PaintShop vs Photoshop – What Software to Use?

PaintShop Pro vs Photoshop, what software to use for advanced picture editing and creating graphics? What are the main advantages and disadvantages of both options? Having tested the latest updates, I am ready to compare Photoshop vs PaintShop side by side and answer all FAQ.

PaintShop Pro vs Photoshop were created and released almost at the same time (1990-92). But is the Corel product functioning well enough today comparing it with the reference software? What unique features can it provide?

What Is PaintShop Pro?

PaintShop Pro is an easy-to-use image editing software that offers a complete set of effective drawing, correction and picture editing features. You can perform complex manipulations with layers (retouch and restore), or enhance images with quick/automatic corrections, as well as add effects to photos.

This best photo editing software for beginners has a simple interface that allows switching between Photography, Essentials, and Complete workspaces. The "Management" tab contains a photo organizer, and you can use it to view, mark and organize photos. The “Editing” tab features tools that will help you refine your pictures. You can customize this tab – change almost everything, color, size, remove or add panels, icons, and scrollbars.

Similar to Photoshop, PaintShop Pro suggests using a stylus and a tablet, I tested this feature with my Huion H430.

Corel PaintShop Pro supports more than 40 file formats, including the most common types, such as JPG, RAW, PNG, PSD, TIFF, GIF and PDF. This gives you the possibility to import almost any image into the program.

• Learn more about the program in my PaintShop Pro Review.

PaintShop Pro: Strengths and Weaknesses

SmartClone. This feature allows you to easily combine elements from several photographs and integrate them into a single integrated image for future use. The top toolbar contains various shapes, so you can choose the suitable one to select a part of the shot for cloning. Then activate the Blend mode (Blend, Original or B&W). The cloned image will look according to the blend mode you choose. This tool can be used both for basic photo retouching and for creating complex compositions.

Large photography workspace. This new workspace provides a simplified interface with large touch controls. It can be used by beginners, or when you need to achieve good results in the shortest possible time.

The “Refine Brush” tool. Refine Brush provides the highest level of accuracy and allows you to select complex objects such as strands of hair or leaves/dry tree branches. After you make a selection, there will appear the “Refine Brush” button in the upper right corner. This opens up a new settings panel that allows you to set tool size, smoothness, feathering and border.

Camera Raw Lab. To edit RAW files, Corel PaintShopPro offers a special interface called Lab. It greatly resembles Camera Raw in Photoshop. Using Camera RAW Lab you can change the white balance and remove glare, apply corrections based on the lens profile for chromatic aberration and vignetting, reduce noise and more.

Support for raster and vector images. In PaintShop Pro, you can edit both vector and raster graphics. This means that you can create unlimited logos and perform high-quality, pixel-based image processing.

You can create an unlimited number of brushes. Along with the standard brushes that are included in PaintShop Pro, you can create your own tools, set their size, shape, pitch, density, thickness, hardness and rotation parameters. You can even include dispersion settings for the tip of the brush. A new brush will appear in the drop-down list of brushes. You can use the new brush with any drawing tool that is displayed on this drop-down list.

Inefficient removal of chromatic aberration. Despite the fact that PaintShop Pro offers automatic removal of chromatic aberration, I have tested it in more than ten photos, and didn’t receive a decent result. By the way, the manual correction was successful.

NO Mac OS support. Despite constant promises of creating Mac version, today the image editor is available only for Windows.

What Is Photoshop?

Adobe Photoshop is multi-functional advanced software for editing raster graphics, creating graphic images, drawing, video editing and even performing color correction using the Camera RAW plug-in. Comparing Photoshop vs PaintShop, the former is cross-platform and is supported by both Windows and Mac OS.

Ps includes many unique filters, special effects and tools. With the help of customizable masks, you can perform professional retouching, using such techniques as Dodge & Burn or Frequency Separation.

In addition to advanced layers, almost every tool can be customized. You can change color, size, intensity and other parameters. This best photo editing software for PC is a part of Adobe Creative Cloud and provides users with cloud storage ranging in size from 20GB to 10TB, close integration with other products, Adobe Portfolio and Stock image. To make your Photoshop experience even more enjoyable, you can download and install various brushes, actions, text styles, etc.

