- January 01, 2020
- 18 min to read
If you need to make a few tweaks to your images, but do not want to use Photoshop, you are in luck as there are several superb solutions. Here are the 15 best alternatives in no particular order:
Gimp – mac photoshop alternative 2018 GIMP, the best alternative to Photoshop for Mac, is a cross-platform photo editor available for OS X, GNU / Linux, Windows and more operating systems. GIMP is free software that allows you to change its source code and also distribute changes made by you.
- One of the Best GIMP Mac Alternatives worth trying is Tweak Photos. The compact photo editing tool occupies very little space on memory as compare to other similar software. Its fast processing speed & photo output quality makes it one of the best editing programs available in the market.
- OS X: GIMP is a fantastic free alternative to Photoshop for all desktop operating systems, but on Mac it was a bit of a pain to set it up, because you needed to install X11. Gimp now, however.
1. Luminar 4 (Free Trial 7 days)
When time for editing your photos is a luxury, Luminar 4 can help. Luminar 4 lets you transform your photos in a flash and synchronizes all the edits that you have made effortlessly. What makes it so great is that you can easily browse all your photos as it automatically organizes your photos which makes navigation simple. Luminar Libraries also boast a very modern interface which optimizes the viewing experience.
Luminar 4 offers many great adjustable styles, features, and tools that you will fall in love with such as its AI Sky Enhancers, Advanced Contrast, and Dehaze to mention only a few.
Gimp Alternative For Mac
2. Pixlr (Free Version Available)
Pixlr boasts an interface that is really not much different from Photoshop. It offers hundreds of overlays, borders and other effects. If you simply want to crop your image or whiten your teeth on your iOS or Android device, Pixlr is the right tool for the job. With Pixlr, you can complete all the editing tasks that a good basic photo editor will allow.
3. PicMonkey (Trial 7 days)
The beauty of PicMonkey is found in its easy-to-use interface. If you need to put together a collage, this is your tool to use. All you have to do is upload your images and drag them into the right spot.
4. Adobe Photoshop Elements (Free Trial 30 days)
Do not be fooled by the name, Adobe Photoshop Elements is not the actual Photoshop. However, countless users have experienced that the Adobe Photoshop Elements app offers all the tools that they require to enhance their images. In short, this app has been reduced to the essentials.
With the help of its Adjustment and Blend layers, you can turn any photo into the most amazing image in barely any time at all. Thanks to its guided mode, it is also geared towards beginners.
When it comes to finding a Photoshop alternative, your only challenge will be to identify the software solution that works the best for your unique needs. Why not give them all a try? You might just discover that the best course of action will be to use a couple of these tools instead of just one.
5. Sketch (Free Trial 30 days, MacOS only)
If you are working on a Mac and in need of a budget-friendly alternative to Photoshop, Sketch is the answer. Sketch is a vector graphics app that has the design field all excited, specifically website designers. As it is so popular, you will be able to access countless plug-ins that have been created by the community that will make this app even more functional.
Its user interface is easy to understand and boasts several features such as gradients and layers that are similar to Illustrator and Photoshop. What is more, it also offers a color picker and style presets. You can use one of the basic shapes to create your own graphic or start from scratch with the help of the pencil tool. This app is really so flexible!
6. GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP)
GNU is an open-source cross-platform image editor. As its interface is very similar to Photoshop, it will not take you too long to familiarize yourself with GIMP. Though, users who do not have any image editing experience will find the different GIMP tutorials very useful.
Gimp Alternative For Mac Osx
It offers color correction, enhancement as well as painting tools to mention only a couple of its features and is compatible with Windows, Linux, and Mac.
7. Acorn (Trial 14 days)
Mac users who are searching for image editing software need to look no further than Acorn. It is a cost-effective solution if you do not have access to Photoshop. What makes it so great is that it is quick, enjoyable to use and offers useful features.
Some of its features include non-destructive filters, custom brushes and layer styles to mention only a few. The software is easy to use, but, you can rest assured, there are tutorials available for both beginners as well as image editing experts.
8. Affinity Photo (Trial)
Affinity Photo is for sure one of the best Photoshop alternatives. It is ideal for professional designers and photographers as it is completely compatible with Photoshop as well as other file formats. What makes it such a great alternative is that it is not nearly as expensive as Photoshop. Though, users can rest assured as it will still deliver the same performance (if not better).
