User:MIckStephenson/Comparison of raster graphics editors

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Lists[edit]

The following are lists of raster graphics editors sorted by availability:

Commercial Freeware Open source
Historical (discontinued titles)

General information[edit]

Basic general information about the editors: creator/company, license/price etc.

Description Creator First public release date Latest stable version Cost (USD) Software license
Ability Photopaint Graphics editor with some advanced features Ability Software March 2001 4 Non-free$29.99 Proprietary
Adobe Photoshop Professional image editor and graphics creation tool John Knoll and Thomas Knoll February 1990 CS3 / 10.0 Non-free$649.00 Proprietary
Alias SketchBook Pro Image editor designed to be used with tablet PCs Autodesk 2004 2 Non-free$179.00 Proprietary
ArtRage Graphic creator and editor designed for tablet PCs Andy Bearsley and Matt Fox-Wilson 2004 2.5 $25.00 Full version
$0 Free version
Proprietary
Artweaver Image editor designed for a natural painting experience on the computer Boris Eyrich August 2005 0.4.8.1 Free Proprietary
Brush Strokes Image Editor Paul Bird ? 2 $20.00 Full version
$0 Version 1
Proprietary
CinePaint Moving picture, photo and graphics editor Robin Rowe July 4, 2002 0.22 Free GPL
CodedColor PhotoStudio Pro 1STEIN Corp. 2001 5.1 Non-free$39.00 Proprietary
Corel Paint Shop Pro Advanced image editor and graphics creator Jasc Software 1992 X2 (12.00) Non-free$99.99 Proprietary
Corel Painter Graphics editor designed to create natural-looking artistic images Mark Zimmer, Tom Hedges, John Derry August, 1991 10 Non-free$429.00 Full (Boxed)
$229.00 Upgrade (Boxed)
$419.00 Full (Download)
$219.00 Upgrade (Download)
Proprietary
Corel PHOTO-PAINT Image editor and web-graphics creator with some advanced features Corel Corporation ? 13 Non-free$289.00
$299.00
Proprietary
Cosmigo Pro Motion Pixel editor designed after Deluxe Paint Cosmigo ? 5.2 Non-free$92 to $29.95 Proprietary
Deluxe Paint Obsolete Basic graphics editor Dan Silva 1985 5 Non-free$149.99 Proprietary
Deneba Canvas Graphics editor and creator supporting both raster graphics and vector graphics Jorge Miranda, Joaquin de Soto, and Manny Menendez September 1987 X Non-free$349.99 Proprietary
ERDAS IMAGINE Advanced remote sensing and GIS capability.
Can handle multispectral images.
Leica Geosystems
Geospatial Imaging
1980 9.1 Non-free$2200 for Essentials
$7700 for Professional
Proprietary
GIMP Free image editor and graphics creator Spencer Kimball and Peter Mattis January 1996 2.4 Free GPL
GIMPshop GIMP designed to have a GUI similar to Adobe Photoshop Scott Moschella ? 2.2.11 Free GPL
GraphicConverter Image viewer capable of importing and exporting many image file types Thorsten Lemke 1992 5.7.3 Non-free$30.00 Proprietary
Helicon Filter Advanced image editor with a simplified interface Helicon Soft Ltd. August 2004 4.71 Free to $75 Proprietary
