Compare / GIMP vs Krita
GIMP vs Krita
Pick GIMP if the job is photo retouch and general raster (the published Photoshop stack's first tool). Pick Krita if the job is painting and illustration.
Facts checked 17 Oct 2026. License, language, and GitHub activity come from the catalog or the project's own repo. "Not in the catalog row" means the public catalog dump does not store that number.
GIMP in the catalog Krita in the catalogStart on Railway
How they compare
| GIMP | Krita | |
|---|---|---|
| License | GPL-3.0-or-later (catalog) source | GPL-3.0 (catalog) source |
| Language | Not listed as a programming language in the catalog row | C++ (catalog) |
| GitHub activity | Not listed in the catalog (GIMP lives on GNOME GitLab) | 10,580 stars in the catalog source |
| Self-host | Workstation install from gimp.org. | Workstation install from krita.org. |
| Best for | Photo retouch and general raster. | Painting and illustration. |
Self-hosting and resource needs
Both are workstation installs, not Railway web apps. GIMP's catalog row is gimp.org (no GitHub star count in the catalog). Krita's catalog row points at the KDE/krita GitHub mirror; canonical development is invent.kde.org. Photopea is not open source.
FAQ
- Why not Photopea?
- Photopea is not open source. This site skips it.
- Can I deploy this on Railway?
- No. The editor stays on the workstation. That is the stack FAQ.
- Are these free?
- Both catalog rows are GPL-family. You run them locally.
- What about Illustrator or Premiere?
- /replace/illustrator is Inkscape. /replace/premiere-pro is Kdenlive or Shotcut.
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