The Best Photo Editing Software in 2026: 8 Free and Paid Picks

Two big things changed in photo editing software over the past year. Affinity, long the main paid alternative to Photoshop, became free after Canva relaunched it in late 2025. And browser-based editors grew capable enough for real layered work, with PSD support and GPU acceleration, so you no longer need an install for everyday editing. Meanwhile Adobe has bundled more generative AI into Photoshop and Lightroom.

Quick Picks

• Best for professionals: Adobe Photoshop
• Best free desktop editor: Affinity
• Best for editing in a browser: PhotoQuill
• Best for organizing and batch editing photos: Adobe Lightroom
• Best open-source editor: GIMP
• Best free RAW developer: darktable
• Best for occasional PSD edits online: Photopea
• Best for social media graphics: Canva

Comparison Table

1. Adobe Photoshop: Best for Professionals

Price: from $19.99/mo with the Photography plan (Photoshop + Lightroom + 1TB), or $22.99/mo for Photoshop alone  |  Platform: Windows, Mac, web, mobile

Photoshop is still the industry standard for retouching, compositing and design. Its AI tools are part of the everyday workflow: Generative Fill and Generative Expand add or extend content, the Remove tool cleans up distractions, and Select Subject makes masks in a click. Generative features use monthly generative credits.

• Good: the deepest toolset, the best ecosystem of plugins and tutorials, and the file format everyone else supports.
• Not so good: subscription only, and generative features are capped by credits.

2. Affinity: Best Free Desktop Editor

Price: free (needs a free Canva account); AI tools need a Canva premium plan  |  Platform: Windows, Mac

In late 2025 Canva combined Affinity Photo, Designer and Publisher into a single app and made it free. You get professional photo editing with layers, masks, RAW development and CMYK, plus vector and layout tools in the same window. Canva's AI tools, such as generative fill and background removal, work inside Affinity if you pay for Canva.

• Good: Photoshop-class editing at no cost, with no subscription for the core app.
• Not so good: needs a Canva account, AI features cost extra, and there's no photo library like Lightroom's.

3. PhotoQuill: Best for Editing in a Browser

Price: free; AI features use credits  |  Platform: Chrome or Edge on Windows, Mac and Chromebook; Linux where the graphics driver supports WebGPU

PhotoQuill is a free photo editor that runs in your browser. It opens and saves PSD files with layers, masks, blend modes and text layers, and uses WebGPU so large documents stay responsive. Non-AI editing runs on your own device and needs no account. Optional AI tools generate images, remove backgrounds and erase objects, and an AI assistant can build a design from a prompt as separate, editable layers.

• Good: nothing to install, real PSD support, and free for everyday editing.
• Not so good: needs a browser with WebGPU (current Chrome or Edge); AI needs a Google sign-in and credits (10 on signup plus 5 a day free); no plugins, and it doesn't open GIMP's XCF files.

4. Adobe Lightroom: Best for Organizing and Batch Editing

Price: included in the $19.99/mo Photography plan  |  Platform: Windows, Mac, mobile, web

Lightroom is a photo library and RAW developer, not a pixel editor. If you shoot hundreds of photos at a wedding or event, its catalog, presets, AI masking and batch sync make grading them fast. For detailed retouching you hand images over to Photoshop.

• Good: the fastest way to organize and color-grade large shoots.
• Not so good: subscription only, and no layers or compositing.

5. GIMP: Best Open-Source Editor

Price: free, open source  |  Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux

GIMP has improved more in the last two years than in the decade before. GIMP 3.0 (2025) added non-destructive filters, and GIMP 3.2 (March 2026) added vector and link layers; the current release is 3.2.8. It's endlessly extensible with scripts and plugins.

• Good: free forever, runs on Linux, and highly customizable.
• Not so good: an interface that takes getting used to, and partial PSD support. There's no official web version; see GIMP online options.

6. darktable: Best Free RAW Developer

Price: free, open source  |  Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux

darktable is the free answer to Lightroom: it manages your photo library and develops RAW files non-destructively. Version 5.6 (June 2026) added optional AI tools, including AI object masks.

• Good: professional RAW processing at no cost.
• Not so good: a steep learning curve, and it isn't meant for layered compositing.

7. Photopea: Best for Occasional PSD Edits Online

Price: free with ads; Premium about $5/mo  |  Platform: browser

Photopea closely copies Photoshop's interface and opens PSD, XCF and Sketch files in a browser tab. It's a handy free tool for quick edits to a file someone sent you.

• Good: very broad file support, nothing to install.
• Not so good: ads on the free version, and very large files can feel slow.

8. Canva: Best for Social Media Graphics

Price: free; Pro plan paid (price varies by region)  |  Platform: browser, desktop and mobile apps

Canva isn't traditional photo editing software, but for putting text on photos and making social posts from templates it's the quickest option. Many of its AI photo tools, such as the background remover, are part of Canva Pro.

• Good: huge template library, very easy to learn.
• Not so good: limited pixel-level control, and no PSD export.

Desktop or Online Photo Editing Software?

Install desktop software if you rely on plugins, edit very large files, or manage a big photo library. Choose an online editor if you switch between computers, use a Chromebook, or simply don't want to install anything: browser editors like PhotoQuill and Photopea now handle layers, masks and PSD files.

How to Choose

• You edit professionally every day: Photoshop, often with Lightroom.
• You want pro features without a subscription: Affinity.
• You don't want to install anything: PhotoQuill or Photopea.
• You shoot RAW and want it free: darktable.
• You're on Linux or love open source: GIMP.
• You make social posts: Canva.

Just starting out? See our picks of the best free photo editing software for beginners, or the best free options for Mac. Interested in AI-first tools? See the best AI photo editors.

Frequently Asked Questions