GIMP

GPL-3.0-or-later commercial OK Credit: Not required verified 49d ago Go to source

GNU Image Manipulation Program: free raster editor for photo work, compositing, and texture authoring. This was the missing general-purpose raster tool beside Krita (painting-first) and Pixelorama (pixel-art-first). The program is GPL-3.0 or later. The FAQ states that GIMP does not restrict the kind of work you produce with it.

At a glance

Licence: GPL-3.0-or-later what it means shipping to stores
Commercial use: commercial OK
Credit: Not required
Status: active: Licence spot-checked at the source; the entry carries dated evidence.
Verified: 2026-09-22 (49d ago)
Formats: XCF, PNG, TIFF, PSD, EXR

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Notes

FAQ "Can I use GIMP commercially?": yes, and no restrictions on the kind of work produced. That is the output-ownership statement. GPL copyleft applies if you distribute a modified GIMP binary
Native format is XCF. Export PNG/TIFF/EXR for engines. PSD import exists and is lossy on Photoshop-only features, same class of caveat as Krita
Wrap-around / tile preview is weaker than Krita's W-key wrap-around mode. Prefer Krita when the job is seamless trim sheets
Website images and Wilber are a separate question (many are CC-BY-SA). Do not ship the mascot from gimp.org without reading linking.html
Third-party "buy GIMP" stores are legal under GPL if they ship source. Prefer gimp.org downloads
Source headers elect "or any later version", so the SPDX identifier is GPL-3.0-or-later rather than the bare, deprecated GPL-3.0.

Evidence

Live GitHub app/main.c header (2026-09-22): "either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version"
Live FAQ, "Can I use GIMP commercially?" (2026-08-24): "Yes, you can. GIMP is free software, it doesn't put restrictions on the kind of work you produce with it"
Same FAQ, license section (2026-08-24): "distributed under terms of General Public License v3 and later"
Live /about/COPYING (2026-08-24): "GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 3, 29 June 2007"

GIMP

At a glance

Notes

Evidence

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