Adobe

Adobe Photoshop

Subscription-only since 2013. The FTC sued Adobe in 2024 over hidden early-termination fees, the same year its new terms let it access your work.

• Forced subscriptionYou rent it. Stop paying and you lose it.
• Lock-inProprietary formats or cloud storage that make leaving painful.
• BetrayalChanged the deal after you committed: relicensed, shut down or bricked.

The exits

1. →

   PhotoCraft

   by ArtCraft

   A clean-room Photoshop rebuilt in Rust. Same menus, same shortcuts, opens layered PSDs.

   Status

   Alpha Early and moving fast. Try it, expect rough edges.

   License

   Apache-2.0

   Source

   github/storytold/photocraft ↗

   Get PhotoCraft ↗View source ↗
2. →

   GIMP

   The veteran open image editor. GIMP 3 brought non-destructive filters.

   Status

   Stable Mature and ready for daily work.

   License

   GPL-3.0

   Source

   gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gimp ↗

   Get GIMP ↗View source ↗
3. →

   Krita

   Best-in-class digital painting, built by artists.

   Status

   Stable Mature and ready for daily work.

   License

   GPL-3.0

   Source

   invent.kde.org/graphics/krita ↗

   Get Krita ↗View source ↗

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