It is compatible with Mac and Windows. If you are using an iPad, you will be happy to know that Affinity Photo for iPad is also available.
9. Pixelmator Pro (Trial 30 days)
Pixelmator is not a new Photoshop alternative, but recently the Pixelmator Pro version which uses a user-friendly single-window interface has been added to the mix. On top of that, the Pixelmator Pro version also boasts non-destructive image editing and offers features that include split view and a hidden interface that allows you to view your images without any distractions.
It is only available for Mac users.
10. SumoPaint (Online + Desktop)
The different standard features that you would expect in a Photoshop alternative, SumoPaint has to offer. There are shapes, brushes, gradients, text, and pencils that you can effortlessly access.
Though a word of warning to Photoshop users - a couple of its tools work differently and there are some limitations. Overall, this image editor remains very capable and can load in a flash.
11. Paint.net
Paint.net is a powerful and practical tool that Windows users can rely on instead of Photoshop. It is a capable and functional tool that concentrates less on artistic creation and more on photo editing.
It offers a decent variety of tools and special effects that include brightness/contrast and repeat selections. It might not boast all the serious editing tools, but that only means that it is not as difficult to master making it the ideal image editor tool for beginners.
12. Canva (Free Basic Plan + Trial 30 days)
Canva is where you will find countless layouts, stock photos, fonts and other great design elements. The best part is that several of these you can use at zero cost. You can use this app to design your business card or put together a birthday card.
13. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite (Trial 15 days or Full Paid or Monthly sub)
Windows users will love the tools that CorelDRAW has to offer. This Photoshop alternative boasts an interactive tool that will help you to straighten your image or adjust the perspective. Though, one of its most impressive features is its stylus control that reacts to a different pressure.
If you are working with Windows 10, this is the perfect fit. Windows users will also be happy to know that it supports 4K displays and multi-monitor viewing.
14. Photolemur (Free Version with watermark available)
Best choice for beginners or people who have no time to edit photos. Enhancing your images has never been easier thanks to Photolemur. By using AI, this automatic photo enhancer app enhances your images without you having to lift a finger. You simply need to import your images to Photolemur and it will get the job done automatically. This means that you do not require any prior editing experience to complete tasks like getting rid of imperfections. It is oh-so easy and available for both Mac and Windows.
15. Serif PhotoPlus
Many people have already relied on this app for years. It is ideal for users who are only starting with image editing now as it offers great support for new users in the form of videos and tutorials. What is more, users can get great tips on their active forum for fellow users. Thanks to its latest release, Serif PhotoPlus users will be also able to work with their RAW image files much easier.
Gimp For Mac Review
Alternatives to Adobe’s Photoshop are all the rage and always have been, mostly due to Photoshop’s staggering price, which as of now can cost as much as $29.99 per month. That’s quite a bit of money to spend if you’re someone who needs to make a quick but effective edit here and there. Perhaps you do some light graphic design but can’t justify shelling out hundreds of dollars annually for the amount of work you do.
Windows users can generally find a number of great photo editors. Mac users typically have less options, especially in the free category. Two of the most popular Photoshop alternatives for the Mac are Pixelmator and Gimp.
Gimp Alternative For Mac Versions
The former is a well-regarded app in the Mac App Store for $29.99, and that’s just a one-time payment as opposed to Photoshop’s monthly charge. Gimp, on the other hand, is completely free to download. For casual users and even some advanced users, it’s already been established that both of these are viable alternatives to Photoshop. But how do they stack up against each other?
Pixelmator Gives a Far Better First Impression
First impressions aren’t everything, but they can offer some valuable insight. In the case of Pixelmator vs. Gimp, it’s not even a question: Pixelmator gives a much better first impression for several reasons.
Gimp On Mac
Pixelmator loads within seconds as any other app should, while Gimp has an archaic load screen and as a result, takes way too long to load for a modern Mac app. However, if you’re already accustomed to using Photoshop, you may not see this as a problem since Photoshop itself isn’t exactly winning any races either.
It’s not just speed though: Pixelmator’s design is nothing short of gorgeous. If you lack experience in the graphic design or photography departments, Gimp is extremely intimidating. It looks like someone vomited a slew of photography and design tools on your computer screen back in 2004 and never cleaned it up.
