The best Photoshop alternatives for your POD business

You created your digital marketing strategy, and you finally decided which platforms and social networks to use to promote your products, but there is a small problem. You realize that you have to create innovative and creative designs to stand out on social media.

Relax, we know that Photoshop is the most popular and well-known photo editing tool on the market. However, it also requires a monetary investment and a lot of knowledge to know how to use it correctly.

We know that you have more tasks like planning your content and creating your strategies than getting into new design software. However, many new tools are easier and faster to use to help you with everything you need.

That's why we've created this guide to the best Photoshop alternatives for your print-on-demand business.

These options cost less and are also intuitive editing tools. So, if you are now ready for an affordable and easy-to-use alternative, take a look at this list:

Photopea

Photopea is a free online advanced image editor that looks pretty similar to Photoshop interface. It offers pre-made sizes and templates for different social media graphics and designs, saving you time to find each graph's measurements.

Some of the pros are:

• Completely free
• It accepts file formats like PSD, PNG, JPEG, PDF, SVG, GIF
• It's multifunctional and uses pre-sized templates
• You can use it online and download your files
• It's perfect for fixing the most common issues with print files

GIMP

GIMP it's also a great Photoshop alternative.

It provides high-quality image manipulation, which makes it perfect for editing files and creating simple designs.

It has a strong presence in the graphic design world with a vast community. Some of the benefits of using it are:

• It's completely free
• It has pre-sized templates and documents
• It offers different filters, effects, and functions
• The large community provides support and tutorials
  

Affinity Photo

Affinity photo software is one of the favorites. It has more similar features to Photoshop than any other alternative.

It has a one-time fee of $50, but it has a clean design, and it's effortless to use. Some of the main features are:

• It offers a complete creative suite of applications covering photo editing, desktop publishing, and graphic design
• It's available on Ipad and online  
• It has a lightweight program

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Pixlr X

Pixlr is another free photo editor software available as a web app.

It's a primary and easy-to-use tool that can surely help you with your social media designs, web posters, or even creating some t-shirt designs.

Some of the main benefits are:

• It’s intuitive and has familiar work issues
• It’s free
• It has modern photo editing for quick edits and it’s easy for beginners.
  

Krita

Krita is another powerful photo editing software that is actually recognized for creating all-over print patterns. (Which can be very useful for your pod products)

It’s also great for creating basic photo editions! However, this program is intended for artists so that you may have got used to some tools.

The benefits are:

• Hundreds of brushes and customizable engines
• Patterns and easy to repeat images
• It’s intuitive and familiar
• It’s free to use
  

Canva

Canva it's a pretty helpful platform for any designer.

It offers a free tool extensively and with many editing and designing possibilities like creating your social media posts or your webpage covers. It also lets you post your designs directly on your social media.

Some of the benefits are:

• It has a free version and a paid version, both are good
• It's effortless to use
• It has a wide selection of templates and prints
• You can use file formats as JPEG, PDF, PNG
  

The first step is to determine what you need. Once you know it, you can choose the tool that works best for you, for example:

• If you want to create print designs for your custom products, you can opt for Photopea, Gimp, Canva, and Krita
• If you want to edit your photos, you can use Pixlr X and Affinity photo
• If you're going to design your social media content, you can use Canva or Photopea too
  

You can use each of the tools for different purposes. However, the important thing is that you try most of them and finally use what best suits your business needs.

Remember that creating synchronicity between your social media designs and the products you are selling is vital to attract the right target market to your print-on-demand store.

Learn about more powerful tools to create your online store at: Free online design tools to create quality designs.