# Adobe Photoshop 152 Hacker News commenters recommended Adobe Photoshop and 187 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 12 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 25 years (22 owners). **Verdict:** Seen as the industry-standard image editor, with deep features like layers, smart objects and precise print color control; many resent the forced subscription and recent bugs. ## Why people recommend it - Industry standard with no equal (5 comments): "If you think GIMP and Krita (especially Krita) can replace Photoshop in workplace I'm 100% sure you don't know what professionals pay Photoshop for" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49733150)) "They created and continue to maintain their software, which is, as you said, still considered the gold standard." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49985620)) "The only thing that keeps me with them is that Photoshop has no real alternative that's equally powerful." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50056258)) - Layers, smart objects, advanced editing (4 comments): "The underlying engine which gives support for layers and smart objects is in itself such an amazing piece of tech" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48179649)) "A life without smart objects is terrible in photo editing as an example, at least once you've seen the upsides." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49961896)) "Photoshop has lots of amazing features and in sure is better in a technical comparison to Gimp in many ways." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48200924)) - Old versions still highly useful (4 comments): "much software from around the time of the millennium is still incredibly useful. I use Photoshop 6.0 for all my image manipulation tasks." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46433891)) "I've gotten incredible value out of my purchase since I've used it so long and the cost has amortized over decades." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48847507)) "It’s kind of remarkable what you can still do with it and how freeing it is to have singular focus in an app." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46366454)) - Precise print and color control (3 comments): "Photoshop and Epson Print Layout are the only programs that I have 100% control of all the printer and color management settings" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48892594)) "Photoshop is one of only two applications I know of that gives me the maximum control possible over prints I make on my inkjet" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50234011)) "I can’t think of a time where I’ve been unable to achieve my color goals in still photography with PS’s or Lightroom’s tools." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47763297)) ## What people warn about - Forced subscription pricing (9 comments): "I used to pay for Photoshop and I was very happy until they started with the subscription business." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50052646)) "marketing and market manipulation by encouraging piracy by young people and student so they develop habits with the software then force companies to buy the subscription" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50067780)) "You also can't stick to the older version, so the choice is can you afford to do your job without any Photoshop or are you stuck." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48892967)) - Buggy, unfinished UI and regressions (5 comments): "This feels particularly egregious because of our unspoken assumption that Adobe, of all companies, should have "excellence in design" somewhere on its list of core guiding principles" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48049440)) "It seems hard to believe that the people who make Photoshop do not use Photoshop to the degree necessary to notice these regressions." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48049025)) "This software is rotting, was trying to edit frames of a gif this week and the previews are just broken in the timeline on Mac" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48891984)) - Invasive cloud and spyware concerns (3 comments): "as somebody who views Adobe products as borderline spyware and STILL rocks Adobe Photoshop CS6" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50011257)) "Photoshop is awesome but expensive (if you can look past how invasive it is for your machine)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47755306)) "I wish major software like office and adobe (photoshop) didn't come with mandatory subscriptions, cloud integration, and AI." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50052597)) - Little meaningful improvement lately (2 comments): "they only want to make you pay $20 a month, for an app which hasn't substantially changed in any useful way since the early 2000s" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50070005)) "I thought that going to a subscription model would give them the resources/motivation they needed to improve things regularly" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48893759)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [GIMP](https://hackerapproved.com/p/gimp.md): 179 recommend - [Acorn by Flying Meat](https://hackerapproved.com/p/acorn.md): 12 recommend - [Pinta](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pinta.md): 11 recommend - [ArcBrush](https://hackerapproved.com/p/arcbrush.md): 5 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Adobe Photoshop", https://hackerapproved.com/p/adobe-photoshop/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).