Are you having enough of everything being a subscription? Need best free photo editor to edit a picture or make a social media graphic ASAP? I understand completely – it is the price and the impatience. Adobe Photoshop is the industry favorite by a long shot, but there are many free/open source Photoshop alternatives available. As a Creative Person certified by Photoshop, I have used it for over 20 years in my corporate marketing and freelance work; and I have created graphics for web as well as sarcastic t-shirt designs.
After that encounter, and after I wasted my innumerable hours searching through and trying out several apps, these are the top free AI photo editing programs.
What makes the best free photo editor?
AI functions and increased capabilities. With all apps you can set brightness, contrast, crop and a filter. To rival Photoshop an app must feature graphic design tools and the latest AI tech in order to boost your productivity.
- Ease of use. The basic architecture of Photoshop changed a lot in 30 years but its interface and design was not changed.Why? Just like that, it works. The best free photo editor will do them just as good.
- 100% free. C’mon, we are not trying to get Photoshop here, are we? While there are many professional and paid Photoshop alternatives out there, in this roundup, I will explore free options, therefore you can enjoy the pro features on your student budget.
- Non-destructive editing. There is an “undo ” button, but the most desirable is layers. The benefit of annotation and design functionality. Moreover, tools of today take power of just photo edits and include graphics, trendy fonts, and templates to create social media content faster and easier.
Testing 40 apps this year, I selected the 9 best apps to appear herein. Comparing them all, I applied the tools I normally use Photoshop for: color-grading, toning, cropping, retouching, masking, blending modes, creating graphics for social media and adding text. I also put the specially designed special effects of each app to test.
Choose the best free alternative to Photoshop for your specific needs below, after more than 35 researching hours of hand use.
The best free photo editing software at a glance
Name | Best for | Standout features | Pricing |
Adobe Express | Easy AI features | Easy to use generative AI like text-to-image and text effects | Free; Premium plan start at $9.99/month, or with Creative Cloud Creative Cloud. |
Canva | Remote teams | Huge library of high quality templates for all graphic, video, presentation, and document needs | Free; $14.99/month for a premium plan; (For premium plan) |
Inkscape | Graphic designers | Productivity enhancements for graphic designers, including pattern making and alignment tools | Free |
Krita | Artists and illustrators | Detailed digital reproduction of brushes for illustrators and digital painters | Free |
LunaPic | Powerful one-click editing tools | Smart object removal, and other advanced edits, made easy for beginners | Free |
Photopea | Using custom Photoshop brushes | Completely free, highly capable Photoshop alternative | Free; $8/month with ads turned off |
PhotoRoom | Product photos and eCommerce | Background replacement and scene generation for standout product photos | Free up to 250 free exports, $14.99 for premium plan. |
Pixlr | An authentic Photoshop experience | Beginner-friendly UI for text-to-image AI and advanced edits | Free; the premium rates are $1.99-$7.99 per month for additional features. |
Sumopaint | A full Adobe suite experience on a budget | All the creative tools you need to edit photos, create graphics, videos, podcasts, and more | Free; $4/pm for the premium features and access to the complete Sumo arsenal of apps. |
Best free Photoshop alternative for easy AI features
Adobe Express (Web, iOS, Android)
![](https://peaceloverbio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/picB11.jpg)
Adobe Express pros:
- Easy-to-use AI tools to cut the content production time.
- Graphics, photos, video, animation, documents and many others in one.
Adobe Express cons:
- Some others apps besides provide more effective video-centered editing capabilities
- Users are restricted in AI tool use in free version.
In case that you have a Adobe Creative Cloud subscriber license you have Photoshop installed, then why should you use Adobe Express instead? Because you can bring the power of Photoshop with you everywhere through Express’s web or mobile options.
In addition, Adobe revamped Express and introduced a lot of AI-powered features like generative AI that can generate photos from text, one tap for text effects, and smart object removal and replacement by AI. The AI tools of express are among the best and easiest I have tested so far -and a difficult combination too achieve.
Generative AI are especially efficient for the drop-down menus, which helps you to avoid typing your prompt correctly, unlike Midjourney and other rivals. Even though Express renders prompts well, it does also have its mistakes. As such, specify “isolate on white background” and see how you now have a clean cut-line of an object and a transparent PNG you can use anywhere.
