# PhotoGIMP

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/photo-gimp/

10 people recommended PhotoGIMP in Hacker News comments and 5 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 12 months, in 5 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

8 of the 10 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “Photo GIMP – A Patch for GIMP 3 for Photoshop Users”.

**Verdict:** Makes GIMP 3 easier for Photoshop users by adding Photoshop-style shortcuts and layout. Caveat: the UI changes are modest, and it may not keep up with new GIMP releases.

Summary written by Claude from 16 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Good middle ground for Photoshop users (3 comments in the sample): "If you're coming from photoshop then PhotoGIMP is a good patch for gimp." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47613779)) "it's great for those that want to transition" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48192422)) "this is a good middle ground" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48192030))
- Familiar Photoshop-style shortcuts (2 comments in the sample): "it solves some annoyances for me by introducing the shortcuts I used to" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45977469)) "Tried it, apparently ctrl is not needed." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48225049))
- Reconfigures UI without forking GIMP (2 comments in the sample): "Not a fork creating whole new problems to worry about, just reconfiguring the UI" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48192575)) "This looks like a marked improvement and would give me something more like Inkscapes UI" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48192431))

## What people warn about

- Little change; no easy UI switch (2 comments in the sample): "I might have a problem with this approach, just because it doesn't allow for a easy switch between classic and Photoshop UI." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48192808)) "The photoGIMP UI doesn't seem that meaningfully different than the default UI" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48203526))
- Compatibility with new releases uncertain (2 comments in the sample): "the issues indicated it no longer works with the latest GIMP release." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48193060)) "How long will this one last?" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48192980))
- Interface still unintuitive (1 comment in the sample): "it still falls short considerably" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47901347))

## Other image editors people recommend

- [GIMP](https://hackerapproved.com/p/gimp/): 100 recommend, 62 mixed, 190 criticize
- [Photopea](https://hackerapproved.com/p/photopea/): 73 recommend, 9 mixed, 12 criticize
- [Adobe Photoshop](https://hackerapproved.com/p/adobe-photoshop/): 69 recommend, 65 mixed, 167 criticize
- [Affinity Photo](https://hackerapproved.com/p/affinity/): 54 recommend, 22 mixed, 36 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "PhotoGIMP", https://hackerapproved.com/p/photo-gimp/ (10 recommend, 0 mixed, 5 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.