The quick match
| You want to… | Take |
|---|---|
| Open PSD files, Photoshop feel, install nothing | Photopea |
| The most powerful installable free program | GIMP |
| Draw, illustrate, concept art | Krita |
| Windows, lean, quickly learned | Paint.NET |
| Just quickly crop/brighten | Built-ins (Photos app) |
| Shrink, convert, favicon & co. | Specialized browser tools |
Photopea — Photoshop in a browser tab
Photopea is the most astonishing entry on this list: an editor built by a single developer that runs in the browser, opens PSD, XCF, and Sketch files, and replicates the Photoshop interface so closely that switchers find their way around immediately. Layers, masks, smart objects, selection tools — all there. Limits: ad-funded (a sidebar), noticeably slower than native programs on very large files, and while the processing runs locally in the browser, the program itself loads from third-party servers. For whom: everyone who needs "a bit of Photoshop" without a subscription and installation.
GIMP — the veteran with the steep learning curve
The flagship of free image editing since 1998, and since version 3 with a modern interface and non-destructive approaches too. GIMP handles retouching, montage, scripting, and can be extended almost arbitrarily with plug-ins. Limits: the operating logic differs noticeably from Adobe habits, AI-assisted selection is missing, as is native CMYK for professional print. For whom: everyone who edits seriously and regularly, values open source, and doesn't shy away from the learning curve — once learned, the knowledge lasts decades.
Krita — not image editing, but painting
Krita is often listed here but is really a digital-painting program: a brush engine, stabilizers, and animation tools at a level others charge money for. Photo retouching works, but isn't its strength. For whom: artists, illustrators, comic artists — with a graphics tablet, the clear recommendation.
Paint.NET — the Windows pragmatist
Considerably more powerful than the old Paint, considerably more accessible than GIMP: layers, effects, an active plug-in scene — and learned in an hour. Limits: Windows only, no masks in the Photoshop sense, hardly any automation. For whom: Windows users who want more than built-ins and less than GIMP.
Built-ins — underrated on every system
The Photos apps of Windows 11, macOS, iOS, and Android cover more than their reputation suggests: cropping, straightening, exposure/color, a retouch pen, on Apple systems even cutting out a subject via a long press. For whom: everyone — as the first stop, before anything is installed at all. Only when a function is missing here is it worth looking up the list.
Specialized browser tools — the category beside them
A whole block of tasks doesn't appear in classic image editors at all, or only awkwardly: compressing images down to the kilobyte, converting formats like HEIC, generating favicons and app icons, or checking and removing metadata. For exactly these hands-on tasks, single-purpose browser tools are the fastest route — no installation, and with browser-local processing (as with our JNRT Pixel tools) without images leaving your computer either. The overview of what's now possible in the browser: Image editing in the browser.
The honest overall advice
Don't look for one program but for a two-tool solution: an editor for creative work (Photopea or GIMP, according to taste) plus browser tools for the daily craft. Try to cover both with a single all-rounder and you get the slowest experience on the quick tasks — that applies to Photoshop just as much as to GIMP.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best free Photoshop alternative?
For most people: Photopea. It runs in the browser, opens PSD files, and the interface is so similar to Photoshop that existing knowledge transfers directly. GIMP is more powerfully extensible but demands considerably more learning.
Is GIMP as good as Photoshop?
For classic retouching and photo montage, GIMP goes surprisingly far. The relevant gaps: no native CMYK for professional print, weaker AI selection tools, and an interface that thinks differently from all Adobe programs. Free and open source, it nevertheless remains the most powerful installable option.
Do I even need an image-editing program?
Often not. If you only crop, shrink, rotate, or convert formats, you're faster with the operating system's built-ins or specialized browser tools — without installation and without a learning curve.
Sources
GIMP — official website · Photopea — official website · Krita — official website · Paint.NET — official website.