# Photopea vs Photoshop: what the browser editor covers, and where it stops Photopea opens PSD, XCF, Sketch, XD and Figma files in a browser, free with ads. Photoshop starts at US$19.99 a month and adds Firefly, PSB scale and print workflows. A verdict per job. Author: Anvisha Pai Canonical: https://voyageragent.ai/blog/photopea-vs-photoshop Published: 2026-09-21 Updated: 2026-09-21 Photopea is a full layered image editor that runs inside a browser tab, opens Photoshop, GIMP, Sketch, XD and Figma files, and costs nothing unless you pay to remove the ads. Photoshop is three products under one name: a desktop application, a browser version with a reduced tool set, and a mobile app with a free tier. The decision is rarely "which is better". It is whether the job in front of you fits inside a browser tab, and whether the file you have been handed is one Photoshop can even open. The short version: choose Photopea when you need to open or convert a PSD, XCF, Sketch, XD, Figma or Affinity file on a machine that has nothing installed, when your files must not leave your computer, or when the work is layered compositing and retouching that does not need Adobe's generative tools. Choose Photoshop desktop when you need Firefly and partner-model generation inside the document, documents beyond 30,000 pixels, CMYK print production with Adobe's color management, or scripting and batch automation that other people will run. Photoshop on the web sits between them and loses to Photopea on formats and price, but wins on Adobe's generative features and cloud documents. Everything below was read from photopea.com and adobe.com on 21 September 2026. The Photopea interface was observed in a browser on the same day, without an account; nothing here is a benchmark. **Jump to:** [formats](#formats-the-biggest-difference-and-it-runs-in-photopeas-favor) · [layers](#layers-masks-smart-objects-and-adjustment-layers) · [retouching](#retouching-selections-and-text) · [color and print](#raw-color-cmyk-and-print) · [size and performance](#file-size-memory-and-performance) · [AI](#ai-features-firefly-against-a-sponsored-generator) · [automation](#scripting-actions-and-automation) · [privacy](#privacy-where-your-files-go) · [pricing](#ads-and-pricing) · [verdict](#which-one-for-which-job) ## Three Photoshops and one Photopea Photopea is a single JavaScript application at photopea.com, written by Ivan Kutskir and first released in 2013 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photopea)). Its own introduction says it "runs completely in your device, just like Sketch or Photoshop do" and does not upload files to the internet ([Photopea Learn](https://www.photopea.com/learn/)). There is no installer, no account requirement, and the same page works on Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS and, with a keyboard and pointing device, on tablets. Photoshop, as sold on Adobe's plan page, is "Photoshop on desktop, web, and mobile" ([Adobe plans](https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/plans.html)). The three are not the same program. Adobe's web FAQ says "not all features on the desktop are on the web" and points to the desktop app for "any such advanced feature or workflow" ([Photoshop on the web FAQ](https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/photoshop-web-faq.html), updated 24 June 2026), and Adobe publishes a feature-by-feature comparison, updated 28 October 2025 ([Compare Photoshop web and desktop features](https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/web/get-set-up/learn-the-basics/compare-photoshop-web-and-desktop-features.html)). This article compares Photopea with both. ![Adobe's help page comparing Photoshop web and desktop features, showing rows for Vertical Type, Right-to-Left text, text on a path, Glyphs and Actions marked No for Photoshop web and Yes for desktop, followed by a Retouch section where Remove, Spot healing brush and Healing brush are Yes on both and Blur tool is No on web.](https://cdn.moda.app/voyager/blog/photopea-vs-photoshop/fig-adobe-web-vs-desktop-27a750626d.webp) Adobe's own web-versus-desktop table, updated 28 October 2025. Actions, the Pen tool, the Patch tool, text on a path and Smart Filters are among the desktop features the web version does not have. ## Formats: the biggest difference, and it runs in Photopea's favor This is the section that decides the question for a lot