Want to create great content for your social media or email campaigns in-house? If you do not have access to Adobe Creative Cloud, here are some alternatives that you can consider using that have similar tools available!
GIMP
Pros
• Supports layers and masks
• Very similar to Photoshop
• Powerful and adaptive
• Supports plugins and scripts so it is very customisable
Cons
• Can be difficult to use
• There is no quality team so it can be buggy
Overview
The downloadable software’s tools are very similar to that of Photoshop’s and for those that are already familiar with how to use Photoshop, this tool should be simple to use. For those new to editing tools altogether, it can be quite difficult to use at first. Once you get your head around it, you will realise just how much of a great tool it is! GIMP is probably the most popular alternative to Photoshop. It is extremely customisable and offers plugins and scripts that are user-made.
Pixlr Editor
Pros
• There are ads around the online editing software
• Has a mobile app to edit images on the go
• Works with Google Drive
Cons
• Doesn’t have drag and drop support for dropping images into the browser
• Requires flash player to work
Overview
This is another tool that requires flash to be installed to be able to use it. Pixlr is very similar to GIMP in terms of features. It is a great alternative to Photoshop and also offers a mobile app so that you can edit photos on the go.
Adobe Photoshop Express
Pros
• Easy to use
• Simple, organised interface
• Allows you to edit imagery on the go
• You can revert to the original image at any time
Cons
• Doesn’t have many advanced features
• Only supports JPG files less than 16MB in size.
• Requires flash player for the browser version
Overview
Adobe Photoshop Express is a free app for editing and creating collages that can be downloaded on iOS, Windows and Android devices. You can also access an online browser version as long as you have flash installed.
It is an easy way to enhance photos with multiple tools and filters. It also gives users the ability to create collages. Although, it isn’t so great if you want to be more advanced with the editing.
Photo Pos Pro
Pros
• Supports layers and masks
• Options for both novice and advanced users
• A wide range of help and tutorials available
• Supports RAW files
Cons
• The advanced version can seem cluttered and not as well thought out as the novice version
Overview
It will especially appeal to photographers who prefer to use RAW file formats, as this type of format is compatible with the tool. It can be hard to find editing software that suits your editing skills, the great thing about Photo Pos Pro is that it offers two options, one for beginners and one for experts. That way, everyone can enjoy the tool with ease.
Paint.NET
Pros
• Simple and easy to use
• Supports layers with blending modes
• Supports rulers
Cons
• Doesn’t support RAW file formats
• No slice tool, patch tool or spot healing tool
• UI appears dated
Overview
Paint.NET was developed to be a more powerful version of MS Paint. It provides a wider range of tools than MS Paint does, but it isn’t as near as powerful as Photoshop. Nonetheless, it is a great tool for the price of it – completely free to use.
Now you have the editing tools ready to use to create great content for your business. The only thing left is to find photos to edit. We have created a list of free resources available with a wide range of images and illustrations. Read more here.
