Is There A Free Photoshop Alternative for Mac OS X?

I've been doing quite a bit of searching, but I'm only turning up commercially licensed packages. I don't need something as fully-featured as Photoshop, but something in that genre is sufficient. These features are of most importance to me:

• Basic photo editing
• Some filters
• Layering
• Text tool

I want to be able to make simple posters/flyers by combining multiple images and text.

GIMP is widely recognised as a quality free alternative to Photoshop in many regards.

...but it's not considered to be particularly successful in it's approach to embracing Mac OS X application design ;)

If you want something that isn't necessarily free but is at least inexpensive, then there are a number of other programs including Acorn and Pixelmator available in the Mac App Store. You could always try the cut down Photoshop Elements.

For a good roundup, see this wonderful blog post from the Ask Different Community Blog for more info:

GIMP vs Photoshop vs Pixelmator – Graphics Editor Shootout

The only free alternatives I know of is GIMP. I don't like it. I don't use it, and I can't tell you anything about it. Ugly is as ugly does—and I don't find GIMP's interface conducive to creative work.

If we change free to low-cost my first choice is Pixelmator. It has a clean and (relatively) intuitive interface, supports layers and, most important to me, has a content aware fill feature. Lots more info and some great tutorials on the website.

You can also try Seashore which is a scaled down version of gimp.

You can have a look at this chart they have created which compares the features of GIMP, Acorn, Photoshop Elements, Pixelmator and Seashore. Using this you will be able to find what features you need from the editor and make an informed decision whether to stick with a free solution or buy a low cost solution.

My favourite photo editor is online Pixlr.

Even looks like Photoshop :)