Products · Product
GIMP
Raised as a usability problem by 756 people on Hacker News over 19 years (2008–2026), in 330 threads.
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- 2Takes over five seconds to startUnreviewed
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- 5Most features exist but are hard to findUnreviewed
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- 11Takes over five seconds to startUnreviewed
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- 7Most features exist but are hard to findUnreviewed
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- 24Takes over five seconds to startUnreviewed
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Every issue, all time, most people first
Moving a selection needs the wrong tool; move tool moves only layersUnreviewed
20082026- Move tool switches selection to the layer below instead of the one chosen2026-08-17
- Photoshop muscle memory doesn't transfer, and selection/transform tools feel clunky2026-08-17
- Save format choice risks silently losing work; export dialog cannot save to .xcf2026-08-17
Takes ages to find the right tool icon; icons inconsistentUnreviewed
20082026- Icons, tool grouping and option layouts are inconsistent and confusing to interpret2026-08-17
- Icons merged under one button and changed, making tools impossible to find2025-03-18
- Grouped tools under shared buttons with changed icons make it hard to find tools2025-03-18
Simple tasks need many unintuitive steps and hit edge casesUnreviewed
20082026- Hard to intuit how to perform even simple tasks2025-10-30
- Simple tasks feel irritating because too many fiddly knobs are exposed at once2025-01-20
- Feels too unintuitive, making simple tasks take too long for non-pros2024-03-30
Wastes time figuring out how to draw a boxUnreviewed
20082026- Hard to use, wastes hours trying to create simple graphics2020-04-13
- Non-intuitive interface with poor discoverability; basic actions like drawing lines are hard to find2019-10-08
- Simple tasks like adding text or drawing a line require searching how to do them2019-10-07
Interface looks foreign and clashes with the operating system windowingUnreviewed
20082026- Former Photoshop users are eternally confused by GIMP's default hotkeys and tool layout2024-02-22
- GIMP's interface looks foreign and clashes with the operating system windowing2022-12-05
- GIMP keeps several separate windows open, which is awkward to manage2021-12-14
Most features exist but are hard to findUnreviewed
20082026- Too many features make it extremely hard to use2026-09-28
- UI is not laid out logically, so users struggle to find things2026-08-17
- UI is inscrutable and hard for occasional users to discover features2025-10-31
Multiple floating windows clutter the screenUnreviewed
20082026- Interface is a messy scatter of floating windows2025-06-21
- Default UI of loose floating windows is cluttered and messy, spread across the screen2025-03-27
- Separate floating windows make the interface frustrating and disjointed to use2021-05-07
Monochrome icons hard to tell apart or understandUnreviewed
20082026- Many similar monochrome icons in a palette are hard to tell apart2025-03-18
- Low-contrast default icons are hard to decipher2024-03-25
- Default icons lack color, so casual users can't quickly spot the eraser icon2023-04-19
Takes time to learn where tools and options are locatedUnreviewed
20082026- Tools are poorly organized, hard for newcomers to learn2026-08-17
- Hard to learn well, annoying to use compared to other tools2026-04-02
- Tools are hard to discover when universal search is the main way to access them2023-11-11
Uses dozens of separate windows instead of standard desktop behaviorUnreviewed
20082026- Uses dozens of separate windows instead of expected desktop GUI behavior2026-01-30
- Multiple-window interface was unbearably bad, and lacks macros and batch editing for repetitive work2025-12-23
- Multiple uncoherent windows are confusing to switch between at launch2022-04-20
Editing allows no mistakes and takes too many clicks for simple tasksUnreviewed
20082026- Too complicated for casual users doing common simple edits2025-03-18
- Simple edits take many clicks, and users end up reading forums to find basic functions2025-02-16
- Interface is so confusing that even simple editing tasks feel impossible to complete quickly2023-11-11
Closing warns of unsaved work, but PNG export counts, causing data lossUnreviewed
20082026- Gets an unsaved-data warning on close even after exporting a single-layer image to PNG2025-03-18
