Krita vs Photopea
Both are alternatives to Adobe Photoshop. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as Photopea vs Krita — same comparison, one verdict.
Krita is open source (GPL-3.0-only) and Photopea is not (Proprietary (free)) — so the real question is whether you want to own the image editing stack or rent it.
Krita
A professional open-source studio for digital painting that doubles as a capable image editor.
Krita is a KDE project stewarded by the Krita Foundation, built first for digital painting and illustration: its brush engines, pen-tablet support, and animation tools are best-in-class among free software. It is also a genuinely capable general raster editor with layers, masks, filters, and PSD import/export, which makes it the strongest pick for people who use Photoshop mainly to draw and paint rather than to retouch photos. The direct download is completely free; identical GPL-licensed builds are sold on Steam and the Microsoft, Epic, and Mac App Stores purely to fund development.
Photopea
A free Photoshop-style editor that runs instantly in your browser and opens PSD files.
Photopea is a free web-based editor whose interface and shortcuts closely mirror Photoshop's, with the best PSD compatibility of any free tool — it also opens Illustrator, XD, and Sketch files. Despite running in a browser, it processes everything on your device: by its own documentation it uploads none of your files, and a loaded tab keeps working offline. It is the fastest way for a Photoshop user to get real work done at zero cost, but it is not open-source and cannot be self-hosted — the free version is ad-supported, with an optional Premium subscription (about US$5/month) — which its Sovereignty Score honestly reflects.
Side by side
10 points of comparison, every one read from a verified field. Green marks the side that wins a row outright. A dash means we do not hold that fact — never that it is zero.
| Krita | Photopea | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty ScoreOur transparent 0–100 composite for data ownership and exit cost. | 96 | 45 |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Self-hostable | Yes | No |
| Local-first data | Yes | Yes |
| License | GPL-3.0-only | Proprietary (free) |
| Pricing | Free download; optional paid store builds fund development | Free in the browser (ad-supported); optional Premium about US$5/month |
| RAM to run it wellThe figure that actually matters, not the vendor's minimum. | 8 GB for large canvases at print resolution | — |
| Realistic running costWhat the box costs each month if you run it yourself. | $0 — it runs on the machine you already own | — |
| Setup timeHonest first-install estimate, not the marketing quickstart. | 20 minutes | — |
| Ongoing maintenanceThe part nobody budgets for. | None beyond updates. | — |
Krita edges it on the Sovereignty Score, but the right pick depends on the trade-offs below.
Weighing both against staying on Adobe Photoshop? Is Adobe Photoshop free? What it actually costs →
Krita
Strengths
- +Free and open-source (GPL-3.0-only), developed by the Krita Foundation with a steady, funded release cadence
- +Best-in-class brush engines, tablet support, and painting workflow
- +Solid layer, mask, and filter tools for general raster work; opens and exports PSD
- +Cross-platform — Windows, macOS, Linux, and an Android/ChromeOS build
Trade-offs
- −Painting-first by design — photo retouching and selection tools are shallower than Photoshop's or GIMP's
- −PSD round-trips can lose advanced Photoshop-specific features
- −No built-in generative AI features
- −Large canvases with many layers want plenty of RAM
Photopea
Strengths
- +Closest free match to Photoshop's interface and shortcuts — minimal relearning
- +Best-in-class PSD compatibility among free tools; also opens AI, XD, and Sketch files
- +Nothing to install; files are processed on your device, not uploaded to a server
- +Works on any OS with a modern browser, including Chromebooks and tablets
Trade-offs
- −Not open-source and not self-hostable — you depend on Photopea.com remaining available
- −Free version is ad-supported
- −Very large or complex documents are constrained by browser memory
- −Offline use works in an already-loaded tab, but it is not an installable local app you control
Which one fits you
The trade-offs above, turned into a decision. Find the line that describes your team.
Choose Krita
if you want the source and the option to fork it, and you would rather run it on your own hardware, and free and open-source (GPL-3.0-only), developed by the Krita Foundation with a steady, funded release cadence.
Choose Photopea
if closest free match to Photoshop's interface and shortcuts — minimal relearning.
Neither, yet
if both carry a real cost you should weigh first — painting-first by design — photo retouching and selection tools are shallower than Photoshop's or GIMP's, and not open-source and not self-hostable — you depend on Photopea.com remaining available. If either of those is a dealbreaker for your team, the shortlist is wrong rather than the choice.
What it takes to run these yourself
Real requirements and honest running costs, not the vendor quickstart.
Krita vs Photopea — common questions
Is Krita a better fit than Photopea for image editing?
It depends on what you are optimising for, and the honest split is this: Krita scores 96 to Photopea's 45 on data ownership and exit cost, so it is the safer choice if you care about being able to leave. Photopea earns its place on a different axis — closest free match to Photoshop's interface and shortcuts — minimal relearning. Neither is a wrong answer for every team; the table above is the actual comparison.
What happens if we want to switch later?
Krita keeps its data local or in open formats, so leaving is an export rather than a negotiation. Photopea keeps your data on its own infrastructure, which is the part to plan for: confirm the export path before you commit, not when you are already trying to leave.
Can I self-host Krita?
Krita can be self-hosted; Photopea cannot, so it stays on the vendor's infrastructure whatever you do.
Are Krita and Photopea both alternatives to Adobe Photoshop?
Yes — both appear in our Adobe Photoshop comparison, which is why they are worth putting side by side. People usually arrive here already having decided to move off Adobe Photoshop and now choosing between the two replacements, which is a narrower and much easier question.
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Facts verified 2026-07-06. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.