A lot of people default to GIMP when they’re looking for a free image editor. It’s probably the most popular open-source image editor with that level of power, so it’s usually the first recommendation you see when you’re looking for free or open-source options. On paper, this makes sense. If you need layers, brushes, filters, selection tools, and enough features to handle real editing work, GIMP seems like the obvious place to start.

However, after trying every open-source and free image editor I could get my hands on, I realized that the most powerful editor isn’t necessarily the same as the one you’ll keep using. Even with the GIMP 3.0 update, it still feels a little clunky, complicated to navigate, and doesn’t support non-destructive editing universally for all tools and effects.

Despite being one of the most capable open-source and free Photoshop alternatives there is, other options are just much easier to use and have the features I actually need. Here’s why I didn’t stick it out with GIMP, and what I’ve moved onto instead…

GIMP is good, it’s just not great

It’s not for everyone

I have a love-hate relationship with GIMP. I love that it lets me make fine-grain selections, and its brush options are insane. But I don’t like the text tool for how awkward it still is to use, or that only a selection of tools and effects can be applied non-destructively. It also has a massive plugin ecosystem that lets me do things like perspective warp, and the Resynthesizer plugin is as good as Photoshop for texture synthesis and content-aware editing. But therein also lies one of its problems - I have to load the plugin first to access those advanced features.

GIMP is a beast, which is exactly what makes it more complex to navigate. The features I need aren’t in my line of view, and that results in a mental process of “is it even worth applying this effect if it’s going to take x amount of extra clicks?” It also has an inconsistent and non-standard UI which often makes it feel cluttered and unintuitive. Other editors that follow more standard interface conventions also have stricter separation for tool-specific settings, whereas GIMP groups some of them together.

Overall, I feel like GIMP is one of those love-it-or-hate-it types of products. As someone who’s passionate about design, I do love it for its power, but as someone who’s also passionate about user experiences, I’m not very fond of GIMP’s. With so many other tools on the market, ranging from free, freemium, and premium to open-source and weird indie projects, I just didn’t see the need to stick to GIMP. I still open it from time to time, but alternatives now comprise the majority of my editing stack.

What to use in place of GIMP

There’s no shortage of options

I’ve tried just about every free and open-source editor under the sun, as well as some subscription-based ones, but it’s not realistic for me to use all of them at the same time. Although my stack is flexible, it’s pretty minimal at any given time. I currently default to Photopea and Affinity for complex edits, Picsart for basic designs, and the Windows Photos app for quick adjustments.

Windows Photos is my first stop when an image just needs some lighting or color adjustments, as it has saturation, contrast, exposure, hue, and warmth sliders. And I use its AI Erase tool to get rid of little imperfections like dust specs. Photopea is my second stop when I need to create something with layers and masks. It's practically a mirror of Photoshop that lets me make detailed selections and cutouts, and I get more fine-grain tonal control and effects.

Affinity was a more recent addition for me, and it's one of the most user-friendly editors considering its advanced feature set. It has real-time adjustment layers and better warping/liquifying abilities than Photopea, plus it includes RAW development. And for basic designs, I started using Picsart again recently. It has a massive template and sticker library that eliminates much of the design-from-scratch process.

These are just my current picks, but there’s a wide range of GIMP alternatives to choose from, depending on what you’re looking for…

Open-source GIMP alternatives

Bitmappery was a more recent find for me and I absolutely love it for its simplicity. As the developer says, they designed it as a privacy-focused self-hosted option that only has the features they need. It’s non-destructive, has solid selection tools, a better text tool than GIMP, and a handful of effects. So not a complete match, but better for anyone who finds GIMP too complex.

If you want something with a bit more complexity, I recommend checking out PhotoDemon. It’s an open-source Windows photo editor that has a more expansive feature set like PSD support, top-tier selection tools, creative brush and gradient tools, and color/lighting sliders and effects. The layout is also quite similar to GIMP in that you can customize and undock the panels.

Graphite is another comprehensive open-source editor, though it focuses more on vectors than pixel graphics. And if you primarily used GIMP for artwork, then Krita is your best bet. It’s an open-source digital drawing and painting app with a serious brush engine.

Free and powerful GIMP alternatives

Circling back to my top picks, this is where the tried-and-true Photopea comes in. It’s not open-source, but it’s free and web-based, which makes it more accessible to those with modest hardware. It’s a lot more similar to Photoshop than it is to GIMP, with support for PSD files, smart objects, adjustment layers, comprehensive selection tools, and a big brush kit. I would recommend Photopea over any other editor to anyone who’s considering getting or leaving an Adobe subscription.

Then there’s Affinity. Canva acquired Affinity two years ago, and last year, it made the design trio (Photo, Designer, Publisher) completely free in a unified app simply called Affinity. It combines the full toolkit of all three apps, so you not only get the same powerful raster-based features and effects, but it can also handle vector editing and layouts for publishing.

Freemium and premium GIMP alternatives

If you primarily use GIMP for designing, any of the above alternatives will suffice, especially Affinity. But if you’re looking for something truly simplistic that’s easier to use, I suggest Picsart. The UI is so easy it practically handles the designs for you. As for features, it’s non-destructive, has a ton of templates and premade elements, has drawing tools, filters, and a bunch of AI tools. About half of the features are paywalled; the subscription gets you access to everything.

For those who need more complex design abilities, Figma is the best choice. It leans more to SVG and vector-based work, and is primarily used for UX/UI design and prototyping. The free version includes everything you need as a solo user. Another great freemium design option I love is the open-source Penpot. It’s very similar to Figma, but you can self-host it and the free tier gives you a little more to work with.

The most comprehensive premium image editor you’ll find is, dare I say, Photoshop. You probably didn’t click on this just for me to recommend PS, but if you want an editor with power and a decent interface, it’s hard to beat. This is the case for professional work, at least.

Free editors have moved on

I started using GIMP even before canceling my Adobe subscriptions, just out of curiosity, and it’s always been more of a novelty to me than a staple. Even if it were completely non-destructive and not so plugin-dependent, it probably still wouldn’t have gotten a spot in my stack just based on the interface.

There are better options out there for anyone who feels the same as I do. GIMP is quite a unique tool and I’ve yet to come across something with the same architecture, so you probably won’t find anything that looks or feels very similar. But these tools cover the same core editing techniques, and you don’t have to settle for closed-source or paywalled either - there are completely free and open-source editors that can give you the same editing capabilities.