FREE Image Editing Software

You will need some basic image editing software to create and modify photos for your website. A expensive image editing software may not be within your budget. Free image editing software like Paint.NET or GIMP is a very good option. This software offers more features than your basic image editors. Paint.NET is only available for window where as GIMP is available for GNU/Linux , OS X and Microsoft Windows.

Paint.NET advantages

• FREE and easy to use as compared to GIMP or Photoshop
• Not much resource intensive as compared to GIMP or Photoshop.

Paint.NET disadvantages

• Windows only software
• If you know GIMP then you will notice many advance editor functionalities missing.

If you are new to image editing then learning Paint.NET is very easy.

GIMP advantages

• FREE and can be compared with Photoshop in terms of functionalities
• Not much resource intensive as compared to Photoshop.

GIMP disadvantages

• Less plugins and tools as compared to photoshop
• If you know Photoshop then you will notice many advance editor functionalities missing.

If you think Paint.NET is not having more advanced features then GIMP is for you. And as always money can buy premium softwares. Photoshop is a good expensive image editing software.

Photoshop advantages

• Will support advance image editing with multiple layers, plugins, tools, modes, etc.
• very good community support, many tutorials are available and hence it is easy to learn.

Photoshop disadvantages

• Not FREE, but the price is justified for its features and ease of use
• Too much for someone just looking to do some basic image editing

Conclusion: If you are a windows users then start with Paint.NET and see if you really need GIMP for your image editing requirements. If you are a mac user then start with GIMP and see if you need to invest in Photoshop. Most users will be able to do most image editing for web using Paint.NET or GIMP.