15 Free Photoshop Alternatives for Windows Users

By Ashutosh KS. in Photoshop. Updated on January 18, 2024.

Your creativity shouldn’t be stifled by the cost of software, especially when there’s a treasure trove of free Photoshop alternatives tailored for Windows users. These tools are designed to help you edit and craft stunning images without draining your wallet.

Whether you’re an aspiring photographer, a graphic designer counting pennies, or just a digital art enthusiast, there’s a perfect fit for you in the Windows ecosystem. So, pour yourself a cup of coffee and let’s explore the realm of cost-free Photoshop substitutes that are ready to fuel your creativity.

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Adobe Photoshop Express

Adobe Photoshop Express is a user-friendly photo editing tool that’s available for free. It’s perfect for quick and comprehensive image enhancements and sharing. This tool comes packed with smart features that handle complex tasks such as cutting out objects, clearing haze, retouching, and reducing noise in your photos. You can also make selective changes and apply special effects to either the foreground or background of your images.

Additionally, it offers options to create collages, apply virtual makeup, and perform advanced healing edits if you opt for the premium features. Whether you’re a novice or a pro, Adobe Photoshop Express makes photo editing a breeze.

Program4Pc Photo Editor

Program4Pc Photo Editor is designed to empower your image editing. It allows you to tweak, adjust, crop, resize, and add a variety of effects to your pictures. The tool includes a handy screen capture feature to take snapshots of your desktop, windows, and applications. If you’re into creating animations, the GIF Maker lets you craft animated GIFs from your videos and photos.

For those who love sharing memories, the Slideshow Maker is perfect for creating custom video slideshows. Additionally, it offers an Image Converting feature to convert, resize, compress, and rename your photos efficiently.

Photopus

Photopus Pro is great when comes to batch photo processing. It includes features for converting, watermarking, resizing, renaming, and transforming your images in bulk. Users can easily adjust color settings, apply touch-ups, and enhance images with a variety of effects. Supporting over 90 image formats, including RAW files from various digital cameras, it’s incredibly versatile.

Photopus Pro also allows you to compile multi-page PDF or TIFF files from your images, making it a powerful tool for managing and transforming your photo collections.

Photo Pos Pro

Pos Free Photo Editor is the go-to tool for beginners seeking simplicity and ease in photo editing. It supports major graphic formats and allows users to view and enhance photos effortlessly. Equipped with high-quality filters and an intuitive interface, it makes photo editing accessible to everyone, without the need for specialized equipment. Users can edit, fix, and resize photos while adding stunning effects with just a few clicks.

It also includes an advanced yet straightforward multiple image printing tool, allowing for efficient and varied printing on a single page, which helps save on expensive paper. This tool is ideal for beginners looking to perform basic photo editing tasks.

Pixlr

Pixlr is an online photo editing and design tool that brings AI-powered capabilities to your fingertips. Features like the AI Image Generator and Generative Fill turn text into visually captivating artwork and swiftly bring creative ideas to life.

Pixlr provides a comprehensive editing experience with auto design, filters, effects, and more, allowing users to enhance images with various styles and moods. It’s a versatile tool for those looking to explore creative and advanced photo editing online.

Paint.net

Often compared to giants like Adobe Photoshop, Corel Paint Shop Pro, and The GIMP, Paint.NET stands out as a photo editing tool exclusively for Windows users.

What started as a free replacement for Microsoft Paint has evolved into a robust platform for both simple tweaks and more intricate edits. It’s a testament to how a straightforward tool can grow to meet the diverse needs of its users, from beginners to those requiring more advanced capabilities.

PhotoPad Image Editor

PhotoPad Image Editor by NCH Software caters to a wide audience, from novices to professionals. It supports an extensive array of image formats and comes loaded with various editing tools. Whether you’re looking to crop, rotate, resize, or flip, PhotoPad has you covered. It’s not just about basic edits; the software excels in enhancing photo quality with tools for blurring, sharpening, and noise reduction.

