Best Free Alternatives to Photoshop: For PC & Mobile Phone

Edited by Ava Wilson Apr 29, 2025 Tips

Photoshop has long been the go-to tool for image editing, known for its powerful features and stability. However, many users find its interface complex, especially those who are new to it and have to rely on online tutorials to master it. As a result, more people are turning to free alternatives that offer ease of use without a steep learning curve, while still providing robust features comparable to Photoshop.

Whether you're a beginner or an advanced photo editor, this article will introduce you to 6 of the best free alternatives to Photoshop for both PC and mobile devices. Let's dive in and find the tool that best suits your needs!

How to Choose the Best Free Photoshop Alternative?

When looking for a free alternative to Photoshop, several factors can influence your decision. To help you make an informed choice, here are the key aspects to consider.

• Ease of Use: Look for an understandable interface, especially if you're a beginner. This allows you to use the app without investing too much time in learning, giving you more time to focus on your work.

• Features: Ensure the software offers essential editing functions like layers, masks, filters, and brushes. Some advanced features like retouching, color correction, and support for various file formats are also crucial. Therefore, the editing features of an app are the most crucial factor to consider.

• Compatibility: Before downloading, check if the software can run on your operating system (Windows, macOS, Linux) or mobile device (iOS, Android). Cross-platform availability should also be taken into consideration if you have such needs.

• Community and Support: Check if there's an active community and forum where you can seek help, tutorials, and resources. Or if there are additional services like a 7-day money-back guarantee, after-sales service, etc. Official support and frequent updates can also enhance your experience.

• Performance: Consider the software's performance and speed when working with large files. Check if your devices meet the app's hardware requirement, or the app might not run smoothly.

1. Picwand AI Photo Editor

Picwand AI Photo Editor stands out as the best choice among the Photoshop alternatives mentioned above. This powerful online tool leverages advanced artificial intelligence to provide a seamless and user-friendly photo editing experience. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced editor, Picwand simplifies complex editing tasks, enabling you to achieve professional results without a steep learning curve or costly fees like those associated with Photoshop.

One of Picwand's key strengths is its flexibility. It offers a wide range of editing features, including image resizing, background removal, resolution enhancement, and photo cropping. These tools are designed to make editing easier, so you can improve your photos with minimal effort. Additionally, Picwand is web-based and compatible with Mac, allowing users to edit on any device. For those who prefer mobile editing, Picwand also offers apps for both Android and iPhone, ensuring convenience across platforms.

2. Fotor Photo Editor

Fotor Photo Editor stands out for being straightforward, simple, and appealing to novices and experts. Numerous editing tools exist, and people use them to enhance their images. Some are simple adjustments such as contrast, saturation, and brightness, and others are more complex, such as filters, retouching, and effects. What's more, its simplicity is also a significant advantage. The editor's design and layout are easy, so people can quickly find what they need. Fotor Photo Editor also supports batch processes; people can edit numerous images with minimal effort and without wasting too much time.

Apart from being a photo editor, there is also a graphic editor on it where people can design for their projects, posters, and even for their social networks. This means people can use this tool to improve their images, for example, or generate something from the text.

3. GIMP

GIMP means the GNU Image Manipulation Program. GIMP is a solid and free alternative to Photoshop. GIMP is free and open source. Therefore, there are plenty of coders who modify and perfect it. GIMP offers plenty of valuable features for simple and complex editing. For instance, its modifying and producing images enable images to be resized, cropped, and quickly changed. GIMP also has the flexibility of utilizing your own brushes, patterns, and even your gradients, and this creates your images.

The interface may be complicated for people who don't know it, but that can be modified. It allows users to organize their working environment their way. GIMP supports other file formats such as JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, and PSD (for use with Photoshop), which is very helpful for those who have a variety of project needs. Another advantage of GIMP is its ability not to slow down with quality images and complex processes. GIMP also has extensive scripts and extensions, and people find this easy to use.

4. Luminar Neo

Luminar Neo is a complex image editor created by Skylum, famous for its complex functionalities that are made possible with artificial intelligence. The tool offers a wide range of abilities for improving the efficiency and quality of image editing and its imagination. The best thing about this tool is its artificial intelligence-based edit abilities. It enables smooth improvements of images with automatic shadow, highlight, and color settings adjustments.

Luminar Neo has a tool called Sky AI, which can easily replace skies in photos. The tool becomes very useful for landscape photographers. It also has a tool for removing subjects such as power cables, dust, and other subjects from photos. The tool has a user-centered and non-destructive workflow, and the source images are not harmed.

5. VanceAI

VanceAI is an AI-powered photo editing software designed to enhance and simplify photo editing. It offers a variety of features that help speed up your workflow and boost creativity with its intelligent editing tools. With VanceAI, you can improve, enlarge, sharpen, retouch, remove backgrounds, and even convert images into cartoons.

The software processes images quickly and efficiently. With just a single click, you can enhance photos, eliminate noise, and enlarge pictures. VanceAI also supports batch processing, allowing you to edit multiple images at once.

VanceAI is user-friendly, making it accessible for both beginners and experts. Its professional-grade features, powered by deep learning, ensure great results even without prior editing experience. VanceAI can be used both online and on desktop, offering flexibility based on your preferences.

6. Pixlr

Pixlr is also available directly from a web browser. Its web accessibility offers an easy user experience without installing a program. The tool has simple editing capabilities, such as resizing, crop, and color correction, and more complex ones, such as filters, effects, and layers. In addition, there is also a wide range of assets related to artificial intelligence, such as the AI Image Generator, the AI Face Swap, and the AI Remove Background. These assets allow easy creation of stunning images with minimal effort. There is also a wide range of templates and design assets for use when designing posts on social networks, posters, and other projects.

The platform supports batch processing, hence the possibility of editing several photos in a single sitting. The app also has access to desktops and smartphones, thus flexibility on where and when the images can be edited.

The Best Free Alternatives to Photoshop at a Glance

To help you make an informed decision, below is a comparison table to help you evaluate the strengths of each.

As seen in the table, each tool has unique strengths. Among them, Picwand AI Photo Editor stands out as the most versatile, combining ease of use, powerful AI tools, and a range of useful features like background removal and image enhancement.

Summary

In this article, we’ve explored the 6 best free alternatives to Photoshop for both PC and mobile devices. While all of these alternatives have their merits, Picwand AI Photo Editor proves to be the best free alternative to Photoshop. It combines user-friendly design with powerful AI editing tools, making it suitable for both beginners and advanced users.
Whether you're enhancing images, removing backgrounds, or applying AI-based features, Picwand makes photo editing effortless and professional!