Open source alternatives to Adobe Creative Cloud
A free, open source replacement for each main Creative Cloud app. The established pick comes first, then its storytold Craft app, built as a like-for-like take on that Adobe app. Each note says how finished it is. Most single Adobe apps cost US$22.99/mo on an annual plan.
- 1
Free, open source image editor for photo retouching, artwork and scripted image processing.
Instead of Photoshop, the established pick. Free under the GNU GPL v3 on Windows, macOS and Linux, with plug-ins and scripting in Python and Scheme.
- Free
- Open source
- 2
Free, open-source layered image editor that opens and saves PSD files, written in Rust.
Instead of Photoshop, the closest like-for-like: a layered image editor that opens and saves PSD files. It is early alpha, and its README says it is not yet a Photoshop replacement for daily professional work.
- Free
- Open source
- 3
Free, open-source painting program for digital art, with brush engines and animation.
Instead of Photoshop for painting and illustration. Free under the GNU GPL on Windows, macOS, Linux and Android, and built for drawing from scratch rather than photo retouching.
- Free
- Open source
- 4
A free and open source vector graphics editor that works mainly with SVG files.
Instead of Illustrator, the established pick. Free and open source under the GNU GPL on Windows, macOS and Linux, with SVG as its main format.
- Free
- Open source
- 5
Free, open-source vector illustration app that is a clean-room take on Adobe Illustrator.
Instead of Illustrator, a clean-room take on it. Its developers rate it about 65% ready for mainstream illustration work, so try it on side projects first.
- Free
- Open source
- 6
Free, open-source video editor from the KDE community for Windows, macOS and Linux.
Instead of Premiere Pro, the established pick. Multi-track editing with proxies, multicam, keyframes and colour scopes, free on Windows, macOS and Linux.
- Free
- Open source
- 7
Free, open-source nonlinear video editor, a clean-room take on Adobe Premiere Pro.
Instead of Premiere Pro, modelled closely on it. Its developers rate it about 56% ready; it cannot open .prproj projects and is less tested on Windows and Linux.
- Free
- Open source
- 8
Free, open-source node-based compositor for visual effects, for Windows, macOS and Linux.
Instead of After Effects, for compositing. Free under GPL-2.0, with roto, tracking, keying and OpenFX plugins. Its last stable release was in November 2022.
- Free
- Open source
- 9
Free, open-source motion graphics and compositing app, a clean-room take on Adobe After Effects.
Instead of After Effects, modelled on it: motion graphics and compositing in one free app. Its README says it is not yet a replacement for client work; the project started in October 2026.
- Free
- Open source
- 10
Free, open-source photo workflow app and raw developer with non-destructive editing.
Instead of Lightroom, the established pick. Non-destructive raw development and a photo library, free under GPL 3.0. There is no official release for Intel Macs.
- Free
- Open source
- 11
Free, open-source photo library and raw developer, a clean-room take on Adobe Lightroom.
Instead of Lightroom, a clean-room take on it: a photo library and raw developer its developers rate about 51% ready. Raw support is still partial across camera makes.
- Free
- Open source
- 12
Free, open-source page layout and desktop publishing program with CMYK, spot colors and PDF output.
Instead of InDesign, the established pick. Free under GPL v2 or later, with CMYK and spot colours, PDF output, and right-to-left and Indic scripts.
- Free
- Open source
- 13
Free, open-source page layout and publishing app, a clean-room take on Adobe InDesign.
Instead of InDesign, a clean-room take on it for page layout and publishing. It is pre-alpha by its own roadmap, so watch it rather than use it for print jobs today.
- Free
- Open source
- 14
Free, open-source PDF reader and editor, a clean-room take on Adobe Acrobat.
Instead of Acrobat Pro: a free PDF reader and editor modelled on Acrobat. It is alpha, and testing still finds crashes on deliberately broken files, so keep backups of important PDFs.
- Free
- Open source
- 15
Free, open source app for recording and editing audio on Windows, macOS and Linux.
Instead of Audition, the established pick. Free under GPL v3, with WAV, MP3, FLAC and Ogg import and export, and VST3 plugin support.
- Free
- Open source
- 16
Free, open-source audio recording, editing and mixing app, a clean-room take on Avid Pro Tools.
For multitrack recording and mixing. It is modelled on Avid Pro Tools rather than Audition, and is pre-alpha: its developers rate it about 40% complete.
- Free
- Open source
One new comparison, every week
Two tools side by side with our verdict, in one short email. Unsubscribe any time.
Last updated 16 October 2026. How we make money