# GIMP 179 Hacker News commenters recommended GIMP and 216 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 13 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 20 years (17 owners). **Verdict:** A free, open-source image editor with powerful features and no subscription that feels natural once learned, though many find its interface confusing and say it doesn't fully replace Photoshop. ## Why people recommend it - Capable, feature-rich image editing (6 comments): "We were editing pictures at the beginning of the century on Photoshop 6 or something when it was not nearly as good as 2025's Gimp or Affinity of 5 years ago." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45864329)) "Gimp 3 having better font/text behavior, and overall allowing to build a pipeline of effects instead of immediately applying them" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48194558)) "For photo editing, the GIMP is pretty much there, but it's old and crusty and maintained by a handful of people" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48980943)) - Feels natural once learned (6 comments): "Once you learn your workflows, it becomes quite natural. But I agree that as an entry point it's confusing and feels clunky." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50151060)) "I do agree though, even the revamped UI does not have a great look and feel, but I'm used to it so I don't mind." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46365307)) "For me the differences between the two are marginal, but that may be because I learned how to use Gimp first" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46824343)) - Free, no subscription or DRM (4 comments): "it is the only "heavyweight" image editor I ever learned to use, and that choice has saved me so much money in software subscriptions!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47208489)) "I think I have donated more for Inkscape, Gimp, Firefox, and Libre Office than I ever spent on proprietary software." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49780974)) "GIMP will never disappear, as it can be downloaded and forked, has no DRM like Photoshop, no ads, runs anywhere." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48196335)) - Version 3 brings real improvements (3 comments): "Gimp 3 having better font/text behavior, and overall allowing to build a pipeline of effects instead of immediately applying them" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48194558)) "I'm presently surprised with v3. I avoided it for a long time because I remember it being a super confusing interface." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48193573)) "actually using the product at version 3.0 is, dare I say, pretty enjoyable once you unlearn things" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47209356)) ## What people warn about - Confusing, clunky interface (7 comments): "Once you learn your workflows, it becomes quite natural. But I agree that as an entry point it's confusing and feels clunky." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50151060)) "I'm using Gimp, but somehow I often find myself seeking for how to do easy tasks that should be more intuitive." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49542743)) "gimp is intensely useful software with many amazing features...buried under such an awkward interface." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46373016)) - Not a true Photoshop replacement (3 comments): "Try to find a full-time professional photographer or designer that's never tried Gimp, but immediately abandoned it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49138918)) "it was too often advertised as a adequate Photoshop replacement, which it is not, so people got disappointed with it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49327900)) "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)) - Ignores industry-standard conventions (4 comments): "gimp is actually pretty good, but things are in different places than photoshop and that's a huge change." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46478254)) "I think GIMP's deep seated NIH syndrome and refusal to look at or acknowledge anything else is the actual deep seated problem" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47215416)) "GIMP's developers are more interested in some strange notion of technical purity than providing good ergonomic software" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48900190)) - Off-putting name (3 comments): "Unfortunately, it doesnt get rid of the singularly-offputting name, but that's a matter for another thread." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48193541)) "I like GIMP and I've unlearned a lot of my photoshop muscle memory but the name is a huge problem" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47212481)) "any unfamiliar grownup is, quite reasonably, going to never ever ever trust anything to do serious work with a name like that" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46239281)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Adobe Photoshop](https://hackerapproved.com/p/adobe-photoshop.md): 152 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 ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "GIMP", https://hackerapproved.com/p/gimp/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).