- February 10, 2020
- 32 min to read
Modern digital photography goes hand in hand with post-processing software. Although today the photo editing software market offers an unlimited number of options for photographers of all levels, most of the community sticks to tried-and-true Adobe Photoshop. It indeed is a universal app equipped with tools that a professional photographer would wish for, but it’s time to make way for the new.
After testing the leading photo editing software, Adobe Photoshop Elements 2021 emerged as our top pick for its robust yet accessible editing tools. It's available for PCs and Macs, it also has a. Photo Pos Pro is a complete image editing suite rivaling the expensive Photoshop software when it comes to enhancing photos and creating stunning pieces of art. The interface is organized in a simple and easy to understand way, unlike other free Photoshop alternatives like GIMP.
For the past decades, a lot of new and worthy photo editors entered the market bringing revolutionary technologies into the mundane editing process making even the most complex editing tasks doable for novices and streamlined for pros. Here we listed some of the best photo editing apps on the market including both old and new for photographers of different needs and skill levels.
1. Luminar 4
Completely revamped Luminar 4 is finally here to shake up the world of photo-editing software. Improved to be even more intuitive, Luminar 4 also brings a ton of brand-new AI editing tools designed to speed up the photo editing workflow.
- AI Sky Replacement automatically changes the sky and relights and recolors the entire photo to match the new sky.
- AI Skin Enhancer & Portrait Enhancer do all the retouching for you with just one click.
- AI Enhance automatically enhances your photo by making numerous adjustments of different complexity.
- AI Structure brings details up or down depending on your needs.
- Sunrays adds realistic sun rays to your photo that you’re free to tweak as you please.
- Smart Contrast was improved to produce a more detailed and textured image.
Luminar 4 can not only be used as a stand-alone app but also as a plug-in for Adobe’s Photoshop and Lightroom to make the best of your tools.
✅ Pros:
- Non-destructive editing
- Intuitive interface
- Improved performance
- In-depth customization
- Available as a plug-in as well
✖️ Cons:
- Mediocre library functions
- Limited exporting options
2. Adobe Lightroom
Adobe Lightroom has been the app of choice for professional and amateur photographers alike for many years now. It offers a well-thought-out set of features for managing, organizing, processing, and exporting your photos. With the advanced library features, like labels, keywords, collections, and search filters, the app makes it easy for you to keep track of large numbers of photos. Lightroom comes with a good selection of RAW profiles to define colors in your photos for more precise editing. Tweak your photos to perfection with adjustment sliders, perspective and lens correction tools, retouching tools, filters, profiles, and presets to speed up your workflow.
✅ Pros:
- Built-in file management system
- Face detection and tagging
- Color and luminosity masking
- Plug-in support
✖️ Cons:
- Not the best choice for beginners
- A bit too taxing for Windows
- No auto-tagging
- Comparatively slow importing
❓
What photo editing software do you use and why? Let us know in the comments, we’d be very interested to know!
What photo editing software do you use and why? Let us know in the comments, we’d be very interested to know!
3. ACDSee PHOTO STUDIO ULTIMATE 2020
Photo Studio Ultimate 2020 is a one-stop photo management and post-processing tool for Windows. It comes with everything you need to handle your files, like categories, keywords, face detection, ratings, color labels, metadata, geolocation, and more. It’s quite powerful when it comes to photo editing, too, offering a broad set of tools for a variety of different purposes. It allows you to process your RAW, JPEG and other types of files in a non-destructive way in Develop Mode and perfect them in Edit Mode by adjusting color and lighting, bringing out details, removing flaws, and adding final touches. The user interface is completely customizable to suit your preferences.
✅ Pros:
- Excellent built-in file management system
- Powerful post-processing features
- Fully customizable interface
✖️ Cons:
- Available only for Windows
- Too overwhelming for beginners
- Subscription-based online storage gallery
4. GIMP
GIMP is a free and open-source photo-editing tool that has been around for more than 20 years. It boasts a limitless number of state-of-the-art features that you wouldn’t expect to see in a free photo-editing app. The interface has been recently updated to be easier to use, however it still can be quite confusing for novices. GIMP offers a broad set of tools suitable not only for basic but for advanced editing, too. Here you can enhance colors, adjust hue and saturation, fix composition, adjust sharpness, reduce graininess, remove unwanted objects, work with masks, layers, and more.