Users can adjust color balance, exposure, and more to achieve the perfect look. The software doesn’t stop at editing; it offers a plethora of effects and filters, alongside features for creating collages, embroidery, and painting effects.

For those seeking precision, it provides retouch tools and a library of clipart and drawing tools to add those final touches.

Artweaver

Artweaver boasts an intuitive and customizable user interface that’s easy to navigate yet doesn’t compromise on depth and functionality. It’s not just a tool but a collaborative platform, allowing artists to connect and create together over the Internet. This feature adds a unique dimension to the creative process, fostering teamwork and shared inspiration.

VISCOM Photo Editor

VISCOM Photo Editor simplifies the art of photo collage creation and batch photo editing. It’s a user-friendly tool where you can drag and drop photos onto a collage canvas, tweaking size and position to your liking.

The editor is rich with features, offering over 70 background templates and 200 stylish photo frames. You can add rounded corners, overlay images or text, and perform batch operations like resizing, rotating, and applying auto contrast adjustments. It supports a wide array of image formats and even allows saving in various formats, including pdf and jpeg, making it a versatile choice for your photo editing needs.

GIMP

GIMP, or GNU Image Manipulation Program, stands as a highly popular and free alternative to Photoshop, offering comparable capabilities for most standard image editing tasks. It’s a tool that caters to a wide range of users, from graphic designers and photographers to illustrators and scientists.

GIMP is not just powerful but also customizable, with numerous options and third-party plugins to enhance productivity. Whether you’re tweaking an image or embarking on a complex project, GIMP provides a sophisticated set of tools to help you achieve your vision.

Krita

Krita is a free photo editor specifically designed for direct art creation, such as digital drawing, painting, and inking. Tailored for artists, its interface and tools are optimized for creative work. While it might not have the most robust capabilities for raster-based image editing, it shines in its extensive range of brush settings and vector tools.

If you’re familiar with Photoshop, you’ll find Krita’s layout comfortable, and its blend of media options particularly flexible. It even steps into the realm of 2D animation with some basic features, making it a versatile tool for artists.

Darktable

Darktable is an excellent option for those new to photography or anyone in need of basic image enhancements. It stands out with its ability to create and save custom presets, streamlining the editing process with quick, one-click adjustments.

The interface is intuitive and bears a resemblance to Lightroom, making it easy for users to perform color corrections, apply filters, and adjust brightness and contrast. It’s a user-friendly tool that simplifies photo editing without compromising on quality.

Polar

Polarr is a web-based photo editing tool known for its extensive collection of filters designed to instantly beautify images. Users can quickly enhance their photos using pre-included filters or craft and save their custom ones with the Pro version. It’s especially welcoming for beginners, thanks to its clean design and straightforward skin editing tool for smoothing imperfections.

Polarr also offers mobile apps for iOS and Android, making it convenient for quick edits on the go. While it excels in basic enhancements, those in search of more advanced editing capabilities might need to look elsewhere.

Photopea

Photopea is also a web-based photo editing tool that’s particularly useful for creating social media assets like Facebook profile photos and Instagram stories. It supports a wide range of formats, including PSD, XCF, Sketch, XD, and CDR.

Users can start from scratch or open existing files from their computer, and it allows for saving work in multiple formats such as PSD, JPG, PNG, or SVG. Photopea is a convenient and versatile tool for those looking to quickly edit images or create graphics for various online platforms.

Inkscape

Inkscape is tailored for graphic designers, particularly those specializing in vector imagery. Rather than being a direct Photoshop alternative, it’s more comparable to Adobe Illustrator. It’s capable of handling basic photo edits like cropping and can even transform photos into vector graphics.

Ideal for graphic designers, Inkscape offers a suite of drawing and painting tools, providing robust support for vector graphics. It’s a powerful tool for those looking to dive into the world of vector design and illustration.