4 self-hosted options
Open-source alternatives to Adobe Photoshop
The best open-source alternative to Adobe Photoshop is Immich (AGPL-3.0, 117,263 GitHub stars, Docker image). penpot stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (5,288), and PhotoPrism stands out for AI features named in its own description.
About Adobe Photoshop: Adobe's professional raster image editor.
Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed daily
Top picks
- Rank 1:
Immich
immich-app/immich
Photo and video backup solution directly from your mobile phone (alternative to Google Photos).
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
FeaturedPhoto GalleriesTypeScriptDockerStands out for the most GitHub stars.
- Rank 2:
penpot
penpot/penpot
Web-based design and prototyping platform meant for cross-domain teams.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
UtilitiesClojureDockerStands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (5,288).
- Rank 3:
PhotoPrism
photoprism/photoprism
Personal photo management powered by Go and Google TensorFlow. Browse, organize, and share your personal photo collection, using the latest technologies to automatically tag and find pictures.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Photo GalleriesGoDockerStands out for AI features named in its own description.
At a glance
Adobe Photoshop alternatives compared
Open-source apps come first, then source-available ones and apps whose license appsgit could not verify; within each group, projects with at least 12 commits in the last 12 months come before less active or archived ones, then by GitHub stars.
| App | Stands out for | License | GitHub stars | Commits (12 mo) | Last commit | Docker image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Immich | the most GitHub stars | AGPL-3.0 | 117,263 | 2,873 | Oct 26, 2026 | Yes |
| penpot | the most commits in the last 12 months (5,288) | MPL-2.0 | 61,677 | 5,288 | Oct 26, 2026 | Yes |
| PhotoPrism | AI features named in its own description | AGPL-3.0 | 40,362 | 3,582 | Oct 26, 2026 | Yes |
| Lychee | a permissive MIT license | MIT | 4,314 | 837 | Oct 24, 2026 | Yes |
Full list
All 4 Adobe Photoshop alternatives
Open any app for live stats, license details and a deploy option.
- 1
ImmichFeatured
Photo and video backup solution directly from your mobile phone (alternative to Google Photos).
Photo GalleriesDockerStands out for the most GitHub stars. Immich has 117,263 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,873 commits in the last year.
- 2
penpot
Web-based design and prototyping platform meant for cross-domain teams.
UtilitiesDockerStands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (5,288). penpot has 61,677 GitHub stars, uses the MPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 5,288 commits in the last year.
- 3
PhotoPrism
Personal photo management powered by Go and Google TensorFlow. Browse, organize, and share your personal photo collection, using the latest technologies to automatically tag and find pictures.
Photo GalleriesDockerAI-nativeStands out for AI features named in its own description. PhotoPrism has 40,362 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 3,582 commits in the last year.
- 4
Lychee
Grid and album based photo-management-system.
Photo GalleriesDockerStands out for a permissive MIT license. Lychee has 4,314 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 837 commits in the last year.
Is there a free alternative to Adobe Photoshop?
Yes. All 4 apps on this page are open source and free to self-host, so you can replace Adobe Photoshop without per-user fees. You pay only for the server.
Can I self-host an alternative to Adobe Photoshop with Docker?
Yes. All 4 apps here publish a Docker image, including Immich, penpot and PhotoPrism, so you can run them on a home server or VPS with Docker Compose.
Which Adobe Photoshop alternative is the most actively developed?
penpot (MPL-2.0), with 5,288 commits in the last 12 months. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.
How is this list ranked?
Open-source apps come first, then source-available ones and apps whose license appsgit could not verify; within each group, projects with at least 12 commits in the last 12 months come before less active or archived ones, then by GitHub stars.