of people. Photopea's home page lists PSD as its "main format", with full open and save support, and then "PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, WEBP, SVG, PDF, AI, AVIF, DDS, HEIC, TIFF, MP4, TGA, CDR, PDN, EPS, INDD, Figma and 40 other formats" for opening and editing ([photopea.com](https://www.photopea.com/)). The release history dates each addition: GIMP's XCF since December 2014, read with "layer structure including folders (groups), layer masks, opacities, blend modes" ([Photopea blog](https://blog.photopea.com/photopea-1-0.html)); Sketch in April 2017; Adobe XD in June 2018; Figma in January 2020; Illustrator in January 2021; Affinity in April 2021; InDesign and Krita in March 2022 ([blog index](https://blog.photopea.com/)). The catch is direction. Those design formats open in Photopea; they do not save back out in their own format. On the day of writing, File > Save More offered "PSD To Storage" and "Save PSD/PSB", and File > Export as offered PNG, JPG, WEBP, PDF, SVG, GIF, MP4, DDS and a "More" entry. Photopea is an importer for XCF, Sketch, XD, Figma, Affinity and InDesign files and a full editor for PSD. If a colleague needs the file back as a Sketch document, Photopea cannot produce it. Photoshop desktop's list is long in a different direction: PSD, PSB, PDF, EPS, DCS, TIFF, OpenEXR, DICOM, HEIF, WebP, AVIF and a set of video formats for import and export ([Adobe file formats](https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/file-formats.html)). XCF, Sketch, XD and Figma files are not on that list. Photoshop on the web is narrower still: it imports "PSD, PSDC, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, HEIC, PSB, RAW, and WebP" and exports "PSD, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, and WebP" ([Supported file formats in Photoshop on the web](https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/web/get-set-up/learn-the-basics/supported-file-formats.html), updated 29 October 2025). No SVG, no PDF, no GIF export from the browser version. | Format | Photopea | Photoshop desktop | Photoshop on the web | | ------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | --------------------------- | -------------------- | | PSD open and save | Yes, its native format | Yes | Yes | | PSB (large document) | Save PSD/PSB listed in File > Save More | Yes | Import only | | XCF (GIMP) | Open, since 2014 | Not listed | Not listed | | Sketch, XD, Figma | Open | Not listed | Not listed | | AI, INDD, Affinity, Krita, CDR | Open | Not listed | Not listed | | SVG | Open and export | Not listed | Not listed | | PDF | Open and export | Import and export | Not listed | | GIF | Open and export | Import and export | Not listed | | RAW (DNG, CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, RW2, RAF, ORF, FFF) | Open, as 16-bit documents | Open through Camera Raw | Open | | Video (MP4) | Open and export, timeline in Window > Timeline | Import and export, timeline | Not listed | Sources: Photopea home page and menus as observed on 21 September 2026; [Adobe file formats](https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/file-formats.html), updated 9 June 2026; [Photoshop on the web formats](https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/web/get-set-up/learn-the-basics/supported-file-formats.html). "Not listed" means the format does not appear on the vendor's supported-format page, not that an export option, plugin or workaround is impossible. ## Layers, masks, smart objects and adjustment layers Here the two editors are close, which is the point of Photopea's design. Its home page claims "Layers, Masks, Layer Styles, Smart Objects, Adjustment Layers, Channels, Paths and more", and the Layer menu observed on the day of writing contains New Fill Layer, New Adjustment Layer, Raster Mask, Vector Mask, Clipping Mask, Smart Object, Layer Style, Group Layers, Arrange, Combine Shapes and Merge Down. Smart Objects in Photopea are a linked source PSD, and its documentation states that "Smart Filters can be applied to a smart object" ([Photopea Learn: Smart Objects](https://www.photopea.com/learn/smart-objects)). Blend modes, opacity, fill and lock controls sit in the Layers panel where a Photoshop user expects them. ![Photopea's editor with a cartoon pug image open, a Layers panel on the right showing a text layer named Headline, an empty layer named Retouch and a Background layer, a