✅ Pros:
- 100% free
- Open access to the source code
- Has a broad selection of tools for different purposes
- Plug-in support
- Available for the main operating systems
✖️ Cons:
- Non-intuitive workflow
- Difficult to get the hang of
- Lack of HDR support
5. Aurora HDR
Aurora HDR is a powerful HDR tool that brings innovation and simplicity together. The most recent update introduced a new Quantum HDR engine with AI-powered tone mapping technology which allows for more intelligent photo merging to produce vivid yet natural-looking photos. Whether you’re creating an HDR photo from bracketed shots or a single image, the app’s neural network enhances the photo and makes sure that no halos or ghosting spoils the final result. The brand-new Smart HDR Structure feature boosts details and sharpness without creating undesired artifacts that can make a photo look unrealistic. With over 80 distinctive Looks, you can make your photo look stunning in just one click.
✅ Pros:
- One of the best HDR photo editors
- Swift performance
- Corrects badly taken single shots
- Doesn’t create artifacts, halos, or noise
- Available as a stand-alone app and plug-in
- Plug-in support
✖️ Cons:
- None worth mentioning
6. Adobe Photoshop Elements
Developed for beginner and hobbyist photographers, Photoshop Elements’ functions are naturally more limited than Photoshop’s but it has all the essentials for achieving astonishing results. It offers three editing modes:
The Quick mode includes the simplest tools for straightening and cropping photos, removing unwanted objects, enhancing portraits, and applying filters.
The Guided mode uses step-by-step wizards to take you through more complex edits like removing objects, replacing the background, merging multiple photos, creating double exposures, and more.
The Expert mode gives you access to more complex Photoshop-like features including layers, masks, and filters.
✅ Pros:
- Excellent for entry-level photographers
- Simple and straightforward interface
- One-time purchase
- A bunch of Photoshop-like features simplified for nonprofessionals
- Dozens of clear guides
✖️ Cons:
- Too limited functionality
Are you a Lightroom, Luminar, or Photoshop user? Then you'd probably want to see our collection of the best free and paid presets for them.
❓
Exposure X5 looks like a refined version of Lightroom that inherited only the features that photographers liked and used the most. Some of the most hated features were eliminated or improved. Thus, there’s no time-consuming import process in Exposure X5 - you can get straight to editing by adding a folder with your photos in a few clicks. The interface is very well-organized and can be customized to suit your editing purposes. Besides non-destructive layer-based editing and cutting-edge tools that are crucial for the professional photo-manipulating process, Exposure X5 offers a mind-blowing collection of over 500 presets that you can customize to your liking.
✅ Pros:
- Beginner-friendly
- Well-organized and customizable interface
- No power-draining import process
- Non-destructive layer-based editing
- A broad selection of free presets
- No subscription
✖️ Cons:
- The interface design looks a bit outdated
- Lack of panorama and HDR tools
8. Capture One Pro
Capture One Pro is a full-fledged pro photo editor created for experienced photographers and serious hobbyists. Originally designed for tethered shooting, Capture One Pro is the fastest and most flexible tethering tool for photographers of all genres. It also offers top-notch RAW photo-editing functionality, smart photo organization tools, layer support, powerful adjustment tools, and plenty of other features you’re looking for in professional-grade photo software.
✅ Pros:
- Exceptional rendering of RAW files
- Numerous adjustment tools for different needs;
- Layer-based editing
- Industry-leading tethering features
- Fast and smooth spot removal
- Annotations feature
✖️ Cons:
- Lack of third-party plug-in support;
- Lack of panorama and HDR tools
- Limited organization features;
- Absence of history panel
9. Affinity Photo
Even though Affinity Photo can’t boast any organization or management tools, it’s well-packed with all kinds of editing features for photographers of all levels. The workflow includes several Personas, or modes, focused on different editing stages. Develop Persona focuses on RAW file processing, Photo Persona is used for boosting your photos using layers, lighting and color adjustments, curves, LUTs, etc. Tone Mapping Persona is for HDR editing, Liquify Persona for bending photos, and Export Persona for exporting finished photos.
