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If you want more features and active support, you can also buy into the subscription-based PhotoDirector 365 for the price of $54.99 a year, which also includes additional assets. However, users who purchase with a one-time fee will not be able to take advantage of the stock library.ĬyberLink PhotoDirector (opens in new tab) costs $99.99 one-time to buy. If purchased as a subscription, PhotoDirector also includes access to Shutterstock’s (opens in new tab) library of stock images and other creative assets. Those new to the software can take advantage of an array of interactive built-in tutorials to get better acquainted with the system. It comes with a growing collection of animations, stock images, masks, filters, and more.Ī very useful feature worth considering for beginners is guided edits. The all-in-one image manipulation software features a smooth unified interface and plenty of advanced tools to set you up on your path to photo editing. While CyberLink started out as a Lightroom alternative, it has since grown to become an all-inclusive replacement for Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, and Photoshop Elements (opens in new tab). You can read our Corel Paintshop Pro 2020 review for more information. You can also buy Corel Paintshop Pro Ultimate for $99.99, which throws in additional tools like AfterShot (opens in new tab), Corel Painter Essentials (opens in new tab), and PhotoMirage Express (opens in new tab). With it, you gain access to a variety of AI-enabled presets, 360-degree photo editing, and the new SmartClone tool, which uses content-aware cloning to seamlessly merge different elements together. This new workspace is completely touchscreen-ready, and comes with effects that can be applied with just one click.Ĭorel Paintshop Pro costs a one-time fee of $79.99, and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Since 2020, Corel Paintshop Pro now comes with a dedicated photography workspace. However, it does an excellent job of delivering the essentials in a user-friendly format for beginners.
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Corel Paintshop Pro is a budget-friendly alternative that focuses on the essentials of image editing and offers an assortment of textures, backgrounds, and brushes for you to work with.įeature-wise, Corel Paintshop Pro doesn’t break new ground. Photoshop may be the most advanced image manipulation tool in the market, but the fact remains that most people end up using less than half of the features it offers. It is available for both Windows and macOS operating systems. If you’d rather pay a one-time fee, Capture One also has a $299 plan. This includes support for most camera brands. Other features include a modular interface that can be customized to your liking, and a keywording tool to help you tag images.Ĭapture One Pro costs $19 a month for a subscription. Although its RAW support for different camera brands isn’t as extensive as Adobe’s, the images produced are sharper and less noisy than in Photoshop. However, those wanting more in-depth manipulation can make manual adjustments through layers and masks.Ĭapture One Pro features seamless RAW processing, meaning that you can add RAW files straight from your camera without having to process it into a PNG or JPEG. Unlike Photoshop, Capture One is a piece of non-destructive image manipulation software that comes with cataloguing tools and built-in presets. Read our Affinity Photo 1.5 review for more information.Ĭapture One Pro is an excellent photo editing tool that’s better described as an alternative to Adobe Lightroom rather than Photoshop. The best part of it is that you can install the software on as many devices as you want, so you will only be paying more than once if you are using it across different platforms. The interface is very similar to Photoshop’s, so there are no instant presets that you can apply in a jiffy and no cataloguing tools to make file sorting easier.Īt just $24.99 for Windows or Mac and $9.99 for iPad, Affinity Photo is quite easily the most affordable Photoshop alternative. However, as an advanced raster image editing tool, Affinity Photo is not particularly beginner-friendly. It boasts real-time rendering capabilities where effects are applied immediately at the press of a button. With the Affinity product line, however, Serif has completely outdone itself with multi-platform support, in-depth features, and affordable pricing.įeature-wise, Affinity Photo comes with best-in-class tools for layering, masking, and retouching images.
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It comes from Serif (opens in new tab), a software company that used to focus primarily on desktop publishing tools. Affinity Photo is the best image manipulation tool to rival Photoshop.
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