iPhoto Image organizational tool and basic editor for Mac OS X Apple Computer 2002 6.0.2 Free 1 Proprietary
IrfanView Image and video viewer with basic editing functions Irfan Skiljan 1996 4.00 Free Proprietary
JDraw Graphics editor designed to edit individual pixels J-Domain 2003 1.1.5 Free GPL
Kolourpaint KDE 2004 1.2.2 Free GPL
Krita KDE 2005 1.6.3 Free GPL
MacPaint Obsolete Basic graphic creator/editor Bill Atkinson 1984 2.0 Non-free$19.00 Proprietary
Adobe Fireworks Since ver. CS3 part of Adobe Creative Suite Web Macromedia 1998 9.01.x Non-free$299.00 Proprietary
Microsoft Office Picture Manager Basic image editing tool Microsoft ? ? Included with Microsoft Office Proprietary
Microsoft Paint Basic graphic creator and editor packaged with Microsoft Windows operating systems Microsoft 1985 6.0 Included with Microsoft Windows Proprietary
Microsoft Photo Editor Obsolete Basic image editor for Windows Microsoft ? 3.01 Included with Microsoft Office Proprietary
Mootif Online Java image editor with a few functions mootif.com May, 2006 1.0 Free Proprietary
mtPaint Mark Tyler September, 2004 3.11 Free GPL
OpenCanvas Portalgraphics ? 4 Non-free$54.55
$72.73
Proprietary
Paint.NET Rick Brewster, et. al. May 6, 2004 3.10 Free MIT
PC Paintbrush Obsolete Basic graphic creator/editor ZSoft Corporation 1984 5 ? Proprietary
Photofinish ZSoft Corporation 1993 2 Non-free89.99 Proprietary
Photogenics Image editor designed to create super HDRs at 32 bits Idruna Software Inc. 1995 HDR 7.0 Non-free$699.002 Proprietary
PhotoLine 32 Image and animation creator/editor Computerinsel GmbH 1995 13.01 Non-free$76.74 (59 Euro) Proprietary
Picasa Efficient image organization tool with basic editing tools and other image effects Google ? 2.7 Free Proprietary
PicMaster Alexander Sabov December 1999 3.96 Non-free$29.90 Proprietary
PixBuilder Photo Editor WnSoft Graphic Software June 2005 1.31 Non-free$34.00 Proprietary
Pixel image editor Image editor based on Adobe Photoshop Pavel Kanzelsberger 1999 1.0 Non-free$32.00 Proprietary
Pixia Isao Maruoka 1998 3.3 Free Proprietary
Project Dogwaffle Dan Ritchie 1997 (?) 4.0 $97.00 Full version
$0 Free version
Proprietary
QFX Obsolete Early image editor to support 1024x768 truecolor graphics Ron Scott ~1990 8 Non-free$399.00 Proprietary
Serif Photo Plus (Studio Pack) Complete graphics editor and photo organization suite. Serif 11 Non-free$79.99 Proprietary
Tux Paint Bill Kendrick June 16, 2002 0.9.16 Free GPL
TVPaint 2D animation software Herve ADAM June 16, 1991 8.1.1b Non-free$550 Proprietary
Ulead PhotoImpact Ulead Systems ? 12 Non-free$89.99 Proprietary
Ultimate Paint Basic graphics editor based on Deluxe Paint Joseph Ladanyi and Daniel Szabo 1998 2.88 Non-free$34.95 Proprietary
WinImages Graphics editor with a focus on animation Black Belt Systems ? 7.5 Non-free$99.95 Proprietary
Zoner Photo Studio 9 All-in-one editor package. Zoner Inc. ? 9.0 build 7 ? Proprietary

