GIMP vs Inkscape Comparison 2026
GIMP is a raster editor for retouching, compositing and painting, free under the GPL with no paid tier. Inkscape is a vector editor instead, drawing illustration and typography that saves as plain SVG rather than a proprietary format, also free under the GPL. GIMP's own project literally recommends Inkscape alongside it for vector work, since the two solve different problems rather than competing for the same one. GIMP edits pixels. Inkscape draws paths, and the file it saves opens in a browser, a build pipeline or another editor years later.
At a glance
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
GIMP | Inkscape | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | Free |
| Pricing model | Free | Free |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Not stated | Not stated |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export |
GIMP
A free image editor for retouching and paint
GIMP has been the free answer to a paid image editor since the nineties, covering retouching, compositing, painting and format conversion, with scripting for the jobs you do a hundred times. Its colour management is strong enough for print work. The interface is its own rather than a copy of anyone else's, which is the real cost of switching to it.
Our note
The honest comparison is not against Photoshop feature by feature but against what you actually do, and for retouching and compositing most people never reach the edge of it. Photopea is worth a look first if you want something Photoshop-shaped in a browser tab.
Only on this side
- Covers photo editing
Inkscape
Free vector drawing that writes plain SVG
Inkscape draws vector artwork and saves it as ordinary SVG rather than a format only it can read, which is what makes a logo drawn here openable in a browser, a build pipeline or somebody else's editor years later. It covers illustration, clip art, typography and diagramming on Linux, Windows and macOS. There is no account, no seat count and no upload step. The interface has its own habits and will feel strange to anybody arriving from a commercial editor, which is the real cost of it being free.
Why people weigh these two
- Inkscape instead of GIMP
- Inkscape is also free and handles vector drawing GIMP does not, the pick for logos and icons that need to scale rather than pixel-based editing.
- GIMP instead of Inkscape
- GIMP is a free image editor for retouching and paint, pixels rather than the plain SVG vector work Inkscape writes.
Which one should you pick
Pick GIMP for photographic and pixel-based work: retouching, compositing, painting and format conversion, with scripting for repeated jobs. It has no vector drawing tools of its own; the project's own recommendation for that is Inkscape alongside it. The interface is its own rather than a copy of Photoshop's, so relearning rather than transferring skill is the real cost.
Pick Inkscape for vector illustration, logos, clip art and diagrams that need to stay editable as paths rather than pixels, especially anything that will be handed to a developer or checked into a repository as SVG. There is no account, no seat count and no upload step, on Linux, Windows or macOS alike. Somebody coming from Illustrator should expect the shortcuts and panel layout to fight them for a week.
Common questions
- Are GIMP and Inkscape competitors or companions?
- Companions more than competitors: GIMP's own project recommends Inkscape alongside it for vector and layout work, since GIMP handles pixels and Inkscape handles paths. Many people who use one end up using the other for a different step.
- Which one saves files as plain SVG?
- Inkscape does, which is its core differentiator: the file opens in a browser, a build step or another editor rather than being locked to one proprietary format. GIMP works in raster formats and its own layered XCF format, not vector SVG.
- Does GIMP do vector drawing the way Inkscape does?
- Not natively; GIMP is built for retouching, compositing and painting on pixels. Inkscape is a full vector editor with path operations, node editing and bitmap tracing as its core features.
- Is either one better suited to Linux specifically?
- Both run natively on Linux, macOS and Windows, and Inkscape's own guidance calls it one of the few full vector editors that treats Linux as a first-class platform, where paid vector alternatives largely do not go. GIMP has the same three-platform support for raster work.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.