History panel listing New Layer, Name Change, Layer Type and Type Tool steps, and a toolbar on the left with move, marquee, lasso, wand, crop, healing, brush, clone, eraser, gradient, pen and type tools.](https://cdn.moda.app/voyager/blog/photopea-vs-photoshop/fig-photopea-editor-20d721ccd1.webp) Photopea on 21 September 2026 with a document opened through its URL API and two layers added by script. The Layers, History, Channels and Paths panels, and the tool column, follow Photoshop's layout closely. Photoshop desktop remains the reference implementation, and there are corners Photopea does not publish support for, Neural Filters among them. The more useful comparison is with Photoshop on the web, where Adobe marks Smart Objects as "Yes (Limited functionality)", Smart Filters and the Filter Gallery as "No", and Levels and Curves as working "with limited functionality" ([Adobe comparison](https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/web/get-set-up/learn-the-basics/compare-photoshop-web-and-desktop-features.html)). A PSD built with smart filters opens in Photopea with those filters editable; in Photoshop on the web you would be sent to the desktop app. ## Retouching, selections and text Photopea's retouching tools are documented on its Smart Tools page: a Spot Healing Brush that fills a painted area from its surroundings, a Healing Brush that adapts cloned content, and a Patch Tool ([Photopea Learn: Smart Tools](https://www.photopea.com/learn/bt-smart)). The Edit menu on the day of writing added Content-Aware Scale, Puppet Warp, Perspective Warp, Auto-Align and Auto-Blend; the Filter menu had Camera Raw, Liquify, Vanishing Point, Lens Correction, Blur Gallery and Filter Gallery. The Select menu had Remove BG, Magic Cut, Subject, Color Range and Refine Edge. That is a wider retouching kit than Photoshop on the web ships. Adobe's table marks the Patch tool, Blur tool, Polygon lasso, Magic wand, Pen, Pencil and History brush as "No" on the web, while Remove, Spot healing, Healing brush, Clone stamp, Dodge, Burn and Sponge are "Yes" ([Adobe comparison](https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/web/get-set-up/learn-the-basics/compare-photoshop-web-and-desktop-features.html)). Photoshop desktop has everything in both lists, and its Remove tool, which Adobe says does not consume generative credits, is a strong reason to keep the desktop app for cleanup work ([Generative credits FAQ](https://helpx.adobe.com/firefly/using/generative-credits-faq.html)). On text, Photopea has supported text on a curve since October 2019 and color fonts since January 2018 ([blog index](https://blog.photopea.com/)), and a Glyphs panel is in its Window menu. Photoshop on the web lacks Vertical Type, right-to-left text, text on a path and Glyphs per Adobe's table; desktop Photoshop has all of them. For typographic work, Photopea is closer to desktop Photoshop than Adobe's own web version is. ## RAW, color, CMYK and print Photopea opens raw files from the major camera makers (its home page lists DNG, CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, RW2, RAF, ORF and FFF) and, since version 5.6 in April 2024, opens them as 16-bit documents with GPU-accelerated 16- and 32-bit editing ([Photopea 5.6](https://blog.photopea.com/photopea-5-6-advanced-color-depth.html)). Its raw controls are a Camera Raw-style dialog with exposure, color balance, contrast, highlights and shadows. For someone who processes hundreds of raw frames, Photoshop's Camera Raw is the deeper module and the Photography plan bundles Lightroom for US$19.99 a month ([Adobe plans](https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/plans.html)). Color management is where the gap is largest. Photopea reads embedded ICC profiles, creates documents in sRGB, Adobe RGB, ProPhoto RGB or Display P3, and added a CMYK mode in October 2021 that converts through the U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2 space as a preview of how an image will look "after printing on standard printers" ([Photopea 5.2](https://blog.photopea.com/photopea-5-2-color-profiles-and-cmyk-mode.html)). The New Project dialog offers RGB or CMYK at 8, 16 or 32 bit. That is enough to check a design for out-of-gamut colors and hand a CMYK PSD to a printer. It is not a substitute for Photoshop's color settings, soft-proofing against a printer's own profile, spot channels, or the DCS and