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Adobe Photoshop Alternatives for Mac OS X

Looking for Adobe Photoshop alternatives? We've curated 27 top alternatives that offer similar functionality. Whether you need Mac OS X options, free plans, or open source solutions, explore our comprehensive list to find the perfect fit for your needs.

GIMP

GIMP

Open Source

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a powerful, free, and open-source raster graphics editor used for image manipulation, retouching, composition, and authoring. It supports a vast array of file formats and provides sophisticated tools comparable to commercial alternatives, making it a versatile choice for photographers, designers, and artists.

Key Features

  • Completely free and open-source, with no licensing costs.
  • Available on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
  • Extensive set of tools for photo editing, graphic design, and digital art.

vs Adobe Photoshop

Completely free and open-source, with no licensing costs. compared to Adobe Photoshop
Krita

Krita

Open Source

Krita is a powerful, free, and open-source painting program designed for professional artists and illustrators. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools for digital painting, sketching, image editing, and animation, making it a versatile solution for various creative workflows.

Key Features

  • Free and open-source with no hidden costs.
  • Powerful and highly customizable brush engine.
  • Comprehensive layer management capabilities.

vs Adobe Photoshop

Free and open-source with no hidden costs. compared to Adobe Photoshop
Pixelmator

Pixelmator

Commercial

Pixelmator is a powerful yet user-friendly image editor designed exclusively for macOS. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools for photo editing, digital painting, and graphic design, leveraging macOS technologies for optimal performance.

Key Features

  • Optimized performance for macOS
  • Intuitive and clean user interface
  • Powerful photo editing and retouching tools

vs Adobe Photoshop

Optimized performance for macOS compared to Adobe Photoshop
MyPaint

MyPaint

Open Source

MyPaint is a fast and easy-to-use digital painting program designed for artists. It features a brush engine that simulates natural media and an infinite canvas, making it ideal for sketching, drawing, and digital painting with graphics tablets like Wacom.

Key Features

  • Excellent customizable brush engine for natural media simulation.
  • Infinite canvas allows for unrestrained drawing.
  • Well-optimized for graphics tablet use.

vs Adobe Photoshop

Excellent customizable brush engine for natural media simulation. compared to Adobe Photoshop
Autodesk Pixlr

Autodesk Pixlr

Freemium

Autodesk Pixlr is a robust, free online photo editor offering a wide array of tools for image fixing, adjustment, and filtering directly within your web browser. It's ideal for both quick edits and more complex manipulations without requiring software installation.

Key Features

  • Free to use with no software installation required.
  • Provides a wide range of powerful editing tools, including layer support.
  • Accessible from any device with a web browser and internet connection.

vs Adobe Photoshop

Free to use with no software installation required. compared to Adobe Photoshop
Photoscape

Photoscape

Freemium

PhotoScape is a versatile and user-friendly photo editing software designed for beginners and enthusiasts alike. It offers a wide range of tools for organizing, fixing, and enhancing your digital photos with ease. From batch editing and animated GIFs to screen capturing and RAW conversion, PhotoScape provides a comprehensive suite for your everyday photo needs.

Key Features

  • User-friendly and intuitive interface, easy to learn.
  • Comprehensive suite of photo editing and management tools.
  • Excellent batch processing capabilities for efficiency.

vs Adobe Photoshop

User-friendly and intuitive interface, easy to learn. compared to Adobe Photoshop
Affinity Photo

Affinity Photo

Commercial

Affinity Photo is a professional raster graphics editor designed for photographers and digital artists on macOS and Windows. It offers powerful tools for image editing, retouching, and complex layer manipulation without a subscription model, making it a compelling alternative to industry-standard software.

Key Features

  • One-time purchase cost saving over time
  • Excellent performance and handles large files well
  • Comprehensive set of professional editing tools

vs Adobe Photoshop

One-time purchase cost saving over time compared to Adobe Photoshop
Acorn

Acorn

Commercial

Acorn is a powerful yet accessible image editing software designed for macOS. It offers a comprehensive toolset for photo manipulation, digital drawing, and graphic design, catering to both hobbyists and professionals.

Key Features

  • Intuitive user interface compared to some professional alternatives.
  • Strong non-destructive editing capabilities with robust layer support.
  • Good performance and optimized for macOS.

vs Adobe Photoshop

Intuitive user interface compared to some professional alternatives. compared to Adobe Photoshop
Seashore

Seashore

Open Source

Seashore is a user-friendly, open-source image editor designed for Mac OS X, offering essential editing tools and layer support within a simple interface. It's based on the GIMP's technology and focuses on providing core image manipulation capabilities for casual users and hobbyists.

