You don’t have to use Adobe Photoshop on your Mac to edit images like a pro. There are plenty of Photoshop alternatives for Mac that you can download or use in-browser to create just the right images and graphics for your projects. And some of them are completely free!
- Best Free Photo Editing Apps For Macbook
- Free Photo Editing Apps For Macbook
- Free Picture Editing Apps For Mac
- Photo Apps For Mac
- Photo Editing Apps For Computer
- Free Photo Apps For Windows 10
Best free apps for Mac in 2019 Get the greatest free apps on your Mac without having to dig through the entire Mac App Store! Fotor is a super easy photo editing app for the Mac that lets you create fun and unique projects from your collection. You can adjust the lighting, tweak the white balance, add a fun border, lay on a filter, and even.
None of these are necessarily one-size-fits-all solutions. Each tool tends to serve a specific purpose; Do you want to edit online or on a desktop? Are you editing photos or multiple file types? Is all the work for web or will images get printed?
Here’s a list of the best Photoshop alternatives for Mac in 2019, but not in any particular order. Have a read through to find the one that’s right for you.
The Ultimate Designer Toolkit: 1 Million+ Assets
Envato Elements gives you unlimited access to 1 million+ pro design resources, themes, templates, photos, graphics and more. Everything you'll ever need in your design resource toolkit.
1. Affinity Photo
Affinity Photo is a past Apple Mac App of the Year Winner and the professional tool has everything you’d expect in a premium photo-editing product.
Use it to edit and retouch images as well as create multi-layer pieces. The professional corrections and adjustments tools rival any other app out there and it has a great noise-reduction filter. Retouching options include the usual dodge, burn, clone, patch, blemish, and red eye tools, but there’s also an inpainting brush and liquify feature.
Other key features:
- Dedicated camera RAW workspace
- HDR merge
- Panorama stitching
- Bath processing
- 360-degree image editing
Cost: $49.99
Try it:From the App Store
Try it:From the App Store
![Free Photo Editing Apps For Mac Free Photo Editing Apps For Mac](/uploads/1/2/4/8/124896617/724451007.jpg)
2. Sketch
Sketch isn’t a photo-editing app per se, but you can editing images within the Mac prototyping tool.
The best part of editing in Sketch is that all edits are nondestructive, meaning that any of your changes take effect without overwriting the original image file. (So you can always go back to the original if you want.)
Sketch allows for basic image editing including inverting images, cropping and color fill. It can be described as a basic bitmap editor and for many simple projects is enough.
Other key features:
- Color adjustment capability – hue, saturation, brightness and contrast
- Reduce image/file size
- Replace and change images in projects with one click (Since you are using the same tool)
- Ability to work in layers
- Also includes ability to edit vector elements
Cost: $99/year
Try it:From Sketch
Mac icon - World's best selection of high quality Free Mac icons. On your Mac, copy the picture you want to use to the Clipboard. One way to do this is to open the picture in the Preview app, choose Edit Select All, then choose Edit Copy. Select the file or folder whose icon you want to replace, then choose File Get Info. At the top of the Info window, click the picture of the icon, then choose Edit Paste. Icon for mac folders.
3. GIMP
GIMP offers powerful photo manipulation and editing capability in a free, open source package. (You can also download the source code and make changes as you see fit and add more functionality with third-party plugins.)
GIMP is designed for high-quality photo manipulation including retouching images and photo restorations. Users can also use it to create original artwork, a feature that many other non-Photoshop editors don’t provide (or have but it can be difficult to use).
Other key features:
- Ability to create icons and other elements
- Use for scripted image manipulation (C, C++, Perl, Python, Scheme and more)
- Color management tools included with Scribus, Inkscape and SwatchBooker
- Large number of usable file formats and a customizable workspace
- Extensive tutorial library on the website so you can learn the tool easily
Cost: Free
Try it:From GIMP
Try it:From GIMP
4. Pixelmator Pro
Pixelmator Pro is a nondestructive editor that allows you to make changes to images and draw in the app. It also includes a nifty machine learning auto color adjustments tool to help make color changes a breeze.
One of the best features of Pixelmator Pro is that you can even export images for the web – hello, optimization – so you don’t have to use multiple tools to edit and then shrink image for top website quality production. Pixelmator Pro also includes some workflow tools to help you work more efficiently.