EPS outputs a prepress workflow may demand ([Adobe file formats](https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/file-formats.html), [Photoshop color modes](https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/color-modes.html)). Photoshop on the web is not a print tool; Adobe's table lists "Order prints" as "No" there. ## File size, memory and performance Photoshop desktop has a documented ceiling: 30,000 pixels per side in PSD, and 300,000 in PSB, with all features supported in the large format ([Adobe PSD file format specification](https://www.adobe.com/devnet-apps/photoshop/fileformatashtml/)). It also has documented hardware requirements: 8 GB of RAM minimum and 16 GB recommended, a GPU with 1.5 GB of memory, and 10 GB of disk, per the requirements for version 27 published 9 September 2026 ([Photoshop technical requirements](https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/system-requirements.html)). Scratch disks, GPU acceleration and 64-bit memory addressing are why a 2 GB layered file is routine in desktop Photoshop. Photopea publishes no maximum document size. It saves PSB, so the format is not the limit; the browser tab is. A browser gives a page a fraction of system memory and can discard the tab under pressure, which makes very large, many-layered documents the one job where Photopea's architecture is a real risk rather than a preference. Its video documentation gives one concrete number: media files "under 20 MB will be embedded into your PSD file, while large files must be re-selected from your device each time you reopen your document" ([Photopea Learn: Video](https://www.photopea.com/learn/video)). Photoshop on the web has its own constraints: Adobe recommends 8 GB of RAM and 6 GB of free disk, warns that incognito mode and enterprise storage quotas can stop it working, and its FAQ says "each tab opens a single new document" ([web technical requirements](https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/web/get-set-up/learn-the-basics/technical-requirements.html), [web FAQ](https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/photoshop-web-faq.html)). No timing comparison was run for this article. Photopea's speed depends on the machine and browser in front of you; Photoshop desktop is the only one of the three with a specification you can size a workstation against. ## Offline use and platform Photopea's documentation is explicit: "You can load Photopea.com, disconnect from the internet and keep using it completely offline" ([Photopea Learn](https://www.photopea.com/learn/)). Since January 2024 it can be installed as a progressive web app from More > Install Photopea, which gives it a home-screen icon, lets PSD files open with a double-click and frees keyboard shortcuts such as Ctrl+T that the browser otherwise intercepts; it still runs inside the browser engine ([Photopea tutorial](https://www.photopea.com/tuts/install-photopea-to-your-device/)). Photoshop desktop works offline for long stretches but not indefinitely. Adobe's requirements say an "Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services", and its offline-use page, updated 16 February 2026, says the apps "attempt to validate your software license every 30 days", after which an individual subscriber gets 99 further days of offline use before "one final offline product launch" ([Adobe offline grace period](https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/internet-connection-creative-cloud-apps.html)). Photoshop on the web is online by definition. Adobe supports it on Chrome and Edge 102 and later, Firefox 111 and later, and Safari 18.3 and later in beta, on desktop only; on a phone or tablet browser you can view and comment on cloud documents but not edit them ([web technical requirements](https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/web/get-set-up/learn-the-basics/technical-requirements.html)). Platform, then, splits three ways. Photopea runs wherever a modern browser runs, including Linux and ChromeOS, though Photopea recommends "a big screen, a precise pointing device (a mouse or a stylus) and a keyboard". Photoshop desktop is Windows and macOS. Photoshop's web version is desktop browsers only, and its touch story is the iPad and phone apps. ## AI features: Firefly against a sponsored generator Adobe's generative tools are the strongest argument for Photoshop in 2026, and they are on both