You will read about 4 (More) Cheap Photoshop Alternatives that is Worth Your Time. You can read about and start using the other 4 photoshop alternatives we recommended earlier this year here.
It’s estimated that the brain can process visuals 60,000 times faster than plain text.
With that stat in mind, it’s clear that images are an important part of any marketing strategy whether you’re creating them for your own business or as part of your agency’s marketing services.
For many people, their first choice for image creation and editing is Photoshop.
Now, I’ll be honest with you — I think Photoshop is amazing. I know a lot of people that use the software to create amazing visual graphics, edit photos they took to create something stunning and much more.
But let’s face it:
Photoshop has a steep learning curve. I personally know the bare minimum, and even that description may be pushing the limits of my competence with the program.
So when I need to create an appealing image for a blog post or social media, spending time with Photoshop (PS) really isn’t the best option for me when I’m in a hurry.
Creating images is not something I take lightly. A photo can either help or hinder a click from social channels or even keep someone from sharing when they read through our blog.
Thankfully, there are a lot of alternatives to PS, and even options for creating visual content specifically for social media.
If you’re looking for a free, inexpensive or faster image editing software, then here are some other choices you should consider.
Canva
Probably the most popular new image creating application around next to PS is Canva.
Not only does Canva come with pre-sized and pre-designed templates for blogs and social media, it also allows you to create custom image sizes so you have the right size for whatever you’re working on.
Much like Photoshop, you can create layers to your images, adjust transparency, and upload your own icons, images or anything else in a .JPEG or .PNG format.
If you use only the free content and your own visuals in the image, then you don’t need to pay a thing.
This online app is great when you want to create something quick that looks nice and sticks to your brand colors.
It’s not nearly as extensive at PS, but it gets the job done.
Though it’s free to use, you can also pay per premium image or upgrade for $9.99/month at the annual rate to get access to more cool stuff.
Stencil
Stencil is a lesser known image creating app, but it’s one of the better ones out there if you’re looking to create social media and blog images.
Stencil exists online as an app and as a Google Chrome Browser extension and has quite a few editing options:
- Use a starter template
- Create custom image sizes
- Add icons, graphics, and background from their resource
- Upload your own backgrounds or icons
- Easily add a watermark for your photos
- Adjust transparency on text/images
- Go from one image size to another without starting over so your images look the same across all social channels (something Canva doesn’t do unless you upgrade)
There are quite a few similarities to what this can do compared to Canva, but there are some differences that I like including being able to use the Google Chrome extension to quickly create an image.
Stencil is free for the limited version or $9 a month when billed annually.
PicMonkey
If you want more filter and editing options for photographs, then PicMonkey is probably your best bet.
As far as photo touch ups go, this is one of the better ones that you can find with a low price tag.
You can:
- Sharpen images
- Crop and scale
- Create a collage style picture
- Add fonts (more fonts than Canva and Stencil)
But photo editing isn’t the only thing that PicMonkey offers. You can also add layers of shapes and fonts, along with transparency, to add an extra touch to your photos. Plus, you can upload your own icons and images.
BeFunky
Last but not least is this pretty extensive photo editing tool.
BeFunky is very similar to PicMonkey in that it is best for editing photographs and adding filters. However, it’s not as smooth of an editor as the one mentioned above and adding shape graphics isn’t the easiest thing.
Depending on the style of images you’re creating for blogs and social media content this could either be perfect or not even close to what you need.
If you’re on the hunt for a PS alternative, then I recommend playing around with any and all of these tools to see if they suit your needs.
While Photoshop is the renowned champion of photo creation and editing, clearly it isn’t the only option.
What Photoshop alternative do you use and why do you like it, comment below?