Corel PaintShop Pro review

Corel PaintShop Pro is the traditional boxed alternative to Photoshop on Windows. Corel sells it as subscription-free software, summed up on its product page as buy it once, it is yours forever, and offers a free trial. The current release, PaintShop Pro 2023, brings AfterShot Lab for RAW editing inside the app, Focus Stacking, an enhanced Frame tool, Snap to Objects and real-time previews of blend modes. It reads Photoshop brushes in .abr format, which helps people bringing a brush library over from Adobe. An Ultimate edition adds extra creative software, and a Photo Video Bundle pairs it with VideoStudio. The drawbacks are age and platform: the product line still carries the 2023 name, it runs only on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11, and it lacks the generative tools found in Luminar or Pixelmator Pro. The pricing page did not show USD from our location, so we could not verify the price.

Who it is for

Windows users who want a boxed, one-time photo editor

Price

One-time purchase; free trial (USD check pending).

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• AfterShot Lab for RAW editing inside PaintShop Pro
• Focus Stacking
• Opens Adobe Photoshop brushes (.abr)
• Clipped masks based on shapes or vector text
• Real-time blend mode preview

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Buy it once and keep it, according to Corel
• Strength: Free trial download
• Strength: Ultimate edition and a Photo Video Bundle with VideoStudio are available
• Weakness: Windows 11 or Windows 10 64-bit only
• Weakness: The current release is still PaintShop Pro 2023
• Weakness: The pricing page did not show USD from our location, so confirm the cost yourself

Key facts

• Pricing model: One-time purchase
• Current version: PaintShop Pro 2023
• Platform: Windows 11, Windows 10 (64-bit)
• RAM: 4 GB minimum

Where it ranks

Corel PaintShop Pro is No. 9 in our Best Photoshop Alternatives verdict.