Free Adobe Alternatives: 7 AI-Built Apps and the Safer Picks

PhotoCraft opens a layered Photoshop file, keeps the type layers editable, and saves it back as a PSD. It costs nothing and it is open source. It is also one of seven free look-alikes of Adobe apps that a small team called ArtCraft put on GitHub between 30 September and 1 October 2026.

The set covers Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Illustrator, Lightroom, After Effects, InDesign and Acrobat. Every app runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, and the developer says he built them with Claude Opus 5.5, Anthropic's AI model. PhotoCraft alone had more than 73,000 stars on GitHub on 27 October 2026.

If you pay for Creative Cloud, the useful question is whether any of this can carry your work yet. This guide shows you how to download and install the apps, how to test them on your own files without risk, how to move a Premiere Pro edit across, and which mature free tools to use while these catch up.

What the ArtCraft apps are

ArtCraft publishes its code on GitHub under the name storytold. Each app follows the layout, menus and shortcuts of an Adobe app, so someone who knows Photoshop can find their way around PhotoCraft quickly. The team calls them clean-room builds: rebuilt from public specifications and by watching how the originals behave, with no Adobe code, shaders or assets. PhotoCraft's PSD support, for example, was written from Adobe's own public file specification.

Every app here has had at least 14 releases since the code went public, the newest on 25 October 2026. That pace is good news for bugs and bad news for anyone in the middle of a job, which matters later in this guide.

Adobe, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Illustrator, Lightroom, After Effects, InDesign and Acrobat are trademarks of Adobe. We use those names only to describe what the free apps stand in for.

Who built them, and why

The developer behind ArtCraft is Brandon Thomas, who describes himself as a software veteran with about 15 years in the industry. TechSpot reports that he built the apps with Claude Opus 5.5 and that he partly blames Adobe's cancellation fees for the project. In March 2026 Adobe agreed to a $150 million settlement with the US government over those fees, while still denying wrongdoing.

The AI part shows up in the code itself. In PhotoCraft's change history, 60 of the last 100 commits before 11 October list Claude as a co-author, almost all of them Claude Opus 5.5. Thomas has also made a bold prediction. TechSpot quotes him saying "software is over" and promising 100% parity within a month, a timeline he later stretched to months in a Hacker News thread.

ArtCraft runs a separate business selling AI image and video tools. Thomas has said that business will help pay for the free apps, and that the project has a team behind it and will not be abandoned.

Before you start

There is no account to create and nothing to pay.

• A computer. Windows 10 or 11, a Mac with Apple silicon or Intel, or Linux. ArtCraft also builds for FreeBSD and for the browser.
• About 100 MB of free space per app. On 27 October 2026 the PhotoCraft Windows installer was 75 MB and the Mac disk image was 99 MB. FilmCraft's files are a little larger.
• A copy of one real file from your work. A layered PSD a designer sent you, a PDF you need to sign, a folder of raw photos, or a Premiere sequence you can export. You will test on the copy, never the original.
• Half an hour. The install takes a few minutes. The rest is the test, which is what tells you whether you can save money.

The links you need are on ArtCraft's apps page and on its GitHub account. Download only from those two places.

Step 1: Choose the launcher or a single app

There are two ways to install, and the choice decides how updates reach you.

1. The ArtCraft Launcher is a small app, around 10 MB on Windows, that installs, updates and opens every app in the suite. It lists 13 apps, including ones beyond the Adobe set such as WordCraft, DeckCraft and SoundCraft. Version 0.8.1 came out on 25 October 2026 and is labeled early alpha like the rest. Pick it if you want to try several apps or you want updates handled for you. Get it from the launcher's latest release page.
2. A standalone app is one installer for one program. Pick it if you only need PhotoCraft or FilmCraft, or if you want to stay on one version while you finish a project. Older versions stay available on each app's Releases page, so you can always go back.

Our advice for a first test: install the one app that replaces the Adobe tool you use most. You learn more from one honest test than from seven quick looks.

Step 2: Download the right file for your computer

1. Open the app's GitHub page, for example github.com/storytold/photocraft. In the right-hand column, click Releases. You should see the newest version at the top. On 27 October 2026 that was PhotoCraft 0.16.0, published 25 October.
2. Scroll down to the Assets list. It holds more than 20 files, one per computer type. If the list is cut short, click the link to show all assets.
3. Pick your file from the table below. The version number in the name changes with every release, so match the ending, not the number.
4. Click it to download. Each file is roughly 60 to 105 MB.

Not sure which Windows you have? Open Settings, then System, then About, and read "System type". It says x64 or ARM.

Want to be sure the file is genuine? Every release has a SHA256SUMS.txt file that lists a fingerprint for each download. On Windows, open Command Prompt in your Downloads folder and run the command below, then check the long code matches the line for your file in SHA256SUMS.txt. On a Mac or Linux, use shasum -a 256 followed by the file name.

