I’ve been an Adobe subscriber for 12 years, starting during my graphic design degree, in which I thought I’d be reliant on Adobe Photoshop and its ilk for my entire career. As a professional tech journalist, I have used Photoshop plenty, but there are some great free Photoshop alternativesthat I could use more reliably. Krita is one of my favorite Photoshop alternatives; it offers all I need from a creative tool, so I won’t yearn for Photoshop once I quit. There are lots of reasons I’m moving to Krita. Some might resonate with you enough to join me.

8 Krita is accessible via multiple platforms

Use Krita on tablet or desktop

Not only is Krita developed for multiple operating systems, including Linux, Haiku, Mac, and Windows as standard, but it’s also available in full across other platforms.

Adobe Photoshop is only officially developed for Mac and Windows operating systems. And while it’s available for other platforms, you’re actually not getting the same tool as the full desktop version. Photoshop on the web is good, but limited compared to its desktop counterpart, and Photoshop’s iPad app is laughable. I won't even touch it.

You can access Krita on the desktop, and it’s also been developed for Android and ChromeOS — although the maintainer isn’t able to work on this full-time (cons of open-source, eh?). Due to this development, there’s a possibility for an Android tablet version of Krita, and again for iPad. These versions are developed to work as well as the desktop app.

7 I can quit Krita with no financial burden

Photoshop users are held liable for contracts

The best thing about Krita is that it’s free for all. I never have to think about whether I can afford to use Krita, my future income requirements whenever I download Krita, or whether it’ll be worth it or not. That’s not the same thought process for an Adobe subscription.

Despite Photoshop having various subscription options, there’s not a single free option past the 7-day free trial (which can only be used once). While Photoshop Elements doesn’t have the same monthly subscription costsas Photoshop itself, you’re taking a step down on features you can use by purchasing that instead. And it’s still pricey at $100 for a 3-year license.

Adobe’s subscriptions take a lot of forethought to sign up to. They’ve been famously difficult to cancel, often requiring loopholes or simply paying the rest of your contracted amount anyway. A standard year of Adobe Creative Cloud — the subscription I’m currently on — costs around $720. Although a sole Photoshop plan is less, it’s still a large financial burden for many.

I can use Krita on and off at any point with zero financial impact. I can also choose to donate towards Krita’s development, knowing my hard-earned money actually helps the software I use rather than simply lining someone’s pockets.

6 Frequent updates without bloatware

Update Krita with features you want and use

Krita’s open-source policy allows you to choose when and how to update your Krita software. This works for many people by giving you total control, unlike Photoshop and Adobe tools which automatically update via Creative Cloud.

Often with new Adobe updates, you might find bugs or have to spend time learning new, moved, or removed features due to one big Photoshop update. This can be overwhelming, or sometimes make life difficult if you’re using Photoshop under time constraints. New popups are distracting, and on top of that, all these new updates come with extra bloatware, taking up valuable space in your system.

Updating Krita means you get to choose when you update the software — meaning you can decide to do it when you’re not under time constraints or when you actively have time to learn new features or menu layouts.

The open-source aspect also affords you the ability to choose which parts of the tool you do or don’t update, which saves your system from bloatware or extra lag from too much going on. You can add extra features with plugins for Krita, giving you the ultimate customized option for your creative software.

5 Krita has a human-minded community

A real, helpful community of non-business-minded humans

If you’ve ever used open-source tools, you’ll know of the generous community of developers, contributors, and users you’ll find when learning about your chosen tools. This is rarely the case when using Adobe tools. Sure, the user community is nice and helpful, but how often do you get to engage with the developers themselves? And I’ll bet you don't have much in common with Adobe’s millionaire CEO, Shantanu Narayen.

Moving to Krita allows me to feel part of something, a vital cog in the chain of an important project. I don’t get this feeling from using Photoshop, even though I’ve been a paid user for over a decade. If I donate as much money to Krita as I’ve paid in Adobe fees over ten years, Krita could likely develop even more incredible features.

Krita will feel the impact of even small personal donations from its community, more than Adobe will even flinch at its loss of one paid user.

4 Krita has most of the same features

There aren’t many things I’d miss

Unless you’re really involved in image manipulation and require all Photoshop’s complex features — it’s a rarity that even heavy users use all the tools and features available — then you likely won’t miss much by switching to Krita from Photoshop.

There are plenty of features in Krita that are better than Photoshop, such as its large brush library, which is great on its own, but even better when you realize brushes in Krita are both vector and raster. Photoshop only offers raster brushes, and although it has few vector features, primarily, it only functions as a raster tool. Krita’s inclusion of both raster and vector already excels more than Photoshop for this reason alone.

Some people use GIMP as a Photoshop alternative too. GIMP is another great option, and it’s open-source like Krita, but if you only want one alternative to Photoshop, then Krita is even better than GIMPas a creative tool.

3 Adobe requires users to opt-out of content analysis

An opt-out content analysis system never feels good

In 2023, Adobe users realized the wording in Adobe’s content analysis terms suggested that Adobe could use its users’ images, content, and data for AI training bots. Although Adobe clarified its stance on AI training, and supplied an opt-out option in its content analysis feature, if you’re worried about privacy of your content or data, this still might be an issue you’d rather avoid.

Using Krita and other open-source tools ensures your privacy and data are secure. Since Krita has no built-in AI or ML features, you know your data won’t be used to train AI models directly in Krita. Your privacy and security are one of the reasons why I think open-source software is the future in the creative industries. It’s surely one of the best reasons to avoid Photoshop.

2 I don’t work in the industry

I’ve got no external reasons to stay with Adobe

Although I write about a lot of creative software and I have a degree in Graphic Communication, I do not technically work in the creative design industry. The need for industry-standard software isn’t prevalent in my life anymore, so why should I keep paying for Adobe Photoshop?

Krita offers more than enough of what I need in its features. I usually only use Photoshop for basic cropping, a little bit of cloning — although I do use Photoshop’s Generative AI for a fast fix, which isn’t offered in Krita — and some color adjustment or blurring. All of this can be done with Krita or most other open-source tools.

I rarely require native Adobe formats such as PSD or AI files; however, most alternative tools allow you to open and export in those formats. Not being in the creative industries means I’m not held captive to industry standards of only using Adobe products.

1 Learning new software improves skill level

Graphic design skills don't begin and end with Adobe

Graphic design and the creative industries were accessible long before Adobe became the industry standard. Graphic designers and artists created work without computers by using other tools for decades or longer. Adobe is not the be-all-end-all of digital creative software.

If you can wrap your head around that fact, you’ll realize that a competent graphic designer, creative illustrator, digital artist, or anyone who wishes to create visuals doesn’t require Adobe software to be creative or good.

Adobe Photoshop is just a tool among many others. For some, it may be the preferred tool, but for others, it isn’t a required tool. Krita is another tool option. Expanding your creative process with different, new, or a mix of tools will improve your digital creative skills in plenty of ways. With new skills comes new techniques. With new techniques, comes enhanced results.

Goodbye Photoshop, hello Krita

Krita is often pitted directly against Photoshop as a rival creative tool. While its features alone are a good enough reason to make the switch, its cost — or lack thereof — and privacy features are my biggest reasons for moving to Krita from Photoshop. Krita isn’t the only option, but for my requirements, it’s the perfect choice. I won’t miss the monthly subscription fees leaving my account; saying goodbye to Photoshop is likely the easiest breakup I’ve ever had.