Where is it in GIMP? Photoshop features, mapped to GIMP 3.2

• Tools›Transform Tools›MoveVstock GIMP: M

By default GIMP’s Move tool picks the layer under the cursor, like Photoshop with Auto-Select on. Hold Shift, or set “Move the selected layers” in its options, to move only the selected layer.

GIMP has no artboards. Use one image per artboard, or guides and Image → Slice Using Guides to cut one canvas into pieces.

• Tools›Selection Tools›Rectangle SelectMstock GIMP: R

Shift adds, Ctrl subtracts, Shift+Ctrl intersects, as in Photoshop. Rounded corners and a fixed aspect ratio are in the tool options.

• Tools›Selection Tools›Ellipse SelectShift+Mstock GIMP: E

• Tools›Selection Tools›Rectangle SelectMstock GIMP: R

Use Rectangle Select with a fixed size of 1 px height (or width) in the tool options.

• Tools›Selection Tools›Free SelectLstock GIMP: F

Drag for freehand, click for straight segments. Unlike Photoshop, you confirm the selection with Enter or a double-click.

• Tools›Selection Tools›Free SelectLstock GIMP: F

Click point to point with the Free Select tool, then press Enter.

• Tools›Selection Tools›Scissors Selectstock GIMP: I

Scissors Select snaps to edges as you click points; press Enter to make the selection.

• Tools›Selection Tools›Fuzzy SelectWstock GIMP: U

Fuzzy Select. Threshold in the tool options is Photoshop’s Tolerance; “Sample merged” is Sample All Layers.

• Tools›Selection Tools›Foreground Select

GIMP 3.2 has no brush-based quick selection in the normal toolbox (its Paint Select tool is still experimental). Foreground Select is the closest: rough outline, paint over the subject, press Enter.

• Tools›Selection Tools›Foreground Select

No AI selection in GIMP. Foreground Select does a semi-automatic cut-out from a rough outline and a few strokes.

• Tools›Transform Tools›CropCstock GIMP: Shift+C

Press Enter to apply. “Delete cropped pixels” is off by default, so cropped-away parts of layers are kept outside the canvas.

• Tools›Transform Tools›PerspectiveShift+P
• Tools›Transform Tools›CropCstock GIMP: Shift+C

Straighten with the Perspective tool first, then crop.

• Image›Slice Using Guides

Drag guides from the rulers, then use Slice Using Guides. It creates one image per slice.

• Tools›Color PickerIstock GIMP: O

Ctrl-click with any paint tool also picks a color.

• Tools›Measurestock GIMP: Shift+M

Draw a line along the horizon with Measure, then click Straighten in its options.

No equivalent. Image → Metadata can hold a text comment.

• Tools›Paint Tools›HealingJstock GIMP: H

GIMP has no automatic, content-aware spot healing. Use Healing with a source you pick (Ctrl-click), or the Resynthesizer plug-in’s Heal Selection. Resynthesizer

• Tools›Paint Tools›HealingJstock GIMP: H

Ctrl-click to set the source (Alt-click in Photoshop), then paint.

• Tools›Paint Tools›HealingJstock GIMP: H

No patch tool. Select the area and use Heal Selection from the Resynthesizer plug-in, or Healing by hand. Resynthesizer

No equivalent. Move the object by hand (Cut and Float or a duplicate layer), then repair the hole with Healing or Resynthesizer.

• Filters›Enhance›Red Eye Removal…

Select the eyes first (Ellipse Select), then run the filter.

• Tools›Paint Tools›PaintbrushBstock GIMP: P

[ and ] change the size (GIMP’s default, with or without PhotoGIMP); PhotoGIMP adds { and } for hardness. Hardness, spacing and dynamics are in the tool options.

• Tools›Paint Tools›PencilN

Hard-edged, no anti-aliasing. GIMP 3.2 adds an Overwrite paint mode that suits pixel art.

• Tools›Paint Tools›PaintbrushBstock GIMP: P

Paint with the Paintbrush in the Color (or HSV Hue) mode from the tool options.

• Tools›Paint Tools›MyPaint BrushY
• Tools›Paint Tools›SmudgeRstock GIMP: S

The MyPaint Brush tool has wet and blending brushes; Smudge mixes existing paint.

