15 Best Photo Editing Software for Pc (Free Download) 2023

This is a complete guide on the best photo editing software for pc (free download).

Whether you are looking for cutting-edge features or easy-to-use software, you will get what suits you the best.

What I am going to elaborate on this guide:

• Which is the best free photo editor for PC?
• What is the best photo editing software for Windows 10?
• And lots more

The best part is all of the photo editing apps I listed are free and you can download them without spending a single buck.

So, let’s dive in.

Which is the best free photo editor for PC?

Here is the complete list of photo editor for pc (free download).

• Gimp
• Paint.Net
• Darktable
• Microsoft Photos
• Krita
• Photo Pos Pro
• Lightzone
• Inpixio
• Inkscape
• Photoscape
• Fotor
• Pixlr X

01. GIMP– Best Free Photo Editing Software for PC

GIMP is an acronym that stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program.

Whether you are a graphic designer, photo editor, or illustrator, it has come with every tool to get the job done.

The interface of GIMP is similar to Photoshop. Not only that, but it also mimics every tool Photoshop has.

That means you can do with GIMP what the professionals can complete with Photoshop.

For easy editing tasks, it has come with a lot of essential tools like crop and transform too.

To do advanced retouching, GIMP has packed with tools like layer, blending mode, masks, sharpen tools, retouching tools, and much more.

Something that lacks GIMP compared to PS is the non-destructive editing workflow.

Besides, GIMP can’t read the CMYK color mode. So, it is not recommendable if you look for a printing option.

The steep learning curve is another downside of GIMP. However, a lot of forums and tutorials available out there to learn it.

02. Paint Net

Paint Net is another free photo editor for PC.

It has packed with a plethora of easy-to-use photo editing tools, layers, drawing tools, special effects, and much more.

The user-interface of Paint Net is intuitive and easy to understand.

You can customize its interface according to your editing workflow. As a result, you can make the retouching workflows quick that saves your time.

Plenty of photo effects like red-eye removal, noise reduction, and distortions are available to enhance your photos.

Therefore, it has loaded with adjustments to change the brightness, exposure, clarity, and hue of your images.

However, you can’t perform advanced retouching or manipulation like Ps does.

But you can enhance your photo look with Paint Net perfectly.

Something I don’t like about Paint Net is it has a limited brush option.

Besides, you can’t correct the text effect if other effects are applied.

Overall, Paint Net is the best photo editing software for beginners as it is easy to use.

03. Darktable

Darktable is also a free open-source photo editing software.

If you are a photographer and looking for developing your raw files, then Darktable is your go-to software.

It has packed with a lot of color correction tools to bring back life to your photos.

With Darktable, you can work with levels, curves, contrast, Velvia, channel mixer, and exposure to make the photos stunning.

For fixing visual imperfections, you can use the spot removal tool, lens correction tool, denoise, and so on.

Also, you can organize your photos using tags, keywords, locations, and stars.

The best feature I like most about Darktable is it is easy to use.

All of the tools it has are slider-based.

As a result, you can easily fine-tune your photos by moving the slider left to right.

Moreover, it offers non-destructive editing as well as photo batch processing.

However, the downside is you can’t use Darktable for advanced retouching workflows.

04. Microsoft Photos

Microsft Photos is a built-in photo editing app that comes with Windows 10.

Of course, most of the users use this app only for viewing their images.

But most of us don’t know that Photos has packed with a lot of photo editing tools.

This Microsoft built-in app has come with basic editing tools like crop, rotate, red-eye removal, and blemish remover tools.

Using these tools, you can easily change the look of your photos.

Therefore, you can sort and organize photos using tags, folders, albums, and collections.

However, Microsoft Photos is not perfect for advanced retouching workflows.

So, if you are a pro retoucher, then Microsoft Photos is not for you.

05. Krita

Karita is a free photo editor app for digital painters.

