Mistrust of open source – Perception that open source is always distributed with spyware or susceptible to crashes and data loss can turn some users off, whether the perception is valid or not. Lack of GIMP support and tutorials – There are tutorials and excellent forums for GIMP users, yes, but not near the volume you'll find for Photoshop users, including professional Adobe support. Photoshop integrates with other Adobe products – From Acrobat to Illustrator, InDesign to Dreamweaver, Photoshop integrates seamlessly with other Adobe Creative Suite products. It's what's expected of professional firms. Photoshop is the industry standard – Photoshop is the most established photo editing software in the professional world. You learned on Photoshop – Most design classes use Photoshop once out of school, why learn a lesser-known software that does the same thing?Īdvanced features – GIMP can do more than most hobbyists would ever need, but Photoshop can still do more. Marketing – Adobe undoubtedly has a large marketing budget, which they put to good use. What I do wonder is, when the free GIMP is arguably every bit as powerful as the $700 Photoshop, why doesn't everyone just use GIMP? What's more, I have no problem whatsoever with open source – I'm also an enthusiast and have promoted GIMP in dozens of posts. Why doesn't everyone use it instead?įirst, I make no argument against GIMP as a world-class image editor. An offshoot, Gimpshop, features a user interface that mimics the appearance and terminology of Photoshop – and it's also free. GIMP is a free photo editing software often cited as the best open source image editing software on the planet. If GIMP is so good, why does everyone use Photoshop? It's a fair question, given the fact that GIMP is so often heralded by open source enthusiasts.

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