• Tools›Paint Tools›CloneSstock GIMP: C

Ctrl-click to set the source (Alt-click in Photoshop). Alignment options match Photoshop’s “Aligned”.

• Tools›Paint Tools›CloneSstock GIMP: C

Use the Clone tool with Source: Pattern in its options.

No equivalent. Duplicate the layer before editing and paint the original back through a layer mask.

• Tools›Paint Tools›EraserEstock GIMP: Shift+E

Erases to transparency only if the layer has an alpha channel; otherwise it paints the background color. Layer → Transparency → Add Alpha Channel fixes that.

• Layer›Transparency›Color to Alpha…

No equivalent tool. Color to Alpha removes one color; Fuzzy Select + Delete removes an area.

• Tools›Selection Tools›Fuzzy SelectWstock GIMP: U
• Edit›ClearDelete

Click with Fuzzy Select, then Edit → Clear (Delete). The layer needs an alpha channel.

• Tools›Paint Tools›GradientG

Gradients stay editable on the canvas until you switch tools or press Enter.

• Tools›Paint Tools›Bucket FillShift+Gstock GIMP: Shift+B

Can fill similar colors, the whole selection, or by line art detection (good for coloring drawings).

• Tools›Paint Tools›Blur / SharpenShift+Rstock GIMP: Shift+U

One tool; Ctrl switches between blur and sharpen.

• Tools›Paint Tools›SmudgeRstock GIMP: S

• Tools›Paint Tools›Dodge / BurnOstock GIMP: Shift+D

One tool; Ctrl switches between dodge and burn. Range: shadows, midtones, highlights, as in Photoshop.

• Tools›Paint Tools›PaintbrushBstock GIMP: P

No sponge. Paint on a new layer in the HSV Saturation or LCh Chroma mode, or use Hue-Saturation on a selection.

• Tools›Pathsstock GIMP: B

Click to add anchors, then drag a segment to bend it into a curve. Shift starts a new component. Paths live in the Paths panel.

• Tools›Selection Tools›Free SelectLstock GIMP: F
• Select›To Path

Draw with Free Select, then Select → To Path.

• Tools›TextT

Click to type, drag for a text box. Styling is in the tool options and the on-canvas editor. Text stays editable until you rasterize it.

• Layer›Text along Path

Text along Path bends text into a new path, not live text. Fill or stroke that path afterwards.

No text warping. Rasterize the text, then use Warp Transform or Filters → Distorts → Curve Bend.

• Tools›Pathsstock GIMP: B
• Paths panel (right-click)›Path to Vector Layer

New in GIMP 3.2: vector layers. Draw a path (or turn a selection into one with Select → To Path), then right-click it in the Paths panel → Path to Vector Layer. Fill and stroke stay editable. No ready-made shape presets.

No shape library. Import an SVG through the Paths panel (right-click → Import Path), or open it as a link layer.

Hold Space and drag, or drag with the middle mouse button. There is no separate Hand tool.

• View›Flip & Rotate›Other rotation angle…

Shift + middle-button drag rotates the canvas view, or use View → Flip & Rotate.

• Tools›ZoomZ

Ctrl + mouse wheel zooms too; 1 shows 100%.

No equivalent. Use a layer group with a layer mask.

• Select›AllCtrl+A

• Select›NoneCtrl+Dstock GIMP: Ctrl+Shift+A

• Select›Save to Channel

No Reselect. Undo the deselect, or save important selections to a channel first.

• Select›InvertCtrl+I

• Select›Feather…

• Select›Grow…
• Select›Shrink…

• Select›Border…

• Select›By Color

Select by Color picks every pixel of a similar color across the layer. No skin-tone or highlight presets.

• Tools›Selection Tools›Foreground Select
• Select›Toggle Quick MaskShift+Q

No single workspace. Foreground Select handles hair-level edges reasonably; Quick Mask lets you paint the selection; Feather softens it.

• Select›Toggle Quick MaskShift+Q

Also the small button at the bottom left of the image window.

• Select›Save to Channel

Saved selections become channels. To load one, right-click it in the Channels panel → Channel to Selection.