The interface of Krita is intuitive and beginner-friendly. You can customize it according to your workflows.

The best part of Krita is it has come with over 100 brushes for creating different effects.

The drawing assistant tools of Krita lets you remove points and straight lines.

You can make your brush strokes smooth using the Brush Stabilizer.

Though it is a perfect tool for painting, you can also do basic photo editing like cropping and resizing with Krita.

I don’t recommend you to use Krita if you are looking for photo editing software.

But for painters, Krita is highly recommended.

06. Photo Pos Pro

Photo Pos Pro is a popular photo editing software for its pro features.

This versatile free photo editor contains a wide range of filters, layers, masks, background remover tools, curves, and effects.

With these handy features, you can transfer your photos from general to beautiful.

The advanced background eraser tool lets you remove the background from your photos precisely.

On top of that, it has tools to erase unwanted objects from a photo efficiently.

Frames and Photo collage templates something I like most. Using those, you can create aesthetic photo collages within a second.

Raw file support is another feature I love. It means you can develop raw photos and give a stunning look to it with Photo Pos Pro.

Therefore, it has packed with rich text effects and tools to create stunning typography.

Indeed, Photo Pos Pro is an all-in-one photo editing software for pc.

07. LightZone

LightZone is a free and open-source photo editing software that can be used as a Lightroom alternative.

The interface of Lightzone is stylish and intuitive. It means you can easily read its interface and edit photos efficiently.

The user-interface of LightZone divided into two modules- Browse and Edit.

Browse module helps you to view images.

On the other hand, the Edit module has packed with a lot of editing tools.

Using the Edit module, you can do every type of photo editing workflow.

The biggest advantage of LightZone is it offers non-destructive photo manipulation tasks. As a result, you can enhance your photos keeping the original file intact.

Therefore, you can also develop raw photos using this free photo editor.

I don’t find any significant downside of this free photo editor. So, I recommend you to use LightZone.

08. InPixio

InPixio is another free photo editing software you can try out.

I love this software for its intuitive interface, easy-to-use tools, and wide range of effects.

This free photo editor has come with 90+ filters to tweak your images from beautiful to stunning.

With InPixio, you can add black & white, cinematic, film, vintage effect, and much more looks to your photo.

Besides, it has come with hundred plus photo frames to give a sophisticated look to your photos.

Moreover, InPixio included cropping & resizing tools, color correction tools, and much more.

The shortcoming of InPixio is you can’t perform advanced retouching or manipulation workflows.

09. Inkscape

Inkscape is free software for creating vector graphics.

For illustrator, web designer, and vector artists, Inkscape is the best tool for making vector imagery.

To create vector arts, Inkscape contains a lot of tools available including object creation tools, fill & brush tools, text tools, and so on.

Multiple file-formats including SVG, DXF, EPS, and PDF are supporting on Inkscape.

However, I don’t recommend you to use Inkscape if you are looking for a software that can handle photo editing workflows.

With it, you can’t even do basic editing workflows perfectly.

But for vector image creation, I highly recommend you to use Inkscape.

10. Photoscape X

Photoshop X is a versatile free photo editing app for PC.

With it, you can edit photos, create stunning photo effects, and transfer your photos to painting.

To perform basic editing tasks, Photoscape X includes several tools including cutout, color picker tool, collage creator, and resizing tools.

Best of all, it listed a large number of filters and effects to give an aesthetic look to your photos.

For advanced retouching, this free image editor has come with red-eye remover, spot healing brush, liquify tool, and clone stamp tool.

Photoscape X has also included a lot of text tools to create amazing typography.

Besides, it comes with a lot of collage templates to create stunning photo collages.

Moreover, you can also create stunning drawings and paintings with Photoscape X.

In short, it is an all-in-one image editing software.

Whether you are a photo-artist, graphic designer, or a painter, you can use Photoscape X to get the job done.

11. Fotor

Fotor is an online-based free photo editor that you can use as an alternative to picmonkey.

