GIMP Reviews

“Great tools for quick design

Pros

Back when I was just getting started with design, GIMP was a really great tool to work with. The wide selection of features and its user friendly workflow made it simple to put together assets fast and export them without much trouble.

Cons

One issue that kept coming up for me was the image quality after exporting. If I worked with images at an angle, they often ended up looking a bit blurry and lower resolution than I expected. That became especially frustrating for text-based assets or anything with tiny details that I wanted to stay clear and noticeable.

“design tools available for free

Pros

Being free to download is a huge plus and it works really well. Also there are plenty of design features included and it can also handle more complex tasks without a problem.

Cons

Honestly I don't really have anything to complain about. If I had to be picky, I'd say the interface could use a nicer refresh but that's about it.

“Top image editing toolkit

Pros

It comes with plenty of useful tools for image editing and works really well for touch-ups, cropping and quick adjustments. And the software's flexibility is definitely a big advantage.

Cons

The interface can feel a little less user friendly at first especially for people who are used to other design tools.

“my favorite free photo editor

Pros

GIMP has become my go to free graphic design tool. As it covers everything I need for photo editing without the expensive cost so I really don't see a reason to switch to anything else.

Cons

Updating the program can be frustrating at times. One of the recent updates ended up causing issues with my computer system and I had to roll it back to the previous version instead.

“Our free design companion

Pros

it's surprisingly capable for photo retouching and basic design work. For smaller teams or occasional projects, it handles a lot of the core things you need without much trouble.

Cons

The interface isn't very user friendly and the overall workflow can feel a bit rough around the edges. Also it is not the best fit for high-end branding work or collaborative design projects.

“reliable editing at no cost

Pros

Whether I'm retouching photos, fixing colors or making quick image edits, GIMP gets the job done without costing anything. In short it is a great option for designers who are just getting started or only need lighter editing work. The transparency features are especially useful and the interface can be customized quite a bit which I really appreciate.

Cons

Getting comfortable with it took more time than I expected because the interface isn't as user friendly as many paid alternatives. A few of the tools also come across as slower and not quite as polished.

“Ideal free tool for photographers

Pros

GIMP gives photographers a free way to create designs and edit images and its lightweight build, adaptable tools, fast rendering and user friendly controls make content production possible without added cost.

Cons

Some users mention that support can be slow to respond and handling payment related features or certain extensions may take technical know how that isn't ideal for busy freelance studios.

“helps in resizing layers easily

Pros

Choosing GIMP as a free alternative to Photoshop turned out really well. I was able to build an image project with multiple layers and adjust the size of each layer whenever I needed to.

Cons

Well getting the hang of moving the different layers around was a little confusing at first. As I had to spend some time experimenting with the tools and settings before I figured out how to do it properly.

“great free photoshop alternative

Pros

GIMP is a free image editing program and can do almost everything Photoshop can do.

Cons

Keep in mind that it is also nearly as complex as Photoshop which means not every feature is user friendly or easy to find.

“great alternative to Photoshop

Pros

It works well as an open source substitute for Photoshop and it includes most of the classic Photoshop features so people familiar with Photoshop can transition without too much trouble. The UI/UX is also great and generally user-friendly. It can feel a bit challenging at first if someone is not already familiar with the basic layout of photo editing tools but that learning curve is pretty similar to what you get with Photoshop too.

Cons

Where it falls behind is in newer features especially AI image fill and similar AI tools. You can add some of that functionality through plugins but tracking down the right ones is not simple and setting them up can be pretty hard for the average person without technical knowledge. On top of that the model runs natively on your own machine so you need fairly powerful hardware for it to work well and that also makes it impractical on laptops or mobile devices. That's an area where Photoshop clearly has the advantage especially with its stronger cloud services.

“converts pdf to JPG

Pros

The detailed image editing tools are absolutely essential and being able to convert documents and images into different formats like turning a PDF into a JPG is really valuable too.

Cons

I feel like it would be helpful to have more quick, practical guidance for small tasks and basic edits. And yes its massive flexibility is a big strength but it can also feel a little overwhelming at times.

“Good open source tool

Pros

First off it's open source and with a bit of practice you can achieve very high-quality post-production and photo retouching results.

Cons

Working with certain specific formats like RAW can be difficult and it requires additional plugins that I personally found hard to use.

“handles everything well

Pros

Getting professional level photo editing and graphic design features without paying is a huge plus with GIMP. It handles layers, masks and a wide range of file formats so it covers a lot of what you'd expect from more expensive software.

Cons

The interface feels a little dated and may be hard to navigate at first especially for beginners. A few advanced functions also need extra plugins or some tweaking before they work properly.

“Packed with advnaced features

Pros

Packed with advanced features without costing anything, it handles layers and supports lots of file formats. Also it is an excellent option when you need a good editing tools on a small budget.

Cons

Getting comfortable with it isn't very easy especially if you are coming from Adobe. The interface can feel unclear at times and some features are fairly complicated to use.

