If you are looking for a low-cost, no-cost alternative to Photoshop, Lightroom, Corell, and the others, you may want to check out Autodesk’s Pixlr.

The software many already know as a phone app is now available for free download to your PC or MAC.

And here’s the surprise, It’s not bad,  It works.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying it is as good as Photoshop.  BUT, since Photoshop cost just a bit more than,..um… FREE,  you should keep an open mind.  I downloaded it with a smirk plastered firmly on face, and with very low expectations.  I am, I admit a Photoshop snob and a Photoshop addict.   With that said,  I was surprised.  The program downloads and installs very easily and you can start using it immediately.  They do offer the opportunity to set up a free account which gives you more access, and even buy a version that does still more.

I stuck with the freebie.

The design of this program is very simple.  As I think through my experience processing an image, the word “easy” pops up constantly.  If you are a Photoshop user it will seem at the start like a “child’s program”.  The thing to remember is this isn’t designed for Photoshop users, . . . but for everyone else.  It was very easy to understand options and does a lot of the things Photoshop does.



It’s refine section has a sharpen, blur, and contrast tool that all work well.  It also offers some very stylized borders.

So, if you have a few Mbs open on your hard drive I suggest downloading Autodesk Pixlr and giving it a try.   Here is the link. https://pixlr.com/

Once you’ve downloaded it, I’d like to hear how you like it.