Copycertutil -hashfile photocraft-0.16.0-windows-x64.msi SHA256

One gotcha we hit while writing this: on 27 October 2026 the file names listed on getartcraft.com showed an older version number than GitHub. If you want the newest build, the GitHub Releases page is the one to trust.

Step 3: Install and open it

1. Windows: double-click the .msi file and follow the installer. PhotoCraft then appears in your Start menu. With the portable zip, unzip it into any folder and run the program inside. The Windows installers and programs are code-signed, so Windows can show who published them.
2. Mac: double-click the .dmg file, drag PhotoCraft into your Applications folder, then open it from there. macOS asks once whether you want to open an app downloaded from the internet. Click Open.
3. Linux with the AppImage: mark the file as executable (right-click, Properties, allow running, or chmod +x in a terminal) and run it. The first run adds a menu entry and icon for you.
4. Linux with the Flatpak: run the two commands below. Flatpak offers to install the shared runtime it needs from Flathub the first time.

Copyflatpak install --user photocraft-0.16.0-linux-x86_64.flatpak
flatpak run ai.storyteller.photocraft

The app opens to a workspace laid out like Photoshop's, with the same menus and shortcuts. If it does not start at all, a likely cause is the wrong file for your chip, such as an ARM build on an Intel PC. Go back to Step 2 and check the architecture.

Step 4: Test it on a copy of a real file

This is the step that decides whether you can drop a subscription. Use a file from paid work, not a sample image, because sample images rarely use the features that break.

1. Make a copy. Duplicate a layered PSD and add "-test" to its name. Keep the original closed and untouched.
2. Open the copy with File, then Open.
3. Check the layers panel. The layer names, groups and order should match what you see in Photoshop.
4. Check the text. Select a type layer and change a word. Type layers should stay editable, with the same font, if that font is installed on your computer.
5. Check the effects. Drop shadows, strokes and glows should look the way they do in Photoshop. Smart objects should keep their filters editable.
6. Check the color. PhotoCraft reads the color profile embedded in the file. Compare it side by side with the original on the same screen.
7. Do one real edit. The kind you do every week: swap a product photo, change a headline, export a PNG.
8. Save as a new PSD and open that file in Photoshop or in Photopea. A re-saved file is not byte-for-byte the same as the original, because PhotoCraft rewrites parts of it. Anything it does not understand yet is carried over instead of dropped.

For the other apps the idea is the same. Open a copied PDF in PdfCraft and fill and sign a form. Point LightCraft at a copy of a photo folder, never your main library. If something breaks, the team asks for your operating system, the document size, the layer count and a screenshot, filed as a GitHub issue or posted in the ArtCraft Discord.

Moving a Premiere Pro edit into FilmCraft

FilmCraft cannot open a .prproj file yet, so you export the timeline from Premiere in a format both apps understand. FCP 7 XML is the simplest.

1. In Premiere Pro, save the project and make sure no media is offline.
2. With the project open, choose File, then Export, then Final Cut Pro XML. Save the XML next to your media. Premiere also writes a translation log in the same folder. Read it, because it lists what did not convert.
3. If you are moving to another computer, copy the media folder along with the XML.
4. In FilmCraft, import the XML file. The import adds its bins, media and sequences to your project as one step you can undo, and links every media file it finds on disk.
5. Play the sequence through. FCP 7 XML carries nested sequences, transitions, motion, opacity, time remapping and audio levels with keyframes. Adobe warns that audio pan and gain changes may not carry over exactly and that complex effects may not translate, so listen to the mix and check any heavy effect shots.

If XML loses too much, FilmCraft also reads AAF and OpenTimelineIO (OTIO). When the edit is done, it exports H.264 MP4 with AAC audio, ProRes 422 HQ, DNxHR and PNG sequences, among others.

The download links

Every link points to ArtCraft's own site or its official GitHub pages.

• All the ArtCraft apps in one place
• The code and the downloads on GitHub
• PhotoCraft: the Photoshop alternative
• FilmCraft: the Premiere Pro alternative

CopyAll seven apps in one place: https://getartcraft.com/apps
The code and the downloads: https://github.com/storytold
Photoshop copy (PhotoCraft): https://github.com/storytold/photocraft
Premiere Pro copy (FilmCraft): https://github.com/storytold/filmcraft

The other five apps (VectorCraft, LightCraft, EffectCraft, DesignCraft and PdfCraft) are on the ArtCraft apps page.

Prefer a one-click copy? The same links are on our free prompt page.

Before you cancel Creative Cloud: limits and gotchas

The team says it is not a Photoshop replacement yet

PhotoCraft's own status note is blunt. It says the app is early alpha and is not yet a Photoshop replacement for daily professional work. The biggest gaps it lists are AI and generative features, 15 missing tools, depth in typography and pro workflows, and plug-in compatibility. Every Photoshop menu item is wired to a command, but the team points out that this measures wiring, not how well each one behaves.

PSD files are the strong point

Opening and re-saving a layered file gave the same result for 307 of the 309 files in the public psd-tools test set, according to the README. If your job is mostly opening a designer's PSD to change text or swap an image, this is where PhotoCraft is closest to the real thing.