the desktop and the web. Adobe's table lists Generative Fill, Generative Expand, Harmonize, Generative Upscale, Generate Image, Reference Image and Generate Similar as available on both surfaces ([Adobe comparison](https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/web/get-set-up/learn-the-basics/compare-photoshop-web-and-desktop-features.html)). They are metered. Standard features "like Generative Fill using Adobe Firefly models in Photoshop, use 1 credit per generation"; the Photoshop single-app plan includes 25 generative credits a month for anyone who subscribed on or after 17 June 2025 (500 for earlier subscribers); partner models from Google, OpenAI and others are premium features that draw on the same credits; and the Remove tool is free of credits ([Generative credits FAQ](https://helpx.adobe.com/firefly/using/generative-credits-faq.html), updated 10 September 2026). The Firefly Pro plan at US$19.99 a month gives unlimited standard generations and 4,000 premium credits, but includes Photoshop on the web and mobile only, not the desktop app ([Adobe plans](https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/plans.html)). Photopea's home page promises to "remove background with one click, or replace any part of an image with a new content through a text description" ([photopea.com](https://www.photopea.com/)). On the day of writing, Remove BG and Magic Cut were in the Select menu, and a Generate button on the start screen opened a "Generate With AI" dialog with a prompt box, example outputs, an Edit Image button and the label "Sponsored by Zoner AI". The account panel states that "AI credits are available only to Premium users" and that Premium includes "3,000 AI credits / month". A February 2024 tutorial names Magic Replace and Remove BG as the AI features and says Premium users who run out of credits can enter their own Dezgo API key under Edit > Preferences ([Photopea tutorial](https://www.photopea.com/tuts/get-unlimited-ai-inside-photopea/)). We did not run a generation, and Photopea does not document which model serves the dialog today or what each operation costs in credits, so treat its AI as a paid add-on of unpublished quality rather than a Firefly equivalent. ![Photopea's Generate With AI dialog with a prompt reading cute hamster in space wearing goggles, holding a 3D sign that says Photopea, a Generate button labeled Sponsored by Zoner AI, an Edit Image button, a large sample image of a cartoon hamster at a weight bench in front of a Photopea sign, and five thumbnails of other sample outputs.](https://cdn.moda.app/voyager/blog/photopea-vs-photoshop/fig-photopea-generate-b143815910.webp) Photopea's Generate With AI dialog as it opened for a logged-out visitor on 21 September 2026. The results shown are Photopea's own samples; the account panel says AI credits are a Premium feature. One more distinction matters for the privacy section below: Photopea's local-only promise is about your files in the editor. A generative request, by its nature, sends a prompt and possibly image data to whichever service fulfills it, on both products. ## Scripting, actions and automation Photopea records Actions, imports and exports Photoshop's .ATN files, and runs JavaScript from File > Script through "an interface similar to Adobe's scripting interface", so that scripts written for Photoshop's document model can run with little or no change ([Photopea Learn: Actions](https://www.photopea.com/learn/actions), [Scripts](https://www.photopea.com/learn/scripts)). Its URL API can open files and run a script on load, embed the editor in an iframe, and post saved documents back to your own server; Photopea states that "Usage of Photopea API is completely free" ([Photopea API](https://www.photopea.com/api/)). A Plugins entry sits in the Window menu. Photoshop desktop has the deeper automation stack: recorded Actions run over folders through File > Automate > Batch or as droplets ([Adobe Help](https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/desktop/automate-tasks/process-a-batch-of-files/batch-process-files.html)), ExtendScript for legacy scripts, and UXP for modern plugins and scripts ([Adobe Developer](https://developer.adobe.com/photoshop/uxp/2022/)). The [Photoshop MCP](/blog/photoshop-mcp) post covers what an agent can drive through those surfaces. Photoshop on the web has none of it: Adobe's table lists Actions as "No". For