GIMP vs Photoshop, which is better?

I now have 25 years of experience with Photoshop, of which I teach Photoshop for 14 years. I know it is not fair to compare anything to the rich Photoshop universe without including the price. Free software such as GIMP will always be more attractive than subscription-based models such as Photoshop, especially for individual users who are not eligible for a government or corporate discount.

Most Photoshop fans use only a fraction of the functions. If you are just looking for a photo editing program that offers a reasonable number of options, great plug-ins and special effects, then GIMP is an excellent choice. For me, however, it is Photoshop, without a doubt.

But we are ahead of things. We compare the most important functions of both packages with each other and see which package comes out best.

Gimp vs. Photoshop: Which is better?

Selection tools

The Selection Tools are number one on my list of requirements. If you cannot select the foreground objects or the background, you cannot edit much. GIMP has seven selection tools, while Photoshop 2020 has ten:

The Lasso tools from Photoshop are absolutely the best, especially the Magnetic Lasso, which seems to instinctively know what you want to select. I don’t like GIMP’s Fuzzy Select tool, and the By Color tool seems superfluous.

The Free Selection tool and the Intelligent Scissors are “good enough” if you cannot afford your Photoshop. They do the job almost as well as the Lasso tools from Photoshop and would not be a dealbreaker for GIMP. In other words, they work well if you keep in mind that they are free.

Winner: Photoshop

Styles

The second essential on my list is Styles, especially for the text layers. GIMP’s styles for the text are the same as the filters for objects that are applied to the selected layer. The effect on the text layers is not much better than that in Word or PowerPoint styles, and you can only view the results after the filter has been applied.

Photoshop styles are unrivaled by those of other available photo or graphic programs. I tried them all. Photoshop offers many styles with the software, plus there are thousands of free styles available on the internet. It is also easy to create your own styles, because Photoshop offers many hundreds of style effects that you can mix, match or adjust to create your styles.

If you select Styles under the window tab, the Styles group is displayed on the screen, with thumbnails that show what each Style looks like when applied. In this way you can navigate through the different styles and see the text or object of the image on the screen change immediately.

Winner: Photoshop

Editing tools

The editing functions are generally the same for both platforms. Although they fall under different tabs, they both contain Transform tools with functions such as Scale, Rotate, Skew, Distort, Perspective, Warp, Align, Crop, Shear and more.

GIMP’s Cage Transform is interesting, and the Shear effect is fun. But for the rest, especially the Perspectives and the Warps, I prefer Photoshop.

Editing also includes functions such as Spot Healing (removes or paints over stains); the Clone Stamp (paints on sections copied from another section); the Pattern Stamp (paint patterns); the History brush (restores a previous section back to its original state); the Eraser tools; and the Blur tools (which blur, wipe or sharpen an area). You also get the Dodge, Burn and Sponge tools, which, if you have ever worked in a dark room, make the selected areas lighter or darker and reduce the saturation of the colors in the selected areas.

Winner: Photoshop

Special effects and filters

Special Effects features and the Filters are impossible categories to rate because I use them all. I collect filters, plug-ins, scripts, styles, brushes, patterns, color gradients and shapes from different sources.

Each photo editing and graphic program has a folder full of filters and effects. Although many have the same name, the results are often slightly or even considerably different.

GIMP’s Water Pixels filter is applied to the photo with the fire hydrant. This filter is similar to Photoshop’s Spatter filter, only the version of GIMP is much more subtle.

The filters in both programs can be adjusted, but even with adjustments, the filters produce slightly different results. This is a good argument for maintaining and using both programs.

The hundreds of plug-ins and scripts are also so varied that I need them all. For example, Photoshop has an incredible Kaleidoscope plug-in that I always use; and GIMP has one that I use a lot too. Both produce very different images, and the plug-ins are not compatible or interchangeable. I switch back and forth between the products to achieve the desired result that I need for the work that I do.

Winner: Draw

brushes

GIMP finally gets a head start when it comes to brushes. The brushes in Photoshop are amazing and there are many, but they can only be used in one color. It does not matter which color is used. The brush will always have the color that you have selected from the palette.

GIMP uses multicolored images as brushes, such as PaintShop Pro’s Picture Tubes. Creating your own custom image brushes is also super easy. This flexibility is a big plus for GIMP.

Winner: GIMP

As a bonus, we show you how to make your own brushes in GIMP.

First open an image that you want to use as a brush. Every image will work, but png files with a single object and without background make the best photo brushes.

Select File> Save As and rename it as a file name with the file extension .GIH. Then navigate to the GIMP 2 Share GIMP 2.0 Brushes Basic subfolder and then click the Save button.

GIMP displays a dialog box stating that the file name cannot be used for saving. Use File> Export and then click on the link: “Take me to the export dialog”.

In the next screen, click on the Export button and the Export image dialog box appears as a brushpipe. You can adjust the distance (between the brushes), the size of the brush, the number of objects each time you click on the mouse, and more. For now, just accept the default setting (which can easily be changed later) and then click the Export button. You now have a new Image Brush.

To view and use your new brush, click the Refresh button on the brush panel (it looks like a round arrow), make sure the Brushes tool is selected and start painting with your new one. brush.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you try these instructions and you always get an error message with the text: “Error opening file.. Permission denied”, then you probably do not have the correct rights. If you use GIMP on Windows you will have to run the application as an administrator. Place the cursor on the GIMP icon on the desktop and right click on it. In the popup window, select the option Run as administrator. GIMP makes some quick adjustments and then tries again. This time it works as described above.

Patterns

Custom patterns use a similar process in GIMP. Patterns must have the correct extension (.pat) and they must be saved in the Patterns folder, which you can find if you have Preferences> Folders> Patterns (Preferences > leaflets > Patterns) choose.

Most GIMP users have already downloaded GIMP version 2.10, so pattern files can now be in .png, .jpg, .bmp, .gif or .tiff format. Note that the GIMP .pat format is not the same as the Photoshop .pat format, so currently the two pattern sizes are not interchangeable.

In the case of patterns, both programs are great. You can easily create custom patterns in both, and any image can be converted to a pattern. In Photoshop, open a file, select an area on that file, and click Edit> Define Pattern. Give it a name and click OK. In GIMP, choose File> Create> Patterns, then save it as a pattern format (the folder with patterns).

Winner: Draw

The overall winner: Photoshop of course, but …

In the end, Photoshop wins in three essential categories, GIMP wins one, and they are the same in two other categories. It is not surprising that Photoshop is generally better, given the long years of development and the large amounts of money that have been put into this program for years. Yet for many people Photoshop may be overkill. The average user does simple edits, often with much lighter programs such as Paint (.NET) or one of the many (free) alternatives. People who want something more than the basics can even look at a lighter (and much cheaper) version of Photoshop called Photoshop Elements. If you still want to get to work extensively, but don’t want to spend money, then GIMP is an even better option. It covers the load and costs absolutely nothing. Moreover, this software package works on just about every popular operating system while Photoshop does not get you further than Windows and macOS.

Want to get the full version of Photoshop easily and quickly? Also read: Ways to get Photoshop.