• Tools›Transform Tools›Unified TransformCtrl+Tstock GIMP: Shift+T

Set the transform tool’s “Transform” option to Selection, then transform as usual.

• Select›To Path

• Layer›New Layer…Ctrl+Shift+N

• Layer›Duplicate LayersCtrl+Jstock GIMP: Ctrl+Shift+D
• Edit›Paste In PlaceCtrl+Alt+V

Duplicate Layers copies the whole layer. To copy just a selection to a new layer, Copy and then Paste In Place: in GIMP 3, pasting creates a new layer at the same position.

• Layer›New Layer Group

Layer groups can have masks and non-destructive filters.

• Layer›Mask›Add Layer Masks…

White reveals, black hides, as in Photoshop. To load a mask as a selection, use Layer → Mask → Masks to Selection.

No vector masks. Turn the path into a selection and add a layer mask from it.

• Layers panel (right-click)›Composite Mode›Clip to Backdrop

Put the base layer and the clipped layer in a layer group, then set the top layer’s Composite Mode to Clip to Backdrop. It is shown only where the layer below has pixels.

• Windows›Dockable Dialogs›LayersCtrl+L

All the familiar modes exist, some under other names: Color Dodge is Dodge, Color Burn is Burn, Linear Dodge (Add) is Addition. GIMP adds LCh and HSV modes.

• Windows›Dockable Dialogs›LayersCtrl+L

Click the lock icon next to the layer in the Layers panel and choose “Lock alpha channel”.

• Windows›Dockable Dialogs›LayersCtrl+L

Click the lock icon next to a layer in the Layers panel: lock content, position, visibility or the alpha channel.

• Layer›Merge Down

• Image›Merge Visible Layers…Ctrl+Estock GIMP: Ctrl+M

• Layer›New from Visible

New from Visible makes a new layer from everything you see, keeping the others.

• Image›Flatten Image

• Layer›New Layer Group

GIMP 3.2’s release notes describe this: create an empty layer group, set its mode to Pass through, and add a filter such as Curves to the group; it adjusts every layer below and stays editable. GIMP 3.2.6 fixed a bug with filters on pass-through groups, so use 3.2.6. Not tested by us.

• File›Open as Link Layer…Ctrl+Alt+Shift+O

GIMP 3.2 link layers show an external file and update when it changes, like Photoshop’s linked smart objects. There are no embedded smart objects.

Since GIMP 3.0, most filters stay editable on the layer: an fx icon appears in the Layers panel, and you can change, hide or remove the filter later. Older plug-in filters are still applied directly.

• Filters›Light and Shadow›Drop Shadow…

A non-destructive filter on the layer. GIMP 3.2 imports Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow and Outer Glow from PSD files.

• Layer›Transparency›Alpha to Selection
• Edit›Stroke Selection…

Alpha to Selection, then Stroke Selection on a new layer. For text, the text tool’s outline options (GIMP 3.2) can do it.

• Filters›Light and Shadow›Drop Shadow…

Drop Shadow with offset 0, a large blur and a light color gives a glow.

• Filters›Decor›Add Bevel…
• Filters›Distorts›Emboss…

Add Bevel or Emboss, both applied directly to pixels.

No equivalent. Save versions as separate XCF files, or toggle groups by hand.

• Windows›Dockable Dialogs›LayersCtrl+L

Right-click a layer → Color Tags.

• Tools›Transform Tools›Align and DistributeQ

Align and Distribute tool: pick the layers, choose what to align relative to, click a button.

• View›Snap to Bounding Boxes
• View›Snap to Equidistance

Snapping to other layers’ edges, centers and equal spacing, turned on from the View menu.

• Colors›Brightness-Contrast…

• Colors›Levels…

GIMP 3.2 loads Photoshop .alv Levels presets.

• Colors›Curves…

GIMP 3.2 loads Photoshop .acv Curves presets.

• Colors›Exposure…

• Tools›GEGL Operation

GIMP 3.2 has a Vibrance filter but no menu entry: press / (Search and Run a Command) and type “vibrance”, or pick it in the GEGL Operation tool.

• Colors›Hue-Saturation…

Per-color ranges (reds, yellows…) work as in Photoshop.

