Adobe’s subscription pricing has always been a sore spot, but it hit even more when I did the math on what I’d spent over the years. This was not just for Photoshop, but I’ve rotated through several apps and packages. And I’m not even a professional editor, this was purely a hobby habit, so it made no sense to keep paying. I couldn’t give you the exact amount, as I don’t remember the details myself, but my hobby probably cost me close to $2,000 over several years.

So I eventually canceled everything, but didn’t end up compromising as much as I’d expected to. My first stop was GIMP, like most people. And despite my gripes with the UI/UX of the app, it’s not a bad call. I’ve also discovered plenty of other open-source apps throughout this past year or two in my hunt for alternatives, and a handful of them stood out…

My Photoshop alternatives journey started with GIMP

It was the obvious next move

When I first left Photoshop, GIMP was the obvious next move. It’s been around for three decades now, it’s free and open-source, and the community is massive - forums, tutorials, plugins, all of it. At the time, it was basically the default answer any time someone asks for a free Photoshop alternative, so I just kind of accepted it as my new normal. I already used it before canceling Adobe, but it felt different relying on it as my primary editor.

GIMP is a cross-platform raster graphics editor built on the GEGL image processing library, which gives it serious power, and it supports a huge range of formats including PSD. Honestly though, I’m not going to pretend that the interface and I are best friends. There are actually multiple closed-source options I’d recommend over GIMP for anyone coming from Photoshop. Even with the newer 3.0 and 3.2 visual polish, it’s still clunky in places and takes a real adjustment period. At least it has improved non-destructive editing now, and overall, it’s still one of the most powerful open-source Photoshop alternatives you’ll find, plus, it’s free.

Feature-wise, it covers most of what I actually used Photoshop for - layers, masking, compositing, curves, levels, HSL. Link Layers now work similarly to Photoshop’s Smart Objects, which is a big deal for a non-destructive workflow. The selection toolkit gives you the full stack - rectangular, freehand, fuzzy, and more. There’s a strong brush engine for painting and blending, a clone tool for retouching, and heal tools for removal. The Script-Fu and plugin support extend its usefulness pretty far too. So while not my first recommendation to ex-Photoshop users or editing newbies, it is the most reliable open-source option out there.

Krita is a better option for more creative work

Better in its lane than anything I’ve paid for

Krita came into the picture specifically because of its brush engine. I’d heard enough people talk about it that I went looking, and it delivered exactly what it promised. Unlike GIMP, which is better suited for photo editing, compositing, and design, Krita has a clear lane - it’s a digital painting and illustration app first. And although there’s a lot going on, the interface is genuinely approachable, which I appreciated after my GIMP adjustment period.

Krita is a free, open-source raster graphics app built by the KDE community, available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It’s been around since the early 2000s and has a dedicated and active development team behind it. The 5.3.0 release that landed in March 2026 was described as the culmination of years of work, with several features rewritten from the ground up. It’s genuinely one of the most polished open-source creative tools out there, and it shows.

The brush engine is the obvious headline - it’s legitimately excellent, with pressure sensitivity that actually feels responsive, natural opacity falloff, and stabilizers that smooth out shaky lines. There’s also a huge library of customizable brush presets covering everything from inking to watercolor to oil painting. But Krita pulls its weight beyond that. You get a full layer system with blend modes, layer groups, and masks, plus non-destructive filter layers and adjustment layers. There’s also solid color management, HDR support, animation tools, and a wrap-around canvas mode that’s useful for pattern work. If your Photoshop usage leaned toward illustration or painterly work, Krita is the best replacement you will find.

Pixelitor is the open-source editor nobody talks about

Small community, big feature set

Pixelitor is the most underrated tool in this list, and probably the one most people reading this haven’t heard of. I stumbled across it while going down a rabbit hole of GIMP alternatives, and it caught my attention fast. It’s not as broadly known as other open-source players and the community is smaller, but that’s kind of part of the appeal. It feels like a find.

Pixelitor is a free, open-source image editor with a strong emphasis on non-destructive editing. It’s written in Java so it’s cross-platform across Windows, Mac, and Linux. I’d say it sits in an interesting middle ground of where it’s more capable than Pinta, but less overwhelming than GIMP. So it’s not really aimed at complete beginners, but if you’ve used an image editor before, the learning curve is minimal.

In terms of features, it punches well above its obscurity level. It offers over 110 filters and color adjustment, which is impressive for a tool this under the radar. You get layers, layer masks, text layers, blend modes, and a solid selection toolkit. The non-destructive side is also comprehensive - smart objects, smart filters, and adjustment layers are all available in the latest builds. The filter collection is where Pixelitor surprises the most - there are effects and adjustments in here you won’t find in other free tools. It’s not going to replace Photoshop entirely, but for the mid-range level of editing, it nails it.

Free doesn’t have to mean compromising

Between GIMP, Krita, and Pixelitor, pretty much every use case I had for Photoshop is covered, and none of them cost a cent. Yes, there will be some learning curves, but once you stop expecting a one-to-one replacement and embrace what open-source has to offer, you’ll wonder what you were paying for in the first place.