I’ve attended trade shows of Microsoft, Google, and Apple and written about all of them and their products.
Prior to my current role, I covered software and apps for ExtremeTech, and before that I headed up PCMag’s enterprise software team, but I’m happy to be back in the more accessible realm of consumer software. I’ve been reviewing software for PCMag since 2008, and I still get a kick out of seeing what's new in video and photo editing software, and how operating systems change over time. I was privileged to byline the cover story of the last print issue of PC Magazine, the Windows 7 review, and I’ve witnessed every Microsoft win and misstep up to the latest Windows 11. PC hardware is nice, but it’s not much use without innovative software. If not, you may find that Photoshop's $19.99-per-month subscription is a better deal than you previously thought. Read on to see how our list of alternatives to Photoshop can fit your needs. In fact, you may be able to do everything you thought you needed Photoshop for with something less expensive. Some excellent Photoshop alternatives offer these tools and often dip into AI-assisted features, too. But if you just need standard image editing tools for correcting brightness and colors, adding text with drop shadows, or working with layers, the actual application from Adobe is overkill. Things like its content-aware cropping, automatic subject selection, collaboration, and AI-based neural filters are just not to be found in any other software.
Nothing can completely replace Adobe's flagship Photoshop image editing software if you need its whizbang, technological-marvel features. Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions.
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