- Unclear whether edits to a PNG were saved; close warning misleads, causing lost work2024-11-29
- Closing window warns of unsaved work, but PNG saves count as export, causing data loss2023-04-19
Works poorly with click-to-focus window managersUnreviewed
20082026- Input focus lands in the wrong window with no visual indication, so every action takes many clicks2014-02-08
- Still has focus glitches despite recent UI improvements2013-01-09
- Exasperating UI with window rendering, focus problems, and shortcut annoyances2011-08-16
Transform tools scattered; learnable only by trial and errorUnreviewed
20082026- Selection, transform and text tools are unwieldy and hard to use for complex work2023-11-24
- Transform tool feels unintuitive and hard to use for the commenter2022-01-08
- Transform tools are scattered and unintuitive, learnable only by trial and error or documentation2020-10-23
Resizing a selection and cropping are hard to figure outUnreviewed
20082026- Simple tasks like resizing a selection and cropping are hard to figure out2025-03-18
- Can't find how to resize canvas or where the crop tool is2021-12-23
- Transform handles resize the selection instead of the image, which is frustrating2019-12-29
Scale, move and rotate tools each have different UIsUnreviewed
20082026- Moving, rotating and scaling a layer needs three separate tools, and they are now hidden under one icon2022-05-17
- Separate scale, move and rotate tools each had different UIs, confusing users2020-06-11
- Must switch between separate scale, rotate and move tools to transform a selection2019-11-30
Startup stalls 10-15 seconds, freezing the GUI for other programsUnreviewed
20082026- Stalls 10-15 seconds at startup, freezing the GUI for other programs too2023-06-28
- Slow startup, glitchy UI, and an unclear floating window that users quit by accident2017-01-18
- Runs slowly on Windows and sometimes crashes or freezes2015-11-28
Performs much worse on macOS than on LinuxUnreviewed
20082026- Lacks native macOS GUI, making it almost unusable on OSX2022-11-30
- Non-native dialogs and drag-and-drop feel inconsistent with macOS, and it feels slow2018-03-27
- Performs terribly on macOS compared to Linux2017-08-25
Basic actions need hours of tutorials; labels not where expectedUnreviewed
20082026- Confusing UI that took about two hours of menu exploration to learn2022-12-01
- UI is confusing; user needs a web tutorial open to do tasks2019-06-13
- Basic actions require hours of tutorials; labels and menus are not where users expect2014-03-27
Layer boundaries behave confusingly, making editing tediousUnreviewed
20082026- Layer boundary behavior is very confusing for new users and inconvenient for all users2026-08-17
- Layer boundaries behave confusingly, making editing tedious and frustrating2024-02-22
- Layer boundaries confuse painting; the user must manage layer size, which is terrible UX2024-02-22
Dialogs always open on the wrong screen, away from main windowUnreviewed
20082026- Dialogs keep appearing in the top left of one monitor regardless of where the main window is2023-10-17
- Dialogs get hidden under other dialogs, so the user can't find them2018-09-06
- Dialogs always open on the wrong screen, away from the main window2017-01-17
Unusable on 4K displays due to scaling problemsUnreviewed
20082026- Default 2.0 UI scaling makes GIMP's interface oversized, needing a workaround to get it compact2025-02-16
- GIMP becomes borderline unusable at high resolutions on Mac2024-11-12
- GIMP unusable on 4K display due to scaling problems2019-01-28
Working with text is a pain compared to PhotoshopUnreviewed
20082026- Working with text is much harder than in Photoshop2022-08-28
- Struggles with typography in GIMP, much easier in Photoshop2019-11-30
- Working with text in GIMP is a pain compared to Photoshop2016-09-23
Takes over five seconds to startUnreviewed
20082026- Takes 5+ seconds to start and has poor usability2026-11-02
- Takes 15 seconds to start, so user avoids it for quick edits2026-03-01
- Opening a file takes around 20 minutes to load2025-11-19
Smart select is worse than Affinity Photo'sUnreviewed
20082026- Its interface is hard to use compared with Affinity Photo2025-09-18
- Smart select tool is worse than Affinity Photo's and the UX feels less smooth2021-09-18
- Smart select is frustrating to use compared with Photoshop or Affinity2021-06-28
Couldn't work out how to draw a straight line without googlingUnreviewed
20082026- Drawing a straight line requires obscure hidden key combinations found only via tutorial2021-04-11
