Skip to main content
Curated ToolThis tool is part of our curated AI directory. We only include tools that meet our standards for relevance, usability and real-world value.

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is a professional image editing and graphic design application for editing, retouching, compositing, and creating raster images. It supports layers, masks, selections, filters, and generative AI features for precise photo manipulation and digital artwork.
AI Image GeneratorPhoto Editing

FYAI Score

8.4 / 10

Based on 2,457 reviews

Pricing:

Paid

Best for:

Photographers and designers needing precise, layered image editing

Score Breakdown

  • Ease of use7.2 / 10
  • Features9.4 / 10
  • Pricing7.6 / 10
  • Integrations9.4 / 10
  • Support9.0 / 10

PRODUCT PREVIEW

What this AI tool does

Adobe Photoshop is Adobe’s flagship image-editing application for detailed photo retouching, raster graphics editing, layered composition, and precision visual production. It is the tool people turn to when an image needs more than a quick filter, from image enhancement and background cleanup to complex composites built from many visual elements. Adobe Photoshop is best known for giving creators deep control over pixels, selections, masks, layers, brushes, colour, typography, and effects. At its core, the platform is a professional workspace for transforming images with accuracy. A user can remove background elements, adjust lighting, refine skin or product surfaces, blend multiple photos, and prepare final visuals for web, print, advertising, or social media. Instead of treating editing as a single-click process, it gives users a layered environment where each change can be isolated, revised, and combined with other creative decisions. For photographers, Adobe Photoshop is a specialist tool for retouching, image object removal, colour correction, restoration, and high-end finishing. It works alongside raw photo workflows by handling the detailed edits that often come after exposure, tone, and lens adjustments. This makes it especially useful for portraits, fashion images, commercial photography, product shots, and any visual where small imperfections matter. Designers and marketing teams use it to create brand assets, create social graphics, create thumbnails, prepare campaign visuals, and build polished compositions from photography, text, shapes, and artwork. Adobe Photoshop for designers is less about template-only production and more about control over visual hierarchy, texture, lighting, and realism. It can also help create mockups and product visualization images where packaging, screens, labels, or branded elements need to look believable in context. AI-assisted editing has become part of the modern Photoshop story without replacing its manual craft. Generative features can help generate images, extend a canvas with image outpainting, perform image background replacement, or fill removed areas with context-aware content. These tools are most powerful when used inside the broader editing environment, where users can refine the result with masks, layers, blending, and traditional retouching techniques. Digital artists also rely on the tool as a painting and compositing studio. Brushes, textures, blending modes, adjustment layers, and tablet support allow illustrators and concept artists to sketch, paint, colour, and finish artwork inside the same environment used for photo manipulation. The result is a flexible space where photography, illustration, typography, and generated elements can be combined into a single finished image. In professional workflows, Photoshop’s value comes from precision and continuity. Files can be structured with named layers, smart objects, masks, adjustment stacks, and reusable elements so that complex work remains editable. This matters for agencies, studios, ecommerce teams, and independent creators who need to revisit a visual, adapt it to different formats, or produce multiple versions without starting again. Compared with simpler image editors, the learning curve is part of the tradeoff. The platform is not mainly a fast design templates tool for casual one-off graphics, although it can be used that way. Its strength is in detailed control, whether the task is to upscale image assets carefully, remove distracting objects, composite a subject into a new environment, or fine-tune the final look of a campaign image. Adobe Photoshop is best suited to photographers, designers, digital artists, marketers, and visual production teams who need deep creative control over image editing and composition. It is most compelling when the goal is not just to make an image quickly, but to shape it deliberately, correct it precisely, and prepare it for professional use. The tool’s character is that of a comprehensive creative workshop, combining long-established editing techniques with newer AI capabilities inside one of the most mature image-production environments available.

Use cases

Best for

Image Enhancement

Use Adobe Photoshop to retouch photos with adjustment layers, masks, and filters for precise color, tone, and detail edits.

Remove Background

Remove backgrounds by selecting the subject with Select Subject and refining edges with Select and Mask on a separate layer.

Upscale Image

Upscale an image by resizing with Preserve Details 2.0 or using Super Resolution to increase pixels while reducing artifacts.

ANALYSIS

Strengths & limitations

Strengths
  • Best suited to professional image editors because its layers, masks, selections, brushes and filters allow precise control over complex compositions.
  • Useful for photographers and designers who need AI-assisted edits because generative fill, object removal and background extension can speed up detailed retouching while preserving manual control.
  • Strong fit for commercial creative workflows because Photoshop is widely used in professional design and photography environments and supports detailed file preparation for polished visual assets.
Limitations
  • Less suitable for casual users who only need quick social graphics or template-based designs because Photoshop’s depth adds complexity that can slow simple tasks.
  • Paid access makes it a poorer fit for occasional editors or very small teams that need only light image adjustments.
  • Less suitable as a complete publishing or vector-design solution because its core strength is raster image editing rather than multi-page layout or dedicated vector illustration.