Key Features

  • Free and open source
  • User-friendly interface for basic tasks
  • Good layer support for non-destructive editing

vs Adobe Photoshop

Free and open source compared to Adobe Photoshop
Autodesk SketchBook

Autodesk SketchBook is a powerful yet intuitive digital drawing and painting application designed for artists, designers, and creative professionals. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools to create stunning artwork on various platforms, focusing on a natural drawing experience.

Key Features

  • Intuitive and easy-to-use interface with radial menus.
  • Excellent and customizable brush engine.
  • Smooth performance, even on less powerful systems.

vs Adobe Photoshop

Intuitive and easy-to-use interface with radial menus. compared to Adobe Photoshop
Polarr

Polarr

Freemium

Polarr is a powerful photo editing software designed for both casual users and professionals. It offers a wide range of tools, from basic adjustments to advanced retouching and filtering, accessible across multiple platforms including web, desktop, and mobile.

Key Features

  • Comprehensive set of photo editing tools for various needs.
  • Available on multiple platforms including web, desktop, and mobile.
  • Supports RAW image processing for high-quality editing.

vs Adobe Photoshop

Comprehensive set of photo editing tools for various needs. compared to Adobe Photoshop
Photoline

Photoline

Commercial

PhotoLine is a comprehensive raster and vector graphics editor for Windows and Mac OS X, offering advanced image manipulation, color management, and desktop publishing capabilities.

Key Features

  • Comprehensive raster and vector editing capabilities in one application.
  • Strong support for high color depth and professional color models.
  • Robust non-destructive editing workflow.

vs Adobe Photoshop

Comprehensive raster and vector editing capabilities in one application. compared to Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop Elements

Adobe Photoshop Elements is a user-friendly photo editing software designed for beginners and enthusiasts. It simplifies complex tasks with guided edits, automated features, and intuitive organizational tools, making it easy to enhance, organize, and share your memories.

Key Features

  • User-friendly interface with multiple modes for different skill levels.
  • Excellent Guided Edits make complex tasks achievable for beginners.
  • Powerful automated features save time and simplify workflows.

vs Adobe Photoshop

User-friendly interface with multiple modes for different skill levels. compared to Adobe Photoshop
Artrage

Artrage

Commercial

ArtRage is a powerful, realistic bitmap graphics editor designed for digital painting and drawing. It offers a wide range of natural-media tools that mimic traditional art mediums like oils, watercolors, and pencils, with features like paint mixing and texture simulation. It's suitable for artists of all levels, from beginners to professionals.

Key Features

  • Excellent natural media brush simulation
  • Realistic paint mixing and texture
  • Intuitive and user-friendly interface

vs Adobe Photoshop

Excellent natural media brush simulation compared to Adobe Photoshop
Clip Studio Paint

Clip Studio Paint

Commercial

Clip Studio Paint, formerly Manga Studio/ComicStudio, is a comprehensive digital art software tailored for creating comics, manga, and general illustrations. It offers a powerful suite of tools for sketching, inking, coloring, and panel layout.

Key Features

  • Excellent drawing and inking engine with natural feel
  • Powerful and highly customizable brushes
  • Specialized tools for comic and manga creation

vs Adobe Photoshop

Excellent drawing and inking engine with natural feel compared to Adobe Photoshop
Corel Painter

Corel Painter

Commercial

Corel Painter is a premier digital art software tailored for artists transitioning from traditional media or seeking authentic painting simulation. It offers an extensive array of brushes, textures, and tools designed to replicate real-world paints, pastels, watercolors, and more.

Key Features

  • Industry-leading realistic traditional media simulation.
  • Incredibly deep and customizable brush engine for unique artistic expression.
  • Excellent pressure sensitivity and tablet support.

vs Adobe Photoshop

Industry-leading realistic traditional media simulation. compared to Adobe Photoshop
FireAlpaca

FireAlpaca

Free

FireAlpaca is a free digital painting and drawing software available for both Windows and Mac. Designed with simplicity in mind, it offers core drawing tools and features like layers, brushes, and tablet support, making it accessible for beginners learning digital art.

Key Features

  • Completely free to download and use.
  • User-friendly and intuitive interface, ideal for beginners.
  • Good tablet support with pressure sensitivity.

vs Adobe Photoshop

Completely free to download and use. compared to Adobe Photoshop
Fotor

Fotor

Freemium

Fotor is a comprehensive online photo editor and design tool, offering a wide array of features for both professional image manipulation and creative graphic design. It combines robust editing capabilities with user-friendly design templates.

Key Features

  • Accessible directly through a web browser, no installation required.
  • Combines photo editing and graphic design features in one platform.
  • Offers a large library of pre-designed templates for various uses.

vs Adobe Photoshop

Accessible directly through a web browser, no installation required. compared to Adobe Photoshop
photivo

photivo

Open Source

Photivo is a free and open-source photo processor designed for advanced users. It supports a wide range of RAW and bitmap file formats, offering sophisticated tools for image processing, editing, and conversion.

