App development
ArtCraft Explained: What the Free Adobe Alternatives Can Do
One developer used AI to build free alternatives to seven Adobe apps. Here's what they can do today, where they fall short, and what it means for your app.
In October 2026, developer Brandon Thomas released ArtCraft, a set of free, open-source alternatives to seven Adobe apps, written with heavy help from AI. He declared that "software is over." Early reviews tell a more careful story: the apps are impressive for their age, but they aren't ready to replace Adobe for daily professional work. For anyone planning an app, the gap between those two views is the useful part.
Key Takeaways
- ArtCraft offers free alternatives to seven Adobe apps, and it's still early software.
- The project's own progress notes say the apps aren't yet ready for most real work.
- Whether this approach is legal hasn't been tested, and Adobe hadn't commented publicly in the reports we read.
- AI makes it faster to copy how an app looks. Reliability, speed and trust still take time.
What is ArtCraft?
ArtCraft is a group of desktop apps, each modelled on an Adobe product:
| ArtCraft app | Modelled on |
|---|---|
| PhotoCraft | Photoshop |
| LightCraft | Lightroom |
| VectorCraft | Illustrator |
| FilmCraft | Premiere Pro |
| EffectCraft | After Effects |
| DesignCraft | InDesign |
| PdfCraft | Acrobat Pro |
The apps are free, with no subscription or account, according to PhLearn's review. Interest was immediate: PhLearn counted more than 63,000 GitHub stars for PhotoCraft by October 15.
Why did the developer build it?
Thomas has pointed to Adobe's cancellation fee. PhLearn quotes him saying Adobe charged him that fee "on multiple occasions." A personal grievance turned into a very public experiment, helped by AI coding tools that can now produce large amounts of software quickly.
How good are the apps today?
They're early, and the project says so. Here's what PhLearn's hands-on review reported for PhotoCraft:
- The project's own notes put it at about 76% of Photoshop's feature range, but only about 45% "ready for real work."
- It was slower than Photoshop at almost everything the project timed.
- Its AI features were far behind, and Select Subject was clearly weaker.
- PSD files it saved weren't yet reliably accepted by Photoshop.
The video editor shows the same pattern. In Fireship's test, FilmCraft's screen looked almost identical to Premiere, but playback lagged and the transitions were noticeably weaker. The FilmCraft project page describes it as alpha software, and it can't open Premiere projects.
The timeline changed too. Thomas first promised to match Adobe within a month, then, after criticism online, spoke of months instead.
These are snapshots from October 2026. The project is moving quickly, so some of these gaps may close.
Is ArtCraft legal?
Nobody knows yet. Thomas says the apps are clean-room builds, meaning they were written without using Adobe's code. CineD notes that this hasn't been independently verified. Some online posts describe the apps as reverse-engineered or decompiled, but the project's own rules tell contributors not to look inside Adobe's apps.
PhLearn points out that US courts have often allowed copying how software works, but none of those cases involved AI, and an interface that copies Adobe's too closely could raise separate questions. In the reports we read, no lawsuit had been filed and Adobe hadn't commented publicly. This is general information, not legal advice.
What this means if you're planning an app
ArtCraft shows that AI has made the visible part of software much cheaper to reproduce. A familiar screen is no longer a strong advantage on its own. What's harder to copy is everything customers only notice when it fails:
- Testing: the app works on ordinary phones, slow connections and unusual cases.
- Speed: common tasks feel quick, even with real data.
- Compatibility: your customers' files, payments and existing tools keep working.
- Support: someone fixes problems when they appear.
- Trust: people are comfortable giving you their data and money.
So when you judge a demo, whether it's built with AI or not, don't stop at how it looks. Try it on a cheap phone. Use real data. Ask what happens when something breaks after launch. Our checklist for hiring an app developer covers these questions, and the first 30 days after launch shows where this work continues.
Should you switch from Adobe to ArtCraft?
Not for work that matters yet, going by its own notes. It's worth trying if you're curious or only need basic edits, but keep copies of your files and test on a project you can afford to lose. PhLearn's verdict on PhotoCraft was that it's not a replacement for daily professional work.
Planning an app and want a second opinion on what it really needs? Talk to Leyora on WhatsApp.