As a photographer, graphic designer or digital artist, you likely can‘t live without Adobe Photoshop. It‘s the industry standard for countless creative fields with its versatile tools for image editing, compositing, graphic design and digital illustration.
But between its steep learning curve and growing subscription costs, Photoshop simply isn‘t accessible or practical for many.
That‘s where alternatives come in handy. Photoshop alternatives replicate the core editing and creation capabilities at a fraction of the price. Some even exceed Photoshop for specific use cases like RAW photo processing.
This guide serves as a comprehensive overview of the top Photoshop alternatives in 2023 based on specialization, features and value.
We‘ll analyze options across a spectrum – from free open source tools to full-fledged paid replacements. My goal is to arm you with everything needed to determine which alternative(s) best fit your budget, platform and creative requirements.
How to Evaluate Photoshop Alternatives
With so many options to consider, focus on these key criteria as you assess replacements to Adobe‘s software juggernaut:
Pricing and Licensing
- What purchase options are available? Perpetual one-time license? Subscriptions?
- Is there a free or freemium tier?
- What‘s included in each pricing tier?
Cost and licensing models vary widely. GIMP is free and open source for example, while Capture One‘s lowest tier is $15/month. Factor budget constraints as you evaluate options.
Platform and Device Support
- Does the tool support your OS – Windows, Mac, Linux?
- Can you access it on the desktop and iPad/mobile?
- Is it purely web-based? Or available as a desktop program?
Consider cross-device support and mobility requirements. Certain tools like Photopea only run in browsers, while Affinity offers a unified workflow across desktop and iPad.
Learning Curve
- How intuitive and easy-to-grasp is the user interface and tools?
- Is the documentation thorough and doable for newcomers?
- Does it use standard vs. unfamiliar key commands?
Keep in mind your willingness and ability to learn. Applications like GIMP involve steeper ramp-up time compared to user-friendly options like Pixelmator and Canva.
Focus Area
- Is the alternative generalized like Photoshop?
- Or specialized for photography, graphics, digital art etc.?
- Does it neatly fit your intended creative applications?
Certain alternatives concentrate on niches – Painter for digital illustration or Capture One for RAW photography. Choose tools tailored to your projects.
Features and Tools
- What editing features are must-haves vs. nice-to-haves for you?
- Do the filters, adjustments layers, plugins meet your needs?
- How extensive are the brushes, fonts and asset libraries?
Strike a balance between power-packed tools and clutter-free simplicity. Evaluate if feature depth matches your current and future requirements.
With key criteria in mind, let‘s survey some frontrunners that creatives turn to in place of Photoshop.
Best Photoshop Alternatives for Creatives
1. Affinity Photo
Recognized as "Best Photoshop Alternative" by various experts, Affinity Photo packs professional-grade tools rivaling Adobe for a fraction of the cost.
For pixel-based image editing and manipulation, Affinity Photo ticks all boxes:
✔️ Huge library of adjustments, filters and live effects
✔️ Support for layers, masks and unlimited undos
✔️ Smooth pan and zoom at 60fps even on large images
✔️ Compatibility with Photoshop plugins
✔️ Integrated RAW editing workspace with lens corrections
Professionals laud Affinity‘s silky smooth performance, especially when applying complex selections even on lower RAM systems. The non-destructive workflow also minimizes destructive changes.
In terms of exports and interoperability, Affinity plays nice too. You can open and import PSD files without issues. File formats like PNG, JPG, GIF, SVG, TIFF and PDF are also supported for exports. This facilitates seamless workflows with other programs in your creative pipeline.
But Affinity isn‘t without downsides. Some users sorely miss certain automations like batch processing that they relied on with Photoshop. The asset management and organization functionality also lags behind Adobe Lightroom. Serif keeps rapidly improving though – closing gaps with every update.
Given its specialization for pixel-based workflows, power users focused on photography, compositing and matte painting get immense value. For $55 one-time payment, Affinity Photo presents a hugely compelling case to ditch pricier subscriptions.