a solo user automating their own edits, Photopea's Actions and script window are enough. For a pipeline other people or servers run, Photoshop desktop's batch tools are the mature route; Photopea's URL API is the alternative when you want to embed an editor rather than run a headless job. ## Collaboration and cloud storage Photopea has no real-time co-editing. What it has is storage: PeaDrive, its own cloud, at 0.5 GB free and 5 GB on Premium, plus Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive as places to open from and save to, and a Share entry in the File menu that exports an image or a PSD ([Photopea Learn: Storages](https://www.photopea.com/learn/storages), account panel as observed). PeaDrive supports team folders with read or read-and-write permissions, and Premium is sold in team sizes of 5, 20 and 50. Photoshop's collaboration is built around cloud documents. Photoshop on the web saves to them "every 5 minutes", the same document opens in the desktop app, and anyone with a browser, including on a phone, can view and comment ([web FAQ](https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/photoshop-web-faq.html)). Version history is part of the web product, and plans include 100 GB of storage, or 1 TB on Photography ([Adobe plans](https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/plans.html)). If your reviewer needs to leave comments on the file rather than on an exported JPG, Photoshop has the workflow and Photopea does not. ## Privacy: where your files go This is Photopea's clearest structural advantage, and it is documented rather than implied. Its introduction: "It does not upload any of your files to the internet. You can load Photopea.com, disconnect from the internet and keep using it completely offline. None of your files ever leaves your computer" ([Photopea Learn](https://www.photopea.com/learn/)). Its privacy policy: "Files, which you open in Photopea, are never sent anywhere, they never leave your device", with the qualification that a connected cloud storage exchanges files directly with your device ([Photopea privacy policy](https://www.photopea.com/privacy.html)). The ads are ordinary third-party code running in the page; Photopea serves "thousands of ads" by language and location and publishes a reporting route for malicious ones at photopea.com/#audit ([Photopea tutorial, 23 September 2025](https://www.photopea.com/tuts/malicious-ads-inside-photopea/)). Photoshop desktop keeps files local by default too; cloud documents are a choice. Photoshop on the web is the opposite: documents "are stored as cloud documents" and can be downloaded, so every file you edit there lives on Adobe's servers ([web FAQ](https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/photoshop-web-faq.html)). For work under an NDA or on a machine that must stay off the network, Photopea and desktop Photoshop are the two candidates and the web version is not. ## Ads and pricing Photopea is "monetized mainly through advertisement" ([Photopea tutorial, 8 July 2024](https://www.photopea.com/tuts/how-photopea-displays-ads/)). That page describes a bottom banner on phones and a right-hand column on larger screens, taking between 5 and 15 percent of the screen; ad blockers are detected and the slots filled with static images that may ask you to buy Premium. ![Photopea's Account panel on the Account Types tab, showing a Free column at 0 euros a month with All Features and PeaDrive 0.5 GB, and a Premium column from 5 euros a month with All Features, PeaDrive 5 GB, No Ads, 3,000 AI credits a month, 2 times more steps in history, a note reading No subscription, just one-time payments, and a Go Premium button.](https://cdn.moda.app/voyager/blog/photopea-vs-photoshop/fig-photopea-account-types-183bd98220.webp) Photopea's account panel on 21 September 2026. The free tier has the same editing features; Premium buys the ad-free layout, storage, history depth and AI credits. The account panel on the day of writing put it plainly: Free is "€0/mo" with "All Features" and 0.5 GB of PeaDrive; Premium is "From €5/mo" with all features, 5 GB, "No Ads", "3,000 AI credits / month", "2× more steps in history", and the note "No subscription, just one-time payments". The Go Premium tab listed a single user at €8 for 30 days, €15 for 90 days and €50 for 365 days, team tiers from €20 for 30 days for five people to €999 for a year for fifty, and the