![](https://peaceloverbio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/picB2-3.jpg)
And it’s not so shocking that the creators of the actual Photoshop have created this almost perfect Photoshop alternative.
Express is designed to empower all graphic designers, from power users to beginners, to work on GIFs, videos and PDFs without leaving the program. And let’s address the elephant in the room: Express boasts of Canva’s rivaling library of outstanding customizable templates. If you have premium access,you get Adobe Stock photos, Adobe Fonts, and internal post scheduler for social media as well.
Adobe Express use Creative Cloud libraries as well as storage and integration with Creative Cloud bridges Express to other 2000+ apps directly. There are a number of possibilities such as sending automatic reminders to Slack and/or emails to your team when you download a new Adobe Express design.
Or, my personal favorite: sync the Google Drive folder with Creative Cloud. A great way to ensure your brand identify is always up to date and accessible at any time including on your mobile device or throughout your entire team.
Adobe Express pricing: Free; Premium $9.99/month, comes automatically with Adobe Creative Cloud subscriptions.
Best free photo editor for maintaining brand consistency across remote teams
Canva (Web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows)
![Canva (Web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows)](https://peaceloverbio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/picB3-3-1024x471.jpg)
Canva pros:
- Highly functional, practical and easy-to-use AI photo editing tools all in one place.
- Top-tier AI generative video and social media video tool suitable for novices.
Canva cons:
- The best features are usually reserved for only the premium subscription plans.
- A proper file organization could be implemented.
Canva focuses more on entry to intermediate level designers, but it is still very good at including most photo type edits a pro would do. Canva has always been the best tool for photo and graphic editting if everything else is “okay”, but with its launch of the AI-run Magic Studio in September 2023 it has left everything else even further behind.
Magic Studio is, to my understanding, the most advanced current AI photo editing suite on the market. Whereas Adobe Express is an advanced editor, you can use it to make graphics, presentations, and other content at a professional level. Along with the editing, Magic Studio also have features of generative AI like text-to-image prompts and video as well. Yes, just write the story you want to see and Canva produces a video with all of the elements created using artificial intelligence—no camera required. Used appropriately that is productive for social media content.
Along with iPadOS 17’s latest update, Magic Grab is a one of a kind tool that functions in the same way, where you can tap and hold an item in a photo (e.g. a person, object, etc.) and strip it away to use as a transparent PNG in another app. This can be used within Canva as a means to isolate a person or object for between Canva projects or can easily extract sections and export them to other apps.
Canva has also added generative AI copywriting to that fray with a ChatGPT-spiced content generator. I disagree with it as a writer but I will as well accept the fact that is a handy option for creators and small businesses on a budget, and makes Canva pricing economical considering the costs.value.
Canva has a one-page website builder and templates to create landing pages that are simple and much more unequivocally, Canva offers many templates in its extensive template library for creating designs of social media, documents, and others, and also illustrations and stock photos too.Whew.
In terms of actual editing, layers are easy to use: Either you can click and drag separately by yourself, or between the other ones. Nevertheless, it is teamwork that lies at the core of Canva. Establishing a team empowers others to use assets you’ve uploaded to Canva, give feedback, and participate in collaborative editing. The ‘Brand Kit’ function of the Premium plan allows you to maintain your brand logos, and gives you the ability to have brand color swatches and custom fonts on-hand.
But you can still achieve brand consistency on the free plan: Please, store the logo files and a picture with specified colors (for example, hex code) on Uploads or in Google Drive/Dropbox/etc.folder imported to Canva. With the entire team adopting the proper logo, colors, and fonts in all marketing materials at home and abroad, consistent branding is therefore institutionalized. It is a perfect choice for a small business and entrepreneurs looking to start a marketing team, or outsourcing design to external contractors.
Canva pricing: Freemium; the Premium plan is for one user at $14.99/month and for up to 5 team members at $29.99/month.
Best free photo editor app for graphic design
Inkscape (Windows, Mac, Linux)
![Inkscape (Windows, Mac, Linux)](https://peaceloverbio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/picB12-1-1024x517.jpg)
Inkscape pros:
- Mostly, the program offers classes in path, stroke, drawing, and typography.
