Best Image Editors for Mac

The short answer. Affinity Photo if you want a professional raster editor and prefer a one-time purchase to a subscription. Pixelmator or Acorn if you want a native Mac editor that is fast and pleasant for everyday work. GIMP if you want an open source editor and do not mind an interface that behaves unlike the rest of macOS. Krita if your work is digital painting rather than photo editing — it is built for that, and the distinction matters more than the feature lists suggest. The first question is not which editor is best but whether you are editing photographs or painting.

This guide covers 6 image editors for macOS. Every fact below is drawn from the same verified records that back each app’s own page. The recommendations are our editorial judgment, not payment. Last verified 2026-10-05.

Quick comparison

What actually decides this

• Photo editing or painting. These are different tools. Photo editors are built around adjustment, masking and colour; painting applications are built around brushes and canvas behaviour. Buying the wrong one is the most expensive mistake here.
• Colour management. Whether the application respects colour profiles end to end. If your work goes to print or to a client, this is not optional.
• Non-destructive editing. Whether adjustments stay editable or are baked in. It changes whether you can revise a decision a month later.
• Licence and pricing model. A one-time purchase and a subscription can cost similar amounts over a few years, but they fail differently: one stops at the version you bought, the other stops when you stop paying.
• File format and export. What the app can open, and whether it writes a layered format other tools can read. A proprietary document format is a commitment.

Our picks

• Affinity Photo — It covers the layer, mask and colour work a photo editor needs, sold as a one-time purchase. Choose it when you want professional raster editing without a subscription.
• Pixelmator — It is built for the platform, which shows in how quickly it starts and how familiar the controls are. Choose it when you want something that feels like a Mac app and opens immediately.
• GIMP — It is free and capable, and its interface deliberately does not follow macOS conventions — that is the cost. Choose it when you want an open source editor and will adapt to its interface.
• Krita — Its brush engine and canvas are built for painting, which is a different foundation from a photo editor with brushes added. Choose it when you are painting rather than retouching photographs.

The apps

Acorn

Acorn is an image editor for macOS. Mac image editor from Flying Meat with non-destructive filters, vector tools, RAW import and a wide export format list, sold as a one-time purchase. It is one-time purchase.

Strengths. According to the developer, uses non-destructive curves, levels and filters, so adjustments can be reverted without losing quality. Imports RAW images at 32, 64 or even 128 bit for editing directly. Exports to a wide range of formats including JPEG-XL, HEIC, WebP, PSD, PDF and SVG.

Trade-offs. Requires macOS 14 or later, so older Macs need the previous major version instead. Closed source, so the application cannot be audited. It is an image editor rather than a design suite, so it does not cover page layout. Acorn 8 requires macOS 14 or later; the vendor offers Acorn 7.4.6 for macOS 10.14 and newer, and that older version accepts Acorn 8 registration numbers. Apple Silicon support is not explicitly stated in the sources Nuanyue tracks, though the app uses Metal 2.

Not for. Anyone who needs a full layout and page design suite — Acorn is an image editor. Users on macOS 13 or earlier, since Acorn 8 requires macOS 14 or later.

What it does. Layer-based editing with non-destructive curves, levels and filters. AI subject selection that isolates subjects in an image. Live Text tool that detects and copies text found in images. Super Resolution machine-learning image resizing.

Acorn is listed with current version 8.6.3.

Full profile and verified facts for Acorn →

Affinity Photo

Affinity Photo is an image editor for macOS. Photo editing studio inside Affinity, the free professional creative application from Canva that merged the former Designer, Photo and Publisher apps into one program. It is free.

Strengths. According to the developer, every tool in the Vector, Pixel and Layout studios is available free, with no restrictions or payment required. The macOS build is a native application that runs on Apple silicon and Intel rather than through translation. According to the developer, editing is non-destructive by default, with adjustment layers and live filters that can be revisited without flattening the original image.

Trade-offs. A Canva account is required to download and sign in, so the app is tied to a cloud identity. Canva’s AI tools inside Affinity are locked behind a paid Canva plan. The application is closed source, so its implementation cannot be inspected. The former one-time licence for Affinity Photo is gone; the app is now free and funded through Canva. It is one studio inside a larger application, so there is no separate Affinity Photo download to install.

Not for. Anyone who needs to use the software without a Canva account, since signing in is required. Users who need Canva’s AI tools in Affinity, which require a paid Canva plan. Anyone who needs the software to be open source, which it is not.

What it does. Unlimited raster, vector and text layers in one document. Non-destructive adjustment layers and live filter layers. 30 or more blend modes with on-canvas live preview. Curves for RGB and individual channels, plus levels and exposure adjustments.

Full profile and verified facts for Affinity Photo →

Alchemy

Alchemy is an image editor for macOS. Experimental, open-source drawing application with an emphasis on creating conceptual art. It is open source.

What it does. Alchemy is an open drawing project aimed at exploring how we can sketch, draw, and create on computers in new ways.

Full profile and verified facts for Alchemy →

GIMP

GIMP is an image editor for macOS. Free and open-source raster image editor for macOS, Windows and Linux, covering photo retouching, compositing, artwork and scripted image processing. It is released under GPL-3.0-or-later.

Strengths. Free software under the GNU General Public License, with no paid tier, no account and the source available to modify and redistribute. According to the developer, provides colour management intended for high-fidelity reproduction across digital and printed media. According to the developer, image operations can be scripted from C, C++, Python and Scheme, which makes it usable as an engine inside automated pipelines.

