People on Reddit mostly complain about Pixlr. They don’t like how it works, its price, or the customer service. Some people like the free features, but most have negative reviews. Many recommend Pixlr alternatives instead. That’s why we have tested all alternatives and curated the best sites like Pixlr for you.
Table of Contents
Why Users are Looking for Pixlr Alternatives?
There are a number of reasons why users are looking for alternatives to Pixlr.
1. Glitches & Bugs
Users report frequent glitches, such as images being deleted randomly, color selection not working correctly, and AI-generated images not matching prompts. Basic features like copy-pasting images are missing.
2. AI Tools Are Unreliable
The AI image generator does not produce accurate results based on user prompts. Some users claim that AI-generated images are misleadingly advertised and consume credits without delivering usable outputs.
3. Expensive & Unclear Pricing
Pixlr allegedly doubled its pricing without prior notice while adding no new features. AI features require credits, and users feel tricked into paying before realizing the quality is poor.
4. Subscription & Billing Issues
Many users report unauthorized charges even after canceling their subscriptions. Free trial users claim Pixlr automatically renews their subscription and denies refunds.
5. Poor Customer Support
Customer support replies with generic responses instead of resolving issues. Refund requests are often ignored even when Pixlr is at fault.
6. Mobile App Issues
The mobile app crashes frequently and still deducts credits for failed actions.
7. Misleading Free Access
Some users state that free access is misleading, as many essential features require a paid subscription or credit purchases.
Quick Overview
| Alternative | Main Features | Works On | Free Trial? |
| ACDSee | All-in-one editor, that sharpens images | iOS, Mac, Windows | ✅ Yes |
| Adobe Photoshop | Smart AI tools, many effects & brushes | Android, iOS, Mac, Windows | ✅ Yes |
| Affinity Photo | Pro-level editing, fast & powerful | iPad, Mac, Windows | ✅ Yes |
| Capture One | Pro color editing, custom tools | iOS, Mac, Windows | ✅ Yes |
| GIMP | Free, many editing tools, layers & filters | Linux, Mac, Windows | ✅ Yes |
| ON1 Photo RAW | All-in-one editor that sharpens images | Android, iOS, Mac, Windows | ✅ Yes |
| Movavi | Fix old photos, remove objects & backgrounds | Mac, Windows | ✅ Yes |
| Photoshop Elements | Easy templates, organizes photos | Mac, Windows | ✅ Yes |
The Best Sites Like Pixlr We Recommend
We have selected the best sites similar to Pixlr that we recommend you check out.
1. ACDSee
Pixlr has unique AI tools that make photo editing super easy. ACDSee is a big all-in-one tool. It helps organize and edit photos really well, which is best for professionals like me who handle many pictures every day.
Other photo editor websites like Pixlr mostly help with editing, but ACDSee does more. It helps you organize pictures easily. We worked on a big project with thousands of photos and used its keyword tags and face recognition—they made our work much easier. Also, you can use layers & masks to edit your photos better.
| ✅ Pros | ❌ Cons | 💰 Price | 🖥️ Compatibility |
| Fixes lens distortion | Hard to use | Free for 15 days | iOS, Mac, Windows |
| Recognizes faces & locations | Short free trial | Starts from $29.95/month | |
| Selects objects with AI | Expensive | ||
| Edits RAW photos | |||
| Many filters |
2. Adobe Photoshop
We looked at Pixlr and Photoshop and found that both are powerful tools for editing photos. They let you change pictures without harming the original, work with high-quality image files, edit many photos at once, and use extra add-ons for more features.
Photoshop has many tools and features for different creative people. Pixlr is easier to use and made mainly for photographers.
Photoshop lets you make small, detailed changes to photos. Pixlr focuses on quick and automatic edits. To keep photos organized, Photoshop works with another tool called Adobe Bridge. Pixlr has its own built-in organizer.
