Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
GIMP
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
GIMP is a free, open-source graphics software. GIMP, or General Image Manipulation Program was developed in 1996 and has continued to be updated by volunteers since then.N/A
Adobe PhotoShop
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
Adobe Photoshop is the best known graphics product on the market.
$20
per month
Blender
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
Blender is a free and open source 3D creation suite available in under the GNU General Public License. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, video editing and 2D animation pipeline. Blender Cloud is a related service accessible via subscription, and is a training and content platform providing access to expertise from the Blender Institute for advancing one's use of Blender.
$11.50
per month
Pricing
GIMPAdobe PhotoShopBlender
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Single App
$20.00
per month
Blender Cloud Membership
$11.50
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
GIMPAdobe PhotoShopBlender
Free Trial
NoNoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
GIMPAdobe PhotoShopBlender
Considered Multiple Products
GIMP
Chose GIMP
Adobe Photoshop is very powerful software, however it is expensive and requires equipment with specific requirements to be able to run it. Canva use them to create basic and fast designs from any of my devices. Instead, I choose GIMP because it is a very light graphic editor …
Chose GIMP
GIMP runs much smoother on my Mac laptop than Adobe Photoshop with less bugs and freezes than I have suffered through from Adobe in general. The tools available on GIMP have also been easier for me to figure out and put into action than my experiences with Photoshop. The fact …
Chose GIMP
Adobe PhotoShop is another great photo editing software that has way more features and tools than GIMP. But, Adobe PhotoShop asks for a hefty price every month or every year, thus pulling it down in our analysis rankings. After analysing both the costs and the amount of …
Chose GIMP
Canva and Picsart are both free and can do a lot of items, like collages, well, but if you want to do actual photo editing or pixel art, I recommend GIMP. If you have the money, I would go with Photoshop, but for a free program, GIMP is just as good.
Chose GIMP
Online services like Canva are fine for quickly designing brochures and marketing materials, videos, etc. They're user friendly and fast if you have a good connection. But if you're in production mode and need to do a lot of photo manipulation at once, without being connected …
Chose GIMP
Very similar feature with the greatest difference really being paid vs. free platform. This is important to note especially for larger organizations.
Chose GIMP
It is not easy to find a free image editing software with the same quality. This software gives the advantages of a very expensive one for free. No compatibility problems with other softwares. Easy to use but complete interface. You launch it for the first time and you feel …
Chose GIMP
The full Photoshop application is an extremely good program, but costly. GIMP stacks up fairly well against Photoshop in regard to functionality, and the developers are agile and adding updates to functions frequently. In comparing the two programs and our need for relatively …
Chose GIMP
GIMP pretty much has all the tools that Photoshop has except it doesn't have the cost. If you know Photoshop, you'll know how to use GIMP. There are a few nuance differences between the tools but in general, GIMP can compete pound for pound with Photoshop. I initially was …
Adobe PhotoShop
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
GIMP is a powerful tool for what it is, but doesn't hold a candle to the algorithms and huge variety of features that Photoshop offers. GIMP is a good free alternative for hobbyists, but Photoshop is essential for any professional. I selected Photoshop because of the volume of …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Photoshop has many of the same features as GIMP, and while GIMP is free you do get what you pay for. There is far more support and training available for Photoshop, the interface is much cleaner, and as a result it is far easier to support. We'll continue to be Photoshop users.
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
For basic tasks, GIMP will get the job done but the features offered by Photoshop is like comparing apples and oranges. The feature sets are vastly different and almost not fair to compare. Adobe XD can be great for basic wireframe mockups but its UI does get a little clunky …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Before using Photoshop, I was a long-time GIMP user. As much as people may try to tell you otherwise, for modern digital media creation, there really is no comparison. The open-source community behind GIMP simply cannot keep up with the rapid development of new and powerful …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
The only real competitor to Adobe PhotoShop is either GIMP or Affinity Photo if you're a Mac user. Affinity Photo is a great product that gives Adobe PhotoShop a run for its money. Adobe PhotoShop is still the king and has the greatest feature set. It's easy to use and provides …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
I found GIMP much harder to navigate and the features not fully fleshed out. In the end, while a free product is great, I felt like I was wasting my own time instead of just paying for Photoshop where I could get the project completed much more quickly and easily.
