Alternatives to Adobe Photoshop Elements

Consumer photo editor from Adobe with AI fixes, guided edits and photo organizing. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as Adobe Photoshop Elements.

  • Adobe Photoshop

    Adobe's raster image editor for photo retouching, compositing, painting and generative AI edits.

    PaidProprietaryWindowsmacOSWeb

    Adobe Photoshop adds the full raster toolset for compositing, painting and generative AI edits, and also runs in the browser, but the full desktop version is subscription only.

  • Affinity

    Free professional app from Canva that combines vector design, photo editing and page layout.

    FreeProprietaryWindowsmacOS

    Affinity is free for individual use and combines photo editing with vector and layout tools, though it requires a Canva account to download and lacks guided edits.

  • GIMP

    The long-running free image editor for photo retouching, compositing and general pixel work.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    GIMP is free and open source on Windows, macOS and Linux, with full layers, masks and scripting, but it has no guided edits and its interface differs from Adobe's.

  • Luminar Neo

    A desktop photo editor for Windows and Mac built around AI tools for skies, portraits and relighting.

    PaidProprietaryWindowsmacOS

    Luminar Neo focuses on AI tools for skies, portraits and relighting on Windows and Mac, with a one-time purchase option, but gives less manual control than traditional editors.

  • Pixelmator Pro

    Apple's image editor for Mac and iPad with nondestructive layers, vector tools and AI features.

    PaidProprietarymacOSiOS

    Pixelmator Pro offers nondestructive layers plus raster and vector tools as a one-time Mac purchase, but it runs only on Mac and iPad, with no Windows version.

  • Paint.NET

    A fast Windows image editor that sits between Microsoft Paint and a full photo suite.

    FreeProprietaryWindows

    Paint.NET is free from its website and covers layers and effects for everyday edits, but it is Windows only and lacks guided edits and photo organizing.

  • Photopea

    Browser-based image editor that opens Photoshop, XD and Sketch files.

    FreemiumProprietaryWeb

    Photopea runs in any browser with nothing to install and opens Photoshop files, but it is ad-supported unless you pay and depends on browser performance.

  • Acorn

    A one-time-purchase image editor for macOS covering photo editing, painting, text and graphics.

    PaidProprietarymacOS

    Acorn is a one-time purchase Mac editor with AI subject selection and Live Text, but it requires macOS 14 or later and has no Windows version.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.