Photoshop is very important for our work. It helps us mix pictures, fix photos, and change colors. We can also use a Healing brush to remove spots or mistakes. Plus, there are many ready-made designs to make work faster.
| ✅ Pros | ❌ Cons | 💰 Price | 🖥️ Compatibility |
| Smart AI tools | Hard to learn | Free for 30 days | Android, iOS, Mac, Windows |
| Edits many at once | Costs a lot | Starts from $22.99/month | |
| Many brushes | |||
| Custom layout | |||
| Free stock images | |||
| Edits RAW photos |
3. Affinity Photo
Choosing between Pixlr and Affinity Photo depends on what you need and how you like to edit photos.
Affinity Photo is great if you wish powerful tools for editing, like making HDR photos, stacking images, and fixing tiny details. Pixlr is also a great choice because it has smart AI tools and is very easy to use.
Both Affinity Photo and Pixlr help you edit photos, but Affinity Photo does even more. Both let you change colors and brightness and edit parts of a picture, but Affinity Photo has extra tools. It can combine photos for HDR, create wide panorama images, make sharp pictures from blurry ones, edit tiny details, add fancy text, and much more.
Affinity has a smart helper to make custom styles, but it doesn’t have many ready-made ones. There are very few filters, effects, and color settings. The biggest problem is that you can’t organize your photos inside Affinity at all.
| ✅ Pros | ❌ Cons | 💰 Price | 🖥️ Compatibility |
| Looks like Photoshop | Some tools are tricky | Free trial or $9.29 (iPad) | Android, iOS, Mac, Windows |
| Merges photos (HDR, Panorama, Focus) | No photo import tool | $34.99 (Windows) | iPad, Mac, Windows |
| Edits in layers | |||
| Many brushes & customization | |||
| Supports many file types | |||
| Works with both raster & vector images |
4. Capture One
Pixlr and Capture One are both great for editing photos, but they work in different ways.
- Capture One: Gives full control over tiny details, making it best for experts.
- Pixlr: Simple to use with smart AI tools, making it great for beginners.
If you’re new to photo editing, Pixlr is easier. If you’re a pro, Capture One gives you more control.
Capture One is great for fixing colors in photos. It helps make sure all faces look identical in a group of pictures, even if the light changes. You can also edit one part of an image without changing the rest.
It has some tools like backgrounds and erasing elements easily. These tools make editing faster, but they are not as powerful as Pixlr’s tools.
| ✅ Pros | ❌ Cons | 💰 Price | 🖥️ Compatibility |
| Clear, high-quality photos | Looks complicated | Free for 30 days, then $17.90/month | iOS, Mac, Windows |
| Fast to use | Expensive | ||
| Fixes skin tones well | |||
| Edits many photos at once | |||
| Works with teams | |||
| Removes noise in photos |
5. GIMP
GIMP looks old and can be hard to use, especially for beginners. But it has many tools and settings, which is great for experts.
Pixlr is easy to use and looks modern. The big difference is the price. GIMP is free, but you have to pay for Pixlr.
GIMP has many useful tools. You can change parts of a picture easily. It lets you work with layers, like stacking papers on top of each other. You can also choose which tools to use and even change how the program looks. It can open any picture file. Plus, it’s free!
| ✅ Pros | ❌ Cons | 💰 Price | 🖥️ Compatibility |
| Free to use | Slow speed | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| Edits photos well | Hard for beginners | ||
| Erases backgrounds | |||
| Saves in many formats | |||
| Adds extra tools | |||
| Removes noise in photos |
6. ON1 Photo RAW
We use ON1 Photo RAW when we want full control over our edits. It’s like a strong tool that lets us adjust everything, especially for detailed work like editing outdoor portraits. It’s also great for cutting out parts of a picture and adding layers.
On the other hand, Pixlr is the best choice if you want editing to be quick and easy. It uses smart AI to fix pictures without much effort. ON1 is easy to use and has powerful editing tools. This makes it good for both beginners and experts in photography.
