Alternatives to IrfanView

A tiny Windows image viewer that has opened everything since 1996 and still starts instantly. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

  • IrfanView

    A tiny Windows image viewer that has opened everything since 1996 and still starts instantly.

    FreemiumProprietaryWindows

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as IrfanView.

  • XnView MP

    Views, converts and organises images in more than five hundred formats, free for personal use.

    FreemiumProprietaryWindowsmacOSLinux

    XnView MP adds macOS and Linux support and reads more than five hundred formats with tagging, but it is heavier and slower to start.

  • ImageGlass

    A fast image viewer that opens the formats Windows still argues about: WebP, JXL, HEIC, AVIF, SVG, HDR and raw.

    FreemiumOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    ImageGlass is open source under GPL-3.0 and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux with modern formats like JPEG XL and AVIF, though some features need the Pro edition.

  • nomacs

    A fast image viewer that opens RAW and PSD files and can show the same picture in two synchronised windows.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    nomacs is free and GPL-3.0 on Windows, macOS and Linux, opening RAW and PSD files with synchronised windows, but its adjustments are minimal.

  • JPEGView

    Browse images and make quick edits with a compact viewer.

    FreeOpen sourceWindows

    JPEGView is a free GPL-2.0 compact Windows viewer with quick adjustments and camera RAW support, without IrfanView's plugin system.

Also worth comparing

These listings name IrfanView as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.

  • ImageMagick

    A command-line image toolkit that creates, edits, converts and composes images across more than 200 formats.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinuxCommand line

    IrfanView offers batch conversion and renaming across folders in a graphical app, but it is Windows only, closed source and needs a licence for commercial use.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.