GIMP
Free, open-source raster image editor for photo retouching, image composition and drawing.
HN commenters like GIMP as a free, ad-free alternative to Photoshop that spares them subscription costs1234, and as stable software some have relied on for decades.567 The most common complaint is a confusing, clunky interface89101112, and several say it still lags behind Photoshop for professional work.131415
Why people recommend it
Free Photoshop alternative · 3
Recommended as a free, open-source image editor with no ads or subscriptions.
“I love gimp, it is the only “heavyweight” image editor I ever learned to use, and that choice has saved me so much money in software subscriptions!”
“there are other image editors without any ads. Some are proprietary, and some are FOSS, e.g. GIMP.”
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“It's a great piece of software. Best feature - not having your colours retrospectively removed from your project”
Long-term reliability · 3
Long-time users say it is stable and still the editor they reach for.
“the ones written in C are the most reliable (such as vim, bash, coreutils, terminals, X11¹, ... also larger software such as gimp, blender)”
“I've been using Gimp since the mid-late 1990's.”
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“GIMP is the only program that I miss when switched from linux to mac.”
Learnable with time · 2
Some users say the interface works fine once you learn where things are.
“I don't get everyone's complaints about the interface. I've been using it for years”
“Just, please, try to get out of your head that GIMP's UI is bad. It's not, it's just different.”
Fine for casual edits · 3
Users find it adequate for amateur edits, memes and occasional photo retouching.
“GIMP works fine for my amateur edits.”
“my mostly GIMP homemade memes and mashups”
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“I used GIMP for a very long time”
Useful tools · 3
Commenters point to features like color curves, perspective correction and LCh support.
“GIMP has a tool that shows the histogram of the number of pixels with each brightness”
“Last time I used Gimp it had a plugin that let you correct perspective, wonder how they both compare”
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“only GIMP supports LCh, and using it is pretty unintuitive”
Caveats and dissent
Confusing UI · 3
Many find the interface clunky, disorganized and hard to learn.
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“Rotted out UI, and an absolutely incomprehensible UI convention (if any). I cannot use it and will not take the time to learn it.”
Behind Photoshop · 3
Some say it still lags Photoshop and has not won over professionals.
“GIMP still lags behind the photoshop I used in the late 90s/early 2000s.”
“30 years later we are not sure it's any closer to that”
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“Try to find a full-time professional photographer or designer that’s never tried Gimp, but immediately abandoned it.”
Photoshop habits · 2
Photoshop muscle memory does not transfer, which frustrates switchers.
“Photoshop muscle memory doesn't transfer and it is so incredibly clunky.”
“they've already addressed most of the things I found infuriating in the past.”
Off-putting name · 3
Some commenters say the name hurts adoption, especially in professional settings.
“GIMP still lags behind the photoshop I used in the late 90s/early 2000s.”
“It was really exciting, an alternative to Photoshop (which used to run on linux!) and our in-house painting tools. I pushed for artists to use it”
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“Most people don't want to say "I gave up photoshop, I use gimp." outside of hardcore linux circles”
Removed or missing features · 3
Users cite the removed Fade feature, palette alpha issues and DWM incompatibility.
“Keep away from GIMP, as others have said there are much better alternatives now available.”
“I was also struggling with GIMP (unable to handle alpha channel in palettes)”
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“Gimp simply doesn’t work with that window manager.”
Heavy and slow · 2
Some call it too much for simple edits, and one notes GIMP 3 takes five seconds to open.
“The binary is 3 times smaller than GIMP, usability is much better, and it opens instantly while GIMP 3 takes five seconds.”
“Krita, GIMP, et al., are too much UI-wise.”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
From the makers not counted in the ranking
“We're normally more selective with screenshots in actual release notes”
“as developers we are trying to emphasis UX/UI work more.”
Threads where it came up
- GIMP Development Update 13 mentions
- Why Drawing Tablet Brands Won't Collaborate on Linux Floss Drivers 3 mentions
- Photo GIMP – A Patch for GIMP 3 for Photoshop Users 3 mentions
- Ask HN: Are you hesitant to install vibe-coded apps? 2 mentions
- What ArtCraft's Vibe-Coded Apps Say About Adobe 2 mentions
- Tell HN: GitHub refuses to remove cracked copies of my software after a month 2 mentions
Data: gimp.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 42
“only GIMP supports LCh, and using it is pretty unintuitive”
“The binary is 3 times smaller than GIMP, usability is much better, and it opens instantly while GIMP 3 takes five seconds.”
“I'm not going to install vibecoded Photoshop when gimp exists.”
“the ones written in C are the most reliable (such as vim, bash, coreutils, terminals, X11¹, ... also larger software such as gimp, blender)”
“Rotted out UI, and an absolutely incomprehensible UI convention (if any). I cannot use it and will not take the time to learn it.”
“I love GIMP but holy shit it was a downgrade from Adobe in most ways.GIMP should stay GIMP”
“Why don’t you just install GIMP instead of using Photopea?”
“there are other image editors without any ads. Some are proprietary, and some are FOSS, e.g. GIMP.”
“replace it with gimp/krita”
“deal with the awkwardness of GIMP and Inkscape”
“Gimp and LibreOffice are alternatives to adobe/office. Yet most people prefer the paid options.”
“in particular via gimp”
“put as many free software as I can (Firefox, Thunderbird, LibreOffice, VLC, Gimp...)”
“Krita, GIMP, et al., are too much UI-wise.”
“Paint.NET is closer to Gimp, but usable.”
“there is no way to replace graphical-heavy programs (GIMP, QGIS etc.) with TUIs”
“GIMP still lags behind the photoshop I used in the late 90s/early 2000s.”
“it doesn't seem like an outrageous workflow, considering that other people will want those options.”
“Photoshop muscle memory doesn't transfer and it is so incredibly clunky.”
“30 years later we are not sure it's any closer to that”
“GIMP's UX is just bad.”
“GIMP's UI is sorely lacking.”
“they've already addressed most of the things I found infuriating in the past.”
“I don't get everyone's complaints about the interface. I've been using it for years”
“Most people don't want to say "I gave up photoshop, I use gimp." outside of hardcore linux circles”
“I love that GIMP exists but... I have to say, it never got rid of the "backend developer doing frontend" feeling”
“It's a great piece of software. Best feature - not having your colours retrospectively removed from your project”
“an excellent piece of free software that is massively used and developed with very limited resources, doing its job really well.”
“QtCreator, Allegro, GIMP, Inkscape, Audacity, LMMS”
“Last time I used Gimp it had a plugin that let you correct perspective, wonder how they both compare”
“I was also struggling with GIMP (unable to handle alpha channel in palettes)”
“I used gimp to find the correct entry in the pallete”
“Try to find a full-time professional photographer or designer that’s never tried Gimp, but immediately abandoned it.”
“GIMP has a tool that shows the histogram of the number of pixels with each brightness”
“I've been using Gimp since the mid-late 1990's.”
“Keep away from GIMP, as others have said there are much better alternatives now available.”
“GIMP works fine for my amateur edits.”
“Ones I actually use.”
“It was really exciting, an alternative to Photoshop (which used to run on linux!) and our in-house painting tools. I pushed for artists to use it”
“we used gimp for various projects”
“the latest UI refresh (I’m guessing introduced in 3.0?) completely baffles me.”
“I love gimp, it is the only “heavyweight” image editor I ever learned to use, and that choice has saved me so much money in software subscriptions!”