GIMP

What it is

A free, open-source photo editor for your computer: retouching, layered graphics, and digital painting, like Photoshop without the subscription. Open source means the program's code is public, and nobody can move it behind a paywall later. GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program.

Pricing model

Completely free. There is no paid version, no account, no subscription, and no watermark. It is free for personal work and paid client work alike.

What the free plan gives you

• Everything: layers, masks, brushes, and photo retouching
• Scripted batch work, which means repeating the same edit on many files automatically
• Digital painting and layered graphics
• Free for personal work and paid client work alike

Features

• Layers, masks, and brushes
• Photo retouching and digital painting
• Scripted batch work across many files
• No account, no subscription, no watermark

Supported platforms

Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Best use cases

• Students and freelancers who want a full desktop photo editor they own forever, especially on a computer they control

Pros

• Completely free: no paid version, no account, no subscription, no watermark
• A full desktop photo editor, not a cut-down version
• Free for personal work and paid client work alike
• Scripted batch work for repeating edits across many files
• Open source, so it cannot be moved behind a paywall later

Cons

• The interface takes time to learn and looks less polished than paid editors
• No browser version and no cloud sync
• Copycat sites exist: download only from the official site, gimp.org

Official website

The draft names the official site as gimp.org (domain named, not linked, as the draft gives the domain name only) and warns that any site asking you to pay for GIMP itself is not the official source.