The best image editors, according to hackers
11 image editors were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 4 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The three most recommended image editors with the badge. Each figure is 5 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Fun pixel drawing with personality
Free pixel canvas where each brush is a tiny script; people enjoy its fun feel and tablet pressure support. Critics say some results look patchy.
Go-to tool for daily use
A simple, quick, free image editor that people use for small edits and as a lighter alternative to MS Paint. Critics mainly note that it is closed source.
Simple enough for casual edits
A small, capable macOS image editor that people use for quick edits and pixel-perfect work, bought as paid releases rather than free.
All 11 image editors, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GIMP | 179 | 216 | 45% | 13 | 20 yrs17 owners | — |
| 2 | Adobe Photoshop | 152 | 187 | 45% | 12 | 25 yrs22 owners | — |
| 3 | Moss pixel canvas | 46 | 6 | 88% | 8 | — | Approved |
| 4 | Paint.NET | 30 | 8 | 79% | 7 | — | Approved |
| 5 | MS Paint | 22 | 43 | 34% | 5 | — | — |
| 6 | Acorn by Flying Meat | 12 | 1 | 92% | 9 | — | Approved |
| 7 | Pinta | 11 | 5 | 69% | 6 | — | Approved |
| 8 | Microsoft Paint | 10 | 23 | 30% | 8 | — | — |
| 9 | Deluxe Paint web clone | 6 | 2 | 75% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 10 | KolourPaint | 5 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 10 | ArcBrush | 5 | 4 | 56% | 2 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same image editor in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to image editors that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.