1. Affinity: completely free since October 2025 (Canva made the whole suite free). Photoshop-level layers, RAW, PSD import. 2. GIMP: free forever, open source. Ugly interface, serious power. 3. Photopea: free in the browser. Opens PSDs shockingly well. 4. Pixelmator Pro: $49.99 one-time, Mac only. Beautiful and fast. 5. Paint.NET: free, Windows only. Great for quick edits. 6. Krita: free, best for digital painting. 7. Pixlr: free web editor with AI tools. 8. Polarr: free tier plus $2.49/month Pro. Strong on mobile and web. 9. Capture One: from $4.99/month on iOS, desktop plans higher. Photographers' favorite for color. 10. Canva: free tier handles 90% of social graphics. Sources: Adobe, Blackmagic Design The renewal question is simple: do you use generative fill, Firefly AI, and third-party plugins? If yes, stay. If you just edit photos, Affinity at free is the story of the decade.