Photoshop alternatives that actually hold up in 2026
Photoshop is still the industry default, but the subscription price, the 2024 Terms of Use backlash and a 2026 FTC settlement over cancellation fees have pushed a lot of photographers and designers to look elsewhere. Here is what actually replaces it, and what each option costs.
Last updated August 19, 2026
TL;DR
- Affinity Photo, now part of Canva's Affinity Studio, became completely free in October 2025; only its newer generative AI tools need a $120/year Canva Pro subscription.
- GIMP, Photopea and Krita are free and open, with no account or subscription required, ever.
- Pixelmator Pro skips the subscription model entirely: a one-time $49.99 purchase on the Mac App Store.
- Photoshop's single-app plan is $22.99/month on an annual commitment ($34.49/month month-to-month), and Adobe settled with the FTC and DOJ for $150 million in 2026 over hidden cancellation fees.
Photoshop alternatives compared
Five tools people actually switch to, compared on how closely they cover Photoshop's core job: layered raster editing, retouching and compositing.
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affinity Photo | Closest full replacement for Photoshop's toolset | Free (AI tools need Canva Pro, $120/yr) | Yes, entire core app | Mac, Windows |
| GIMP | Open-source editing with no account or cost, ever | Free | Yes, fully featured | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| Photopea | Editing .psd files instantly in a browser, no install | Free ($5/mo Premium removes ads) | Yes, ad-supported | Any browser |
| Pixelmator Pro | Mac users who want a native, lightweight editor | $49.99 one-time | Trial via App Store | Mac only |
| Krita | Digital painting and illustration more than photo retouching | Free | Yes, fully featured | Windows, Mac, Linux |
Why people leave Photoshop
Photoshop's single-app plan runs $22.99/month when billed monthly on an annual commitment, or $34.49/month for a true month-to-month plan with no lock-in. The annual-paid-monthly plan generates the most complaints: cancelling before the 12-month term is up has historically triggered an early-termination fee, a practice the FTC and Department of Justice sued Adobe over in June 2024 for being unclear at signup. In 2026, Adobe agreed to a $150 million settlement, made up of civil penalties and free services to affected customers, along with an injunction requiring clearer fee disclosure and easier cancellation going forward.
In June 2024, an update to Adobe's Terms of Use set off a separate backlash. New language said Adobe "may access your content through both automated and manual methods," which many users read as a license to train AI on their work. Adobe published clarifications within weeks stating it does not train generative AI on customer content, but the episode left a lasting trust problem, especially among illustrators and photographers who license work commercially.
On top of pricing and trust concerns, Adobe's own community forums have long-running threads describing Photoshop as getting slower with every update as new features are added without matching performance work, alongside frequent complaints about mandatory sign-in and the Creative Cloud desktop app's resource use. The combination of cost, trust and performance is what has made a genuinely free, capable alternative like Affinity Photo land so well with switchers.
The alternatives, in detail
Affinity Photo
Canva acquired Affinity's maker, Serif, in 2024, and in October 2025 relaunched Affinity's Photo, Designer and Publisher apps as a single unified application, Affinity Studio, then made the core app free for everyone, ending the old one-time-purchase license model entirely. All non-AI editing, layers, masks, retouching and RAW processing work without payment. Newer generative tools such as Generative Fill and background removal are gated behind a Canva Pro subscription at $120/year, billed with no long-term contract. For anyone who wants Photoshop-grade editing without a recurring bill, this is currently the strongest option on the market.
- Choose it if you want Photoshop-grade layers, masks and RAW editing without ever paying a recurring fee.
- Skip it if you specifically need built-in generative AI tools without adding a separate Canva Pro subscription.
| Feature | Affinity Photo | Photoshop |
|---|---|---|
| Layers & masks | Yes | Yes |
| RAW processing | Yes, built in | Yes, Camera Raw |
| PSD file support | Full read/write | Native |
| AI/generative tools | Canva Pro, $120/yr | Included (Firefly) |
| Platforms | Mac, Windows | Mac, Windows, iPad |
| Price | Free | $22.99+/mo |
GIMP
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is free, open-source, and has no account requirement, subscription or upsell path. The current stable line, GIMP 3.2, added non-destructive layers and vector layers on top of the layered editing, masking and scripting GIMP has long supported via its plugin ecosystem. Its interface and file-handling conventions differ enough from Photoshop that there's a real learning curve for switchers, but the cost stays at zero indefinitely.
- Choose it if you want a permanently free, fully featured editor and don't mind a learning curve.