In a survey by Switch to Mac, Affinity Photo scored 4.8/5 based on user reviews – higher than Photoshop CC‘s rating.
"Affinity Photo continues to amaze me every time I use it. Incredibly fast, smooth and capable without needing the computing power you‘d expect. Easily replaces Photoshop in every way." – Dave C, Photo Retoucher
2. Capture One
While not a Photoshop replacement per se, Capture One dominates as the gold standard RAW editor and photography workflow manager. Think of it as a turbocharged Lightroom on steroids.
Engineered solely for photography workflows, Capture One blows away everything else for:
✔️ Precision colors, details and corrections from RAW files
✔️ Layers and masks support for composites
✔️ Effortless tethered shoots and batch editing capabilities
✔️ Custom styling packs for stunning looks
✔️ Smooth asset search, sorting and culling
The specialized RAW conversion engine is simply unparalleled. Expect to achieve far better detail, colors and dynamic range from files compared to Adobe Camera Raw or Lightroom. Features like auto horizon alignment also save tons of effort.
While not as loaded for graphic design work, Capture One‘s flexibility keeps improving. Recent updates brought welcomed tools like workspaces, brushes and gradients.
The main caveat is higher cost. Subscription plans start at $15/month with yearly options available for savings. But given the pure processing horsepower and efficiency gains, professionals happily pay up. For high-volume commercial shoots, Capture One easily boosts productivity to offset expenses.
It snags an average 4.8/5 rating on GetApp based on 685 reviews. Users highlight excellent rendering quality and smooth performance even when handling thousands of raw images.
"I’ve switched completely from Lightroom to Capture One for my workflow and never looking back. My images have never looked better." – Aaron Nace, Professional Photographer
3. Krita
Krita dominates as the best free and open source painting toolkit for digital illustration. Built by artists for artists, it offers a complete set of vector tools, flexible brushes, layers and filters tailored to creative illustration.
The extensive features enable all illustration genres – comics, manga, matte painting and more:
✔️ Intuitive wraparound panning canvas and out-of-the-box perspective guides
✔️ Stabilizers and rulers for inking flowing brush strokes
✔️ Smooth multi-brush painting via resource sharing capability
✔️ Complete vector and text toolsets
✔️ Animation framework for bringing illustrations to life
Krita excels over Photoshop with canvas navigation and drawing assists. The brush engine is also far more customizable. Artists benefit from the continuous evolution driven by direct community feedback rather than a commercial entity.
Still, Krita lacks the organizational capabilities of creative suites from Adobe or Affinity. File format support is also inconsistent at times. As an open source project, bugs and issues can rarely disrupt workflows until fixes ship.
But for cost-conscious illustrators, it‘s an incredible value. Krita keeps gaining traction especially among comic artists and hobbyists.
It holds a shining 4.6/5 average user rating on Softpedia highlighting its constant improvements and features tuned for illustration.
"If you want to draw digitally, get Krita. It‘s insanely powerful and customizable, lightweight, free and open source." – David Revoy, Concept Artist
4. Pixelmator Pro
Pixelmator Pro balances user-friendliness and image enhancement tools for a delightful editing experience on Mac. Priced at just $40, its Photoshop-esque interface and Apple ecosystem polish attracts casual iOS/macOS users.
For basic to moderate photo editing needs, it checks key boxes:
✔️ Non-destructive workflow with Photos app connectivity
✔️ Gorgeous UI with presets browser
✔️ Machine learning powered selection and repair tools
✔️ Painterly brushes for image composites and effects
✔️ Robust color adjustment options
Pixelmator retains familiarity for ex-Photoshop users with organization, shortcuts and layouts. New users also acclimate faster given its simplicity. Integrations with macOS elements like Photos libraries and iCloud truly elevates convenience.
Hardcore photographers may still lean towards Capture One or Affinity for specialized adjustments though. And the iPad version still lacks feature parity with the desktop app. But Pixelmator meets the image enhancement needs of most hobbyists and web designers with ease.
It bags a 4.7 average user rating on the Mac App Store. Users praise its role as an accessible yet capable image editor for casual workflows.
