GIMP vs Topaz Labs Comparison 2026
Both cover photo editing. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
A free image editor for retouching and paint
Rescue footage and stills that fell short
At a glance
- Only GIMP has a free tier.
Side by side
GIMP | Topaz Labs | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | From $12 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free | Paid subscription |
| Free tier (they differ) | Yes | No |
| Billing | Not stated | Not stated |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | None | None |
| Runs on (they differ) | macOS, Windows, Linux | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS |
Shaded rows are where the two answers disagree and both listings have answered. A row where one side has not stated a fact is left plain, because silence is not a difference.
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 design & graphics
Topaz Labs
Rescue footage and stills that fell short
Topaz Labs makes the upscaling and cleanup models people reach for when the source is the problem: a soft photo, an old clip, footage shot at the wrong resolution for the delivery. The apps run locally rather than in a queue, which matters when the file is large and the deadline is not. They are sold separately or as one subscription covering all of them, so a photographer who only needs the image side is not paying for the video models.
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.