Key Features

  • Free and open source.
  • Powerful RAW processing and editing capabilities.
  • Non-destructive editing workflow.

vs Adobe Photoshop

Free and open source. compared to Adobe Photoshop
ImageJ

ImageJ

Open Source

ImageJ is a powerful, open-source Java-based image processing and analysis platform widely used in scientific research for handling, editing, and analyzing digital images, particularly in microscopy and medical imaging.

Key Features

  • Completely free and open-source with no licensing costs.
  • Highly extensible through a vast plugin and scripting ecosystem.
  • Cross-platform compatibility (Windows, macOS, Linux).

vs Adobe Photoshop

Completely free and open-source with no licensing costs. compared to Adobe Photoshop
MyBrushes

MyBrushes

Commercial

MyBrushes is a powerful digital painting and drawing software designed for macOS, offering an expansive collection of customizable brushes, robust layer support, and an infinite canvas for both professional artists and enthusiasts to create stunning artwork.

Key Features

  • Highly customizable and extensive brush collection.
  • Robust layer management system for complex artwork.
  • Unique infinite canvas feature provides unlimited creative space.

vs Adobe Photoshop

Highly customizable and extensive brush collection. compared to Adobe Photoshop
Livebrush

Livebrush

Free

Livebrush is a unique and innovative drawing application that leverages vector technology to create dynamic and expressive brush strokes. Originally built on the Adobe AIR platform, it offered artists a fluid and interactive way to generate artwork with complex textures and animations, moving beyond static lines.

Key Features

  • Creates unique and dynamic brush strokes not found in traditional software.
  • Gesture-based drawing is intuitive and expressive.
  • Vector output allows for infinite scalability of artwork.

vs Adobe Photoshop

Creates unique and dynamic brush strokes not found in traditional software. compared to Adobe Photoshop
Photopea

Photopea

Free

Photopea is a powerful, free online image and photo editor that runs directly in your web browser. It supports a wide range of file formats including PSD, AI, XD, Sketch, PDF, XCF, and RAW, making it a versatile alternative to desktop software. With a familiar interface similar to Adobe Photoshop, it offers advanced editing tools for photographers, graphic designers, and digital artists.

Key Features

  • Completely free to use with no installation required.
  • Supports a vast range of file formats, including PSD, AI, and RAW.
  • User interface is very similar to Adobe Photoshop, reducing the learning curve.

vs Adobe Photoshop

Completely free to use with no installation required. compared to Adobe Photoshop
Gimp Paint Studio

Gimp Paint Studio

Open Source

GIMP Paint Studio (GPS) is a comprehensive add-on package for the GIMP image editor, significantly enhancing its capabilities for digital painting and graphic design. It provides a wealth of new brushes, brush dynamics, palettes, gradients, and tool presets, transforming GIMP into a more robust and versatile platform for creative work.

Key Features

  • Vast library of high-quality brushes.
  • Enhances GIMP's digital painting capabilities.
  • Free and open-source resources.

vs Adobe Photoshop

Vast library of high-quality brushes. compared to Adobe Photoshop
LazPaint

LazPaint

Open Source

LazPaint is a lightweight, portable raster image editor designed for simplicity while offering essential features like layers and various photo effects. It aims to be an accessible alternative to more complex software, making image editing approachable for users seeking a less overwhelming experience.

Key Features

  • Very lightweight and resource-efficient.
  • Excellent portability; can run without installation.
  • Clean and simple user interface.

vs Adobe Photoshop

Very lightweight and resource-efficient. compared to Adobe Photoshop
Leonardo

Leonardo

Commercial

Leonardo is a cutting-edge digital painting software designed for artists of all levels, offering a focus on speed, precision, and a seamless user experience. It provides essential tools for sketching, illustration, and digital painting.

Key Features

  • Exceptional drawing performance and responsiveness.
  • Innovative and useful infinite canvas.
  • Clean and intuitive user interface.

vs Adobe Photoshop

Exceptional drawing performance and responsiveness. compared to Adobe Photoshop
Bloom

Bloom

Commercial

Bloom is a versatile graphics software suite designed for photographers, graphic designers, and UI/UX professionals. It offers a comprehensive set of tools for image editing, vector graphics manipulation, and UI design, all within an intuitive interface.

Key Features

  • Integrated functionality for image editing, vector graphics, and UI design.
  • Non-destructive workflow for flexible editing and iteration.
  • Good performance, handling complex files effectively.

vs Adobe Photoshop

Integrated functionality for image editing, vector graphics, and UI design. compared to Adobe Photoshop

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