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Photoshop is an easier-to-use product with more functionality than GIMP, however, the former is a fairly costly software from Adobe, while the latter is an open-source and free-to-use photo editor, so direct comparisons may not make much sense. I'm not aware of many paid …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
GIMP is a nice free/open-source alternative to Photoshop, but it isn't as powerful and the UI is not as nice to work with. Affinity Photo is the closest competitor in my mind, but I find the time to make an edit vs Photoshop is longer. Photoshop remains the best tool for the …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
GIMP could be one of the closes competitors to Photoshop. While it is incredibly full-featured, in my use, it is not nearly as powerful. This is especially true in the development of background recognition, object replacement, and other filters based on artificial …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
GIMP is an open-source copy of Photoshop but without as many features. As I've learned to use Photoshop so many years ago there isn't a reason for our organization to choose another product. There is also Affinity photo which looks similar but without the subscription model. …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Adobe has more quality, more options and has for sure a better outcome than almost all the other products we have used to create graphics. You can see the difference between Adobe and GIMP in a heartbeat. Not saying the other ones are bad, but it is a quality difference based …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
GIMP is a great freeware program when you just don’t have access to a PhotoShop license. It is not quite as robust of a platform and the creative cloud story is not as good, but it is a great alternative to have temporarily in a pinch. As the saying goes, though, you can either …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
GIMP is one of the free alternatives for Photoshop. Although it has got many features that photoshop offers, it still has a lot of catching up to do. Also GIMP's UI is quite clunky and not as polished as Photoshop's UI making it a bit harder to navigate. Canva on the other hand …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
I've used GIMP a little bit but not enough to really compare. It's certainly a contender and improving all the time. If I didn't have the budget for a pro tool like PhotoShop I would likely use it more. I've also heard good things about Krita and Affinity but haven't tried them.
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Photoshop is the premiere (no pun intended) photo-editing and manipulation tool on the market. There is no equal to its ease-of-use, robust capabilities, and affordability. It's a much more cumbersome and clunky experience using alternative software. The other software adds …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
PS is a notable device for a long time and I have been a client since before they utilized the CS part.For the adaptability the device has and every one of the capabilities, I never "totally" changed to different apparatuses, I utilize different devices for different things. …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
PS is a well-known tool for many years and I have been a user since before they used the CS part.
For the flexibility the tool has and all the functions, I never really "completely" switched to other tools, I use other tools for other things. There are ALOT of assets for …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Adobe Photoshop has more qualified color patterns than other tools. It is somehow more expensive but if you are working for a company, it does not matter at all. When you are working for yourself, it might be expensive but it is worth it. It is easy to prepare images with Adobe …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
I have used some other apps for Photo Retouching and Photo Manipulation. They work well in some areas but don't provide a complete solution. Working with Adobe Photoshop, you can achieve any milestone. It provides a large set of tools and a very user-friendly working …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Photoshop is more general and the best application in terms of many possibilities and options, as it has a set of characteristics that make it always the best.
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
[Adobe] Photoshop offers the best photo editing as well as content creation. The layer-by-layer approach of [Adobe] Photoshop helps to work between two apps or even two PCs of entirely different Creative Cloud apps seamlessly. The stability and the speed of the tools in …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
[Adobe] Photoshop has much more features and abilities compared to its competitors, and often is the first to create a new feature. There is a large learning curve for Photoshop, but for folks that spend years learning Adobe products, it ends up being the most intuitive …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Other tools are really just trying to clone the success that Adobe Photoshop has held. I've tried others in search of cost savings or unique features, but I always come back to Photoshop. It just feels more solid and works with me so much smoother. And the gimmicky features …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Adobe Photoshop is in a nutshell just a more robust program. It really opened up options that the other programs we used or were looking to use could. Upgrading from Canva to Adobe Photoshop has enhanced our final products in every aspect, from the idea phase to the final …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
I haven't used any other product(s) similar to PhotoShop. I've been using PhotoShop for the past 18 years and I wouldn't care to start using a new/different software anytime soon. PhotoShop for me has been the end all be all software to use in the graphic industry.
Blender
Chose Blender
I have to start off but stating the obvious. Blender is full-featured and free. Yes, I repeat, "free." Adobe makes outstanding products but at a high initial cost. Blender does a similarly fantastic job, but for free. Adobe Substance is able to perform all the tasks I need to …
Chose Blender
Ease of use and free, ZBrush has a very steep learning curve and Blender seems to be better at realistic image rendering. Plus free upgrades and amazing support made it a no-brainer. Lots of online tutorials and add-ons Blender comes out on top.

