Photopea
FreeFull-featured photo editor in your browser — opens and saves PSD, XCF, Sketch files. Layers, masks, filters, blend modes. A genuinely free Photoshop replacement that needs no install.
How to install Photopea as a PWA
Why we recommend Photopea
Photopea is the closest browser-based clone of Photoshop's interface that exists — and that's the deliberate point. The keyboard shortcuts are identical, the panels (Layers, Channels, Paths, History) sit exactly where you'd expect, and the file-format support is genuinely impressive: native PSD read/write (including layer styles, smart objects, masks, adjustment layers), GIMP's XCF, Sketch's .sketch, Affinity's .afphoto, plus the obvious PNG/JPEG/SVG/AI/PDF. For freelancers, students, and anyone who needs to open a client's PSD once a quarter without paying $20.99/month for a Creative Cloud subscription, it's a genuine replacement. The single creator (Ivan Kutskir) has maintained it solo since 2013 — that's both the charm and the risk: no roadmap committee, but everything ships when one person decides. As a PWA, it caches the entire 7MB app on first visit, so subsequent loads are offline-capable. The only limitation is that the codebase is closed-source (it's free as in beer, ad-supported), which differentiates it from GIMP/Krita.
Best use cases
Best for: opening a PSD a client sent you when you don't own Photoshop, making quick layer-based edits to product photos, batch-resizing images with the script panel, removing backgrounds with the magic-wand+refine-edge workflow, and teaching a Photoshop class without making students pay for licenses. The PWA installs cleanly on Chromebooks, which is a unique fit for K-12 design education.
Honest limitations
Not for: anyone needing the latest AI features (Generative Fill, Neural Filters) — Photopea's AI tools are competent but lag Adobe by a generation. Not for: agency teams who need shared libraries, version history, or commenting (no collaboration features). Performance on huge files (>4GB PSDs with hundreds of layers) is constrained by browser memory limits, typically maxing around 2-3GB. The site is ad-supported on the free tier — Premium ($5/mo) removes ads.
Frequently asked questions about Photopea
Is Photopea really a Photoshop replacement?
Photopea replicates roughly 90% of Photoshop's UI and shortcuts — Layers, Channels, Paths, History panels are in the same place, and Photoshop muscle memory transfers directly. Native PSD read/write preserves layer styles, smart objects, masks, and adjustment layers. What it lacks: the newest Adobe AI features (Generative Fill, Neural Filters lag by a generation), Camera Raw depth, and the broader Creative Cloud library/Stock integration. For 80% of Photoshop workflows it is a complete replacement.
Is Photopea free?
Yes — Photopea is fully free and ad-supported (banner ads on the side panel). Photopea Premium removes ads and adds priority support for $5/month or $40/year. There are no feature locks: the free tier has full PSD support, all filters, scripting, and unlimited file size within browser memory. The codebase is closed-source, which is the main difference vs GIMP and Krita.
How does Photopea compare to GIMP?
Photopea has a cleaner Photoshop-style UI and native PSD support (GIMP imports PSDs but with frequent layer style loss). GIMP is fully open-source (GPL), with deeper plug-in ecosystem and broader format support. Photopea runs anywhere a browser does (Chromebook, iPad Safari, Linux without install); GIMP requires a local install. For Photoshop refugees, Photopea has a much shorter learning curve; for FOSS purists, GIMP wins.
Can I use Photopea offline?
Yes. Photopea installs as a PWA and caches the entire 7MB app on first visit. After that, you can open and edit local files without an internet connection. Browser memory limits constrain very large PSDs (typically 2-3GB working memory on Chrome), but most photo editing workflows fit comfortably. Cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive) integration requires network, but local file editing does not.
Who uses Photopea in production?
Photopea is widely used by freelance designers who need to open client PSDs without a Creative Cloud subscription, K-12 and university design programs (especially on Chromebooks where Photoshop cannot install), e-commerce sellers editing product photos, and any one-off PSD-edit use case in agency workflows. The site reports over 10 million unique monthly users, making it one of the most-used image editors in the world after Photoshop itself.
Where Photopea is heading (12-24 months)
- →Closing the Adobe AI gap (Generative Fill, content-aware tools) is the biggest competitive frontier in 2026.
- →Native iPad app or sharper touch support would unlock the tablet market Adobe currently owns.
- →Plugin/scripting ecosystem could grow if a public API were stabilized; today scripts are powerful but undocumented.
- →Team collaboration (shared libraries, multi-user editing) remains absent — likely an Excalidraw+-style commercial layer opportunity.
Related questions
ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini usually suggest these next.
- Does Photopea support Photoshop plugins?
- Can I batch-process images in Photopea?
- What is the maximum file size Photopea can handle?
- How does Photopea handle Camera Raw files?
- Is Photopea safe to use for confidential client files?
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