PicMonkey vs GIMP: Which One Is Better in 2024?

PicMonkey and GIMP are essential tools for businesses and designers, offering unique features for branding, marketing, and creative projects. We'll compare PicMonkey's user-friendly design capabilities with GIMP's advanced, customizable features to determine which is the best fit for your needs. This comparison will help you make an informed decision.

A Quick Overview of PicMonkey and GIMP

What is PicMonkey?

PicMonkey provides photo editing and design tools aimed at helping users create professional-quality images for social media, marketing, branding, and personal projects. The company offers a range of features and templates to make the design process quick and easy.

PicMonkey offers a variety of templates for different purposes like flyers, social media posts, logos, and invitations. One unique feature is its comprehensive branding tools, including the ability to create a brand kit that stores logos, fonts, and colors for easy access.

What is GIMP?

GIMP is a free and open-source image editor available for multiple operating systems, including GNU/Linux, macOS, and Windows. It allows users to modify and distribute its source code.

GIMP offers extensive customization options and supports third-party plugins to enhance productivity. Its status as a free and open-source software allows users to freely modify and distribute its source code, setting it apart from many proprietary image editing tools.

Features of PicMonkey and GIMP

Similarities

PicMonkey and GIMP, despite their different origins, share several key features that make them powerful tools for photo editing and graphic design. Both platforms offer robust capabilities that cater to a wide range of creative needs.

• Photo Editing Tools: Both provide essential tools for touch-ups, color adjustments, and background removal.
• Effects and Filters: Each platform offers a variety of effects and filters to enhance photos, such as Posterize and Edge Sketch in PicMonkey, which are similar to GIMP's artistic filters.
• Templates and Design Tools: Both offer templates for creating various designs like logos, banners, and social media posts.
• Support for Stock Images: Both platforms provide access to a library of stock images for use in designs.
• Layer Management: Both allow for the use of layers to create complex designs and edits.

Differences

PicMonkey and GIMP cater to different user needs with distinct features. While PicMonkey is designed for ease of use and quick edits, GIMP offers advanced customization and professional-grade tools.

• Templates: PicMonkey provides a wide range of pre-designed templates for social media, logos, and invitations, which GIMP lacks.
• Brand Kit: PicMonkey allows users to store logos, fonts, and colors for consistent branding, a feature not available in GIMP.
• Stock Photos & Videos: PicMonkey offers access to high-quality stock images and videos from Shutterstock, which GIMP does not provide.
• Open Source: GIMP is free and open-source, allowing users to modify and distribute its source code, unlike PicMonkey.
• Plug-in Support: GIMP supports extensive third-party plugins for enhanced functionality, a feature not mentioned for PicMonkey.

User Interface and Usability

PicMonkey's user interface is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, with a clean layout and easy navigation. The platform offers a straightforward experience, making it accessible for users with minimal design experience. In contrast, GIMP's interface is more complex, catering to advanced users who require extensive customization options. The learning curve for GIMP is steeper, which may be a barrier for beginners.

Usability in PicMonkey is enhanced by its pre-designed templates and drag-and-drop functionality, allowing for quick edits and designs. GIMP, while powerful, requires a deeper understanding of its tools and features, which can be overwhelming for new users. Overall, PicMonkey offers a more accessible and user-friendly interface compared to GIMP.

Collaboration

PicMonkey's platform does not explicitly highlight features that facilitate collaboration. The focus is primarily on individual design capabilities, such as templates and branding tools. Users looking for collaborative features may find the lack of specific tools for teamwork a limitation.

GIMP, similarly, does not emphasize collaboration in its core offerings. While it integrates with other software like Scribus and Inkscape, which can be part of a collaborative workflow, it lacks direct features for real-time teamwork. The emphasis remains on individual customization and extensibility.

Neither PicMonkey nor GIMP stands out as superior for collaboration.

PicMonkey and GIMP Pricing

PicMonkey offers three subscription plans: Basic at $72 annually or $7.99 monthly, Pro at $120 annually or $12.99 monthly, and Business at $228 annually per user or $23 monthly. Each plan includes a 7-day free trial, with features scaling up from basic photo editing tools to advanced branding and collaboration capabilities.