✅ Pros:
- Layer-based editing
- RAW editing tools
- Panorama, HDR, and focus stack merging tools
- No subscription
✖️ Cons:
- No lens-based corrections
- Lack of organization tools
- No ability to save custom workspaces
- Poor noise reduction
10. Pixlr
One of the most powerful online photo tools, Pixlr has become a popular choice when it comes to making quick photo corrections. Since it’s a web app, it doesn’t take up any room on your computer and is compatible with all operational systems. Pixlr features a clean and intuitive interface with many tools for cropping, selecting, transforming, removing objects, retouching and adjusting your photos using numerous sliders for brightness, contrast, vibrance, saturation, shadows, and more. It also offers a vast collection of filters and effects that will enhance your photos in a snap!
✅ Pros:
- Beginner-friendly
- Great for quick editing
- Online
- 100% free
- Has a clean interface
- Offers a nice collection of filters and effects
- Mobile version available
✖️ Cons:
- Limited functionality
- Advertising can be annoying
- Can be laggy sometimes
11. Paint.NET
Developed to replace the iconic Microsoft Paint, Paint.NET has grown into a full-featured yet simple photo-editing tool for WIndows. The app offers a user-friendly interface that’s very easy to navigate. Paint.NET is packed with a nice set of tools for making your photos look beautiful in the most effortless way. Here you can play around with various adjustments, such as levels, curves, contrast, brightness, saturation, and more, selecting and removing objects, resize and crop your photos, and so much more!
Photoshop And Other Image Editing Software Free
✅ Pros:
- 100% free
- Unlimited history
- Layer-based editing
- Tons of creative filters and effects
- Suitable for beginner and intermediate users
- User-friendly interface
- Plug-in support
✖️ Cons:
- Only for Windows
- Interface design looks a bit outdated
- Limited functionality
❓
Do you agree with our opinion in this article? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Do you agree with our opinion in this article? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
FAQ:
Q: Which one is the best photo editing software?
A: Luminar 4 is the best photo editing software because it offers the most powerful collection of features and tools for different editing needs.
Q: What is the easiest free photo editing software?
A: Paint.NET is the easiest free photo editing software, however, it has a very limited number of features suitable only for basic editing.
Q: Which photo editing software is the best for HDR photo editing?
A: Aurora HDR is the best HDR photo editing software with a broad set of tools for creating and correcting HDR images.
Q: How can I edit pictures on my computer for free?
A: GIMP free photo editor is the best way to edit pictures on your computer for free. It’s well-packed with features and is suitable for beginners and pros alike.
Q: Which photo editing software can be used as a plug-in for Photoshop/ Lightroom?
A: Luminar 4 is the best Photoshop/ Lightroom plug-in that allows you to use its unique features in your go-to photo editor.
Whether you take photos for fun or business, it’s not an easy task to find a photo editing software that can best fit your photo editing needs with so many different options on the market. We believe that it’s easier to find something when you know what you’re looking for, so we came up with three criteria that you should take into account when looking for your one and only photo app. So, we recommend you to make your choice based on the features you want your app to have, the platform you’re going to use it on, and the price that you’re ready (or not) to pay for it. This will help you to filter out the irrelevant options and narrow your choices down to a few most suitable ones.
Features
We believe that all photo editing apps can be divided into several categories based on what they have to offer to users of different levels and needs. These categories are:
- Photo editing software for beginners. If you’re just starting out in photography or need to apply quick corrections to your photos once in a while, you should opt for a beginner-friendly photo editor like Paint.NET or Pixlr. Such editors usually have a clean and straightforward interface without too many tabs and icons, and a decent set of tools for applying basic corrections.
- Professional photo editing apps are designed for professional photographers and advanced hobbyists and give more control over photo processing and editing. Their use requires more specialized knowledge of photography and high photo-editing skill. Pro-grade photo editors like Adobe Lightroom or Capture One Pro often come with an in-build photo management system, provide support for RAW files, tethered shooting, and presets.