- Skip it if you need native RAW processing or faithful PSD round-tripping out of the box.
| Feature | GIMP | Photoshop |
|---|---|---|
| Layers & masks | Yes | Yes |
| RAW processing | Via plug-in | Yes, Camera Raw |
| PSD file support | Import/export, imperfect | Native |
| AI/generative tools | No | Included (Firefly) |
| Platforms | Windows, Mac, Linux | Mac, Windows, iPad |
| Price | Free | $22.99+/mo |
Photopea
Photopea runs entirely in the browser and opens native .psd files directly, with a toolbar and panel layout deliberately close to Photoshop's. The free tier is fully featured but shows ads; a $5/month or $50/year Premium plan removes ads and adds more undo history and cloud storage. No installation or account is required to start editing.
- Choose it if you need to open or edit a .psd file right now without installing anything.
- Skip it if you shoot RAW and need built-in RAW processing, which Photopea doesn't offer.
| Feature | Photopea | Photoshop |
|---|---|---|
| Layers & masks | Yes | Yes |
| RAW processing | No | Yes, Camera Raw |
| PSD file support | Native, opens directly | Native |
| AI/generative tools | No | Included (Firefly) |
| Platforms | Any browser | Mac, Windows, iPad |
| Price | Free (ads) / $5/mo Premium | $22.99+/mo |
Pixelmator Pro
Pixelmator Pro is a native Mac-only editor sold as a single $49.99 purchase through the Mac App Store. It has no ongoing subscription requirement and includes machine-learning-based tools, like subject selection, that run on-device. Apple has since launched a Creator Studio subscription bundling Pixelmator Pro with Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro, but the standalone one-time purchase for Mac remains on sale alongside it.
- Choose it if you're on a Mac and want a native, one-time-purchase editor instead of a subscription.
- Skip it if you're on Windows or Linux; Pixelmator Pro is Mac-only.
| Feature | Pixelmator Pro | Photoshop |
|---|---|---|
| Layers & masks | Yes | Yes |
| RAW processing | Yes, built in | Yes, Camera Raw |
| PSD file support | Import/export | Native |
| AI/generative tools | On-device ML tools | Included (Firefly) |
| Platforms | Mac only | Mac, Windows, iPad |
| Price | $49.99 once | $22.99+/mo |
Krita
Krita is free, open-source and donation-supported, built primarily for digital painting and illustration rather than photo retouching, with a brush engine and frame-by-frame animation tools that GIMP and Photoshop don't match. It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux with no paywalled features and no account requirement.
- Choose it if your work is digital painting or illustration more than photo retouching.
- Skip it if you need dedicated photo-editing tools like RAW processing or advanced retouching brushes.
| Feature | Krita | Photoshop |
|---|---|---|
| Layers & masks | Yes | Yes |
| RAW processing | Via plug-in | Yes, Camera Raw |
| PSD file support | Import/export | Native |
| AI/generative tools | No | Included (Firefly) |
| Platforms | Windows, Mac, Linux | Mac, Windows, iPad |
| Price | Free | $22.99+/mo |
Pricing side by side
Photoshop alone costs $22.99 to $34.49 per month depending on plan, which is roughly $276 to $414 per year with no end date and no ownership. Affinity Photo's core editor now costs $0 outright, with AI features optional at $120/year through Canva. GIMP and Krita cost $0 indefinitely, and Photopea is free with ads or $50/year without them. Pixelmator Pro is a single $49.99 purchase on Mac, after which there is no further required payment to keep using that version.
Estimated cost, year one (USD)
The practical break-even: a Photoshop subscriber who switches to a one-time-purchase tool like Pixelmator Pro recovers its cost in under three months of avoided subscription fees, and recovers it immediately by switching to a free tool like Affinity Photo, GIMP, Photopea or Krita.
FAQ
Is there a free version of Photoshop?
Adobe does not offer a permanently free version of Photoshop, only a time-limited trial. Affinity Photo, free under Canva's Affinity Studio since October 2025, GIMP and Photopea all offer layer-based, non-destructive editing with PSD support at no cost.
What is the closest one-to-one replacement for Photoshop?
Affinity Photo is the closest match for most professional workflows: layers, masks, RAW processing and full PSD compatibility, and it is now free. GIMP covers similar ground for anyone comfortable with a more idiosyncratic interface, and Pixelmator Pro is the pick for Mac users who want a native, one-time-purchase app.
Why are people leaving Photoshop in 2026?
The main complaints are cost (the single-app plan is $22.99/mo on an annual term, or $34.49/mo month to month), the subscription-only model with no perpetual license, the 2024 Terms of Use backlash over AI training language, and a 2026 FTC/DOJ settlement over hidden cancellation fees. Affinity Photo going free under Canva has also given long-time users a credible reason to switch.