Note 1: The latest version of iPhoto comes free with a Mac. iPhoto cannot be purchased separately, but is part of the iLife-suite which is available from Apple Computer for $99.

Note 2: Photogenics' $699.00 price is for a floating license including both Windows and Linux. Version for Pocket PC is $53.

Operating system support[edit]

The operating systems on which the editors can run natively (without emulation), meaning which operating systems have which editors specifically coded for them (not, for example, Adobe Photoshop for Windows running on Linux with Wine).

Windows Mac OS X Linux BSD Unix
Ability Photopaint Yes No No No No
ACD Canvas Yes Yes No No No
Adobe Photoshop Yes Yes No No No
Alias SketchBook Pro Yes Yes No No No
ArtRage Yes Yes No No No
Artweaver Yes No No No No
Brush Strokes Image Editor Yes No No No No
CinePaint Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
CodedColor PhotoStudio Pro Yes No No No No
Corel Paint Shop Pro Yes No No No No
Corel Painter Yes Yes No No No
Corel Photo-Paint Yes No No No No
Cosmigo Pro Motion Yes ? ? ? ?
Deluxe Paint 1 No No No No No
ERDAS IMAGINE Yes No No No Yes
GIMP 2 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
GIMPshop Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
GraphicConverter No Yes No No No
Helicon Filter Yes No No No No
iPhoto No Yes No No No
IrfanView Yes No No No No
JDraw Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Kolourpaint No No Yes Yes Yes
Krita No No Yes Yes Yes
MacPaint No No No No No
Adobe Fireworks Yes Yes No No No
Microsoft Office Picture Manager Yes Yes No No No
Microsoft Paint Yes No No No No
Microsoft Photo Editor Yes No No No No
Mootif Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
mtPaint Yes No Yes Yes Yes
OpenCanvas Yes No No No No
Paint.NET Yes No No No No
PC Paintbrush 3 No No No No No
Photofinish Yes No No No No
Photogenics 4 Yes No Yes No No
PhotoLine 32 Yes Yes No No No
Picasa Yes No Yes No No
PicMaster Yes No No No No
PixBuilder Photo Editor Yes No No No No
Pixel image editor 5 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Pixia Yes No No No No
Project Dogwaffle Yes No No No No
QFX Yes No No No No
Tux Paint Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
TVPaint Yes Yes No No No
Ulead PhotoImpact Yes No No No No
Ultimate Paint Yes No No No No
WinImages Yes No No No No
Windows Mac OS X Linux BSD Unix

Note 1: Deluxe Paint only runs on AmigaOS, Atari ST and MS-DOS.

Note 2: GIMP also supports SkyOS.

Note 3: PC Paintbrush only runs on MS-DOS.

Note 4: Photogenics also runs on Pocket PCs.

Note 5: Pixel image editor also supports OS/2, MorphOS, BeOS, SkyOS, QNX and DOS.

Features[edit]

Selection editing Layers Histogram Scripting HDR Retouching Resizing Noise removal Lens correction Sized Printing Sharpening Color correction Image Library Plugin support 1
Ability Photopaint Yes Yes Yes Yes No ? Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
ACD Canvas Yes Yes Yes Yes No ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Adobe Photoshop Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial (Bridge) Yes
Alias SketchBook Pro Yes Yes No No No ? ? ? ? ? Yes ? ? ?
ArtRage No Yes No No No ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Artweaver Yes Yes No Yes 2 No Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes Yes No Yes
Brush Strokes Image Editor Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
CinePaint Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes
CodedColor PhotoStudio Pro Yes Yes Yes No ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Corel Paint Shop Pro Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes
Corel Painter Yes Yes No Yes No ? Yes Yes ? ? Yes Yes ? Yes
Corel Photo-Paint Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Cosmigo Pro Motion Yes No No No No Partial Yes No No ? ? ? ? ?
Deluxe Paint No Partial 3 Partial Yes No ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
ERDAS IMAGINE Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes
GIMP Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
GIMPshop Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
GraphicConverter Yes ? Yes Yes No Yes ? ? ? ? ? Yes Yes ?
Helicon Filter Home/Pro Partial No 4 Yes No 5 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
iPhoto No No Yes No No Yes Partial No Partial Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
IrfanView No No ? No No No Yes No No ? No ? ? Yes
JDraw Yes No No No No ? ? ? ? ? ? No ? ?
Kolourpaint Yes No No No No ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Krita Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes
MacPaint Yes No No No No ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Selection editing Layers Histogram Scripting HDR Retouching Resizing Noise removal Lens correction Sized Printing Sharpening Color correction Image Library Plugin support
Adobe Fireworks Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Microsoft Office Picture Manager Partial No No No No No Yes No No Yes No ? No No
Microsoft Paint No No No No No Partial No No No No No No No No
Microsoft Photo Editor Yes No No No No ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Mootif Partial Yes No No No Yes No No Partial No No ? No No
mtPaint Yes Yes Yes No No ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
OpenCanvas Yes Yes Yes No ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Paint.NET Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes ? ? ? Yes ? ? Yes
PC Paintbrush Yes No No No No ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Photofinish Yes No No No No ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Photogenics Yes Yes Yes ? Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
PhotoLine 32 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Picasa No No Yes No Partial 6 No Partial No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No
PicMaster Yes No Yes Yes No ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
PixBuilder Photo Editor Yes Yes Yes No No ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Pixel image editor Yes Yes Yes No Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes ? ?
Pixia Yes Yes Yes No No ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Project Dogwaffle ? Only in commercial version Yes Partial No Yes Yes ? ? ? Yes Yes ? Yes
QFX Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Tux Paint No No No No No ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
TVPaint Yes Yes Yes Yes No ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Ulead PhotoImpact Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Ultimate Paint Yes No Yes No No ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
WinImages Yes Yes ? Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Selection editing Layers Histogram Scripting HDR Retouching Resizing Noise removal Lens correction Sized Printing Sharpening Color correction Image Library Plugin support