Photoshop: Strengths and Weaknesses

Advanced layers. One of the features why professionals choose Photoshop is the huge number of customizable layers – type layer, image layer, vector shape layer, layer styles, smart object, smart filter, layer mask, adjustment layer and background. Each layer can be disabled, moved, made transparent and combined with other layers.

Helpful plug-ins. No need to perform image retouching, drawing and adding complex elements manually, because Photoshop offers support for all kinds of ready-made plug-ins, including Actions, Overlays, Brushes, Templates and Textures.

Many design tools. You can select different templates from Adobe Stock, which includes standard resources and illustrations. Use them to create your own unique projects. Various Ps menu styles allow regulating sizes of your works. Besides, you can save them for future use.

Popularity and active community. Thousands of educational video courses, forums, blogs dedicated to Adobe Photoshop make it the most popular image editing software on the entire market. Corel PaintShop Pro can’t boast such popularity. About 85% of professional retouchers, photographers, designers, web developers and even artists use Photoshop as their main tool.

OpenType SVG Fonts and Emoji Support. This is an absolute advantage in PaintShop Pro vs Photoshop battle. Supporting Open Type SVG fonts, Emoji and embedded color Trojan scheme, this software provides you with the possibility to use several gradients and colors in a single glyph.

Not suitable for preparing files for printing. Photoshop uses vectors, and the standard size of the exported image will be only 300 DPI. This is an acceptable resolution for a small album photo, but if you want to get something bigger, forget about Photoshop.

PaintShop Pro vs Photoshop Price

Comparing PaintShop 2024 vs Photoshop in the price range, I would like to immediately note the leader, and this is PaintShop Pro. The reason is quite simple, Corel software costs $79.99 (full licensed version), and a yearly update fee is $59.99.

If you calculate the monthly costs from this amount, then you pay $6.5 per month. To buy Photoshop, you have to pay $9.99 a month. On the other hand, together with Photoshop, you get Lightroom free, cloud storage and Adobe Portfolio.

• Photography Plan - $9.99/month
• Photoshop - $20.99/month
• PaintShop Pro - $79.99

To make it easier to decide before purchasing, you can use Photoshop free, and PaintShop Free trial version. You will not pay anything, and get the software for 7-30 days completely free.

PaintShop Pro vs Photoshop – Who Wins?

Corel PaintShop Pro and Photoshop perform a great range of tasks: photography editing, graphic design, drawing. Both programs contain tools for adjusting color, saturation, and tone, and can also be used to distort, crop, retouch, and overlay images.

But Adobe Photoshop has a wider variety of functions and is compatible with Mac OS. Photoshop has excellent color management, more tutorials, is better optimized, and comes with a broader set of features in general. But these additional features also complicate the mastering of this program.

One of the distinguishing features of Corel PaintShop Pro is a tool for automatically originals saving. When activated, the original copy of the image you are working on is automatically saved in a new folder. If you make mistakes while editing photos, you can restore the original. However, after that, the edited version will be deleted forever.

Freebies for Working in PaintShop Pro vs Photoshop

No matter which software you choose, these free plug-ins will significantly reduce the time spent on image post-production. This is especially important for novice users.

Bright Color

Use this action if you want to fix faded colors in your photos. Action makes the photo brighter and more saturated, leaving the colors realistic. Use it for images taken in daylight.

VSCO

VCSO filters have always been popular among mobile photographers. Use this free action if you want to “bring life to colors”. The contrast will be raised and shadows will become distinct. Thus, lighter objects will acquire defined lines.

Black and White

Black and white photography has always been in fashion, so I included this free action. With it, you will convert photos from color to B&W, not in a usual manner, but with softer, a little pinkish glare. Thus, you can emphasize warm weather or add romantic touches.

Falling Snow

Everyone wants to have a beautiful winter photo, but the weather isn’t always “generous”, and in most cases, you don’t have enough snow. To fix this problem, you can use this free overlay. It mimics the falling snow, keeping the photo realistic.

Sky Cinematic

Using this free overlay, you don’t need to wait for that perfect day, because this plug-in fills the sky with beautiful, natural clouds. It is suitable for any type of shooting, including landscape and wedding photos.