7 Best Free Adobe Photoshop Alternatives
You’ve done your market research, decided on the perfect theme for your brand and made plans to take the world by storm! But suddenly you realize there are banners, product photos, and promotional material you need to create to launch and grow your store — you’ve found yourself in a need of a photo editing software.
If you’ve heard of Photoshop, you’re probably also aware that it’s quite an investment. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of free alternatives to Photoshop. I’ve spoken with the Printful graphics team, and we’ve come up with a list of options suited for both graphic editing newcomers and seasoned Photoshop users.
So, if you’re looking to reimagine your ideas as a design, showcase your products on your store, or promote them on your blog and social media accounts, we’ve got you covered!
But, before diving in, let’s explore Photoshop.
Photoshop and Creative Cloud
Adobe Photoshop is an industry-leading raster (pixel-based) image editor used to create unique graphics and edit photos. It’s packed with many useful tools for resizing, color adjusting, and retouching images. Photoshop used to be a program you could buy from Adobe and use to your heart’s content. But since 2013, it’s a part of a monthly subscription-based service — Creative Cloud. Photoshop is included in multiple plans starting with Photography plan ($9.99/month).
Creative Cloud is a marvelous software for experienced designers and is a great investment if you’re planning on expanding your business or employing a designer team. Creative Cloud offers many useful features like storing and sharing your projects and even working on them at the same time. It’s the perfect graphic design environment.
If you’re a casual user or a total newcomer to graphic editing, Creative Cloud could seem overwhelming or impractical. That’s because even the slightest change to an image — like a decoration on a sales banner — or even just opening software-specific files like .psd (Photoshop Data file) requires a subscription to access the editing software.
So, if you’re testing the waters and don’t want to invest in Photoshop or have experience using Photoshop and want to try something a little different,
you might be interested in free Photoshop alternatives.
1. Photopea
Use it for: DTG, Cut&Sew, Poster & Canvas printing, Sublimation, UV printing, Photo editing, Social media graphics
This might be the Swiss army knife of free alternatives to Photoshop . Not only does it look like Photoshop, it also has many of its features. Photopea offers pre-made sizes and templates for posters and social media graphics. All in all, it’s the perfect software for both Photoshop users and total graphic design newcomers.
2. Gimp
Use it for: DTG, Cut&Sew, Poster & Canvas printing, Sublimation, UV printing, Photo editing
No list of free Photoshop alternatives would be complete without Gimp. This software has established a strong presence in the graphics editing world and has built a strong community. It’s the perfect software for editing small files and creating simple designs.
3. Krita
Use it for: DTG, Cut&Sew, Poster & Canvas printing, Sublimation, UV printing, Photo editing
Krita is the only raster graphic software on the list suited for creating seamless all-over print patterns. It’s great for basic photo editing, It does, however, need some getting used to. Since it’s made with artists in mind, it has a highly customizable Brush tool and can be linked to graphics tablets.
4. InkScape
Use it for: DTG, Cut&Sew, Embroidery, Poster & Canvas printing, Sublimation, UV printing
If you want to take things to the next level, I suggest checking out vector editing software. As such, InkScape is a handy program for creating print files of any size. That’s because vectors are made of objects such as lines, curves, and polygons and designs created on vector editors can be resized without damaging their quality. This means that each design made on InkScape can serve both for small prints — a personal brand image on an inside label — as well as bigger ones — or . IncScapes Measure tools also make it a handy program for creating embroidery designs. InkScape has no size limit and even offers options on tweaking your document file. But, similar to programs like Photoshop , it has a learning curve.
5. Canva
Use it for: Social media graphics, Poster & Canvas printing
might not be the most obvious choice of Photoshop alternatives , yet it’s a useful platform for any designer. Their free toolkit is quite extensive and their offer even more editing possibilities. It’s great for designing posters. It also lets you post your creations straight to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr, and others. Canva for Work also offers a feature named Brand kit, which makes branding each graphic exceptionally easy.
6. Desygner
Use it for: Social media graphics , Poster & Canvas printing
Desygner is an online platform, which is great for creating poster designs and social media graphics — you can post designs straight to Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. It has a desktop app as well as separate mobile apps (iOS and Android) for more specific design needs. Desygner Premium offers the Brand kit feature which is a great tool for establishing a uniform style for each created graphic.
7. Pablo
Use it for: Social media graphics
by Buffer is a great starting point for a social media and graphic design newbie — it’s completely free! The program lets you post your creations straight to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Feel free to play around with Pablo’s design options, but remember that it’s not meant for making print designs!
Online Browser, Also available as Google Chrome extension Price:Platforms:
File Format: .PNG
- Easy to use
- Wide selection of images
(provided byUnsplash) - Linkable to Buffer account for faster social media scheduling
- Suited only for social media graphics
- Limited template selection
- Limited choice of fonts
- Few social media integrations
- Only 72 DPI
Which option is the best for me?
If you’re looking for a software for creating print designs, look no further than Photopea, Gimp, Krita, and InkScape. Check out Canva and Desygner for making poster and canva designs.
Photo editing
Our graphics team also recommends ordering color swatches and checking out our color correction tutorial . For more details, be sure to read our color matching disclaimer .
For more info on print requirements, be sure to check out our blogs on Everything You Need to Know to Prepare the Perfect Print File and RGB vs CMYK: Guide to Color Systems . Don’t forget to read Printful File guidelines under each product to see which formats and sizes will work the best in each case!
Social Media Graphics
For editing pictures for your online store and blog, use Krita, Photopea, or Gimp.
To create engaging social media content, it’s best to use Canva, Desygner, Photopea, or Pablo.
Final Thoughts
The first step is to determine what you want the software to do. When that’s done, choose the programs you want to try out and play around. If you wish to see the software in action, check out our video on the top 5 free graphic design apps -find the best fit for you!
If, however, you want a well rounded free Photoshop alternative , I’d suggest Photopea — it can be used as a design tool, has a set of social media templates and has the same adjustment layer and photo editing tool options as Adobe Photoshop.
By now you’re probably either ready to dive into the vast world of photo editing or more confused than ever. If it’s the latter, don’t you worry, I’ll be happy to answer any of your questions. And, if all fails, you can always hire a professional — our designers know what’s best for Printful fulfillment. I wish you the best of luck with your endeavors!
Originally published at https://www.printful.com on April 2, 2019.