• Colors›Color Balance…

• Colors›Components›Mono Mixer…
• Colors›Desaturate›Desaturate…

Mono Mixer sets how much red, green and blue go into the gray, like Black & White’s sliders.

• Colors›Color Temperature…
• Colors›Colorize…

Color Temperature warms or cools; for a colored tint, fill a layer with the color in Overlay or Color mode.

• Colors›Components›Channel Mixer…

No LUT support built in. The G’MIC plug-in can apply .cube LUTs. G’MIC

• Colors›Invert

• Colors›Posterize…

• Colors›Threshold…

• Colors›Map›Gradient Map

Uses the active gradient. Applied directly, not as an editable filter.

• Colors›Hue-Saturation…
• Colors›Curves…

No direct equivalent. Hue-Saturation per color range, or Curves per channel, covers most uses.

• Colors›Shadows-Highlights…

• Colors›Tone Mapping›Mantiuk 2006…
• Colors›Tone Mapping›Fattal et al. 2002…
• Colors›Tone Mapping›Reinhard 2005…

Three tone-mapping operators under Colors → Tone Mapping.

• Colors›Desaturate›Desaturate…

No equivalent.

• Colors›Map›Color Exchange…
• Colors›Map›Rotate Colors…

Color Exchange swaps one color; Rotate Colors shifts a range of hues.

• Colors›Auto›Equalize

• Colors›Auto›White Balance
• Colors›Auto›Stretch Contrast…

White Balance and Stretch Contrast under Colors → Auto, or the Auto button in Levels.

No Camera Raw in GIMP. Raw photos open through darktable, RawTherapee or ART if one of them is installed; develop there, then edit in GIMP. raw developers

• Filters›Distorts›Lens Distortion…

Manual barrel/pincushion and vignetting correction. No lens profiles.

• Tools›Transform Tools›Warp Transformstock GIMP: W

Warp Transform: move, grow, shrink, swirl. Press Enter to apply.

• Tools›Paint Tools›Perspective Clone

Perspective Clone clones along a perspective plane you set first.

• Tools›Transform Tools›Cage Transformstock GIMP: Shift+G

Cage Transform deforms inside a cage you draw. There is no pin-based puppet warp in the default toolbox.

• Tools›Transform Tools›PerspectiveShift+P
• Tools›Transform Tools›Handle TransformShift+L
• Tools›Transform Tools›3D TransformShift+W

Perspective, Handle Transform and 3D Transform cover different parts of it.

• Filters›Blur›Gaussian Blur…

• Filters›Blur›Linear Motion Blur…

• Filters›Blur›Circular Motion Blur…
• Filters›Blur›Zoom Motion Blur…

Spin is Circular Motion Blur; Zoom is Zoom Motion Blur.

• Filters›Blur›Lens Blur…
• Filters›Blur›Variable Blur…

• Filters›Blur›Focus Blur…

Focus Blur with a horizontal band shape.

• Filters›Enhance›Sharpen (Unsharp Mask)…

• Filters›Enhance›High Pass…

• Filters›Enhance›Noise Reduction…

• Filters›Noise›RGB Noise…

• Filters›Enhance›Wavelet Decompose…

Wavelet Decompose splits the image into detail layers, which is how most GIMP retouchers do frequency separation.

• Filters›Light and Shadow›Lighting Effects…

• Filters›Light and Shadow›Lens Flare…
• Filters›Light and Shadow›Gradient Flare…

• Filters›Light and Shadow›Vignette…

• Filters›Map›Displace…

• Filters›Distorts›Ripple…
• Filters›Distorts›Waves…
• Filters›Distorts›Whirl and Pinch…
• Filters›Distorts›Spherize…

• Filters›Distorts›Polar Coordinates…

• Filters›Blur›Pixelize…
• Filters›Distorts›Mosaic…

• Filters›Artistic›Oilify…

• Filters›Distorts›Emboss…

• Filters›Render›Noise›Solid Noise…
• Filters›Render›Noise›Difference Clouds

Not built in. Scale with Image → Scale Image, or mask out what must keep its shape.