It is a versatile photo editing app that lets you edit photos, create collages & graphic elements, and retouch portrait photos.

Cropping & resizing tool, Ai cutout tool, curves, and exposure are available to do basic editing workflows.

For creating stunning collages, it has included a wide range of collage templates.

You can also create business cards, birthday cards, and banners using Fotor.

To make your portrait stunning, Fotor contains a lot of beautifying tools including blemish remover, eye enhancer, whitening teeth, and so on.

On top of that, it has also come with a wide range of effects and filters to enhance your photos with a single click.

The downside of Fotor is it displays a lot of ads while editing photos which is annoying.

12. Pixlr X– Best Free Online Photo Editor for PC

Pixlr X is also an online-based image editing tool that you can use as Photoshop Alternative.

The interface of Pixlr X divided into three modules- Edit, Design, and Collage.

Edit module has included every photo editing tools including cropping & resizing, cutout tool, blemish remover, and so on.

Indeed, this module included every tool you need to do basic editing and retouching workflows.

Design module lets you create graphic elements like business cards, birthday gift cards, and banners.

On the other hand, the Collage module contains a lot of free templates for creating stunning photo collages.

Best of all, the interface of Pixlr X is intuitive. You don’t need any previous skills to edit photos using it.

However, the only cons I found is it shows a lot of ads in the free version which is a bit annoying.

Read Also: Pixlr Review

What is the best photo editing software for Windows 10?

Adobe Photoshop and Affinity Photo are the best photo editing software for Windows 10.

Unfortunately, these two photo editor apps are not free.

You can try out the above-listed apps to edit photos for free.

Let’s take an eye to each software to figure out why they are the best.

13. Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is the best and most used photo editing software around the world.

In short, Photoshop has become the synonym of photo manipulation.

Whether you are a photographer, graphic designer, or an editor, Photoshop is go-to software.

You can create photos or designs from scratch with it. Indeed, there is nothing you can’t do with PS.

However, it has a steep learning curve as Photoshop has packed with a lot of tools.

Expensive is another downfall of Photoshop. The price of it is so high that many of us don’t afford to use it.

In this case, you can use GIMP as an alternative to Photoshop as it comes with Ps alike features.

14. Affinity Photo

Affinity Photo is only the software that is close to Photoshop and the best competitor of Adobe.

You can handle almost every editing task from basic to advance with Affinity Photo.

Some of the best features of Affinity Photo are:

• Persona-based editing module
• Advanced raw development tools
• Loaded with basic editing tools
• Packed with advanced numerous tools
• Offer non-destructive editing process
• Slider-based color correction tool

The biggest part of Affinity Photo is it is not a subscription-based software.

It means you can get it with a perpetual license after purchasing it for one time.

To know more about Affinity Photo, you can check out this article.

Is Photoshop free for Windows 10?

No, Photoshop is not free for Windows 10.

However, Adobe Photoshop offers a-7 day trial for enjoying all its features.

You can download the trial version to use Photoshop for free for a limited time.

To get Photoshop for a lifetime, you should join on creative clouds.

What is the default photo editor for Windows 10?

Microsoft Photos is the default or built-in photo editor for Windows 10.

But most of us don’t know it offers photo editing tools to edit photos.

Besides, you can also use Photos to sort and organize photos using albums, collections, and tags.

Bottom Line

GIMP can be your go-to software if you are a professional photo editor and want to enjoy Ps alike features for free.

On the other hand, if you are an amateur, then it is recommendable to use Fotor or Pixlr for their user-friendly interface.

Darktable can also be your best choice if you want to develop raw files and organize photos efficiently.

You can also try out other apps on this list. And the good news is almost all the photo editing software on this list is free to use.

If you have the budget and want to get a lifetime software for using, then Affinity Photo is just for you.

So, which photo editing software for pc you are going to download for free?

Let me know by leaving a comment below.