tools for editing and saving SVG files.
- Krita has its own animation studio. Here you can professionally animate illustrations by overlaying animation, adjusting frames, and embedding audio. Finished materials can be easily converted into videos and exported to third-party applications.
- The Drawing Assistant tool contains a number of assistive features designed for artists. They make it easy to draw ellipses, create curved perspectives (such as using the fisheye mode), and perform other tasks that require high precision.
Krita is a free, open-source program under the GNU General Public License, offering a robust toolset for digital artists and animators.
Conclusion
Today, there are many worthy alternatives to Photoshop on the market, including both free open-source solutions and platforms with budget-friendly tariff plans. The services reviewed in our article offer a wide range of functionality: tools for editing raster and vector graphics, creating animations, working with video content, and much more.
Some programs have built-in AI functions that simplify and speed up work, automating complex processes. Regardless of the user's level of training – amateur or professional – these platforms can become an effective replacement for Photoshop, offering quality and convenience for free or at an affordable price.
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