Chose Blender
The biggest advantage of Blender over these alternatives was how easy it was to learn, even for team members with no previous experience in 3D modeling, design, or any artistic field. The fact that it allows you to import or export files in most of the existing 3D model …
Chose Blender
Adobe Animate doesn't do half of the things that Blender can. Blender is an all-around better program in the fact that it can 3D model, sculpt, and animate in real-time. Blender is also completely free and has tons of free resources available to everyone. I highly recommend …
Chose Blender
Blender is just as good as Cinema 4D. One huge advantage Blender has is that its free and you don't have to worry about upgrades or license upgrades when wanting to download or purchase the latest version
Best Alternatives
GIMPAdobe PhotoShopBlender
Small Businesses
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 7.3 out of 10
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 7.3 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 8.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Adobe PhotoShop
Adobe PhotoShop
Score 9.2 out of 10
GIMP
GIMP
Score 8.2 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 8.3 out of 10
Enterprises
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 7.3 out of 10
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 7.3 out of 10
Navisworks
Navisworks
Score 9.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
GIMPAdobe PhotoShopBlender
Likelihood to Recommend
9.7
(14 ratings)
8.8
(194 ratings)
9.8
(25 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
4.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(31 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(2 ratings)
7.7
(19 ratings)
8.5
(2 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(6 ratings)
10.0
(54 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
4.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
GIMPAdobe PhotoShopBlender
Likelihood to Recommend
GIMP Development Team
GIMP is great for anyone ranging from personal use to a small business. But, if you are a large business and have a sufficient budget, I would recommend you to opt for an expensive paid software like Photoshop, that would provide not only great features but also public recognition. Its great for beginners wanting to start editing photos, there is a small learning curve that could be gotten used to in no time.
Read full review
Adobe
Photoshop is a useful tool for everything from creating social media graphics to editing and sizing photos. There is a bit of a learning curve, so you need to have a bit of experience to master it and use it for a variety of tasks. You also need to have a good sense of file organization so you can find files quickly without losing track of them.
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Open Source
Blender is an excellent tool for everything from simple to complex 3D animations, the creation of 3D images, etc. It performs excellently in all of these areas. In the realm of 3D modelling, animation and rendering, there is very little that Blender is not suited for.
Read full review
Pros
GIMP Development Team
  • GIMP has a large number of tools at your disposal for manipulating any type of image and exporting in any necessary format.
  • GIMP does a great job of making everything intuitive so that even a new user can layer images or make an image transparent in little time.
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Adobe
  • The fact is that you may quickly pick things up on your own by spending time without using any other resources.
  • It is the program that brings the phrase "to make PhotoShop" to almost all languages. It's not just a photo editing program.
  • Practical and beautiful results are filtered by filtering the desired work without drowning in details.
Read full review
Open Source
  • Creating complex polygonal geometries is very easy in Blender.
  • Edit Mode and Sculpt Mode helps in creating non uniform surfaces for objects like rocks, surfaces, terrains etc.
  • Blender can use various external plugins to make it work in more smoother way. For example to import any 3d object one can use sketchfab plugin and easily import the free assets from web after logging in.
  • Blender has a better rendering engine known as Cycles, it is far more better than any other stock rendering engine which can generate realistic lightning, shadows and reflections.
  • The animations can easily be generated with blender animation toolbar and also it incorporate any other animations made in any other software.
  • The bone generation and its behavior of animations can be achieved easily in blender.
Read full review
Cons
GIMP Development Team
  • GIMP should make the font tool more intuitive. Make it easier to change fonts during edit process without resetting the typeface selection.
  • Build in selection/move ability within tools like the typeface tool... I.e. don't require toggle between selection tool and typeface tool when wanting to move a line of type within a layer. Likewise with shapes, etc.
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Adobe
  • The effect applying time could be faster.
  • There could be a smarter way to make mockups using smart objects, maybe by directly selecting an area, and generative AI can automate a few steps.
  • If Photoshop can suggest the right stock imagery in case the generative AI doesn't get the right answer.
Read full review
Open Source
  • It's really a hard question, but it could be: a game engine. Older versions used to have it; I would use it to simulate machines game-like.
  • I'm struggling to find another one; maybe the fact that it is so powerful and has so many features that learning it can be daunting; better documentation WITH examples and/or a map of Blender capabilities would help to know where you are in terms of knowledge and the planning the roadmap to where you want to go.
  • Precision modeling. Coming from CAD and using Blender as part of my design workflow, I'd love to be able to model inside Blender as I model with CAD tools. At this moment, it's simply impossible.
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Likelihood to Renew
GIMP Development Team
Capability, open architecture, compatibility with Photoshop plugins, wide platform coverage; To me, as an open-source, freely available application, it's the nest-in-class.
