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It's a split decision.
Choose Photopea for hands-on browser editing, PSD support and a free plan; its files are processed on your device, and Premium starts at $8 monthly. Choose Imagen for AI-assisted culling and editing built around a photographer’s style. Its Pay-as-you-go plan has a $7 monthly minimum plus $0.05 per photo, while Limitless costs $129 per month billed annually. These products solve different jobs, so the better pick depends on whether you need an editor or an automated photography workflow.
01Side by side
| Photopea | Imagen | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free; Premium starts at $8 monthly | $7 monthly minimum, plus $0.05 per photo |
| Free plan | Yes; ads, 0.5 GB storage, about one daily AI action | Free plan listed; included limits not published |
| Best for | Browser-based photo, design and vector editing | Professional photographers automating post-production |
| Core strength | PSD editing and broad image-format support | AI culling and style-matched photo editing |
| Learning curve | Not published | Not published |
| Integrations/data | Files processed locally; supports PSD, PNG, SVG, PDF, AI and Figma | Business API access; other integrations not published |
| Team/seat costs | Up to five users for $20 monthly | Business pricing custom; individual plans limit two computers |
| Support | Support details not published | 24/7 priority support on custom business plan |
Photopea Choose Photopea if
- Choose Photopea if you need a free browser-based editor.
- Choose Photopea if PSD and varied file-format support matter.
- Choose Photopea if you want files processed on your device.
Imagen Choose Imagen if
- Choose Imagen if you need AI photo culling.
- Choose Imagen if you want edits matched to your style.
- Choose Imagen if your photography workflow needs video color grading.
02Pricing compared
Photopea has a free plan with ads, 0.5 GB of PeaDrive storage, standard history steps and about one AI action per day. Premium for one user costs $8 monthly or $50 prepaid for 365 days, equivalent to $4.17 per month; it includes 5 GB of storage and 3,000 AI credits per month. These are prepaid passes, not auto-renewing subscriptions.
Imagen’s Pay-as-you-go plan has a $7 monthly minimum, applied as editing credit, plus $0.05 per photo. Unused credit rolls over; AI culling costs extra, from $12 monthly. Limitless costs $165 month to month or $129 per month billed annually, paid upfront for the year. Cloud storage starts at $3 monthly on either individual plan. Compare expected photo volume and add-ons with Photopea’s flat Premium price: the products charge for different kinds of work.
03Features and depth
Photopea is a browser-based editor for hands-on image and design work. Its homepage says files are processed on your device and not uploaded. It opens and saves PSD files, and supports formats including PNG, SVG, PDF, AI and Figma. Editing tools include layers, masks, smart objects, filters and vector graphics tools. It also opens several RAW formats for adjustments to exposure, color balance, contrast, highlights and shadows. AI tools can remove backgrounds or replace image areas from a text description.
Imagen is built around photographers’ post-production workflows, rather than general-purpose design editing. Its tools include AI culling, color correction, automatic masking and composition adjustments. A Personal AI Profile learns a photographer’s style choices and applies them across projects. Imagen also offers video color grading, including adaptive AI grading and LUT-based coloring. The practical dividing line is clear: Photopea gives you an editor and its controls; Imagen automates parts of a photo workflow. The published feature information does not describe Imagen as a PSD editor or Photopea as an automated culling platform.
04Ease of use and learning curve
Photopea puts editing controls in a browser, but its layers, masks, smart objects, RAW adjustments and vector tools point to a hands-on editor rather than a one-click photo service. It suits users who want to make and refine edits themselves. Its free plan includes ads and standard history steps; Premium increases history steps.
Imagen is designed to automate culling and editing, but it asks photographers to set up a Personal AI Profile that learns their style. That setup and the number of images you process are worth factoring in before switching. The published reviews score ease of use at 7.5 for Photopea and 7 for Imagen; those scores do not establish how either product will fit a particular team’s workflow.
Questions people ask
Is Photopea very similar to Photoshop?
Photopea supports PSD files and includes layers, masks, smart objects, filters and other editing tools, so there is overlap with a layered image-editing workflow. The published product information does not make a direct Photoshop comparison or establish that every Photoshop feature behaves the same way.
Is GIMP still good in 2026?
The published information covers Photopea and Imagen, not GIMP, so it does not support a current assessment of GIMP’s features, pricing or performance. For this comparison, Photopea is the browser-based editor described here; Imagen focuses on AI-assisted photo workflows.
Why is Photopea legal?
The published information does not address Photopea’s legal status, licensing or how it handles rights to supported formats. It says Photopea runs in a browser and that files are processed on the user’s device, but those details alone do not answer a legal question.
Is Photopea no longer free?
Photopea still has a free plan in the published pricing information. It includes ads, 0.5 GB of PeaDrive storage, standard history steps and about one AI action per day. Premium is optional and adds an ad-free workspace, more storage and more AI capacity.