#Pixelmator pro editor software
#Pixelmator pro editor plus

It has been steadily evolving ever since, becoming part of a trinity of Affinity apps: Photo, Designer, and Publisher.

#Pixelmator pro editor software

Serif first launched Affinity Photo as a successor to their popular PhotoPlus software in 2015. Yes! Find Out More » Affinity Photo is the Best Pixel Editor for macOS It’s jam-packed with training, ideas, and lessons that can literally transform your photography overnight. Transform your photos and edits from average to awesome with our in-depth, mobile photography course. Get Our Best Photography Tips & Workflows This is a consideration that’s becoming increasingly important for those who work cross-platform or are leaning more on their iPads for work. We also considered availability, which is to say where else you can access your investment beyond macOS. subscription, and so on that are beyond the scope of this comparison.

This is very subjective territory and we recognize that there are differing schools of thought on price ranges, single-payment vs. can not only help with the initial learning process, but also speed up workflows for more confident users.Ĭost and Availability: Cost is a tricky subject, but in general we’re looking for products that have a clear, understandable cost structure and that feel like good value for money. The availability of communities, tutorials, classes, etc. We looked for something that’s relatively easy to start with, but has room for growth as your needs and skills develop.Įcosystem: A crucial aspect of an app’s appeal is the ecosystem of supporting resources that build up around it, both from the manufacturer and from third parties. The availability, speed, and effectiveness of these features are what set the apps apart from each other.ĭesign and Ease of Use: Though much of the core functionality is shared between apps in this category, the way tools are presented, how granular the controls are, and how customizable the interface is can all influence how you work. We focused primarily on features that pertain to photographers and those looking to do common image manipulation tasks like adding text, resizing, etc. Having focused our attention only on pixel editors, we examined eligible apps according to the following core characteristics:įeatures: The scope of work that you can tackle with this category of app is daunting. Though they’re generally used for photo editing, many people also turn to pixel editors for graphic design, print preparation, digital painting, and many other use cases that go way beyond the scope of pure photography. We’ve already covered photo editors with DAM (Digital Asset Management) capabilities in a separate piece. The latter are sometimes called pixel editors, and we’re using the term here to make it easy to differentiate between them and the other kind of photo editing app.

#Pixelmator pro editor plus

We’ll take a look at why Affinity Photo was selected, what the competition looks like, where it falls short, and what sorts of users are best served by each choice.īut first… What is a Pixel Editor, Exactly?Īlthough the terminology is a bit hazy, the photo editing landscape has two main kinds of app: the all-in-one asset management plus editing environment options, like Lightroom, and the standalone editors designed to perform deeper modifications on single photos at a time, like Photoshop. The basic layout of Affinity Photo resembles Photoshop, making it easy to go from one to the other. While it remains the most powerful option - and a great choice for anyone who’s interested in exploring it - we believe that Affinity Photo is an easier, quicker solution for most users.Īffinity Photo offers most of the same capabilities for less money, and is equally at home on macOS and iPadOS - a claim that Photoshop still can’t make, despite its recent re-release on iPadOS. Photoshop has been the king of the hill in this space for many years, having had decades to establish its dominance. When the editing demands of photographers exceed the capabilities of solutions like Lightroom, they turn to dedicated pixel editors like Photoshop.