Don’t have enough funds to get a Photoshop license? Want to know what are the best free alternatives to Photoshop in 2022? No problem, I’m going to tell you what are the best photo editing programs to replace this venerable app on Mac, Windows and Linux. Many are really similar.
If you are looking for a program similar to Photoshop… this is the entry you should read, and the best of all is that there is an alternative that is free and has tremendous functionalities: GIMP.
You need the program to have more than a few effects or the ability to size the images. If you want programs capable of making you forget Photoshop, these are your 4 best options: GIMP, Krita, Paint.net and Photo Pos Pro.
What are the top 4 free alternatives to Photoshop in 2022?
1.-GIMP: the best option by far
Without a doubt GIMP is the best alternative to Photoshop in 2022 for both Mac and Windows or Linux. And it is totally free and they do not have any restrictions on its use.
It has layers, masks, advanced filters, color adjustments and transformations, among many other things.
- GIMP, the best free alternative to Photoshop is available for download on its website: GNU/Linux | MacOS | Microsoft Windows.
It has a large number of plugins and scripts created by the community and are ready to be used. Practically, all Photoshop tools have their counterpart in this free software. And best of all, you can customize it to the fullest.
And don’t be scared of GIMP. There are many online tutorials and it has excellent help to get started. If you’ve ever used Photoshop, the look of GIMP is very similar. It’s not going to be strange to you. You have to give it a try.
In addition, in the latest versions its appearance looks more and more like Photoshop. GIMP 2.10 is the result of six years of work that originally focused on porting the program to a new image processing engine, GEGL, and that in the end has brought much more changes.
2.-Photo Pos Pro
The second best option is this complete design and retouching program. It is a very good tool for beginners, as it offers different interfaces depending on your level of experience. It is more intuitive than GIMP.
Photo Pos Pro offers layers and layer masks, as well as very good options for cloning or brushes. It has support for batch editing and scripting to save time on routine tasks.
Its only downside is that it can only save images of 1,024 x 2,014 pixels in its free version. If you want to unlock its full potential you have to go through the box and pay about 20 dollars (not much compared to Photoshop). Try it and then decide.
3.-Paint.NET
Open Source that began as the substitute for Microsoft Paint, worse that has ended up becoming a very powerful editor although less customizable than GIMP.
It offers an excellent selection of automatic filters, as well as manual editing tools. Supports layers, although you’ll need to install a plugin for skins. Batch editing is included by default, and even has a clone seal that makes it easy to remove imperfections.
It has fewer options than GIMP, but it is easier to use thanks to its good interface. It is the perfect program to work with several photos at once. It is a program that works very well even on old computers because of the few resources it consumes.
4.-Krita
Another free tool… and it is a perfect program to draw or to edit photos.
It has a very similar design and many of its functions such as the Slice Tool, opening multiple images, many pencils, templates for different projects and many, many effects.
It does not have “history”, it is difficult to treat very large images and the text tool is not so good… but it’s free. It has support for Windows, macOS and Linux.
And the best alternative to photoshop for a fee? Affinity Photo: The Best Photo Editing Program on Mac, Windows and iPad
Affinity Photo does not stop improving with each version. The closest thing to Photoshop that we will be able to find on Mac or Windows at the moment, and its price is still very reasonable. No subscriptions. At this moment we are already going for version 1.10.
What can you do with this program?
- Open, edit, and save Photoshop PSD files
- RGB, CMYK, Grayscale, and LAB color spaces
- CMYK finishing workflow with ICC color management
- Full 16- and 32-bit channel editing
- Possibility to work with all standard formats such as PNG, TIFF, JPG, GIF, SVG, EPS, EXR, HDR and PDF.
- Always real-time scrolling and zooming at 60fps with real-time previews, real-time tools, and real-time editing.
- Open and edit bulk images without compromising performance or running out of memory
- Take full advantage of the latest macOS technology, including OpenGL, Grand Central Dispatch, and Core Graphics
- Full support for MacBook Pro Touch Bar and Force Touch trackpad
- Fully optimized for 64-bit and multicore processors
- Support for normal monitors, retina and multi-monitor configurations – including the latest iMac 5k
You can work with Photoshop files and it has filters, layers and everything you expect to find in this type of photo design and retouching programs. A good purchase wherever you look.
- Price? It usually costs about 50 euros on the Affinity website, but they usually have offers of 50% that lower the price by half. And you forget about subscriptions. You pay for the license and forget. It’s really worth it.
It also has an app for iPad, so the workflow, if you have the entire collection of Apple devices, is very good.
If you want to consult more options to Photoshop of payment for Mac, you just have to read the following entry:
