The best alternatives to Photoshop

Photoshop is so ubiquitous these days that, like Google, it’s become a verb: ‘to Photoshop’ is shorthand for editing an image. This might give the impression that Adobe has the market sewn up with its Creatine Cloud  package – but that’s not actually the case.

In fact, the backlash against Adobe’s move to the Creative Cloud in 2013 helped spur on a wide range of alternatives to Photoshop (there are even some free graphic design software options worth exploring). Whether you’re looking elsewhere because you can’t afford the subscription, or you want to support smaller development houses, or you just don’t need all the millions of features that come with Photoshop CC, there are a number of options open to you.

Here are the best image editing software options that aren’t Photoshop.

Sketch

A professional vector graphics app for creatives, in recent years Sketch has created an enormous buzz within the design community, and web designers in particular.

With a simple UI, Sketch has many features similar to that of Photoshop and Illustrator, including layers, gradients, color picker and style presets.

The development team behind Sketch has made it as flexible as possible, with it supporting infinite zooming and vector shapes that are perfect for multiple resolutions. You can build a new graphic from primitive shapes or start a new one with the Vector or Pencil tool.

InVision

A professional vector graphics app for creatives, in recent years Invitation, has created an enormous buzz within the design community, and web designers in particular.

Here’s a helpful overview of the various InVision plans that expands on the plan-specific features and prices (in USD). Visit our knowledge base for more information on both Consumer plan roles and Enterprise roles.