rule that "after X days, you are switched back to a free version (with ads)". Prices appeared in euros to a browser configured for the United States; Photopea's 2016 announcement priced Premium at 5 US dollars a month, so expect the currency to vary ([Photopea Premium, 2016](https://blog.photopea.com/photopea-premium.html)). A Distributors tab sells a white-label embed from €60 for 30 days. ![Photopea's Go Premium tab showing four columns, Single user, Team of 5, Team of 20 and Team of 50, with green buttons for 30 days at 8, 20, 70 and 150 euros, 90 days at 15, 45, 150 and 300 euros, and 365 days at 50, 150, 500 and 999 euros, and a line reading Premium lasts for X days: after X days, you are switched back to a free version (with ads).](https://cdn.moda.app/voyager/blog/photopea-vs-photoshop/fig-photopea-go-premium-51dc91861f.webp) Premium is a prepaid period, not a subscription. A year for one person was €50 on 21 September 2026. Adobe's US plan page on the same day listed four individual plans, all "Annual, billed monthly" with a 7-day free trial: | Plan | Price | Photoshop surfaces | Generative credits | Storage | | ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------- | ------- | | Photoshop | US$22.99/mo | Desktop, web, mobile, plus Adobe Express Premium | 25 a month | 100 GB | | Firefly Pro | US$19.99/mo | Web and mobile only | 4,000 premium, unlimited standard | 100 GB | | Photography | US$19.99/mo | Desktop, web, mobile, plus Lightroom | 1,000 a month | 1 TB | | Creative Cloud Pro | US$69.99/mo, US$34.99 for the first three months for new subscribers | Desktop, web, mobile, plus 20+ apps | 4,000 premium, unlimited standard | 100 GB | Source: [Adobe Photoshop plans](https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/plans.html), read 21 September 2026. Annual-commitment plans carry early-termination terms; check them before choosing "billed monthly" over month-to-month. ![Adobe's Compare Photoshop plans page for individuals showing Photoshop at US$22.99 a month, Firefly Pro at US$19.99 a month for web and mobile plus 4,000 AI credits, Photography at US$19.99 a month with Lightroom, and Creative Cloud Pro at US$34.99 a month for the first three months, regularly US$69.99, each with Free trial and Buy now buttons.](https://cdn.moda.app/voyager/blog/photopea-vs-photoshop/fig-adobe-plans-76feef3f9e.webp) Adobe's US plan page on 21 September 2026. Note that Firefly Pro, the cheapest way to get Photoshop's generative tools, does not include the desktop app. Is there a free Photoshop? Adobe's web FAQ answers directly: "There isn't a free version of Photoshop on the web", and Photoshop on the web "is included in all Photoshop plans" ([web FAQ](https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/photoshop-web-faq.html)). The free option is mobile. Adobe's product page invites you to "download the mobile app for free", and the February 2025 launch described a free iPhone app with "selections, layers and masks" and Firefly generative tools, plus a Photoshop Mobile and Web plan "at $7.99/month or $69.99/annually" for premium features and web access ([Adobe](https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html), [Adobe news, 25 February 2025](https://news.adobe.com/news/2025/02/photoshop-mobile-web)). Side by side: a year of Photopea without ads costs about what one month of the Photoshop plan does. A year of the Photoshop plan is about US$276 and buys the desktop app, Firefly, cloud documents, 100 GB and Express. Whether that is worth it is the job-by-job question below. ## Which one for which job | Job | Choose | Why | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Open a PSD someone sent you, make a change, send it back | Photopea | Full PSD open and save, no install, no account, files stay local | | Open an XCF, Sketch, XD, Figma or Affinity file without the app that made it | Photopea | Photoshop does not list these formats; Photopea opens them as layered documents and saves as PSD | | Convert a design file to PSD, PDF, SVG or PNG | Photopea | Export list covers all four; Photoshop on the web has no SVG or PDF export | | Edit confidential files on a locked-down or offline machine | Photopea, or Photoshop desktop | Both keep files local; Photoshop on the web stores everything as cloud documents | | Generative fill, expand, harmonize and upscale inside the document | Photoshop desktop or web | Firefly and