Free Software

Updated on November 7, 2025

Adobe Photoshop and its Creative Studio (CS) were never budget-friendly without an education discount. Even the cheapest Creative Cloud (CC) costs $240/yr, which many find a hard pill to swallow.

Photo Editor / Photoshop Alternatives

  • Affinity (All Platforms) – While I haven’t used the new F2U Affinity, Affinity Photo 2 was and still is my go-to Photoshop replacement.
  • GIMP (All Platforms) – GIMP has been the free Photoshop alternative for decades, although I personally struggle to use it.
  • Paint.NET (Windows-only)

Drawing

  • Krita (All Platforms)

Video Editor

  • DaVinci Resolve (All Platforms) – I personally love DaVinci Resolve and how feature-packed it is, but you may need a beefier PC to run it.
  • Kdenlive (All Platforms) – This is one that I haven’t personally used yet but is highly recommended as a Adobe Premier replacement.

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