Evaluation

FYAI score breakdown

Our structured evaluation across five key criteria

8.4 / 10

Overall score

Based on 2,457 reviews

  • Ease of use7.2 / 10
  • Features9.4 / 10
  • Pricing7.6 / 10
  • Integrations9.4 / 10
  • Support9.0 / 10

What users say

Findings from public reviews, documentation and community sources.

  • Ease of use

    Capterra reviewers rate Photoshop 4.8/5 across 2,457 reviews, and the supplied Capterra review summary says Photoshop is “powerful and professional” and “makes photo editing and design easy once you learn it.”

  • Features

    Software Advice summarizes user feedback by saying “Adobe Photoshop is a full featured photo editing package” with “a ton of capability” and the ability to “create graphics and logos with ease.”

  • Pricing

    Adobe’s pricing page states that Photoshop is available in Creative Cloud plans and “as a standalone app” for “US$22,” while photography bundles list Photoshop with Lightroom from “US$11.99/mo” or with 1TB storage at “US$19.99/mo.”

  • Integrations

    Adobe’s developer page describes “powerful, low-level integrations” through the “C++ based Photoshop Plug-in and Connection SDK,” and Adobe Exchange lists Photoshop-related integrations.

  • Support

    A Reddit thread in r/graphic_design asks “Is it just me or is Adobe customer support really bad?” and describes having “issues” after getting access to a paid Adobe subscription.

Who is this for?

Best for users who need deep photo editing and graphic creation, Software Advice user feedback says Photoshop is “a full featured photo editing package” with “a ton of capability” and the ability to “create graphics and logos with ease.” Less suited to users who want a low-learning-curve tool, Capterra’s review summary says Photoshop “makes photo editing and design easy once you learn it.” Less suited to users who prioritize customer support experiences, a Reddit thread asks “Is it just me or is Adobe customer support really bad?” and describes having “issues” after getting access to a paid Adobe subscription.

PRODUCT PREVIEW

Feature highlights

Layers & Masks

Non-destructive edits with layers, masks, and smart objects.

Precision Selections

Cut out, refine edges, and isolate subjects with accuracy.

Generative Fill

Add, remove, or extend content with AI-assisted generation.

COMPARE

Discover curated alternatives worth comparing

Compare similar AI tools based on features, pricing and use cases

7.2/ 10Based on 2,027 reviews

Pixa

AI Image Generator
Edits and creates pixel-art images in a visual canvas editor
Best for:
Designers
Pricing
Freemium

8.2/ 10Based on 193 reviews

Uizard

UI/UX Design
Converts prompts, screenshots, and sketches into UI prototypes
Best for:
Product teams
Pricing
Freemium

8.2/ 10Based on 56,265 reviews

Topaz Labs

Image UpscalerPhoto Editing
Enhances photos and videos with upscaling, denoising, sharpening
Best for:
Designers
Pricing
Paid only

Create standout images faster with pro-level control. Start editing, compositing, and polishing visuals in Adobe Photoshop today.

FAQ

Frequently asked
questions

Everything you need to know about this AI tool,
its features, pricing, use cases, and limitations.

Is Adobe Photoshop a good fit for designers, photographers, and content teams?
Adobe Photoshop is best suited for users who need precise control over image editing, retouching, compositing, and visual production. It fits photographers, designers, digital artists, marketers, and content creators working on photos, product images, social graphics, ads, posters, thumbnails, and layered creative assets.
Is Adobe Photoshop free or paid?
Adobe Photoshop is a paid subscription product rather than a permanently free image editor. It is generally better suited to users who need professional editing depth on an ongoing basis, while casual users with occasional needs such as simple cropping, background removal, or quick enhancements may find the subscription more than they need.
How does Adobe Photoshop compare with other image editing and design tools?
Adobe Photoshop stands out for detailed raster editing, retouching, masking, compositing, color correction, and layered image manipulation. Compared with simpler design tools, it offers more control but usually requires more skill. Compared with specialist vector, layout, or video tools, it is not intended to replace those workflows.
How hard is it to get started with Adobe Photoshop?
Adobe Photoshop’s main trade-offs are its learning curve, subscription cost, and focus on raster image editing. It is powerful for photo editing and compositing, but it is not a full replacement for dedicated vector design, page layout, video editing, or template-first design tools.
What privacy or compliance issues should teams check before using Adobe Photoshop?
Teams should review Adobe’s current privacy, data processing, storage, and compliance terms before using Adobe Photoshop with sensitive or regulated content. Buyers should also assess account controls, asset sharing practices, cloud-connected workflows, AI-assisted editing policies, and internal approval rules for client, product, or confidential imagery.