Adobe Photoshop has become so ubiquitous that it’s become its own verb used when talking about editing a photo. However, Photoshop’s dominance over the photo editing game doesn’t automatically make it the best photo editing option out there. In fact, there are a host of Adobe Photoshop alternatives out there right now that are more intuitive and user-friendly in many respects.

We’ve taken it upon ourselves to test the dozens of video editors out there right now to put together our definitive list of the 4 Best Photo Editors To Replace Adobe Photoshop In 2022. Whether you’re a photojournalism student who needs professional-grade software to take the leap with your craft, or you’re just a social media savvy sort of person looking to upgrade your online presence, these photo editors will make you forget Adobe Photoshop is even a thing.

1) Affinity Photo 1.7

The other photo editor software on this list completely outstrips Photoshop when it comes to features, but Affinity Photo 1.7 is more about offering a cost-effective alternative to Photoshop while also outdoing it in many different ways.

Rather than dealing with subscription pricing, you can get everything Affinity Photo 1.7 offers for a low, flat fee. What you get is an amazingly versatile photo editor that offers a wide selection of retouching tools that blow away anything Adobe has offered as of yet.

2) DxO PhotoLab 3

There’s not a single video editor out there that touches DxO PhotoLab 3 when it comes to top-quality lens corrections and the overall strength of its raw processing capabilities. Quite simply, photos properly edited by DxO PhotoLab 3 exhibit a standalone quality that places this software in a tier of its own.

We also have fallen in love with the PRIME denoise tool for how easy and undeniably efficacious it is.

3) PhaseOne Capture One Pro 12

Raw processing is the bread and butter of the PhaseOne Capture One Pro 12 software, but there’s so much more here that places it at a level above competitors such as Lightroom (and Photoshop in a lot of respects). 

For starters, the software’s layers-based local adjustment system is an absolute intuitive dream. It allows you to see and catalog edits to photos in a surprisingly organized fashion. In addition, this fantastic photo editor offers the best Fujifilm processing around thanks to their correlative partnership with the brand.

4) ON1 Photo RAW 2020

For the sheer amount of useful effects and filters, there is no better Photoshop alternative out there than

ON1 Photo Raw 2020  It’s super user-friendly interface is so simple to use, but it belies a wealth of photo editing gems including a litany of new effects presets and AI match options/auto adjustment.

With cloud sync capabilities and a correlative mobile app to come, this software simply can’t be beaten when it comes to the number of things you can do with a single image or your entire collection of images on your device.

Closing Thoughts

While Adobe Photoshop has done wonders to create a sort of monopoly in the world of photo editing, you’re not stuck with as your only choice. In fact, the four photo editors on this list beat Photoshop at its own game in many different and unique respects. With any one of the above photo editors on your device, you’ll have every opportunity to turn each of your photos into pure upload gold.