Note 1: External plugins may allow the program to perform some tasks, such as noise reduction or lens distortion, that could not otherwise be done.

Note 2: Artweaver does not have scripting by default, but with the Lua Scripting Plug-In, you can add scripting to Artweaver using the Lua programming language.

Note 3: There are two: the main page and the swap page.

Note 4: Helicon Filter does not implement layers, but it can insert frames and editable text, and objects from one photo can be brushed into the main photo.

Note 5: Although Helicon Filter does not support actual scripting, it is capable of storing and reusing sequences and settings of edits.

Note 6: If images are perfectly aligned, Picasa can create a Multi-Exposure Collage which effectively makes a simple HDR with little customization, though brightness has to be corrected afterwards with no bit depth increase.

Color spaces[edit]

sRGB Adobe RGB Indexed Grayscale CMYK LAB HSV
Ability Photopaint Yes ? Yes Yes Partial (import only)
ACD Canvas Yes ? Yes Yes Yes
Adobe Photoshop Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 1
Alias SketchBook Pro Yes ? Yes No No
ArtRage Yes ? No No No
Artweaver Yes ? ? ? ?
Brush Strokes Image Editor Yes ? ? ? ?
CinePaint Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes
CodedColor PhotoStudio Pro Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Corel Paint Shop Pro Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial (split to channels) Partial (split to channels)
Corel Painter Yes ? No No Yes
Corel Photo-Paint Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Cosmigo Pro Motion Yes ? Yes Yes No
Deluxe Paint Yes ? Yes Yes No
ERDAS IMAGINE Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
GIMP Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
GIMPshop Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
GraphicConverter Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Helicon Filter Yes Yes ? Yes Yes
iPhoto Yes ? No Yes No
IrfanView Yes ? ? ? No
JDraw Yes ? No Yes ?
Kolourpaint Yes ? No Yes No
Krita Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes
MacPaint No No No Yes No
sRGB Adobe RGB Indexed Grayscale CMYK LAB HSV
Adobe Fireworks Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Microsoft Office Picture Manager Yes ? ? ? No
Microsoft Paint Yes ? No No No
Microsoft Photo Editor Yes ? Yes Yes No
Mootif Yes ? Yes Yes No
mtPaint Yes ? Yes Partial No
OpenCanvas Yes ? ? Yes No
Paint.NET Yes ? No No No
PC Paintbrush No ? Yes No No
Photofinish Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Photogenics Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
PhotoLine 32 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Picasa Yes ? Partial Partial No
PicMaster Yes ? No Yes No
PixBuilder Photo Editor Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Pixel image editor Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Pixia Yes ? No No No
Project Dogwaffle Yes ? No No No
QFX Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Tux Paint Yes ? No No No
TVPaint Yes ? No No No
Ulead PhotoImpact Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial (import only) No Yes
Ultimate Paint Yes ? Yes Yes No
WinImages Yes ? ? ? Yes Yes
sRGB Adobe RGB Indexed Grayscale CMYK LAB HSV

Note 1: Photoshop requires an optional plug-in from the installation disc to support the HSV color space.