"Pixelmator Pro gives me all the features I need in a photo editor without the headache of too many options or a big learning curve. Well worth the money for how it speeds up my editing." – Christine V, Design Student
5. Canva
While not a pixel editor, Canva dominates as the desired graphic design toolkit for non-designers. Anyone can create stunning social media posts, banners, logos and more using Canva‘s massive template library, drag-drop elements and fonts starting at free.
With over 100 million users globally, creatives and small business owners turn to Canva for:
✔️ Photo editing basics like cropping, filters and touchup
✔️ Flexible templates covering every graphic category
✔️ Resizable design elements, icons and illustrations
✔️ One-click auto-apply backgrounds and effects
✔️ Brand asset management with folders and collections
✔️ Team collaboration capabilities
Novices benefit immensely from the simple interface requiring no design expertise. Creating eye-catching graphics is as easy as tweaking template styles. More advanced users still leverage Canva for social content and mobile designs given quicker iteration.
Canva does ultimately lack robust image editing functionality offered in Photoshop and Affinity Photo. And its singular focus on templates burdens freeform creativity at times. But it neatly fills its role for visual communication and marketing graphics accessible to all.
On average Canva scores 4.7/5 across reviews on Capterra highlighing its key advantages for non-designers.
6. GIMP
No survey of Photoshop alternatives is complete without GIMP – likely the most used free and open source image editor globally. While less polished than paid options, GIMP replicates most day-to-day image editing and manipulation features users expect:
✔️ Layer-based editing
✔️ Support for hundred of plugins
✔️ Batch editing automation capabilities
✔️ Flexible selections via paths and customizable brushes
✔️ Extensive transformation filters
It shares much of Photoshop‘s DNA – especially once you customize prefs and layouts closer to Adobe‘s offering. This helps the transition and ramp up for deserters from Photoshop. And the passionate open source community rallies behind GIMP meaning frequent bug fixes and guide material online.
Yet, GIMP does suffer from chronic UI and UX issues given its reliance on donations and volunteers. Performance also takes a hit on larger or batch editing tasks compared to paid alternatives. Patience is advised as proficiency ramps up.
But for free software, it astonishes with functionality leveraging scanned technical documents and other image types. It suits photography enthusiasts, casual designers and students on a budget.
On Alternative.me, GIMP averages 4/5 based on 330 user reviews praising its balance of editing power and accessibility as free open source software.
"I don‘t use super complex editing features so didn‘t need paying hundreds for Photoshop. GIMP has all the image editing capabilities I need for basic corrections and modifications." – Chris W, Landscape Photographer
How The Alternatives Stack Up
| GIMP | Canva | CaptureOne | Pixelmator | Krita | Affinity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Freemium ($12+/month pro) | $15+/month (subscriptions only) | $40 one-time | Free | $55 one-time |
| Platforms | Windows, Mac, Linux | Web, iOS, Android | Mac, Windows | Mac, iOS | Windows, Mac, Linux | Mac, Windows, iPad |
| Learning Curve | Steep | Very Easy | Moderate | Easy | Moderate | Moderate |
| Overall Rating | 4/5 | 4.7/5 | 4.8/5 | 4.7/5 | 4.6/5 | 4.8/5 |
| Focus Area | Image Editing | Graphic Design | RAW Photo Editing | Image Editing | Digital Illustration | Image Editing |
Recommended By Use Case
Based on your projects, here are my top alternative recommendations:
- Photo Editing – Capture One or Affinity Photo
- Graphic Design – Canva
- Digital Illustration – Krita or Affinity Designer
- Social Media Content – Canva or Pixelmator
- Best Paid Alternative – Affinity Photo
- Best Free Alternative – GIMP or Krita
Evaluate your budget, platform ecosystem, learning curve comfort and intended areas of use. Combine tools like Capture One + Affinity Photo for a true Photoshop replacement spanning photography to compositing.
Hopefully this guide helps identify one or more alterantives perfectly tailored to your creative needs! Do reach out with any other questions.