Other key features:
- Works with Mac’s Touch Bar
- Live preview option so you can see how changes will look before committing
- Text editing capabilities
- SVG editing and export
- Painting tools so you can draw anything by hand
Best Free Photo Editing Apps For Macbook
Cost: $59.99
Try it: From the App Store or try the free demo
Try it: From the App Store or try the free demo
5. Pixlr Pro
Pixlr Pro is an in-browser image editing app that’s packed with photo, vector and text editing capability. You can edit like a pro with tools that include layer masks, multiple brush options, curve and level adjustments, color and blend modes, effects and filters, and transform and wrap tools.
What’s different about Pixlr Pro, which also has a free version, is that you don’t have to download anything to use it. All the tools are right in your browser (and it has strong browser compatibility). It also includes a lot of other goodies to help jumpstart projects, such as templates and fonts.
Other key features:
You can only install this DirectX version through Windows Update in Windows 8, Windows RT and Windows Server 2012.The tool is included in Windows 8.1, Windows RT 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2. There is no stand-alone update package for the software. There is no stand-alone update package for the app. To upgrade DirectX further, you will need to upgrade your operating system.The program is included in Windows 8, Windows RT, and Windows Server 2012. You can only install this DirectX version through Windows Update in Windows 8.1, Windows RT 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2.DirectX 11 and are included with these Windows versions. ![Directx Directx](/uploads/1/2/4/8/124896617/387523903.jpg)
![Directx Directx](/uploads/1/2/4/8/124896617/387523903.jpg)
- Includes access to 1 million royalty-free stock images
- Comes with more than 10,000 photo templates
- Works with PSD and Sketch image files
- Smart healing tools for photo correction
- Refine edge tool make it easy to mask complex objects
Cost: $5/month
Try it:From Pixlr
Try it:From Pixlr
6. PicMonkey
PicMonkey is a well-known online photo editor and retoucher. It has the most complicated structure of features of all the tools in this list with free, basic and pro pricing plans with different levels of features and tools.
If you plan to use any of the advanced features – save and export, advanced retouching, effects and overlays, fonts – then you are probably looking at the pro level plan. Free plans include ads; paid plans do not. PicMonkey is a pretty straightforward tool that is popular with users creating images for social media and online-only use with a simple photo editor and design tools.
Other key features:
- Add-ons include filters, overlays and text tools
- Touch up photos to add more visual interest
- Watermark and other templates to make projects quick
- Ability to create a photo collage
- Simple interface with ready to use buttons in-browser or using the desktop app
Cost: Starting at $5.99/month
Try it: From PicMonkey
Try it: From PicMonkey
![Free Photo Editing Apps For Mac Free Photo Editing Apps For Mac](/uploads/1/2/4/8/124896617/119489882.jpg)
7. Fotor
The tool that the BBC called “Photoshop lite” is simple and easy to use. Edit images, add effects and text or tough up portraits like a pro with Fotor.
The photo editor has all the tools you’d expect for everyday editing with shape and aspect ratio cropping, color, saturation and white balance options and ability to straighten and rotate images. You can also create a custom college in the app.
Other key features:
- Bath processing option
- Tilt-shirt tools adds focus and blurring for a professional look
- 13 1-tap photo enhancement options
- Use popular file formats such as RAW, PNG, JPG, BMP, GIF and TIFF
- Optimize images for retina displays
Cost: Free
Try it:From the App Store
Try it:From the App Store
8. Acorn
Acorn is another nondestructive piece of Mac photo editing software that has a robust set of tools. The company claims that it has “everything you need in an image editor” with the ability to add layer masks and selections to touch up images or make something entirely new. You can also remove backgrounds, combine images, perform color corrections, resize, transform, crop and more.
While Acorn is billed as an image editor, it also includes vector tools as well and a text on a path feature.
Other key features:
- 100+ photo effects — vignette, drop shadow, gradients, sharpening, color correction, distortions, blurs
- Web export and scaling
- Smart layer export
- Camera RAW image import and editing
- Ability to import Photoshop brushes
Free Photo Editing Apps For Macbook
Cost: $29.99
Try it:From The Flying Meat store (other addons also available)
Try it:From The Flying Meat store (other addons also available)
9. SumoPaint
SumoPaint has free and paid version with different options. One key difference is whether you want to edit image on- or off-line (paid only).
