# GIMP, Photoshop Elements vs ACDSee Comparison | | GIMP | Photoshop Elements | ACDSee | |---|---|---|---| | **Star Rating** | 4.3 out of 5 | 4.3 out of 5 | 4.4 out of 5 | | **Total Reviews** | 1,484 | 799 | 282 | | **Largest Market Segment** | Small-Business (68.2% of reviews) | Small-Business (70.5% of reviews) | Small-Business (79.1% of reviews) | | **Entry Level Price** | No pricing available | No pricing available | $59.99 - $149.99 MSRP | --- ## Top Pros & Cons ### GIMP Pros: - Free Services (12 reviews) - Ease of Use (11 reviews) Cons: - Learning Curve (11 reviews) - Limitations (4 reviews) ### Photoshop Elements Pros: - Ease of Use (21 reviews) - Efficiency (15 reviews) Cons: - Limited Features (12 reviews) - Limited Customization (5 reviews) ### ACDSee Pros: - Photo Editing (3 reviews) - Ease of Use (2 reviews) Cons: - Slow Loading (1 reviews) - Slow Performance (1 reviews) --- ## Ratings Comparison | Rating | GIMP | Photoshop Elements | ACDSee | |---|---|---|---| | **Meets Requirements** | 8.6 (1299 reviews) | 8.5 (643 reviews) | 8.9 (241 reviews) | | **Ease of Use** | 7.5 (1305 reviews) | 8.5 (645 reviews) | 8.6 (244 reviews) | | **Ease of Setup** | 8.7 (168 reviews) | 8.9 (93 reviews) | 9.3 (56 reviews) | | **Ease of Admin** | 8.4 (126 reviews) | 8.8 (56 reviews) | 8.9 (43 reviews) | | **Quality of Support** | 7.5 (903 reviews) | 8.4 (495 reviews) | 8.3 (179 reviews) | | **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?** | 8.5 (106 reviews) | 8.3 (50 reviews) | 8.6 (38 reviews) | | **Product Direction (% positive)** | 7.7 (1273 reviews) | 7.8 (624 reviews) | 8.0 (238 reviews) | --- ## Pricing ### GIMP #### Entry-Level Pricing No pricing available #### Free Trial No information available ### Photoshop Elements #### Entry-Level Pricing No pricing available #### Free Trial No information available ### ACDSee #### Entry-Level Pricing Plan: ACDSee Photo Studio Standard, Professional, and Ultimate Price: $59.99 - $149.99 MSRP [Learn more about ACDSee](https://www.g2.com/products/acdsee/reviews) #### Free Trial Yes --- ## Features Comparison By Category ### Photo Editing | Product | Score | Reviews | |---|---|---| | **GIMP** | 6.7/10 | 48 | | **Photoshop Elements** | 7.8/10 | 47 | | **ACDSee** | 8.8/10 | 7 | #### Generative AI | Feature | GIMP | Photoshop Elements | ACDSee | |---|---|---|---| | **AI Text-to-Image** | 6.8 (40 reviews) | 7.9 (43 reviews) | 7.9 (7 reviews) | | **AI Text-to-3D** | 6.0 (34 reviews) | 7.1 (37 reviews) | 6.9 (6 reviews) | #### Agentic AI - Photo Editing | Feature | GIMP | Photoshop Elements | ACDSee | |---|---|---|---| | **Cross-system Integration** | 7.4 (15 reviews) | 8.5 (17 reviews) | Not enough data | ### Photo Management | Product | Score | Reviews | |---|---|---| | **GIMP** | N/A | N/A | | **Photoshop Elements** | N/A | N/A | | **ACDSee** | N/A | N/A | #### Agentic AI - Photo Management | Feature | GIMP | Photoshop Elements | ACDSee | |---|---|---|---| | **Multi-step Planning** | Not enough data | Not enough data | Not enough data | | **Cross-system Integration** | Not enough data | Not enough data | Not enough data | --- ## Categories **Shared Categories (1):** [Photo Editing Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/photo-editing) **Unique to GIMP (1):** [Drawing Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/drawing) **Unique to ACDSee (1):** [Photo Management Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/photo-management) --- ## Reviewer Demographics ### By Company Size | Segment | GIMP | Photoshop Elements | ACDSee | |---|---|---|---| | **Small-Business** | 68.2% | 70.5% | 79.1% | | **Mid-Market** | 20.9% | 18.7% | 12.6% | | **Enterprise** | 10.9% | 10.8% | 8.3% | ### By Industry #### GIMP - **Design:** 9.1% - **Computer Software:** 7.8% - **Information Technology and Services:** 5.7% - **Graphic Design:** 5.5% - **Marketing and Advertising:** 5.3% - **Internet:** 4.3% - **Higher Education:** 3.2% - **Education Management:** 2.9% - **Arts and Crafts:** 2.3% - **Entertainment:** 2.1% - **Other:** 51.8% #### Photoshop Elements - **Photography:** 9.0% - **Design:** 7.2% - **Marketing and Advertising:** 7.1% - **Graphic Design:** 6.7% - **Higher Education:** 4.6% - **Architecture & Planning:** 3.6% - **Information Technology and Services:** 3.2% - **Retail:** 3.1% - **Education