FilmCraft has its own gaps

Besides the missing .prproj import, FilmCraft hosts no plug-ins (no VST3, Audio Units or OpenFX), and color grading and export rendering still run on the processor rather than the graphics card. The team also says Windows and Linux get far less testing than macOS, and that camera and phone files in the wild are less tested than its reference streams. DesignCraft, the InDesign alternative, is still labeled pre-alpha, so treat it as a preview.

Early bugs are real

TechSpot noted early commenters reporting problems with basic functions. The apps get updates every few days, which fixes things fast and also means features shift between versions. Do not update in the middle of a client job. If you use the launcher, finish the job first.

The legal question is open

Commentators, citing Ars Technica, name trade dress, the legal protection for a product's look and feel, as the main risk for apps that copy a famous interface this closely. No one had filed a claim as of 27 October 2026, and we found no public statement from Adobe. An app you have already installed keeps working offline, and the licence lets anyone keep a copy of the code. That is our reading of the licence, not legal advice.

Who should skip it for now

Anyone who depends on Photoshop plug-ins, Adobe's generative AI features, shared Creative Cloud libraries, or Premiere projects passed back and forth between editors. Keep the subscription and try these on the side.

Troubleshooting

• A file type will not open. Check the list on the app's GitHub page. PhotoCraft reads Affinity files but cannot save them, reads iPhone HEIC photos but cannot write them, and does not support JPEG XL or AVIF decoding.
• A feature moved or broke after an update. Open the app's Releases page, click through to the full list of releases, and install the previous version.
• Drag and drop does nothing on Linux. On a Wayland desktop, dropped files do not open yet. Use File, then Open, or copy the image in your file manager and paste it with Ctrl+V.
• Blurry interface on Linux. This happens when PhotoCraft runs through XWayland at a 125%, 150% or 175% display scale. The native Wayland mode stays sharp.
• The text looks different. Install the font the designer used. A missing font is a frequent reason a PSD looks wrong outside the app that made it.

Free Adobe alternatives that are ready today

The ArtCraft apps are the newest. These options have years of releases behind them and are free to use.

A simple way to pick. If you mostly open PSD files someone else made, start with Photopea in the browser or PhotoCraft on your desktop. If you edit video for clients, DaVinci Resolve's free version is the safe choice today. Keep the ArtCraft apps installed next to your main tools and check back as their numbers climb.

Running the apps from an AI assistant

ArtCraft built every app to be driven by AI agents as well as by people. Each one can be controlled from a command line, a JSON control channel or an MCP server, which is the standard way to plug a tool into an AI assistant like Claude. FilmCraft alone exposes more than 650 commands this way, and the button you click and the command an agent sends do the same thing.

Setting that up still takes some technical comfort, so most people should start with the normal desktop app. If you would rather hand the design work itself to people who do it every day, that is what our creative production team handles.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free Photoshop alternative that opens PSD files?

Yes. Photopea runs in your browser and opens and saves PSD files. PhotoCraft, the new open-source desktop app from ArtCraft, also opens, edits and saves layered PSD files, though it is still in early alpha.

Did Adobe make PhotoCraft or FilmCraft?

No. They are independent open-source apps from a team called ArtCraft (storytold on GitHub). They follow the layout of Adobe's apps, but Adobe has no part in them and does not endorse them.

Can PhotoCraft replace Photoshop for professional work?

Not yet, by the team's own account. PhotoCraft's README says it is not a Photoshop replacement for daily professional work. The main gaps are AI and generative features, 15 missing tools, typography depth and plug-in support.

Are the ArtCraft apps safe to download?

Download them only from ArtCraft's official GitHub Releases pages or getartcraft.com. The project says its Windows installers are code-signed and its Mac app is signed and notarized by Apple. Open copies of your files, never the originals.

Are AI-built Adobe look-alike apps legal?

The apps are released under the MIT or Apache-2.0 licence and the team says no Adobe code was used. As of 27 October 2026 no lawsuit or takedown had been reported. Commentators name trade dress, a product's look and feel, as the open question. This is not legal advice.

What is the best free alternative to Premiere Pro?

For client work today, the free version of DaVinci Resolve is the most mature choice. ArtCraft's FilmCraft is free and open source but early, and it cannot open Premiere Pro project files yet.

Sources

• PhotoCraft on GitHub (README, roadmap, releases, commit history)
• FilmCraft on GitHub (README, status, interchange and known gaps)
• ArtCraft (storytold) on GitHub, including VectorCraft, LightCraft, EffectCraft, DesignCraft and PdfCraft
• ArtCraft Launcher on GitHub
• ArtCraft's list of apps
• TechSpot: Developer uses AI to build free Adobe clones
• Pasquale Pillitteri: seven free Adobe clones built with Claude Opus 5.5
• Adobe Help: Export a project as a Final Cut Pro XML file
• Photopea
• GIMP
• Inkscape on Wikipedia
• DaVinci Resolve
• darktable