Read full review
Adobe
We get a lot of use out of this software. It's vital for work with production in our industry and has a lot of cross-functionality - creating social media images, retouching photos, editing photos, creating gradients, and more. It's pretty fuss-free in that we haven't had to reach out to support and the program hasn't crashed on us. We are trained on the software (so again, this isn't for beginners), but for detail-oriented designers and creatives like ourselves - it's a no-brainer.
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Usability
GIMP Development Team
I interface GIMP with other software--I need to. I generally use the major calculation, CAD, word processing, and photo editing programs. In my office, my use of this software is not limited to computer-aided design. However, I am sure that if I needed this software for other purposes, it would have no interface problems.
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Adobe
Adobe PhotoShop is a professional-grade tool that requires months/years to get a grasp of how to use it well. Even then, after over a decade of using Adobe PhotoShop both casually and professionally, I feel like I'm still unfamiliar with a large percentage of the available tools. Without a dedicated training program, it can be extremely overwhelming and/or you may not get good use out of it. That being said, once you do get comfortable with it, the layout and workspace are excellent with myriad shortcuts that speed up your workflow exponentially. Put in the time to learn it, and you'll love it.
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Open Source
Because while it's a pretty good piece of software, the default built-in commands, the interface layout, and certain functions aren't as logical in their way of being arranged and executed. This, of course, doesn't diminish its use or effectiveness in your field of work, but it is quite awkward at first. A big advantage is that Blender lets you customize the interface however you want as well as keyboard shortcuts and several general program parameters.
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Reliability and Availability
GIMP Development Team
No answers on this topic
Adobe
Adobe Photoshop is very reliable, but is never 100%. There have been times when Adobe Photoshop has had trouble opening, but nothing a little computer restart couldn't fix. I use Adobe Photoshop on a Mac for both work and at home on a daily basis, and I would be lost without it.
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Performance
GIMP Development Team
No answers on this topic
Adobe
Speed can be an issue when you are dealing with large files for large format printing or billboards. When working on web images, speed is not an issue.
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
GIMP Development Team
We have never needed to use the support functions for GIMP. Any queries we have or had about whether GIMP could complete a task we have used Google and YouTube. There is a wealth of information, guides, and forums dedicated to GIMP and how to perform certain tasks with the application.
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Adobe
While I never contacted Adobe directly, there is so much content out there in the form of YouTube videos, Lynda/LinkedIn learning that almost any issue, including bugs, can be worked around (and this method is generally faster as there's no turnaround time involved).
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
In-Person Training
GIMP Development Team
No answers on this topic
Adobe
So, I received the training at the HQ and it was train the trainer training. A good time, I spent a week at their campus
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
GIMP Development Team
As simple as can be. Download from GIMP website and install.
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Adobe
I took a course so it really helped. I didn’t take the course until much later after beginning to use it, so I wish work would have sent me right off the bat. It would have alleviated a lot of frustratinon
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
GIMP Development Team
Online services like Canva are fine for quickly designing brochures and marketing materials, videos, etc. They're user friendly and fast if you have a good connection. But if you're in production mode and need to do a lot of photo manipulation at once, without being connected to the web at all times and just want to focus, GIMP is the go-to product for you
Read full review
Adobe
[Adobe] Photoshop offers the best photo editing as well as content creation. The layer-by-layer approach of [Adobe] Photoshop helps to work between two apps or even two PCs of entirely different Creative Cloud apps seamlessly. The stability and the speed of the tools in photoshop make it even better to make a canvas of creativity.
Read full review
Open Source
We've only used the consumer (non-pro) version of SketchUp, which we love, but is very limited in features and output capabilities compared to Blender. While Blender's learning curve is MUCH steeper than SketchUp, it feels like truly complete, professional design software.
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Scalability
GIMP Development Team
No answers on this topic
Adobe
It seems expensive compared to the free/cheap programs now available
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
GIMP Development Team
  • GIMP is freeware, which allows organizations that are not graphics-centered to use the powerful toolset without spending money on very expensive alternatives
  • GIMP is fairly easy to learn and does not require extensive user training (especially, if used for basic tasks)
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Adobe
  • Adobe PhotoShop in general is a great time saver.
  • It does take a long time for the program to start up, however
  • The most difficult task is onboarding new employees into Adobe PhotoShop who don't have experience with it. It's an investment for their future so we see value in it.
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Open Source
  • As it is a beginner-friendly software with increasing demand in the animation sector again, it positively impacts the business.
  • Except in some specific cases, no one will use Blender on their own at a professional level.
  • When I was a beginner, it took me a lot of time to learn, consequently designing the creation. But if we want to learn to master Blender, we can do it. As long as we have time and a lot of willpower, since, we repeat, it is not a simple program and hides thousands of tools and possibilities.
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ScreenShots