Member Avatar for prajesh2

I do not have Photoshop, is there any other tool that is somewhat close to Photoshop and is free to download. I just need to make banner and change size of the pictures.

Thank you,

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As described—just needing banners and simple resizing—earlier replies from , , and were right to point at free desktop editors. Below is a short, practical update (tools and when to use them) so someone landing on this thread years later can pick the fastest path for the job.

For PSD-like, no-install editing: use Photopea. It runs in your browser, opens/saves PSDs, supports layers/masks and most Photoshop-style workflows, and is excellent for cropping, text-over-photo banners and quick exports without installing anything. (photopea.com)

For crisp, scalable banners and logos use vector tools. Inkscape is a mature, free SVG editor for precise vector work; Figma is cloud-first, great for multiple artboards, responsive/export presets and team handoff. Use vectors for logos/text to avoid pixelation when scaling. (en.wikipedia.org)

If you want a full, professional app outside Adobe: Affinity’s unified suite has recently been reworked under Canva and is available as a single app (pixel + vector + layout), making it a strong one-stop option. For fast, template-driven banner work (social posts, simple ads) Canva still wins for non-designers. Practical workflow: set exact pixel dimensions up front, work in sRGB, keep logos/text as vectors, export PNG for graphics (JPEG for photos), and export 2x assets for retina displays. (theverge.com)

Short troubleshooting tips: if a PSD opens with missing fonts, either install the fonts or convert text to outlines; when images look soft after export, check export scale (export at 2x then downscale in HTML/CSS for better sharpness); always preview final art at the actual size it will be used.

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Member Avatar for Member #46692

The gimp, but to be honest, if you are looking for a professional look, you definitely can't beat photoshop... I prefer illustrator actually, because of the ease to create scalable graphics which do not loose sharpness as you scale them up.

Also the typography and anti-aliasing of the adobe products cannot be beat. It might be worth just downloading a demo to be able to work with.

Member Avatar for ai2caad

You can use Gimp, runs on Mac and Windows. I even used it for emergencies when I had no Photoshop on a photo shoot. Reall good. The site is http://www.gimp.org

Member Avatar for JasonHippy

I'd also recommend Gimp as a free alternative, but it's not the most intuitive editor out there. It does involve a bit of a learning curve, but it's worth taking the time to learn as it is extremely powerful once you know your way around it.

If you're running Windows, Paint.NET is another free image editor. IMHO, it's one of the best free image editors for Windows. I've used it for years on my Windows machines at work. Definitely recommended!

Paint.NET is powerful, high quality and is intuitive and easy to use, so it's great for editing images quickly and easily. It supports a wide range of file formats and there are a lot of built in image effects. Plus it's extensible via plugins, with lots of additonal plugins available on the paint.net forums.

The only potential downside is it requires the '.NET 3.5 sp1' runtime to be installed. But if you're running Vista or 7, that shouldn't be a problem as .NET should already be installed. However if you're running XP, you'll need to download and install the .NET runtime if you don't already have it! (Saying that, I think recent Paint.NET installers will automatically download and install the .NET runtime if it isn't already present!)

Member Avatar for Evenbit

Use GIMP. These tutorials:

It certainly runs circles around Photoshop.

Member Avatar for Emily11

GIMP is certainly the best free general purpose photo editor.
For some it is at first uncomfortable to use with all the different windows but gets easier as you get used to it. And there are plenty of tutorials on youtube of how to use the different features.

Member Avatar for adam70

no one is better than photoshop but you can use gif software.

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