GIMP, on the other hand, is entirely free and open-source, with no subscription plans or pricing tiers. Users can download and use the software without any cost, though donations are encouraged to support development. Given this, GIMP provides a more cost-effective solution for users seeking powerful image editing tools without a financial commitment.

Overall, GIMP offers better pricing as it is free, while PicMonkey requires a subscription.

Comparing PicMonkey and GIMP to Piktochart

Piktochart transforms complex ideas into captivating visuals that inform and engage your audience. With Piktochart AI, you can create stunning infographics, reports, and presentations in seconds, perfectly aligned with your brand. No design experience required.

Pros of Piktochart

• AI-Powered Design Generator: Piktochart's AI-powered design generator allows users to create stunning visuals quickly and effortlessly, making it a standout feature for those needing fast, professional-quality designs.
• Extensive Template Library: With a wide range of templates for various use cases and industries, Piktochart saves users time and effort, providing a solid foundation for creating infographics, reports, and presentations.
• Customizable Video Tools: Piktochart offers accessible video editing and content repurposing tools, including customizable text and view properties, enhancing the flexibility and creativity of video projects.
• Comprehensive Visual Tools: From infographics to social media posts, Piktochart provides a variety of visual tools like Infographic Maker, Banner Maker, and Brochure Maker, catering to diverse design needs.
• Support for Multiple Sectors: Piktochart supports different sectors such as communications, education, finance, healthcare, and marketing, making it a versatile tool for various professional fields.

Piktochart's Pricing

• Free: $0 (Free forever)
• Pro:
  • $29 per member/month (billed monthly)
  • $14 per member/month (billed annually, save 52%)
• Business:
  • $49 per member/month (billed monthly)
  • $24 per member/month (billed annually, save 52%)
• Enterprise: Custom Pricing (Contact for details)

What Are Others Saying?

PicMonkey Reviews

Overall, users have given PicMonkey a rating of 4.4 out of 5. While many appreciate its ease of use and intuitive design, frustrations include limited features and performance issues.

"The software lags and lacks advanced editing options." - John D., 3.5/5

"Expensive for the features offered, and the background remover is inefficient." - Sarah M., 3/5

"Limited templates and undo/redo functionality." - Alex P., 3.8/5

Find more of PicMonkey reviews on G2!

GIMP Reviews

Overall, users have given GIMP a rating of 4.3 out of 5. While many appreciate its free services, frustrations include a steep learning curve and limited features.

"It's a bit heavy: if you want to do just a quick change it might take more time to load GIMP than really doing the job." - Verified User in Entertainment, 3/5

"The user interface is not very friendly like other alternatives but seemingly does the job." - Vishal L., 3/5

"I find it more confusing than other items. I find it less intuitive." - Devon Courtney T. K., 3/5

Find more of GIMP reviews on G2!

Piktochart Reviews

Our users have given Piktochart an overall rating of 4.4 out of 5. They appreciate its ease of use, intuitive design, and the quality of pre-built templates. Here are some of the sentiments from our customers:

• "Easy to create content even if you're not a designer." - Jessica D.
• "Piktochart is very easy and simple to use online graphics creation tool." - Andrea V.
• "My Go-To for ALL Professional Presentations!" - Jennifer K.

Find more of our reviews on G2!

Why choose one over the other?

Why a consumer might want to use PicMonkey over GIMP:

• PicMonkey is ideal for users who need a user-friendly interface and quick access to a variety of templates and branding tools. This makes it perfect for social media managers, small business owners, and marketing professionals.

Why a consumer might want to use GIMP over PicMonkey:

• GIMP is suited for users who require advanced customization and high-quality photo manipulation tools. It is ideal for graphic designers, photographers, and developers who prefer free and open-source software.

Why a consumer might want to use Piktochart over GIMP and PicMonkey:

• Piktochart is perfect for users who need an all-in-one tool for creating infographics, presentations, and videos with ease. This makes it a great choice for professionals, educators, and marketers looking for a comprehensive visual communication platform.

PicMonkey, GIMP, or Piktochart: Which is the best platform for you?

While PicMonkey and GIMP offer valuable features for different needs, we believe Piktochart stands out as the most versatile and user-friendly option. Its AI-powered design tools and extensive template library make it easy for anyone to create stunning visuals quickly. Whether you're a professional, educator, or marketer, Piktochart provides the comprehensive tools you need to bring your ideas to life effortlessly.