SumoPaint is billed as an image manipulator with plenty of options, not all of which are designed for working with photos. The native Sumo file format also provides a nondestructive save option. The tool includes plenty of brushes, shapes and colors and gradients to jumpstart any project. It also allows for use of layers and comes with plenty of filters.
Other key features:
- Lighting, reflection and mosaic tools
- Animated and 3D brush options
- Auto-smoothing feature
- Text tool
- Ability to adjust curves and levels with ease
Cost: $4/month
Try it:From SumoPaint
Try it:From SumoPaint
10. DxO PhotoLab
DxO PhotoLab is the go-to for RAW photo editing. It’s packed with features – you might even mistake the dashboard for Photoshop at a glance – and doesn’t get bogged down when working with large files and detailed images.
The tools include the ability to editing using control points to work on just the parts of a photo you want to edit, there are plenty of brushes for precise work, a graduated filter makes landscape photos look great and the auto repair mode can remove unwanted elements from images.
Other key features:
- Smooth transitions between elements that preserve textures and shadows
- Fast processing
- Auto lighting optimization tool
- ClearView filter removes atmospheric haze from landscape photos
- 40,000 camera and lens combinations
Blu ray drive for macbook pro. Cost: $99.99 (Essential Edition)
Try it:From DxO
Try it:From DxO
The best photo-editing apps confirm that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” as they say. Over the years we’ve taken photographs with pro cameras, mobile phones, and computers. In the past people would hardly edit pictures, but retouching photos has become a regular thing in recent times. Some of the software used in editing photos comes at a cost, but if you cannot afford to buy the software, there are many apps that are free. In this article we will discuss five such apps: Paint.Net, Pixlr, GIMP, Image Tricks and Photoscape.
1. Paint.Net (Windows only)
Paint.Net has the feel of old photo editors that used to come with the Windows operating system but also packed with more features. It is easy for beginners as it has layers, unlimited history, and special effects. Editing with Paint.Net is very fast and easy, even on older systems, despite the fact that it lacks some advanced tools. It is free, but unfortunately for Mac users, it is exclusive to Windows.
2. Pixlr (Web)
The layout of Pixlr is quite identical to that of Photoshop, which makes it easy to use for people who are familiar to the latter. It is an online app and does not require you to download it before use. It is available for Windows, Mac and mobile platforms (Android and iOS). Pixlr’s format for saving images allows it to adjust or transfer between mobile and desktop. However, it does not have many export formats, such as JPEG, TIFF, BMP, or PNG.
3. GIMP (Cross-platform)
GIMP has been said to be the best and most well-known free photo editor there is; it has a lot of the features present in Photoshop and is easy to use. The app supports the use of plugins and has powerful tools that make it easy for non-professionals to use. However, GIMP does not contain some advanced layer styles usually seen in Photoshop. GIMP works across Windows, Mac, and Linux.
You can use GIMP for editing, drawing, conversion between formats and much more. One of its advantages over others is in its scripting language, Script-Fu, which is used to automate repetitive tasks.
You can also use Perl, Python, and Tcl through an external interpreter to do the scripting. As one of the best photo editing apps, GIMP can handle a lot of file formats such as EMP, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and GIF. It can also import PDF files and raw formats of various digital cameras.
4. Image Tricks (Mac)
Image Tricks is a free photo editor for Mac OS X and is quite easy to use. It allows you to experiment, as you can combine various effects on a picture. It is an ideal app for non-professionals to be creative. It contains a broad range of filters and masks.
Free Picture Editing Apps For Mac
5. Photoscape (Windows and Mac)
Although the Photoscape editor does not have a lot of advanced editing tools, the app is best used as a quick editor. It contains essential tools that allow you to apply filters, frame, crop, add text, draw, clone and so on. You can also use it to create GIFS that animate multiple photos when added. It works on Windows and Mac.
Photo Apps For Mac
Photoscape is stuffed with a lot of features while retaining its ease of use. The app’s features include a raw converter, file renamer, batch processor, viewer, color picker, screen capture tool, and print layout tool.
Photo Editing Apps For Computer
Final Word on the Best Photo Editing Apps
Free Photo Apps For Windows 10
All five apps listed above are free and would easily pass for the best photo-editing apps. Of all the apps, GIMP seems to be the one with more features and is suitable for both beginners and pros. GIMP is particularly suited to people who do not feel it is necessary to spend money on editing their pictures. What makes the app even better is the fact that it works across platforms, including Mac and Windows.