Management:** 3.0% - **Media Production:** 2.2% - **Other:** 50.2% #### ACDSee - **Photography:** 26.7% - **Computer Software:** 4.7% - **Information Technology and Services:** 4.0% - **Non-Profit Organization Management:** 3.6% - **Architecture & Planning:** 2.9% - **Arts and Crafts:** 2.9% - **Education Management:** 2.9% - **Marketing and Advertising:** 2.9% - **Design:** 2.5% - **Real Estate:** 2.5% - **Other:** 44.4% --- ## Alternatives ### Alternatives to GIMP - [Adobe Photoshop](https://www.g2.com/products/adobe-photoshop/reviews) — 4.6/5 stars (13369 reviews) - [Canva](https://www.g2.com/products/canva/reviews) — 4.7/5 stars (7529 reviews) - [Adobe Photoshop Lightroom](https://www.g2.com/products/adobe-photoshop-lightroom/reviews) — 4.6/5 stars (3293 reviews) - [Pixlr](https://www.g2.com/products/pixlr/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (748 reviews) - [CorelDRAW](https://www.g2.com/products/coreldraw/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (554 reviews) - [Adobe Photoshop Express](https://www.g2.com/products/adobe-photoshop-express/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (491 reviews) - [PicMonkey](https://www.g2.com/products/picmonkey/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (421 reviews) - [Fotor Photo Editor](https://www.g2.com/products/fotor-photo-editor/reviews) — 4.2/5 stars (340 reviews) - [Affinity Photo](https://www.g2.com/products/affinity-photo/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (234 reviews) - [Paintshop Pro](https://www.g2.com/products/paintshop-pro/reviews) — 4.1/5 stars (206 reviews) ### Alternatives to Photoshop Elements - [Pixlr](https://www.g2.com/products/pixlr/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (748 reviews) - [CorelDRAW](https://www.g2.com/products/coreldraw/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (554 reviews) - [Affinity Photo](https://www.g2.com/products/affinity-photo/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (234 reviews) - [Paintshop Pro](https://www.g2.com/products/paintshop-pro/reviews) — 4.1/5 stars (206 reviews) - [Luminar Neo](https://www.g2.com/products/luminar-neo/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (112 reviews) - [Capture One Pro](https://www.g2.com/products/capture-one-pro/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (78 reviews) - [PhotoDirector](https://www.g2.com/products/photodirector/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (50 reviews) - [Corel AfterShot Pro](https://www.g2.com/products/corel-aftershot-pro/reviews) — 4.1/5 stars (49 reviews) - [Canva](https://www.g2.com/products/canva/reviews) — 4.7/5 stars (7529 reviews) - [PicMonkey](https://www.g2.com/products/picmonkey/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (421 reviews) ### Alternatives to ACDSee - [Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic](https://www.g2.com/products/adobe-photoshop-lightroom-classic/reviews) — 4.6/5 stars (892 reviews) - [Photos](https://www.g2.com/products/photos/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (806 reviews) - [Adobe Photoshop](https://www.g2.com/products/adobe-photoshop/reviews) — 4.6/5 stars (13369 reviews) - [Adobe Bridge](https://www.g2.com/products/adobe-bridge/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (348 reviews) - [Affinity Photo](https://www.g2.com/products/affinity-photo/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (234 reviews) - [Paintshop Pro](https://www.g2.com/products/paintshop-pro/reviews) — 4.1/5 stars (206 reviews) - [Corel AfterShot Pro](https://www.g2.com/products/corel-aftershot-pro/reviews) — 4.1/5 stars (49 reviews) - [Luminar Neo](https://www.g2.com/products/luminar-neo/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (112 reviews) - [Capture One Pro](https://www.g2.com/products/capture-one-pro/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (78 reviews) - [PhotoDirector](https://www.g2.com/products/photodirector/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (50 reviews) --- ## Top Discussions ### GIMP - Title: [should gimp release mobile app](https://www.g2.com/discussions/should-gimp-release-mobile-app) — 3 comments, 3 upvotes > **Top comment:** "I don't see why. There are plenty of mobile apps out there that let you do lite image manipulation. Why would GIMP waste their time building a mobile app..." - Title: [What is the best way to use this software?