Best Free Photoshop Alternative for Mac

By | October 6, 2015

Best Free Photoshop Alternative for MacWhen you first are starting out sometimes getting that image looking just right can cost you a fortune, especially if you don’t have Adobe Photoshop.  I don’t use a Mac regularly so I had to borrow my wife’s Mac and do some research.  I recently wrote a write up on the best free alternative for Photoshop for Window.  Today I will be talking about the best free alternative to Photoshop for Mac.  I found GIMP, actually I really like it.

 

my recommendations

What is GIMP?


GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program.  It is by far the most powerful free photo editing program I have found out there.  I have played with it for about a week and I am very impressed.  It is more powerful then Paint.net that I reviewed last time, but it is also a bit more complex.

 

Why do I like it


It is the closest thing to Adobe Photoshop you will get without having to pay for it.  It is very powerful and most users will only scratch the surface of what it can do.  As you know I have more than one blog.  Each blog requires several edited pictures.  Heck each and every post requires pictures that need to be edited.  It did take some time to get used to manipulating photos with this tool. GIMP Best Free Photoshop Alternative for Mac

One of the best things about it is that it has several tutorials for all levels of competency.  You can be a beginner and they have 9 different tutorials to get you started.  They are very easy to follow and get you working right away.  If you are a bit more experienced then they have 10 different tutorials for intermediate level users such as yourself.  They also have 9 tutorials for the expert user.  Okay but that is not all they have.  They also have 21 other tutorials on different subjects.  Really if you want to do it you can find a tutorial for it on their website.

The last good thing I want to say about GIMP is that they have it available for just about all platforms including Windows and Mac.GIMP Tutorials

 

Drawbacks


It is still not as powerful as Photoshop, but it is free.  It is much more powerful than any other free software out there.  It does take some time to get used to using and finding those little tricks to make the most out of it.  As I mentioned above they do have many tutorials on how to use them so it is easy to shorten the learning curve.

how much does it cost

What does GIMP Cost?


Here is the great part.  It is free, absolutely free.  The program itself is shareware.  Of course the site accepts donations but they are not required to access full use of the program.

 

Who is it for?


GIMP is for anyone who needs or wants to edit images.  There are plenty of tutorials all over the web that can increase your skills on photo editing with it.  I believe even the expert can utilize many of the features.  Most people will not need anything more powerful.

 

Final Opinion


Photo editing is something you must be able to do if you have a blog.  There are so many options. In my opinion the best photo editor is Adobe Photoshop.  Nothing even comes close to it.  But if you are tight on money and are new to photo editing GIMP is a great place to start.  It is not as good as nor is it as powerful as Photoshop but it doesn’t come with the large price tag either.   It is free.  You can download it here.Not a Scam

I use Paint.net all the time for this blog, but might switch to GIMP now that I have had a good chance to play around with it on a Mac.  In fact as I am writing this I am downloading it on my PC.  As with any new skill you need to learn a bit but really it is not that hard to learn with all of the tutorials they have on the site.

You can see all of my recommendations here that I have used in the past and feel are with the time.    You can also read my top recommendation here.

If you have any comments, questions or your own experiences; please let me know below.

4 thoughts on “Best Free Photoshop Alternative for Mac

  1. Riaz Shah

    Hey Marc,
    This is pretty cool! I’m deciding on getting a Mac for my brother but my friends around me tell me that I shouldn’t since most of are using Windows.

    Still, Mac is commonly used by designers and architectures so I was thinking of surprising my brother with one for his upcoming birthday and learning bit by bit on programs and files equivalent to windows could really help him out.

    I got the Gimp part covered as an alternative to Photoshop, you should totally write about the other alternatives though, just a suggestion:D
    Cheers!
    -Riaz

    Reply
    1. Marc Post author

      Riaz,

      Thank you for your comment. I have never been a fan of Mac, but I know many of my readers are so I wanted to see if I could help them out. Dont get me wrong, I think Macs are good products, I just never really bothered to learn them. I used to build my own PCs so I am very familiar with how they work.

      Yes, I might do some write ups on other alternatives. I just think GIMP is the best.

      Marc

      Reply
  2. Jessica

    Hi Marc,
    I had no idea there were places to go to get free software to help with photo editing. I just figured it was all photo shop and it all had to be bought. I just use Microsoft Office Picture Manager which is great for cropping and rotating photos, but beyond basics it doesn’t do anything else. I have always wanted to try creating more stunning photos, but I wasn’t about to spend what some of that software costs. I am going to have to check these free websites out.

    Reply
    1. Marc Post author

      Jessica,

      I am glad I could help you out. I find the free ones can do quite a bit for your website. This is especially important when you are first starting out and you are trying to save some cash.

      Marc

      Reply

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