GIMP download for Windows

GIMP is the best-known free image editor. It has the tools people expect from paid software, including layers, masks, curves, selection tools, healing and cloning, and a long list of filters, and it costs nothing because volunteers develop it as open source. The trade-off is an interface with its own logic, which takes a few sessions to get used to.

Getting GIMP on Windows

The official downloads page keeps this simple. There is a single installer for Windows, and it covers both ordinary 64-bit PCs (x86_64) and Arm-based ones (ARM64), so you do not have to choose a processor type.

You can get it three ways:

• Download directly. The usual route.
• BitTorrent. The same file, fetched through a torrent client. Useful on a slow or unreliable connection, because the installer is large.
• Microsoft Store. An official listing that updates through the Store.

Check your Windows version first. The installer requires Windows 10 version 1903 or newer. The Store edition asks for Windows 11. The page does not list a 32-bit build.

The same page publishes a SHA-256 checksum for the installer and a link to its VirusTotal report, which is the proper way to confirm that the file you hold is the one the GIMP team released.

A note for Mac users

GIMP provides separate downloads for Intel and Apple Silicon Macs and asks for macOS 11 or newer. The team states that it does not publish GIMP on Apple's App Store. Anything you find there comes from a third party.

The first launch, and the first surprise

GIMP's first start is slow. It is scanning your fonts and loading its plugins, and later starts are much quicker.

The surprise comes when you try to save a JPEG. Save writes GIMP's own XCF format, which keeps your layers so you can return to the work later. To produce a PNG or JPEG you use File, Export As instead. Once you know this it makes sense: XCF is your working file and the export is the copy you hand out.

Five things worth learning first

1. Layers. Put each change on its own layer and you can adjust or remove it later. The Layers panel sits on the right.
2. Crop and Scale. The Crop tool is in the toolbox; Image, Scale Image changes the size in pixels.
3. Colors, Curves. One curve usually fixes a flat or dark photo better than several sliders.
4. The Heal tool. Hold Ctrl and click to sample a clean patch, then paint over a blemish or a dust spot.
5. Filters you can revisit. Current versions of GIMP can apply filters non-destructively, so you can reopen a filter and change its settings instead of starting again.

Where people get stuck

Photoshop files. GIMP opens PSD files and keeps ordinary layers. Features that have no equivalent in GIMP may not come across intact, so do not treat it as a drop-in replacement in a team that works in Photoshop.

Older plugins. Plugins written for GIMP 2 generally need updating before they work in GIMP 3. Check before you rely on one.

It is a pixel editor. For painting, Krita is built around brushes. For developing a batch of RAW photos, darktable is built for the job.

Questions and answers

Is GIMP free for commercial work?

Yes. GIMP is free software, and you can use it for any purpose, including paid client work, at no charge.

Is the Microsoft Store version the real GIMP?

Yes. The official downloads page links to that listing. The same cannot be said for Apple's App Store, where the team publishes nothing.

Why can I not save my picture as a JPEG?

Because Save is reserved for GIMP's XCF format. Use File, Export As and type a name ending in .jpg or .png.

Does GIMP work on 32-bit Windows?

The current downloads page offers an installer for x86_64 and ARM64 only.