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PhotoCraft Is Free and Open Source — and It Opens Layered PSDs (2026-10)
People searching for a “Photoshop alternative” fall into two groups: those who just want to edit photos without a subscription, and those with a pile of PSDs that must open. The second group faces the real barrier — free tools that can read layered PSDs are very rare.
This is an independent third-party guide, not an official site. PhotoCraft is free and open source; please download it through official channels.
Adobe Photoshop vs PhotoCraft: the whole comparison in one table
| Dimension | Adobe Photoshop | PhotoCraft |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Subscription, billed annually | Free and open source |
| PSD compatibility | Native format | Reads and writes layered PSDs — its single most valuable feature |
| Core capabilities | Layers / masks / adjustment layers / layer styles / text / vector / brushes / filter ecosystem | Layers, masks, adjustment layers, layer styles, text, vector, brushes |
| Filters and AI | Camera Raw, Neural Filters, Generative Fill | Basic filters work; no generative AI |
| Hardware acceleration | GPU accelerated | GPU-native canvas, works offline |
| UI language | Chinese | English |
| Install required? | Desktop client | Mainly desktop (we do not host an online version) |
PhotoCraft capabilities on this page come from its official documentation and our own page notes, not from item-by-item testing; Adobe details reflect its public product offering.
What it cannot replace (read this before deciding)
- Adobe AI features such as Generative Fill / Neural Filters
- The full Camera Raw color pipeline
- Actions and the plugin ecosystem (many commercial plugins only support PS)
- Print-grade color management and spot colors
Migration cost: three steps to decide whether to switch
- Test the most painful step first: open your most-used PSD in PhotoCraft and check whether layers, masks and smart objects are intact.
- List the steps that “must use PS” (usually AI fill, plugins, prepress), and move the rest over.
- Keeping a PS subscription just for final touches is more realistic than switching entirely.
Who it is for / who it is not for
- Good for: people who need to open and edit existing PSDs, do everyday layer compositing and retouching, avoid subscriptions, and are comfortable with an English UI.
- Not for: commercial design workflows that rely heavily on AI Generative Fill, commercial plugins, or prepress color management.
Honest limits: PhotoCraft is currently early alpha, updated weekly by the official team, and features will change. The UI is mostly English (PdfCraft renders Chinese as boxes). Work in the online version lives only in the browser and is lost when the tab closes.