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Is Photoshop for Linux Free?

Last updated on September 23, 2022 @ 11:48 pm

Photoshop is a graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc. It is the market leader for commercial photo editing, and has a huge user base both in terms of professional photographers and amateurs.

However, it is only available for Windows and macOS, with no official release for Linux. That doesn’t mean you can’t use Photoshop on Linux, though. Here’s how.

Method 1: Use Photoshop in a Virtual Machine

If you want to use Photoshop on Linux, one option is to run it in a virtual machine. This will allow you to run Photoshop on your Linux machine, without having to dual-boot or use any other workaround.

To do this, you’ll need to set up a virtual machine using software like VirtualBox or VMware Player. Once you have your virtual machine set up, you’ll need to install Windows onto it. Once Windows is installed, you can then install Photoshop and use it as normal.

One downside of this method is that it can be quite resource intensive, as you’re effectively running two operating systems at once. Another downside is that you won’t be able to take advantage of any features specific to Linux, such as integration with the Gnome or KDE desktop environments.

Method 2: Use an Alternative like GIMP

If you’re not willing to go down the route of using a virtual machine, your only other option is to use an alternative to Photoshop. The most popular alternative is GIMP, which is available for free on all major Linux distributions. GIMP has many of the same features as Photoshop, so it’s a good choice if you’re looking for a replacement.

That said, GIMP isn’t an exact replacement for Photoshop. It lacks some of the more advanced features found in Photoshop, so if you’re a power user, you might find it lacking. Additionally, the user interface of GIMP can be quite different from Photoshop, so there might be a learning curve if you’re switching from one to the other.

Conclusion:

So, is Photoshop for Linux free? Unfortunately, no.

There is no official release of Photoshop for Linux from Adobe. However, there are two ways that you can use Photoshop on Linux: by running it in a virtual machine or by using an alternative like GIMP.

PRO TIP: There is no such thing as “Photoshop for Linux.” Adobe Photoshop is a proprietary software application for Windows and macOS. There are, however, a number of open source alternatives to Photoshop that are available for Linux, such as GIMP.
Kathy McFarland

Kathy McFarland

Devops woman in trade, tech explorer and problem navigator.