G'MIC
Hundreds of image filters and effects, as a plugin or on the command line.
Instead of Instagram filters
Screenshot from gmic.eu, taken 2026-10-23, shown to help you recognise the tool. It belongs to its maker. Ask us to remove it.
An Instagram filter is a recipe somebody else chose for you, and G'MIC hands you the whole recipe book. It is a library of image filters, from film looks to painterly effects, that plugs into GIMP and Krita and also runs from the command line. It is free, made by a research group, and runs on Windows, Mac and Linux.
G'MIC scores a 5 on lock-in and self-direction, a 4 on footprint, power and longevity and a 2 on delivery.
The interface is dense and made for people who like to experiment, so Delivery is a 2.
Having it means hundreds of filters inside the editor you already use, with every setting open to you.
- Hundreds of filters, from film looks to painting effects
- Plugs into GIMP and Krita
- Dense and made for tinkerers
What stands out
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For comparison, we also reviewed Snapchat (14/30) as a benchmark.
