Craft Apps GuidePhotoCraft vs Krita: start with the kind of work
For painting, I would open Krita first. For layered photo edits, I would trial PhotoCraft first. That is a choice of starting point, not a claim that either program wins every job. Krita ↗ is built around painting and illustration tools; → PhotoCraft ↗ presents a familiar image-editing workspace with masks, adjustments, type and PSD support. Both are free and open source.
| Your next job | Sensible first trial | What could change the answer |
|---|---|---|
| Draw a character, concept or painted texture from scratch | Krita | The brush feel, stabilizer and .kra project matter more than a Photoshop-like toolbar. |
| Retouch a photograph or composite images with adjustment layers | PhotoCraft | Try your own file and see whether the masks, adjustments and export behave as needed. |
| Take over someone else's layered PSD | Neither without a file check | Missing fonts and flattened effects can make an image look fine while leaving it hard to edit. |
| Send only a finished picture | Either | Compare the final PNG or TIFF at the intended size and color setting; an editable PSD may be unnecessary. |
Krita's PSD format notes ↗ explicitly describe limits to exchanging every Krita feature through PSD. Keep a .kra working copy if Krita is where the painting will continue. PhotoCraft's official page says it opens and saves layered PSD/PSB, but that does not establish perfect round trips for every Photoshop or Krita document.
The test I would do before moving a project
Pick a permitted file with a brush layer, live text, a mask and an effect. Make separate copies. In each app, note the version and OS, perform the same visible change, save a new file and reopen it. Then check the actual recipient app: can the person still edit the pieces they need? Compare the rendered result and the layer structure. If nobody needs a PSD, compare the native project files and finished exports instead; that is closer to the real task.
We have not run a PhotoCraft–Krita same-file test for this page, so there is no invented speed score or PSD success percentage. Our PhotoCraft–GIMP test is a different handoff and cannot stand in for Krita. See PhotoCraft's guide, Krita's manual ↗ or the broader Photoshop alternatives if your task is still undecided.
Product details checked 2026-10-29 against → PhotoCraft ↗, Krita features ↗ and Krita's PSD format notes ↗.