PhotoGIMP
Hacker ApprovedRanked 8 of 12 photo editors by recommenders
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.
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.
15 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 67%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Good middle ground for Photoshop users
“If you're coming from photoshop then PhotoGIMP is a good patch for gimp.”
Comment from 2 Apr 2026 in “Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March” “it's great for those that want to transition”
Comment from 19 May 2026 in “Photo GIMP – A Patch for GIMP 3 for Photoshop Users” “this is a good middle ground”
Comment from 19 May 2026 in “Photo GIMP – A Patch for GIMP 3 for Photoshop Users” Familiar Photoshop-style shortcuts
“it solves some annoyances for me by introducing the shortcuts I used to”
Comment from 19 Nov 2025 in “Blender 5.0” “Tried it, apparently ctrl is not needed.”
Comment from 21 May 2026 in “Photo GIMP – A Patch for GIMP 3 for Photoshop Users” Reconfigures UI without forking GIMP
“Not a fork creating whole new problems to worry about, just reconfiguring the UI”
Comment from 19 May 2026 in “Photo GIMP – A Patch for GIMP 3 for Photoshop Users” “This looks like a marked improvement and would give me something more like Inkscapes UI”
Comment from 19 May 2026 in “Photo GIMP – A Patch for GIMP 3 for Photoshop Users”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Interface still unintuitive
“I cant stand Gimp UI, so not intuitive.”
Comment from 19 May 2026 in “Photo GIMP – A Patch for GIMP 3 for Photoshop Users” “it still falls short considerably”
Comment from 25 Apr 2026 in “Why I'm Done Making Desktop Applications” Little change; no easy UI switch
“I might have a problem with this approach, just because it doesn't allow for a easy switch between classic and Photoshop UI.”
Comment from 19 May 2026 in “Photo GIMP – A Patch for GIMP 3 for Photoshop Users” “The photoGIMP UI doesn't seem that meaningfully different than the default UI”
Comment from 20 May 2026 in “Photo GIMP – A Patch for GIMP 3 for Photoshop Users” Compatibility with new releases uncertain
“the issues indicated it no longer works with the latest GIMP release.”
Comment from 19 May 2026 in “Photo GIMP – A Patch for GIMP 3 for Photoshop Users” “How long will this one last?”
Comment from 19 May 2026 in “Photo GIMP – A Patch for GIMP 3 for Photoshop Users”
Other photo editors people recommend
The four most recommended other photo editors, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photopea | 84 | 13 | 87% | 11 | 6 yrs4 owners | Approved |
| Affinity Photo | 81 | 41 | 66% | 11 | — | — |
| Adobe Lightroom | 68 | 75 | 48% | 10 | 17 yrs6 owners | — |
| Pixelmator Pro | 29 | 9 | 76% | 10 | — | Approved |
| PhotoGIMPThis page | 10 | 5 | 67% | 4 | — | Approved |
What people said
16 of the 17 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Just use https://github.com/Diolinux/Photogimp in this case”
“Tried it, apparently ctrl is not needed.”
“The photoGIMP UI doesn't seem that meaningfully different than the default UI”
“I cant stand Gimp UI, so not intuitive.”
“the issues indicated it no longer works with the latest GIMP release.”
“I do recommend installing Photo GIMP”
“How long will this one last?”
“I might have a problem with this approach, just because it doesn't allow for a easy switch between classic and Photoshop UI.”
“Not a fork creating whole new problems to worry about, just reconfiguring the UI”
“This looks like a marked improvement and would give me something more like Inkscapes UI”
“it's great for those that want to transition”
“this is a good middle ground”
“it still falls short considerably”
“If you're coming from photoshop then PhotoGIMP is a good patch for gimp.”
“it solves some annoyances for me by introducing the shortcuts I used to”
“with PhotoGIMP it's tolerable”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.