- Automated pattern creation
- 100% free and open-sourced
Inkscape cons:
- A bit affright for new-comers and non-designers though.
Inkscape bears a striking resemblance to Photoshop at first glance. It definitely has stronger graphics emphasis vs. photos with many design features for geometric patterns, shapes formation and alignment.
I’m not a pro designer but I find Inkscape’s pen tool is much easier to use than Photoshop’s version. At first, I thought I must be so good to pick out every edge that surrounds my dog in order to separate him from the background. The lines coincided perfectly with his curves; by the way, once I finished the path Inkscape chosen him with perfect separation of background and the figure. It turns out that Inkscape is intelligent enough to notice the little details that I missed while using the path around him. For example, his fur sticking out in some spots, and the shape of his ears, and to make a matching subject mask even from my quick and sloppy pen path. It gave me such a great feeling as a pro.
Then, with my preset mask created, Inkscape gives me the ability to finely apply layer adjustments like exposure and color control, but this time only to my dog rather than the background, or the reverse—both are photo editor features I highly value in any editing app.
Inkscape offers design tools way beyond the path, stroke, vector, and calligraphy tools that designers love, with typography tools to achieve literally any art or design project, and that, too free.
Inkscape pricing: Free
Best free photo editor app for artists and illustrators
Krita (Windows, Mac, Linux)
![](https://peaceloverbio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/picB10.jpg)
Krita pros
- Extensive brush library for artists;
- Completely free and open-source.
Krita cons:
- The editing adjustments of this app aren’t as smooth as those on other photo-focused apps.
Krita’s interphase is much like Photoshop’s one, but I found the brush selection and customization panel more intuitive. This really made me think when I got back to the old Photoshop and tasted Krita for a while. The brushes by default are hidden right under the layer panel, though you can organize your tools any way you like. And they come with many predefined brush styles that range from pencils to watercolor and much more.
Krita and Photoshop allows you to fully customize each brush as well as add your own brushes or import downloaded brushes, but these brushes are so well thought out that I cannot imagine needing to change them out-of-the-box. As you might imagine, many digital painters as well as illustrators will probably go for the more customizable one like I did.
Used together with an already connected laptop drawing pad, Krita is a robust drawing program that can be used to create professional workflows. It also does a characteristic job with photo editing, but fiddling with things like exposure and colors isn’t as intuitive as dedicated photography apps like Lightroom. In comparison, Krita’s built in noise reduction is better at cleaning up high ISO or background noise than some paid options for giving a more natural look (25%).
Krita has many other advance features, such as a code editor in Python that enables you to automate your tasks, and it also has animation features, moreover, it can open and save PSD format files to allow you to switch between Photoshop at work and Krita at home.
Krita has more painters’ tools but any photographic editing can also be done in the program.The best part? It is a completely free and an open source software.
Krita pricing: Free
Best free photo editing app for powerful, one-click editing tools
LunaPic (Web)
![LunaPic (Web)](https://peaceloverbio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/picB7-1-1024x449.jpg)
LunaPic pros:
- Making those advanced edits for beginners, like a background blur, object removal, and more, becomes the easiest one.
- 100% free and web-based
LunaPic cons:
- Saving your work is not done as the browser gets accidently closed.
While LunaPic is not especially modern on the outside, you’ll be able to find all the tools here and even more, such as one-click background blur, animation effects, resolution upscaling, and easy object removal.
Always remember that you’re editing the text above your image. It’s not difficult to ignore it though, yet it’s connected to a number of equally important features, e.g. the cropping and background removal tools, and that’s where you will push “undo” if the need arises.
This is a really cool feature called the Animation menu. These are effects that are well implemented and you can turn a photograph into a GIF, short video in (AVI, MP4, or MPG format) to use in TikToks or Reels. The best part is that they all are automatic. All one needs is the click of a button, and LunaPic animates it.So easy.
Given that we know that algorithms are favoring Videos over Photos currently, these effects can be very helpful for your video marketing strategy. Personal favorites include “Snowfall” and “In Focus.” Another favorite feature: manual focus. You can use “Adjust Focus” tool to sharpen slightly unfocused photos without getting the over-sharpened look. “Auto-Blur Background” will also work for any photo and isolate your subject which does the job perfectly. However, I would recommend that you keep the background blur under about 50% to make the artifact look natural.
