Side by side
| PS Online | Photopea | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free with ads; paid plan removes ads |
| Runs in the browser | Yes | Yes |
| Account required | No | No |
| Photoshop-style interface | Yes | Yes |
| PSD open and save | Yes | Yes |
| Other project formats | PSB | PSB, XCF, Sketch, XD and more |
| Mobile and tablet | Desktop browsers | Desktop and mobile browsers |
| Editor engine | PhotoCraft (open source, Rust/WebAssembly) | Proprietary (JavaScript) |
| Files processed | Locally in your browser | Locally in your browser |
Where Photopea is stronger
- Maturity. Photopea has been around for years and handles a very wide range of edge cases.
- Formats. It opens many design formats beyond PSD, such as XCF, Sketch and XD.
- Devices. It works on phones and tablets as well as desktops.
Where PS Online is stronger
- Open-source engine. PhotoCraft is MIT / Apache-2.0 licensed; anyone can read the code.
- GPU rendering. WebGPU keeps large, many-layer documents responsive.
- Modern photo tools. Remove Background, Content-Aware Fill and a Camera Raw–style filter are built in.
The bottom line
If you need to open unusual formats or edit on a phone, Photopea is the safer pick. If you work on a desktop and want a fast, open-source, Photoshop-style editor for PSD files and photos, give PS Online a try. They open the same PSDs, so switching costs nothing.