“handy edits, cramped workspace

Pros

Whenever I need a quick touch up or want to put together a poster concept, I end up using GIMP. Also cropping, adjusting colours and adding a few filters all work quite well and using layers doesn't cost me anything beyond a simple click.

Cons

Larger files are where things get frustrating. As soon as I apply a heavy blur or glow effect, the progress bar starts moving painfully slowly and the tool panels make the screen feel crowded like noisy neighbours taking up too much space.

“easy to setup!

Pros

I was able to install it on my Windows PC pretty quickly. Plus it launches without any hassle and it runs smoothly without lag.

Cons

At times it takes a bit to work out how to edit an image especially when dealing with layers.

“Amazing for quick color fixes

Pros

Most of the time, I use GIMP to clean up low quality images that clients send over. Plus it works well for removing blemishes softening rough lines and making colors blend more naturally. My favorite feature is how fast it lets me swap one color in an image for another without affecting the rest. That makes it very useful for quick corrections and fixing color issues. I also like that once I open the app, I can get what I need done without wasting time. On top of that it is free, gets regular updates and feels more user friendly than similar programs like Photoshop. Another bonus is that it can export to PNG, JPEG and even some less common file formats so nice to have if I ever need them.

Cons

There are a lot of features in it and some of them are tucked away pretty deep in the menus. Thankfully there are plenty of online guides that help when you need to track something down. Also while you technically can edit photos in it, that doesn't really seem to be what the software is mainly built for. I still wish it included a few more basic photo-editing tools or even a dedicated photo editing mode you could switch on. Plus having quick access to layers, gradients and shape tools is excellent but I would really appreciate something simple like an Exposure slider for photo adjustments.

“best free image editor

Pros

Hands down this is the best free image editor I have ever used.

Cons

Every now and then, an update shifts useful tools around.

“handy for photo backgrounds

Pros

One thing I really like is being able to edit all kinds of photos especially remove backgrounds which is the main reason I use it.

Cons

It does feel limited compared with Adobe Photoshop since it doesn't offer as many features.

“Top image editing alternative

Pros

I must say it is a really good alternative to Paint when it comes to editing images.

Cons

Getting started was a bit difficult and I had to look up how to do a few things in the beginning.

“highly recommended!

Pros

Travel photography is mostly a hobby for me not a job. But I still end up with many photos I care about. Since I am not very skilled some shots don't come out the way I hoped. That's where GIMP has been very useful. As it is a free yet powerful alternative to the more well-known editing programs which usually cost more than I can justify for something I only use once in a while. Lately it also feels lighter and faster than before. So I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to start editing photos without spending a euro.

Cons

Compared to more popular software some filters in it seem a bit less polished and there is less tutorial content available to explain how to get the best results. I ran into this when trying to fix a photo that was partly too dark. I found a Photoshop video and tried to follow the same steps but it would have been much more helpful if there had been a tutorial made specifically for it.

“impressive free open source editor

Pros

It is an impressive, free, high end open source photo editing program with advanced capabilities.

Cons

I honestly can't think of any downsides especially considering it's completely free.

“Highly customizable tool

Pros

Being free and highly customizable is a huge plus. Plus it lets me retouch photos and create detailed designs in very little time.

Cons

The interface feels way too outdated and could really use a visual refresh.

“good free tool but fewer features

Pros

I must say it is a really good open source, free option for image editing.

Cons

It's a strong piece of software but it doesn't offer as many features as Photoshop and can be a little difficult to work with.

“deliver pro results

Pros

One thing I really like is the wide range of tools including layer masks and bezier curves. They also help me produce professional looking results for my design projects. The customizable interface is also a big plus and makes the workflow more convenient.

Cons

Getting comfortable with the interface took a bit of time. It isn't as user friendly as some other programs although the available tutorials do help with the learning curve.

“Powerful and free

Pros

GIMP is a free alternative to Photoshop, with a large and active user community.

Cons

One thing I noticed is that getting comfortable with it can take a while at the beginning.

“very budget friendly tool

Pros

No upfront cost or monthly subscription is a huge plus. I do not know of another option that offers this much for free. Plus it works well for creating book covers and graphics for my website and even the software updates come at no extra cost.

Cons

The learning curve is pretty steep especially at the beginning. Since I first started using it, things have improved a lot and now there are free YouTube tutorials when you need help figuring something out. A lot of those also link to people offering basic low-cost training for under PS20 which I'd definitely recommend.

“Being free makes it the best

Pros

One of the biggest advantages of GIMP is that it is completely free yet it still comes with many powerful features. Tools like the healing tool, scripting support, batch processing and others make it capable enough for serious image editing work.

Cons

Only part I liked least about it is its interface which feels a bit outdated to me. That said I do appreciate that the layout and interface can be customized.

“editing tools that deliver

Pros

The thing I really like is that it offers a great set of editing tools for free unlike Adobe so I can try it out and decide whether it's the right editing software for me.

Cons

I would just like to see more tutorials available but aside from that I really don't have any complaints.