Nova Studio opens in your browser and does the jobs most people open Photoshop for: crop, fix, cut out, add text, retouch and make a thumbnail. It has layers, masks, selections and PSD files. It is not Photoshop, and this page says where Photoshop is far ahead.
Pick Nova Studio if you want quick, everyday edits: crop, fix a photo, cut out a person, add text, make a thumbnail or a passport photo.
Pick Photoshop if you do professional image work and need the full range of its tools.
What we say about Photoshop comes from its own pages (see Sources), read on 12 October 2026.
| Topic | Nova Studio | Photoshop |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free to use, with no watermark. A few tools carry a PRO tag and are free for now. | A paid Adobe plan, with a free trial.1 |
| Where you use it | In your browser, with nothing to install. It works on phones and computers. | A desktop app. Adobe also has Photoshop on the web and phone apps.12 |
| Best for (our view) | Everyday edits and designs, fast, on any device. | Professional image work with the full range of Photoshop tools. |
Open Nova Studio, then open a photo, take one with the camera, or open a PSD.
Pick a crop shape, line it up against the grid, and turn or flip the picture if it sits crooked.
Use Adjust and Curves for light and colour, a one-tap look, and Retouch to heal blemishes or clone out a distraction.
Save as JPG, PNG, WebP or PSD at 25%, 50%, 100% or 200%, or share it from your phone.
Stack up to 40 layers, set the opacity and one of 16 blend modes, and paint a mask to hide part of a layer without erasing it.
Rectangle, ellipse, lasso and magic wand. Add, subtract, invert and feather, then paint, fill or erase only inside the selection.
Clone, heal and spot heal, dodge and burn, smudge, blur and sharpen brushes, and Liquify to push, bloat or pinch. All can be undone.
Sliders with a live histogram, curves, filters and 13 one-tap looks, on the whole picture or only a selected part.
Crop to Free, 1:1, 4:5, 3:4, 16:9, 9:16 or 3:2 with a grid, and turn or flip the picture.
Take the background out of a photo of a person, or paint over a wire or a sign with Magic erase. Both run on your device and carry a PRO tag, free for now.
Open a PSD, or save your design as a PSD with its layers, opacity and blend modes. JPG, PNG and WebP are there too.
Your work is saved on your device as you go, with unlimited undo and redo.
What we say about Nova Studio comes from the app itself. What we say about Photoshop comes from its own pages, listed here and read on 12 October 2026. Plans, prices and features change, so check Photoshop's own website before you decide. Where Photoshop is the better choice, we say so. The “Best for” row and the notes on the better choice are our own view.
Sources
Photoshop is a trademark of its owner. Nova Clip and its apps are not made by, affiliated with or endorsed by the owner of Photoshop. The name is used only to say what we compare with.