Trade-offs. The project’s own manual is described as a work in progress that is known to have outdated content, errors and omissions. The macOS build is published outside the App Store, so nothing updates it for you. The interface is a cross-platform design rather than a Mac-native one, so menu layout and window behaviour differ from what macOS users expect. The minimum macOS version is not stated in the sources Nuanyue tracks. It is distributed from download.gimp.org rather than the Mac App Store, so updates are the user’s responsibility.

Not for. Anyone who needs a native, fully Apple-idiomatic Mac application — GIMP’s interface is its own, not the Mac’s. Workflows that depend on a vendor support contract, since GIMP is a volunteer project with no commercial backing.

What it does. Photo retouching, restoration and creative compositing. Original artwork creation from a blank canvas. Production of icons, graphical design elements and interface mockups. Colour management aimed at high-fidelity reproduction in digital and printed media.

GIMP is listed with current version 3.2.6.

Full profile and verified facts for GIMP →

Krita

Krita is an image editor for macOS. Free and open-source digital painting application for macOS, Windows, Linux and Android tablets, aimed at concept art, illustration, comics, textures and 2D animation. It is released under GPL-3.0.

Strengths. Free software under the GNU GPL v3, with the source available to study, modify and redistribute. According to the developer, ships with over 100 professionally made brushes and nine separate brush engines to build custom ones from. According to the developer, three different brush stabilisers plus a Dynamic Brush tool with drag and mass settings.

Trade-offs. The Mac App Store build lagged the direct download — 5.3.2 against 5.3.4 — when Nuanyue checked both. Nuanyue could not establish from Krita’s own pages whether the macOS build runs natively on Apple silicon or through translation. According to the developer, the project states that Krita is not intended as a replacement for Photoshop, so image manipulation work may need a different tool. Version 6.0 is in development as nightly builds that the project labels for testing only.

Not for. Photographers who need a Photoshop replacement for image manipulation, which the project itself says Krita is not. Anyone who needs a vendor support contract or commercial backing behind the application. macOS users who expect an Apple-idiomatic interface, since Krita is a cross-platform Qt application.

What it does. Over 100 professionally made brushes preloaded. Nine brush engines, including Colour Smudge, Shape, Particle and Filter engines. Three different brush stabilisers, plus a dedicated Dynamic Brush tool with drag and mass. Wrap-around mode for painting seamless textures and patterns.

Krita is listed with current version 5.3.4.

Full profile and verified facts for Krita →

Pixelmator

Pixelmator is an image editor for macOS. Apple’s Mac and iPad image editor, now part of Apple Creator Studio, with AI features built on Apple Intelligence, vector tools and support for over 750 RAW formats. It is one-time purchase.

Strengths. According to the developer, aI features are built on Apple Intelligence, including Super Resolution, background removal and intelligent denoise. Supports more than 750 RAW formats, with RAW photos added as layers rather than converted first. Handles video layers as well as images, so videos can be masked, cropped and colour adjusted.

Trade-offs. Mac and iPad only, so it is not an option for Windows or Linux users. Closed source, so the application cannot be independently inspected. The standalone price is not published in the sources Nuanyue tracks, so the cost has to be checked on the App Store. The standalone price is not stated in the sources Nuanyue tracks, and the app is also bundled in the Apple Creator Studio subscription. The minimum macOS version is not stated in the sources Nuanyue tracks.

Not for. Anyone who needs an open-source editor they can inspect — Pixelmator is closed source. Users on Windows or Linux, since the application is Mac and iPad only.

What it does. Layer-based, non-destructive editing with effects, fills, strokes and shadows. Over 60 effects including blur, distortion, sharpen, tile and halftone. Adjustment layers that edit colours by range or selection. Select and Mask detects edges, including fine detail such as hair or fur.

Pixelmator is listed with current version 3.8.

Full profile and verified facts for Pixelmator →

How to choose

• Free of charge. Affinity Photo — no payment is required.
• No licence fee, source available. Alchemy, GIMP and Krita — the source can be read and, under the terms of each licence, reused.
• One-time purchase. Acorn and Pixelmator — you pay once.

Open source: Alchemy, GIMP and Krita (3 of 6).

Common mistakes

• Buying a photo editor for illustration work, or a painting app for photo retouching. The feature lists overlap enough to make this easy and the mismatch is felt immediately.
• Editing without checking the document colour profile, then discovering the difference at export.
• Working destructively by default. Flattening adjustments early is the most common reason a revision becomes a redo.
• Assuming a one-time purchase and a subscription are comparable on price alone. They are also different commitments about what happens when you stop paying.

How this guide was put together

Each app’s facts come from its own record: the developer’s own pages and repository, the App Store listing where one exists, and the documentation, each with a source grade and an access date. Where a fact rests on the developer’s own statement rather than on something we verified independently, the sentence says so. Where our data has no value for something, the guide says “not published” instead of guessing.

A price appears here only where the record carries one from a stated source; the guide never estimates one, and it records the pricing model alongside so the two can be read together. Prices change and vary by region, so each app links to its own page for the current detail.

The facts and the recommendations are kept apart on purpose. Everything in the app entries, the comparison table and the answers above is composed from the records. The short answer, the criteria and the picks are our editorial judgment: they reflect what we would choose and why, and they are not paid for. Where we make a recommendation we name the condition it applies under, because we do not call anything “the best” without explaining the criteria.

Verified 2026-10-05.