Gimp throws a lot of options at you at once and lets you play in the sandbox, while Pixelmator is far more clean, modern and sophisticated, and showcases a stark contrast in design approaches. Pixelmator elegantly presents the tools you probably need most and lets you dig around for the others if you require.
Another sore point: Gimp’s performance. Something as simple as making a magic wand selection on my MacBook Air takes seconds to load. On Pixelmator with the same photo loaded, it’s instantaneous. The same situation occurs with power-hungry tools like heal, which is very laggy on Gimp.
Gimp is Feature-Packed, but Pixelmator Tends to Outperform
Earlier I mentioned that Gimp looks like a haphazard mashup of tools on your display. Believe it or not, for some people, particularly the pickiest perfectionists among us, that can come in handy.
Gimp doesn’t just have a blur tool, it has six different types of blurs. It doesn’t just have Gaussian blur either, it has blur radius, horizontal and vertical, and blur method. This is the case across the board. Even something as simple as the bucket/fill tool has fill types, affected area options, transparency options, modes, colors, patterns and thresholds to toy around with. It’s easy to see how advanced photo editors and designers would have a field day.
In Pixelmator, Gaussian blur is Gaussian blur. That’s it. Finished. You can adjust the intensity, but that’s it. Yes, there are other types of blurs, but aside from one or two sliders, that’s all the adjustment you get to play with.
The bucket/fill tool does exactly as advertised. Drag out from the click point to adjust tolerance for the surrounding area, but that’s all you’re going to get. Pixelmator is less than a pleasant experience for users who want full control, rather than let the app do the work.
Here’s the catch though: Pixelmator has a tendency to outperform Gimp in almost every area anyway. Yes, Gimp may have 20 different ways to blur all or part of an image, but Pixelmator still manages to produce a better result. Gimp’s smudge tool is a pixelated mess no matter what option I tweaked, but its opponent was silky smooth. Good rendering is especially important if you’re one to share or upload photos, since compression can distort an image even further.
I realize that these are small examples in two very capable apps, but the experience throughout various tools and filters is very consistent. For a long time, the iPhone’s camera was widely regarded as the best one in a smartphone, despite having virtually no customization options. Android had brightness settings, exposure, digital zoom, filters and more, and still couldn’t compete. In this scenario, Gimp is the Android camera and Pixelmator is the iPhone camera.
Of course, the two apps do share plenty of similarities. Both feature all the necessities like layers, selection tools, text tools, filters, channels, brushes, window toggles, etc. Of the two, Gimp has more to offer, but Pixelmator is generally better at what it does. It’s not that Gimp is a bad photo editor; with enough effort, its tools can produce desirable results. It even offers and encourages plugins, which Pixelmator does not. It’s simply that a task that takes one or two clicks to complete in Pixelmator often takes two or three times the work in Gimp.
Both Deliver Excellent Value Based on Price
It’s difficult to go wrong with Pixelmator or Gimp, particularly when it comes down to pricing. If they were priced equally, the winner would be Pixelmator by a very wide gap. It may not be able to flaunt the extensive list of features that Gimp can, but it sure can boast about its crucial performance advantage and overall better graphic rendering.
However, Pixelmator is priced at $29.99. I often see it on sale in the Mac App Store for only $14.99, but for all intents and purposes it’s 30 bucks. Gimp is 30 bucks less than that — ergo, it’s free.
Important: Consumers are usually in one of two camps. You either have an interest in spending money or you don’t. This means that for many people, the difference between a free app and an app that’s just $0.99 is significant. If you’re already in the free camp, there’s a solid chance you’ve already stopped reading this article to go download Gimp. For free, Gimp is a pretty great app. If it were $30, it could do much better.Winner: Pixelmator
Photoshop has a lot of everything and works very well, but Pixelmator has an adequate amount of everything and still works well. Plus, Pixelmator is hugely less expensive. Gimp, like Photoshop, has a lot of everything – however, Gimp doesn’t work well very often.
If you have the $29.99, spend it on Pixelmator. It’s well worth your money. Sure, you could save up to get a professional photo editor, but spend it and you have a fantastic one in almost every way. It all comes down to your priorities and how much you depend on a solid photo editor. Whether it’s a splurge or a focused investment, you won’t regret buying Pixelmator.
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Did You Know
In December 2009, the Apple version of WhatsApp was updated to include photo sharing features.