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-the-best-way-to-use-this-software) — 3 comments, 1 upvote > **Top comment:** "gimp.org has many tutorials to help you get started." - Title: [What is GIMP used for?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-gimp-used-for) — 2 comments > **Top comment:** "Gimp is an open-source photo editor, a free alternative to Photoshop" - Title: [How do you guys keep up with industry standards and produce great software year after year](https://www.g2.com/discussions/how-do-you-guys-keep-up-with-industry-standards-and-produce-great-software-year-after-year) — 1 comment, 1 upvote > **Top comment:** "This is true, I began using GIMP over 25 years ago with v. 0.9. On MacOS 8x. I'm grateful for all and every improvement. It is a wonderful product! " - Title: [what is the best way of using multiple layers on GIMP?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-the-best-way-of-using-multiple-layers-on-gimp) — 1 comment, 1 upvote > **Top comment:** "Linking your layers in the Layers palette is the quickest way to perform a transform operation, such as scale, rotate, or move, to several layers in GIMP...." ### Photoshop Elements - Title: [What is Photoshop Elements used for?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-photoshop-elements-used-for) — 2 comments > **Top comment:** " Adobe Photoshop Elements is a user-friendly software for entry-level photo and video editing. It offers basic photo editing tools, guided edits for..." - Title: [When do you know it’s time to upgrade besides needing a few more elements?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/when-do-you-know-it-s-time-to-upgrade-besides-needing-a-few-more-elements) — 2 comments, 1 upvote > **Top comment:** "when a tool can have more creative uses" - Title: [Is Photoshop Elements 2020 worth the upgrade?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/is-photoshop-elements-2020-worth-the-upgrade) — 1 comment, 1 upvote > **Top comment:** "Yes, it offers more powerful tools and creative options." - Title: [Is Photoshop Elements any good?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/is-photoshop-elements-any-good) — 1 comment > **Top comment:** "Yes its good to use" - Title: [Is Photoshop Elements the same as Photoshop?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/is-photoshop-elements-the-same-as-photoshop) — 1 comment > **Top comment:** "No, I'd say it's better." ### ACDSee - Title: [How can I avoid mixing the old rated pictures with the new ones?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/15158-how-can-i-avoid-mixing-the-old-rated-pictures-with-the-new-ones) — 2 comments, 1 upvote > **Top comment:** "Hi! What do you mean with old and new? Do you mean pics that you rated some days ago that you want to filter now? If so, with the new version you can create..." - Title: [I don't think ACDSee allows a change to the 'canvas size' as is found in Photoshop?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/15143-i-don-t-think-acdsee-allows-a-change-to-the-canvas-size-as-is-found-in-photoshop) — 2 comments, 1 upvote > **Top comment:** "Photo Studio 2020. Canvas size can be changed shown in last weeks webinar" - Title: [How do you handle crashes when database grows big in size?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/14455-how-do-you-handle-crashes-when-database-grows-big-in-size) — 2 comments, 1 upvote > **Top comment:** "When mine gets buggy I delete my database then the database gets rebuilt as you access different folders This might be a problem for some folks that use a..." - Title: [Does ACDSee work on Mac?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/does-acdsee-work-on-mac) — 1 comment, 1 upvote > **Top comment:** "Yes! ACDSee work on Mac" - Title: [What is ACDSee ultimate?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-acdsee-ultimate) — 1 comment > **Top comment:** "ACDSee permits clients to see and coordinate their computerized photographs, as well as alter and improve them with a scope of highlights, for example,..." --- **Source:** [G2.com](https://www.g2.com) | [Comparison Page](https://www.g2.com/compare/gimp-vs-photoshop-elements-vs-acdsee)