partner models; 1 credit per standard generation, 25 a month on the Photoshop plan | | Retouching that needs Patch, Pen, History brush or the Filter Gallery, in a browser | Photopea | Adobe's web version lacks all four; Photopea has them | | Typography: text on a path, vertical or right-to-left text, glyphs | Photoshop desktop, then Photopea | Both have them; Photoshop on the web does not | | Raw processing at volume | Photoshop, via the Photography plan | Camera Raw plus Lightroom for US$19.99 a month; Photopea's raw dialog is for single files | | CMYK print production with soft-proofing, spot channels or DCS output | Photoshop desktop | Photopea's CMYK is a SWOP v2 conversion and preview; prepress output formats are desktop-only | | Documents past 30,000 pixels, or very large layer stacks | Photoshop desktop | PSB to 300,000 pixels with scratch disks; Photopea's ceiling is the browser tab | | Review comments and version history on the file itself | Photoshop web and desktop | Cloud documents with comments and versions; Photopea shares exports | | Batch processing that other people or servers run | Photoshop desktop | Batch, droplets, UXP and ExtendScript; Photopea's automation is in-browser | | Embed an editor in your own web app | Photopea | Free URL API, iframe embedding, save-to-server; white-label pricing for ad removal | | Teaching or occasional use on any device | Photopea | Free with ads, runs on ChromeOS and Linux, installs as a web app | | Touch editing on iPad or phone | Photoshop | iPad app is included in plans; the mobile app has a free tier | ## Frequently asked questions **Is Photopea a copy of Photoshop?** It is an independent editor written from scratch in JavaScript that deliberately mirrors Photoshop's layout, tool names, shortcuts and file format, so that Photoshop users need no retraining and PSD files round-trip. It is not made by Adobe and shares no code with Photoshop. **Can Photopea open and save PSD files without losing anything?** Photopea calls PSD its main format and supports layers, masks, layer styles, smart objects, adjustment layers, channels and paths, and since April 2024 16- and 32-bit documents. It does not publish a list of Photoshop features it drops on save, so for a complex file the safe check is to open the saved PSD in Photoshop and compare. Features Photopea does not implement, such as Neural Filters, cannot be preserved as live effects. **Is Photopea safe and private?** Its documentation and privacy policy state that files opened in the editor never leave your device, and that it keeps working after you disconnect from the internet. The free version shows third-party ads inside the page, which is ordinary web advertising; Photopea publishes a route for reporting malicious ads. AI features, on either product, send your prompt to a service. **Is there a free version of Photoshop?** Not on desktop or the web. Adobe's web FAQ says "There isn't a free version of Photoshop on the web"; every plan has a 7-day trial. The free tier is the mobile app, with a US$7.99-a-month Mobile and Web plan for premium features. Adobe Express, a different product, has a free tier for simple edits. **Does Photopea have generative fill?** It has a text-prompt generator and a Magic Replace tool, plus one-click background removal. On 21 September 2026 its account panel said AI credits are available only to Premium users, at 3,000 a month, and the generate dialog was labeled "Sponsored by Zoner AI". Photopea does not document the model behind it. Photoshop's Generative Fill uses Adobe's Firefly models, or partner models, at one or more credits per generation. **Which is better for a beginner?** Photopea, if the goal is to learn the Photoshop way of working without paying: the interface, panels and shortcuts transfer directly, and the free tier has every editing feature. Photoshop's guided tutorials, its Remove tool and its generative features make the paid product easier for quick results, and Adobe's mobile app is a free way to try them. **Can I use Photopea offline?** Yes. Load photopea.com once, then disconnect; its documentation says it keeps working. Installing it from More > Install Photopea adds an icon and file associations, but it still runs in the browser engine, so uninstalling the browser removes it. ## Make your next project in Voyager Create an account, download Voyager, and start making. [Sign up](/sign-up)