- Software for creating and editing vector graphics. As you probably know, there are two types of graphics: raster and vector. Raster graphics represent images as a pixel grid, while vector graphics use lines and curves. Vector software can’t change pixels and thus is ineffective for photo correction. However, you can use vector software to add graphics to your photo such as text, shapes, lines. Many raster photo editors include a handful of vector tools, like GIMP or Photoshop.
- AI photo software uses AI-based technology that allows reducing manual photo editing to a minimum - even the most complex editing tasks such as retouching or removing objects can be done with just a few clicks. Such apps are a popular choice among beginners and pros alike as they substantially speed up the editing process without affecting the quality. Luminar 4 is one of a few decent AI photo editing tools on the market.
- Open source photo editing apps are apps for which the source code can be viewed and changed by any user, like GIMP. It means that any user can interact with the program code to correct bugs, improve the exciting features and add new ones. Open-source software is usually completely free and for this reason much beloved by users of different levels of expertise.
Platform
There is another thing you should take into account when looking for your perfect photo-editing app - the platform you’re going to use it on. If you’re a Mac or Windows user, you’ve got a wider choice of options unlike, for example, Chrome OS users, who have a much more limited choice. Let’s take a closer look at what we have here.
- Windows is the most compatible with most of the photo software you're going to want to use. If you’re a Windows user, you have a great number of options to choose from including most widely-used apps like GIMP, Luminar 4, Lightroom, Paint.NET, and more.
- As Mac is the second most popular operating system, you won’t have any troubles finding a photo app compatible with it. Here you still have a vast number of options including Lightroom, Aurora HDR, Luminar 4, etc. The popular GIMP, however, isn’t compatible with Mac.
- If you’re a Chromebook user, your choice is limited to Google Play apps. Those, however, include a pretty good number of options, such as GIMP, Photoshop, Lightroom, and others. If you have strong programming skills, you could try installing external apps as well.
It doesn’t matter what platform you’re using if you choose to work in an online photo editor. It runs in a browser and doesn’t need installing.
If you’re looking for an app for your Android or iOS device, you should check what your app store has to offer. Some web and desktop apps, like Pixlr or Lightroom, however, have mobile versions.
Price
No matter how good the software is, its price can be a real dealbreaker. Luckily, not all photo editing software is paid for. There are such apps as GIMP and Paint.NET that are completely free. Paid options include subscription-based (Photo Studio Ultimate 2020, Lightroom) and one-time-fee (Luminar 4, Photoshop Elements, Affinity Photo) software. Some paid apps though have free trial versions, so you can test an app for free for several days to see if it’s worth the money.
Adobe Photoshop is the king among all the image editing software still now. It has solidified its position for over 30 years. Because of the high cost and subscription fees, we need Photoshop alternatives.
The alternative means not just other photo editing software. They must be functional for almost every feature like Photoshop. The good news is, there are some great Photoshop alternatives, though. They are practically as powerful as Photoshop. Users find those easier to use than Photoshop. So, today the discussion will be about the great alternatives software to Photoshop.
Download Adobe Photoshop CC 2019.
There are too many software and not every software is effective as people say. Choosing the best one from hundreds of software is very difficult. So, we choose the five best of the best Photoshop alternatives for you. We will introduce you to each of the software ones by one. You can read our 15 best free drawing software guide if you want more than five alternatives.
Affinity Photo
Affinity Photo has become the first choice for photography nowadays. It is one of the great Photoshop alternatives among creative professionals. Users also love its speed, power and precision. The powerful computer technology made it handy. Sometimes it becomes more popular than Photoshop. Affinity Photo offers higher speeds, fewer crashes and unlimited features. But the actual amount of performance will depend on the user’s equipment.
Affinity Photo is fully-loaded photo editor integrated across macOS, Windows and iOS. There is also a separate version for iPad. So, there is no doubt that Affinity is the best software among Photoshop alternatives.
You can read the ultimate comparison Affinity Photo vs Photoshop from here.
Pros:
- Low cost and no subscription
- Fully compatible with Photoshop and other file formats
- Best professional tool
- Latest updates available
- Separate iPad version available
Cons:
- No free version available
- No android version
- Need advanced hardware
Price:
Affinity photo offers only a one-time payment and requires no subscription. It will cost $49.99 for Mac and windows. And the separate version for iPad will cost $19.99.