Masking subjects and removing objects somewhat surprisingly work. Go to Edit > Smart Object Removal , using a loose brush, move over the thing you want to eliminate, and click Remove at the top. It was a mouthful but it didn’t take much time. The result could be a task for ages (and a lot of clicks) using the Clone Stamp tool in Photoshop.
![](https://peaceloverbio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/picB8-1.jpg)
At first, LunaPic’s UI made me cringe, but the longer I spent using it, the more it grew on me. It’s the perfect mix of advanced tools and one-click simplicity.
LunaPic pricing: Free
Best free Photoshop alternative for using custom brushes
Photopea (Web)
![Photopea (Web)](https://peaceloverbio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/picB5-2-1024x552.jpg)
Photopea pros:
- 100% free
- User experience and tools you have always been familiar with in Photoshop.
Photopea cons:
- Does not have some AI features that the others have like the auto object removal.
“Wait a moment, how did these ads get into my Photoshop?” and you react, but then it becomes clear that you’re in a web browser.
Photopea has a dang accurate Photoshop-inspired layout, with the functions to back it up: you can use it on top of PSD files, edit RAW files, and export anything you make to PSD. And something completely unique compared to all the other apps on this list: ABR files can also be imported and used as custom brushes.
My personal favorite? And you can right-click to get the option menu. “Right-click in web app? Witchcraft! ” Plus, check out that Layer Style window: almost the same as Photoshop.
A high level of detail is seen in the Photopea tool. It doesn’t feel like you’re using web app, and that’s the idea. Even though you won’t see one-click filters or AI powered features there I think that Photopea is the most functional online Photoshop alternative use today. Purchasing the premium account will give you more online file storage space and remove the ads, but I’m sure you don’t need such things. It is a relief to see that the app has all the free editing features compiled together.
Photopea pricing: Free; the elite plan is $8/month
Best free photo editor app for product photos and eCommerce
PhotoRoom (iOS, Android, Web)
![](https://peaceloverbio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/picB9-1-1024x421.jpg)
PhotoRoom pros:
- Batching saves a hell of a time in shooting product photographs.
- High technology in the removal of the background and switch to give the product scenes that look very professional.
PhotoRoom cons:
- There are restrictions for free version regarding many background swap options.
If you sell your products online, you need the PhotoRoom app. PhotoRoom, however, can edit exposure, color, etc., but it is most powerful when it comes to eCommerce traders – background removal, background replacement and full range of t-shirt and other mockups, and size templates for such platforms as eBay, Poshmark, etc.
Surprisingly, functionality such as resizing a photo is an extra feature for which you have to pay, but you would just as well export your finalized photo and resize/crop it for free in some other app, or natively with the Photos app of your phone.
PhotoRoom has a lot of content targeted for social media like templates for Black Friday sales, new collections, and upcoming launches. My favorite feature though would be the background swap in a blink of an eye. Uploading your product photo, PhotoRoom will scan it accurately and cut it out from your backdrop in less than a second—and you can select any of their flatlay or scene backgrounds as a substitute. And while the final result wouldn’t obviously announce “fake background”, it is of high enough quality to use as product photos on your website and on every social media platform.
However, the reason that makes PhotoRoom a must-have for merchants is a Batch Mode. Ohh, just upload a whole bunch of product photos, wait a bit, and PhotoRoom will cut them out, replace the background, and export them – ready for use.Mega time savings.
In fact, if you want to save even more time integrate PhotoRoom with and this way any photo that you drop into a certain folder or record will be background free without your participation.
These can work with any cloud storage provider that can provide integration with including Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, and others.
PhotoRoom pricing: Free for a limited number of exports; $14.99/mo for unlimited exports and advanced features.
Best free photo editor free for an authentic Photoshop experience
Pixlr E and X (Windows, Web)
![Pixlr E and X (Windows, Web)](https://peaceloverbio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/picB4-3-1024x478.jpg)
Pixlr pros:
- Generative AI text-to-image interface is perfect for rookies.
- An authentic Photoshop user experience is what most people get.
Pixlr cons:
- Features confusingly divided between two apps: Pixlr X and Pixlr E.
Pixlr recreates the original Photoshop interface and does it all in a small browser-based app (There is a desktop offline app for Windows). Or, rather, two apps: But, Pixlr X and Pixlr E might be confusing at the beginning. I suppose they would merge them into one app, because Pixlr E is the “complexity photo editor” and Pixlr X is for “beginners”.
Pixlr E is similar with Photoshop. You have there all the familiar tools lined up to the left and menus are on top. Even the Layers panel will be weil-known to the users of Photoshop. The best part is that Pixlr has all the same layers and blending modes as Photoshop, including soft light!
Pixlr X is where things get a little spicier with their latest generative AI update: you are now able to use the text-to-image prompts to make art. It’s cheap to start AI prompting using the easy button on the right you can use to make changes like style and size. In the free plan five photos are allowed per day.
Pixlr X also carries more plain editing workflows like the Object removal or animation. With this ‘Pixlr X’ tool, I was able to do the edit for my dog (who fell asleep with his tongue drooling) even without the technical knowledge but in just less than 30 seconds with the help from the heal brush and the clone stamp tools.
Pixlr X and E allow you to easily change between them because they both store projects in one joint library and you can work on your photos in Pixlr X quickly, then switch back to Pixlr E to make other amendments. (Be advised: It only saves to the temporary folder of cache, so clearing your browser cache will delete them. If you want to keep something, just download it their a PXZ format, then you save it to the hard drive.
Pixlr E and X pricing: Both are free both individually and are the same premium plan, which includes both apps, is $7.99/month per 1 person, or $12.99/month for teams of 5 or more.
Best free photo editor for the full Adobe apps experience on a budget
Sumopaint (Web, Mac, Windows)
![](https://peaceloverbio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/picB6-2.jpg)
Sumopaint pros:
- Indeed, the Sumo app suite total is only $4/month.
- Text-to-image AI prompting
Sumopaint cons:
- No built-in masking functionality for photo editing.
If you want to have a cheaper for Adobe suite, try Sumo family of apps. Sumopaint is their free Photoshop alternative app that does quite well of having all the collages you need and a simple user interface.
To my surprise, it is indeed a good tool for Illustrator, as well. You can click and draw using the mouse, and the app is also available for mobile devices. I tried it with an iPad and Apple Pencil, and hands-on drawing was as convenient and responsive as working in Procreate. Even if you don’t want to become the next Van Gogh using your browser, Sumopaint is ideal for doing quick digital illustrations, or putting your drawings on top of your photographs, for example, for your youtube thumbnails.
Sumo has filled all of its apps with new AI tools with the one in Sumopaint being AI-powered image quality upscaling and a surprisingly good AI text-to-image generator. You get three of these for free and four of them for in the premium plan. The only thing that is a little difficult there is that the process of prompt generation is not as friendly as what you get with Adobe Express or Canva, but the results are simply great, particularly when using the “negative prompts” field to tell your model what you don’t want to see in the image. It is difficult to figure out the slider for “prompt strength” as there is no help text which clearly states the use of it, so one has to try out every option to fine-tuned your image.
Sumopaint is a set of tools to retouch and edit a photo which covers exposure, color and everything, graphics elements on separate layers and AI-drawn images and then combine them all.
paintSumo is free but subscribing Premium ($4/m) is worth it especially for all the functionality you need in video and music editing, podcasts, and even 3D animations.
Sumopaint pricing: Freed; Across the entire Sumo suite of applications, it’s $4 per month only.
Which best free photo editor should you use?
What is best for you free Photoshop alternative may vary, based on your preferences. Can generative AI give you amazing images and imitate real life existence without any background? Do you need the top-grade noise management and coloring systems for your photography? Are you looking for templates which are ready-made, with the possibility of tweaking them to fit your needs for social media or a website?
- As these are all free, you can go over them and test them out until you find that one that fit best to you.
- Find so many more fantastic free Photoshop alternatives than those listed here. undefined
- Hotpot AI releases for free image creation.
- Capture One Express version for the Fujifilm photographers, who seek the best Fuji RAW format editor.
- Lensa is available now using free AI-powered portrait art for social media.
Or, if you are ready to splurge for your photo editing software, check out this review of the best AI photo editors.