Photography · alternatives
Alternatives to Corel PaintShop Pro
21 photography tools sit alongside Corel PaintShop Pro in this directory. Below is what separates each from Corel PaintShop Pro on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 21
- With a free tier
- 11
- Cheaper to start
- -
- Corel PaintShop Pro starts at
- On request
Why people look past Corel PaintShop Pro
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Corel PaintShop Pro entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is no free tier
The record for Corel PaintShop Pro carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 11 of the 21 alternatives below can be used without paying.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
The world's best imaging and graphic design software
- Publishes an entry price of $19.99/month, where Corel PaintShop Pro does not.
- 3 tiers to Corel PaintShop Pro's 2.
Professional photo editing software
- Publishes an entry price of $69.99/one-time, where Corel PaintShop Pro does not.
- Sold on a one-time model rather than One-time purchase, paid upgrades.
- 1 tier to Corel PaintShop Pro's 2.
Photo cataloguing and RAW editing sold as a perpetual licence or as an ACDSee 365 subscription
- Sold on a One-time purchase or per-user subscription model rather than One-time purchase, paid upgrades.
Selfie and portrait retouching app from Lightricks, sold on a subscription with a short free trial
- Can be used without paying; Corel PaintShop Pro cannot.
- Sold on a Free download with a short free trial, most tools require a Facetune Pro subscription that auto-renews annually model rather than One-time purchase, paid upgrades.
AI photo and design editing app combining Photoshop-style tools, templates and a paid Gold subscription
- Can be used without paying; Corel PaintShop Pro cannot.
- Sold on a Free with a watermark on export and limited AI credits; paid Gold subscription removes both model rather than One-time purchase, paid upgrades.
Google's photo backup and organisation app, now billed against shared Google account storage
- Can be used without paying; Corel PaintShop Pro cannot.
- Sold on a Free tier plus paid storage add-on model rather than One-time purchase, paid upgrades.
- 3 tiers to Corel PaintShop Pro's 2.
Every Corel PaintShop Pro alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corel PaintShop Pro (this page) | On request | One-time purchase, paid upgrades | 2 | |
| Adobe PhotoshopIf you need industry-standard file compatibility and the largest plugin ecosystem, and accept a subscription | $19.99/month | - | 3 | vs Corel PaintShop Pro |
| Affinity PhotoIf you want a one-time purchase editor with a stronger RAW and compositing engine, also available on Mac | $69.99/one-time | One-time | 1 | vs Corel PaintShop Pro |
| ACDSeeIf cataloguing a large photo library matters as much as pixel editing | On request | One-time purchase or per-user subscription | 2 | vs Corel PaintShop Pro |
| Facetune | Free | Free download with a short free trial, most tools require a Facetune Pro subscription that auto-renews annually | 2 | vs Corel PaintShop Pro |
| Picsart | Free | Free with a watermark on export and limited AI credits; paid Gold subscription removes both | 2 | vs Corel PaintShop Pro |
| Google Photos | Free | Free tier plus paid storage add-on | 3 | vs Corel PaintShop Pro |
| Adobe Lightroom Mobile | Free | Free for local, single-device editing; cloud sync and some tools require a Creative Cloud Photography plan | 2 | vs Corel PaintShop Pro |
| VSCO | Free | Free with a limited preset and tool set; paid annual membership unlocks the full library | 2 | vs Corel PaintShop Pro |
| Remini | Free | Free download with a short free trial, most features require a recurring subscription | 2 | vs Corel PaintShop Pro |
| Lensa | Free | Free download with a short free trial, Magic Avatars and most tools require payment | 2 | vs Corel PaintShop Pro |
| Snapseed | Free | Fully free with no ads, subscription or in-app purchases | 1 | vs Corel PaintShop Pro |
| PhotoDirector | Free | Free tier, one-time purchase or annual subscription | 3 | vs Corel PaintShop Pro |
| RawTherapee | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Corel PaintShop Pro |
| Aftershoot | On request | Per module per month, unlimited images | 4 | vs Corel PaintShop Pro |
| Exposure X | On request | One-time purchase | 2 | vs Corel PaintShop Pro |
| NightCap | On request | One-time purchase | 1 | vs Corel PaintShop Pro |
| Nik Collection | On request | One-time purchase | 1 | vs Corel PaintShop Pro |
| Narrative Select | On request | Per user per month, tiered by editing depth | 4 | vs Corel PaintShop Pro |
| Imagen AI | On request | Per image, with annual volume tiers | 3 | vs Corel PaintShop Pro |
| Photo Mechanic | $139/one-time | One-time purchase | 2 | vs Corel PaintShop Pro |
| Adobe Bridge | Free | Free with an Adobe account | 1 | vs Corel PaintShop Pro |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Corel PaintShop Pro badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (11)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Facetune , Free
- Picsart , Free
- Google Photos , Free
- Adobe Lightroom Mobile , Free
- VSCO , Free
- Remini , Free
- Lensa , Free
- Snapseed , Free
What you would be giving up
Corel PaintShop Pro is most often brought in for a windows hobbyist who wants layer-based photo editing without paying an adobe subscription, a long-time paintshop pro user with existing scripts and workflows built around the product, someone restoring old family photos who wants the bundled restoration and hdr tools rather than assembling a plugin stack, a budget-conscious small studio doing basic compositing that does not require photoshop plugin compatibility. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Corel PaintShop Pro is broadly right and the question is cost, the Corel PaintShop Pro pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Photography category lists everything the directory holds, and best photography tools ranks them.
Corel PaintShop Pro runs on windows. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Corel PaintShop Pro alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Corel PaintShop Pro?
- 21 other photography tools are listed in this directory, led by Adobe Photoshop, Affinity Photo, ACDSee, Facetune. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Corel PaintShop Pro?
- 11 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Facetune, Picsart, Google Photos, Adobe Lightroom Mobile, VSCO.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Corel PaintShop Pro?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is no free tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Corel PaintShop Pro?
- Corel PaintShop Pro is most often brought in for a windows hobbyist who wants layer-based photo editing without paying an adobe subscription, a long-time paintshop pro user with existing scripts and workflows built around the product, someone restoring old family photos who wants the bundled restoration and hdr tools rather than assembling a plugin stack, a budget-conscious small studio doing basic compositing that does not require photoshop plugin compatibility. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Corel PaintShop Pro?
- None of the photography tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Corel PaintShop Pro alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Photography, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Corel PaintShop Pro against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Corel PaintShop Pro covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every photography tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Photography category, 21 tools beside Corel PaintShop Pro. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.