Not built in. The Resynthesizer plug-in’s Heal Selection fills a selected area from its surroundings, the closest thing GIMP has. Resynthesizer

No generative AI in GIMP. Add canvas with Image → Canvas Size and fill it by hand or with Resynthesizer.

• Tools›Paint Tools›HealingJstock GIMP: H
• Tools›Paint Tools›CloneSstock GIMP: C

No AI removal. Healing and Clone by hand; Resynthesizer for larger areas. Resynthesizer

• Tools›Selection Tools›Foreground Select
• Layer›Mask›Add Layer Masks…

Foreground Select, then add a layer mask from the selection. Takes a minute, not one click.

No equivalent in GIMP.

• Image›Scale Image…Ctrl+Alt+I

Scale Image with NoHalo or LoHalo interpolation. No AI upscaling.

• Image›Scale Image…Ctrl+Alt+I

• Image›Canvas Size…Ctrl+Alt+C

• Image›Crop to Content
• Image›Zealous Crop

Crop to Content removes transparent or same-colored borders.

• Image›Transform›Rotate 90° clockwise
• Image›Transform›Arbitrary Rotation…

• Tools›Transform Tools›Unified TransformCtrl+Tstock GIMP: Shift+T

Unified Transform scales, rotates, shears and moves in one tool. Press Enter to apply.

• Layer›Transform›Flip Horizontally
• Layer›Transform›Flip Vertically

• Edit›Fill with FG ColorAlt+Backspacestock GIMP: Ctrl+,
• Edit›Fill with BG ColorCtrl+Backspacestock GIMP: Ctrl+.
• Edit›Fill with PatternCtrl+;

Fill with the foreground or background color, or a pattern. No content-aware option.

• Edit›Stroke Selection…

• Edit›Paste as›Paste as New Brush…
• Edit›Paste as›Paste as New Pattern…

Copy something, then Paste as New Brush or New Pattern.

• Edit›Paste as›Paste as Floating Data Into Selection

• Edit›Copy VisibleCtrl+Shift+C

• Edit›UndoCtrl+Z

• Edit›Undo History

No snapshots; Image → Duplicate makes a copy to go back to.

• Image›Guides›New Guide…
• View›Show RulersCtrl+Shift+R

Drag guides out of the rulers. New Guide (by Percent) places them exactly.

• View›Show Grid
• Image›Configure Grid…

• Help›Search and Run a Command/

Finds and runs any menu command or filter by name.

• Edit›Preferences

On macOS, GIMP 3.2.6 calls it GIMP → Settings.

• File›Open…Ctrl+O

Layers, groups, masks and blend modes open. Adjustment layers become empty layers and text becomes pixels (per GIMP’s PSD importer). GIMP 3.2 also imports drop shadow, inner shadow and outer glow styles.

• File›Export As…Ctrl+Shift+E

Export As and choose .psd (or .psb, new in 3.2). CMYK is an export option. GIMP’s own format is XCF, which keeps everything.

• File›Export As…Ctrl+Shift+E

Pick the format by extension: JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, JPEG XL, GIF and more, each with quality options.

• Filters›Repeat LastCtrl+F
• Filters›Re-Show LastCtrl+Shift+F

No action recorder. Repeat Last re-applies the last filter; batch work needs a Script-Fu or Python script, or a batch plug-in.

• Image›Color Management›Soft-proof Profile…
• View›Color Management›Proof Colors

GIMP edits in RGB. Soft-proof with a CMYK profile, then export CMYK in formats that support it, such as PSD.

• Image›Encoding›16-bit integer
• Image›Encoding›32-bit floating point

Image → Encoding, up to 32-bit float.

• Image›Color Management›Assign Color Profile…
• Image›Color Management›Convert to Color Profile…

GIMP reads .abr files: put them in the brushes folder of your GIMP settings folder (Edit → Preferences → Folders → Brushes) and refresh the Brushes panel. Brush dynamics from Photoshop do not carry over.

GIMP 3.2 reads Photoshop .pat patterns and imports .aco and .ase swatches as palettes (Palettes panel → Import Palette).

• Filters›Animation›Playback…

No video. Simple animations are one layer per frame, played and optimized from Filters → Animation, exported as GIF or WebP.

No 3D in GIMP.

• File›Print…