Try it from here: https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/photo/
Rebelle
Rebelle is a paint software that allows designers to create realistic watercolor, acrylic, and more. It also has real-world color blending, wet diffusion and drying features.
It works the latest ground-breaking digital painting technology. Rebelle was designed for the traditional painters and artists who want to explore their art collection. The primary purpose was to create it as the most natural painting tools.
Rebelle has limited Brush presets included. But it has a built-in Brush creator tool which makes it more unique than other software. It is a professional painting software package and a great app among the Photoshop alternatives.
Pros:
- Free demo version available
- Tilt feature
- Built-in Brush creator
- Water color painting
- Replicates traditional painting techniques
Cons:
- Limited Brush presets
- No mobile version is available.
- No free version
Price:
The full package for Rebelle will cost $89.99. And the latest version Rebelle 3 is available, and it supports Windows 7, 8, 10, and OS X 10.11+.
Try it from here: https://www.escapemotions.com/products/rebelle/about
Procreate
Procreate has everything to create expressive sketches, rich paintings, illustrations and animations. It is also the best among the Photoshop alternatives. It is a complete art studio which can be taken anywhere.
With the unique features and creative tools, the Procreate allows designers to create from scratch. The rich library in Procreate consists of brushes. It contains pencils, inks, charcoals, and more. In this software, it is possible to customize each Brush from the Brush studio. Procreate also allows downloading thousands of brushes. Even it supports custom brushes.
Pros:
- Apple pencil supports
- Complete color control
- 200 handcrafted brushes
- Extra special FX
- Full font control
- Paint with filters
- QuickShape, ColorDrop, StreamLine features
Cons:
- The only iOS version available
- Lacks some advanced features
- No free or trial version
Price:
The Procreate painting software will cost only $9.99. Users can buy it only from the App Store.
Try it from here: https://procreate.art/ipad
GIMP
The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) is the free & open-source image editor. It is completely free and one of the best among Photoshop alternatives.
As a cross-platform image editing software, it is available for GNU/Linux, OS X, Windows and other OS. Users can change the source code of the software and distribute the changes. GIMP provides various sophisticated tools for the graphic designer, photographer, illustrator, or scientist. It also supports many customization and 3rd party plugins to increase productivity.
Pros:
- Complete free and open-source software
- Supports every operating system
- It has a wide range of toolset.
- Similar to Photoshop
- High-quality photo manipulation
Cons:
- Lacks in some advance editing
- Learning curve
Download GIMP and get the best free Photoshop alternative from here: https://www.gimp.org/downloads/
Pixlr
Another free and open-source Photoshop alternative is Pixlr. It includes more than 600 effects, overlays and borders. All the basic editing can be possible with it. Such as cropping, re-sizing, removing red-eye, whitening teeth and more.
Best Free Photoshop Editing Software
Users who are comfortable with Photoshop will find this software the same. But it has a lot easier UI than Photoshop. Users can use it in iOS and Android varieties. Pixlr is also an online-based app so users can edit pictures directly from the website. With the AI design tools of Pixlr, boring and repetitive editing is now long gone. With a single click, it removes backgrounds perfectly from the photos. Pixlr also a great option among the Photoshop alternatives.
Pros:
- Browser-based platform
- AI design tools
- Supports iOS and different android versions
- Completely free to use
- User-friendly interface
Cons:
- Limited features
- Doesn’t support TIFFs
Try free Pixlr image editor from here: https://pixlr.com/e/
Conclusion
Photoshop alternatives can be different based on the uses and features of each tool. The alternatives have specific functionality for editing. There are also many free Photoshop alternatives like GIMP and Pixlr.
But as a low paid software, Affinity Photo is the best option for a professional image editor. It doesn’t need subscription too. It is the best available option among the Photoshop alternatives.
Why is Photoshop so expensive?Photoshop is the gold standard for image editing. So every professional graphic designer is willing to pay for it. But the cost of Photoshop is nothing compared to productivity.
How Can I download Photoshop for free?Photoshop And Other Image Editing Software Download
You can download a trial version of Photoshop for free. But after the trial period, you won’t be able to use it again. But there are other ways to download, such as crack versions. But if you use the crack versions, then you won’t get the updates anymore.