Photo editing

Retouching and adjusting photos.

6open alternatives 2do the whole job

Replaces

Adobe Photoshop Adobe Lightroom Affinity Photo

Open alternatives6

Open-source apps that replace Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom and more

darktable

13kActiveWindows · Mac · LinuxVerifiedGPL-3.0App

darktable is a free program for organizing and editing raw photos on your own computer. It is aimed at photographers who want a non-destructive workflow for developing and exporting their images.

App · GitHub · Raw photos, like Lightroom

GIMP

Not on GitHubActiveWindows · Mac · LinuxVerifiedGPL-3.0-or-laterApp

GIMP is a free program for editing and retouching images on a computer. It is aimed at photographers, artists and anyone who needs image editing tools without paying for them.

App · Own website · Different layout from Photoshop; no Lightroom-style library

RawTherapee

4.3kActiveWindows · Mac · LinuxGPL-3.0Replaces partlyApp

RawTherapee is a desktop program for developing raw camera photos with fine control over how the image is processed. It is aimed at enthusiasts and semi-professional photographers on Windows, macOS and Linux.

App · GitHub · Raw development only; weaker photo library

Pinta

4.1kActiveWindows · Mac · LinuxMITReplaces partlyApp

Pinta is a simple paint program for drawing and making basic edits to pictures. It is aimed at people who want an easy image editor on Linux, Windows, or macOS.

App · GitHub · Simple edits only

Krita

Not on GitHubActiveWindows · Mac · LinuxVerifiedGPL-3.0Replaces partlyApp

Krita is a free drawing and painting program for making digital art from scratch. It is aimed at artists and illustrators who work on a computer.

App · Own website · Made for painting; weak at photo retouching

digiKam

Not on GitHubActiveWindows · Mac · LinuxGPL-2.0-or-laterReplaces partlyApp

digiKam is a free program for organizing, sorting and lightly editing large collections of photos and videos on a computer. It is aimed at photographers and hobbyists who want to manage their pictures.

App · Own website · Sorting and light edits; not retouching

What's missing

What people still miss here, and wish existed. Upvote what matters to you.

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Before you build

Planning something for photo editing? See what exists first, so you can reuse parts or explain what's different. Paste this into any AI assistant:

Read the list of open-source alternatives at https://opensourceeverything.org/data/groups/photo-editing.json. Compare it with my project or idea below. Tell me which projects overlap, what I could reuse instead of rewriting, and what mine does that none of them do. My project or idea:

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Fix the list itself

A project or closed app missing from this list, or a mistake on it? These open a short form on GitHub, and a mod reviews it. To say what a project can't do, use What's missing.

Add a project here Add a closed app it replaces Fix something on this page

About this page

Replaces fully means it does the main job of these apps; Replaces partly means it covers some of it.

Licenses: every project here uses an open-source license (what each one means). Open core means some parts are paid or under another license.

GitHub stars are shown for reference. They measure popularity, not whether it replaces anything.

Verified means r/TrueOpenSource mods checked it: open-source license, maintained, and it really does the job.

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