11 alternatives to Photoshop (all free)
11 alternatives to Photoshop, picked out of 10 saved Instagram reels and 4 liked tweets, from creators like @digitalsamaritan, @theclarkgary, @timhosqo. 11 of them are free, freemium or open source.
Clipdrop is an AI image editing and generation platform that offers specialized tools like background removal, image inpainting, sketch-to-image (Stable Doodle), and outpainting (Uncrop). Originally built by InitML and later acquired by Stability AI and then Jasper, it allows creators to manipulate and generate visuals quickly without needing complex desktop design software.
Grainrad is a free web-based creative tool that applies real-time shaders and retro styling to images, videos, and 3D files. It runs on WebGPU/WebGL to process media at 60fps directly in the browser without requiring external software installations or server-side rendering. Users can tweak a wide variety of effects—including ASCII, dithering, halftone, and VHS filters—and export to image, video, SVG, text, or Three.js code.
NI3 is a web tool designed to generate YouTube and social media video thumbnails from natural language prompts. It automates thumbnail creation by producing dramatic imagery with overlaid text to save time on manual graphic design. Note that its original web domain is currently parked and unavailable.
Affinity merges vector graphic design, raster photo editing, and page layout into a single application without requiring app switching. Acquired by Canva, it is now offered free forever for individuals with no subscriptions required. It delivers a fast, non-destructive editing workflow and opens industry-standard formats including PSD, AI, and IDML.
Compositor is a lightweight, open-source macOS app built as a focused alternative to Photoshop for compositing workflows. It provides essential photo manipulation tools—including layers, blend modes, masks, and adjustment tools—in a tiny footprint without subscriptions or bloat.
This workflow shows how to offer marketplace card design services on freelance exchanges without deep graphic design experience. It involves finding client listings on platforms like Kwork or YouDo and using AI image generators to blend product photos with backgrounds and infographic elements.
Magic Studio is a web and mobile image editing suite powered by AI. It provides quick tools to brush away unwanted objects, erase backgrounds, generate images from text, and edit specific areas with text prompts. It is designed to handle common product and marketing photo edits without needing complex graphic design software.
Photopea is a full-featured web-based raster and vector graphics editor designed as an in-browser alternative to Adobe Photoshop. It runs entirely locally on your device's hardware, meaning files are not uploaded to external servers. It supports layers, smart objects, masks, AI editing tools, and dozens of file formats including PSD, Sketch, Figma, and camera RAW.
Pikzels Personas is a feature within the Pikzels YouTube packaging platform that lets you train custom facial models by uploading a few photos. Once trained, your persona can be inserted into any generated thumbnail or used in the Recreate mode to reproduce popular thumbnail formats with your face.
Tooooools is a free online editor that applies retro visual processing to images and videos, including dithering, halftone, ASCII, and CRT effects. It lets you customize parameters like grain, threshold, and grid angles without needing desktop design software.
Type Dither is an interactive web tool that applies real-time dithering and pixel distortion effects to custom text. It allows designers to adjust pixel scale, rounding, and styling directly in the browser without complex design software. The final typography can be exported immediately as a PNG image.