Five best and free alternatives to Photoshop for editing photos
We have selected such options for you which you will not have to spend any money to use.
adobe photoshop express
It comes with the basic features of Photoshop and is available absolutely free. You can use Photoshop Express in your browser. Apart from this, apps are also available for Android, iOS or Windows platforms. This app allows you to crop, rotate and resize photos. Apart from this, you will be able to adjust brightness and contrast. There are also some touchup tools with the help of which you will be able to remove minor flaws in your photos.
Important features of Photoshot like Dodge, Burn and Highlight are also present in it. But you will not get the same control as the desktop version. Apart from this, effects like Crystallize, Pixelate, Sketch, Distort and Pop Color can also be used.
GIMP
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is the most popular alternative to Photoshop for the desktop. It’s not as feature-packed as Adobe Photoshop, but it does have a lot of useful features for a first-time image editor. The good news is that it doesn’t take too long to learn how to use GIMP. After a while, the time you invest in it will be well worth it.
You can easily do image filtering, combining multiple photos in this app. It is available for Windows, OS X and Linux. You can get a lot of information from the web to help you use this app.
Pixlr
If you don’t like the desktop app, you can edit photos in the browser using Pixlr. It looks and works a lot like Photoshop, but it’s free and works online. You’ll be able to edit photos by uploading a photo from your computer or copying a URL from the web into the browser.
Apart from dodge, burn, blur and clone stamp, you will find many useful tools. The toolbox is also very similar to Photoshop. If you go to the filter menu, you will come across many strange and wonderful effects.
paint dot net
Paint.NET was initially introduced as a more feature-rich version of the default Paint tool. But it slowly managed to gain popularity among Windows users. It is less powerful but easier to use than GIMP. And it comes with a more familiar interface.
You get full control of the translucent interface. Paint.NET handles all the basic responsibilities, along with layer support and some effects. Even though it doesn’t have many top end features, it is an app designed keeping the average user in mind.
PickMonkey
This online app manages to strike a balance between a more understandable interface and advanced features. It’s also very easy to use. You can start by clicking ‘Edit a Photo’ on the website. But once you get further, you have a lot of tools to use. Shapes, textures and text can be added easily. There are also many Instagram-style effects.
These are some of the apps we like. But there are many more options available in the market. If you use any other app then let us know through the comments.
