Top 5 free Photoshop alternatives for quick image cutouts

Photoshop is a subscription for a large toolset, and plenty of people only need one thing from it: separating a subject from its background and saving the result. Free software can do that job.

This guide compares five of them on cutouts only. Every claim comes from the tool’s own site or documentation, and where those do not answer a question, the guide says so instead of guessing.

The five compared

Treat the table as a starting point. Prices, limits and features change, and the sites listed at the end are the place to check them.

Picking by the job in front of you

Step 1: For a one-off cutout, try Photopea

Go to photopea.com, open your image, and choose Select, then Remove BG, or Select, then Subject. Photopea’s tutorials describe Remove BG as a one-click route, after which you export with File, Export As, PNG. Select Subject is described as a faster alternative to tracing the subject yourself with the Lasso. The Magic Cut tool under Select pre-marks the image in red and green as an initial guess that you can refine.

Step 2: For an exact outline, use paths in GIMP

In GIMP, draw the outline with the Paths tool and convert it to a selection. GIMP’s documentation lists paths among its basic tools, and Select, then To Path, goes the other way. This is slower than an automatic selection, and it is the route to take for a product with straight edges.

Step 3: For a quick automatic selection in GIMP, use Foreground Select

Mark rough areas as foreground and background and let the tool refine the selection. GIMP’s manual covers it in the Tools chapter. Once the subject is selected, Select, then Invert, selects the background instead.

Step 4: For plain backgrounds on Windows, use Paint.NET

Click the background with the Magic Wand and set the Tolerance to suit the image. Paint.NET’s own site describes it as free software for Windows, and says buying it from the Windows Store is an optional way to support the project. Paint.NET’s documentation explains that tolerance decides how different a neighbouring colour can be and still be included. A low tolerance includes only close matches, and a higher one spreads further. Press Delete and save as PNG, which keeps transparency. A suggested tolerance is a matter of trying a few values on your own photo.

Step 5: For a soft-edged selection, try Krita

Make a selection, feather it, and use a mask. Krita’s site describes selection tools you can add to, remove from, feather and invert, plus a Global Selection Mask. It also says Krita is built for digital painting, concept art and illustration, and that other raster editors may do better at photo manipulation. So use Krita for this if you already have it, and not as the first thing to install.

Step 6: For a first attempt in a browser, try Pixlr

Open Pixlr’s Remove Background tool and save with a transparent background. Pixlr’s page says you can save with a transparent, black or white background at no cost. Pixlr also sells paid plans and uses AI credits for heavier features, and its pages do not state a free limit for background removal, so check its pricing page.

Check what a tool does with your image before using it for client work. Photopea says it processes files on your device. Other web tools may upload files to a server, so read the privacy policy of any tool you use for confidential photos. An installed application removes the question.

What this guide did not compare

This guide covers cutouts only. We did not compare AI image generation, raw photo processing or batch automation across these tools, and we cannot say how any of them compares with Photoshop’s own AI features. If you depend on those, check each tool’s documentation before dropping a paid one.

Which one to try first

Photopea if you want a result quickly in a browser, GIMP if you want something installed, and Paint.NET if you are on Windows and the background is plain. Krita and Pixlr are worth knowing, and each has a narrower use.

If the cutout is heading somewhere that needs transparency preserved, the transparency guide covers where PNGs lose it. And for a result in two clicks, Canva’s background remover is an option when your plan includes it.