- Drawing a straight line is a big hassle in GIMP2014-03-28
- Couldn't figure out how to draw a straight line without googling2014-02-08
People give up within an hour of switching from PhotoshopUnreviewed
20082026- UI lags behind later Photoshop versions, left unimproved for about 20 years2022-05-20
- Crashes or freezes on large images; UI is worse than Photoshop's2022-01-08
- Gives up within an hour of trying to switch from Photoshop2011-07-18
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Takes 5+ seconds to start and has poor usability2026-11-02
- Confusing and clunky for new users before learning workflows2026-10-19
- GIMP 3 takes about five seconds to open, slower than the vibe-coded alternative2026-10-15
- Commenter found GIMP a downgrade from Adobe in most ways2026-10-08
- GIMP's interface is terrible and the developers refuse to change it2026-10-08
- Too many features make it extremely hard to use2026-09-28
- Commenter finds GIMP unfriendly to use2026-09-01
- Endless layers and pixel buffers spawn automatically, confusing infrequent users2026-08-18
- User couldn't figure out the UI; layout doesn't follow standards or feel intuitive2026-08-18
- Users find the GIMP interface hard to use and illogical in places2026-08-18
- UI is illogical compared to other programs, so most users struggle with it2026-08-18
- Enduring bad UX that the team resists improving2026-08-18
- Icons, tool grouping and option layouts are inconsistent and confusing to interpret2026-08-17
- Cannot save an opened file in its original format; forced to use export and get repeated warnings2026-08-17
- Tools are poorly organized, hard for newcomers to learn2026-08-17
- Interface is not easy to use, hard to enjoy2026-08-17
- Took half an hour to figure out how to place two images side by side2026-08-17
- Can't find logic in shortcuts or menu organisation, making it hard to switch2026-08-17
- Move tool switches selection to the layer below instead of the one chosen2026-08-17
- GIMP's default interface is dreadful to use2026-08-17
- Dialogs have many UX problems and text editing is very hard to use2026-08-17
- Can't find buttons, which sit on panels hidden by default2026-08-17
- Photoshop muscle memory doesn't transfer, and selection/transform tools feel clunky2026-08-17
- Ignores industry-standard conventions, so the interface is hard to use2026-08-17
- Several UX and UI decisions are questionable, making the software harder to use2026-08-17
- Save format choice risks silently losing work; export dialog cannot save to .xcf2026-08-17
- Layer boundary behavior is very confusing for new users and inconvenient for all users2026-08-17
- Interface has terrible UX that users find hard to work with2026-08-17
- Copy+paste made a floating selection instead of a new layer, confusing users2026-08-17
- UI is not laid out logically, so users struggle to find things2026-08-17
- Professionals try GIMP and immediately abandon it because it is hard to use2026-08-01
- Too many buttons on screen make the interface bloated and hard to navigate2026-07-27
- GIMP's user interface is considered horrible to use2026-07-23
- Interface is so bad that the commenter finds it hard to use2026-07-19
- Removing Fade forces users to rebuild a familiar workflow via layers, making it clunky2026-07-13
- Too complex for simple image editing tasks2026-06-01
- Too complex for simple tasks; selection tool is hard to understand2026-06-01
- Unconventional interface departs from the standard way of doing things, unlike Photoshop2026-05-19
- UI is described as bad and too unlike Photoshop to use easily2026-05-19
- Zoom in and out shortcuts differ from other apps, so users keep getting caught out2026-05-19
- Interface is hard to use and poorly designed for most people2026-05-19
- Doing familiar Photoshop tasks in GIMP was very hard, steep learning curve2026-05-19
- Commenter says GIMP's UI/UX is a recognised pain point people have raised for decades2026-05-19
- Controls feel non-intuitive and rendering glitches appear often2026-05-19
- Rotating text then editing it loses the rotation, making text work frustrating2026-05-19
- Interface feels too complex and can't be simplified or customized by users2026-05-19
- The interface is inscrutable, and the developers keep it that way2026-05-19
- Copy/paste between layers is unintuitive, forcing new users to google how to do it2026-05-19
- Switching back and forth between classic and Photoshop UI is annoying2026-05-19
- Can't add a stroke to text and still edit the text afterwards2026-05-19