ON1 Photo RAW has many powerful editing tools. You can cut out parts of a photo, combine multiple pictures, and create wide images from smaller ones. This smart editor lets you change different settings easily. It also allows you to stack images for more detailed edits. We were amazed at how well it makes RAW photos look, bringing out all the colors and details.
| ✅ Pros | ❌ Cons | 💰 Price | 🖥️ Compatibility |
| Layers | Confusing UI | Price: Free for 30 days, then $83.99 | Android, iOS, Mac, Windows |
| AI edits | Some tasks are slow | ||
| Face tuning | |||
| Fast RAW processing | |||
| Easy photo merging | |||
| Share on social media |
7. Movavi
Movavi Photo Editor is very easy to use. It helps you quickly fix and improve photos.
Pixlr has tools that make photos look amazing with just a few clicks. If you like your pictures to look professional without hard work, this is a good Pixlr alternative.
The Magic Enhance button makes photos brighter and clearer in one click. The Object Removal feature lets you erase unwanted elements from pictures easily. We used it to clean up a photograph by removing messy background objects.
It has an Old Photo Restoration that fixes old, damaged photos with scratches or fading. If you need an easy photo editor for any computer, this one is a great choice!
| ✅ Pros | ❌ Cons | 💰 Price | 🖥️ Compatibility |
| Fixes colors well | Needs manual edits | Free trial, then $22.95/year | Mac, Windows |
| Removes objects | Bad for big photos | ||
| Nice filters | |||
| Smooths photos | |||
| Adds real colors | |||
| Auto-enhances |
8. Photoshop Elements
Photoshop Elements helps you organize photos easily. It has tools to sort pictures and even recognize faces.
Pixlr and Photoshop Elements are different. Pixlr is great for creative edits. It has ready-made filters to make photos look amazing quickly. Both can edit high-quality pictures (RAW files) and have auto-editing features to save time.
Photoshop Elements can fix photos in amazing ways, but it’s also very simple to use.
- Easy Help: It shows step-by-step how to make moving action pictures look even cooler.
- Photo Organizer: It helps keep all your pictures in order.
- Face Finder: It can find photos of the same person from many pictures.
| ✅ Pros | ❌ Cons | 💰 Price | 🖥️ Compatibility |
| Easy search | No fix for color fringing | Free for 30 days, then from $99.99 | Mac, Windows |
| Tags faces | Not for experts | ||
| Many export choices | |||
| Preview before saving | |||
| Slideshow feature | |||
| Auto color fix |
Conclusion
The best Pixlr alternatives for you rely on what you require.
- Want AI to create pictures from nothing?
- Need tools to fix photos and make colors better?
- Want ready-made designs for social media or a website?
Since they’re all free trial options, you can try different ones until you discover the most useful one for you!
FAQs
What’s better than Pixlr?
If you want an alternative to Pixlr, try Photoshop for pro editing, GIMP for free tools, Capture One for easy edits, or ON1 Photo RAW for AI edits.
Which is better, Pixlr or Photopea?
Pixlr is easy to use for quick edits, and great for beginners. Photopea is like Photoshop, but better for professionals with advanced tools. Pixlr is lightweight, while Photopea supports more file types like PSD.
What is the best free photo editing site?
The best free photo editing site relies on what you require. Canva is simple for making designs. Pixlr is like Photoshop. Fotor is great for quick edits. BeFunky adds fun effects. Picsart has many tools.
What are the disadvantages of Pixlr?
Pixlr is slow, has tricky prices, AI tools don’t work well, and customer service is bad. Some like its free fonts, but most people dislike it and prefer ACDSee or GIMP as Pixlr alternatives.
Is Pixlr Safe?
Pixlr is a safe and trusted photo editing website used by many people. It protects user data, follows privacy rules, and has no major security issues. Always use the official site for safety.