File support[edit]

RAW imports BMP GIF JPEG JPEG 2000 HD Photo PNG TIFF PSD PSP XCF PCX OpenEXR
Ability Photopaint ? Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No ?
ACD Canvas ? Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No ?
Adobe Photoshop Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 1 Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes
Alias SketchBook Pro ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No
ArtRage ? Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No No ?
Artweaver ? Yes ? Yes ? ? ? Partial ? ? ?
Brush Strokes Image Editor ? Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No No ?
CinePaint Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Partial No Yes ? Yes
CodedColor PhotoStudio Pro ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes
Corel Paint Shop Pro Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial (no layer modes support) Yes No Yes
Corel Painter ? Yes Yes Yes No No Yes 2 Yes Yes No Import
Corel Photo-Paint Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Cosmigo Pro Motion ? Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No No Yes
Deluxe Paint3 No ? Yes Yes No Yes No No No No ?
ERDAS IMAGINE Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No No Import
GIMP Yes 12 Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
GIMPshop ? Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
GraphicConverter ? Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 4 Yes
Helicon Filter Home/Pro Yes Yes Import Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No No
iPhoto Yes ? ? Yes ? No Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes
IrfanView Partial (Requires plugin) Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
JDraw No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No No No
Kolourpaint ? Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No Import Yes
Krita Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial 5 No Yes Import Yes
MacPaint No ? No No No No No No No No No No
RAW imports BMP GIF JPEG JPEG 2000 HD Photo PNG TIFF PSD PSP XCF PCX OpenEXR
Adobe Fireworks ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No
Microsoft Office Picture Manager ? Yes Yes Yes No Yes Partial 6 No No No Yes
Microsoft Paint No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No No No
Microsoft Photo Editor No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No No Import
Mootif ? No Import Yes Import Yes Import No No No No
mtPaint ? Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No No ?
OpenCanvas ? Yes No Yes No No Yes No Yes 7 No No ?
Paint.NET 9 ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 10 Yes Partial 6 Yes No Yes ?
PC Paintbrush ? No Yes No No No Yes No No No Yes
Photofinish ? Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No No Yes
Photogenics ? Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes
PhotoLine 32 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes X3F Yes
Picasa Yes Import Import Yes No Import No Import No No No
PicMaster ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No ?
PixBuilder Photo Editor ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No ?
Pixel image editor ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No ? Yes
Pixia ? Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No No
Project Dogwaffle ? Yes No Yes No No Yes No No No No
QFX ? Yes Yes Yes No No ? Yes Yes No No ?
Tux Paint 9 ? Yes No Import No Yes No No No No No
TVPaint ? Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes
Ulead PhotoImpact Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Import No Yes
Ultimate Paint ? Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No No ?
WinImages ? Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No ?
RAW imports BMP GIF JPEG JPEG 2000 HD Photo PNG TIFF PSD PSP XCF PCX OpenEXR

Note 1: Photoshop requires an optional plug-in from the installation disc to support JPEG 2000.

Note 2: Corel Painter does not support TIFF with LZW Compression.

Note 3: Deluxe Paint (and almost every other paint package) for versions 3.0 and later of AmigaOS can load and save any file format for which a datatype is registered on the system.

Note 4: GraphicConverter requires Mac OS X or later with installed Image Magick application of the Fink package or any other distribution in order to support XCF.

Note 5: PSD is only supported in Krita up to version 6, from version 7 on, the Photoshop file format is closed.

Note 6: Microsoft Office Picture Manager and Paint.NET only support TIFF for viewing and editing of the first page.

Note 7: PSD is supported only in openCanvas 4 Plus, not regular openCanvas 4.

Note 8: The free plug-ins needed for JPEG 2000, PSD, and XCF support can be found on Paint.NET's website.

Note 9: In Tux Paint, for the BMP, JPEG and PNG formats, the user is sandboxed in an interface that does not permit filesystem interaction, including viewing of filenames and the choice of a file's name, type, or location. Files are selected by thumbnails, and may only be loaded from one predetermined directory.

Note 10: Paint.NET 3.08 supports import/export of images in HD Photo lossy & lossless format via a file-type plug-in based on a Microsoft HD Photo specification; it expires on September 1, 2007 or if the Paint.NET version is 3.20 or higher. The developers hope tentatively plan to implement full HD Photo support by version 3.20

Note 11: Some RAW files can be loaded with UFRaw.

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

* Raster graphics editors Raster graphics editors