GIMP Reviews 

spent an hour and STILL could not find out how to get my photos into gimp.
every page takes minutes to load absolute rubbish

I have tried using GIMP and, quite frankly, it is an absolute pain. nothing is simple, the manual/help isn't (helpful). simple things like cropping a photo don't give the results one expects. This is obviously a free application that is hacked together without any real design.

GIMP Works Well. Image, photo, foto, graphics, grafik manipulator & editor
… FREE alternative to Photoshop / Cyberlink PhotoDirector, Corel PhotoImpact, ULead… etc etc
… GIMP version 2.10.8 (came out in 2018). I found it to be straight-forward to install.
... For FREEware, very very good.
.
GIMP is a large tool with a HUGE variety of image editing / photo editing possibilities that go far beyond what most normal mortals might need. Also useful if you want to add arrows, annotations etc. to photos. GIMP = “Graphic Image Manipulator Program” (or similar).
.
It is a VERY comprehensive and complete image manipulation program – if you are looking for a small simple basic photo editor, this is not the program you need...
… there are many free small photo editor programs that are well known including the MS or Mac ones that are usually already on your computer when you buy it, or with a few more functions, there’s IrfanView, XnView, InViewer, WildBitViewer, Polyview, ACDSee Free, … etc.).
… If you want to delve into working with lossless processing of RAW format photos then you would need freeware like “Darktable” & “RawTherapee”, …or Adobe Lightroom etc….
.
… GIMP Works fantastically well and good for a FREE software as an alternative to expensive software. No adverts or other junk embedded in any versions I’ve used over the years. All versions over the last 15 years have worked stable for me.
.
--- The rest of this text is about the GIMP User Manual only ---
… The user manual is so comprehensive, it's an online tool itself (Many many languages). You can set GIMP to work with a local help pack: GIMP org downloads page says this “Note: GIMP uses online help by default. If you want to use this local help offline, you will need to change GIMP's help settings….” – I’ve never done that but looks like a simple change of a preference, in theory.
… Alternatively … up to User Manual for version 2.8 (2016), there’s a full download as PDF available from several places on the web, & someone sent me part of ver.2.8 manual in Norwegian (!), which I can read…
... Also under gimp linux it www meta, is manual version 2.10 (Nov.2018) in English (or Italian): gimp-help-2.10.PDF

... & other - not much use for the current version (GIMP 2.10) but of historical interest for some – found a “GIMP version 1” historical GIMP User Manual copy online as a PDF (from 1999)… shows up if you search for “GIMP gum.pdf” … lol.

You need to be prepared to spend a lot time reading guides, forums, look youtube videos to be able to use this program.

I have used Gimp for some years after reinstall it was impossible to get the Gimp set up as I had before. And after a few hours I gave up. I tried get help on their facebook page but it was very condecending and bad replies.

The tool boxes just appears and disappeared as they seem fit. I do not understand why Gimp do not have 3-4 default settings to chose from instead of you have to read guides and click this and that to set it up.

No wonder the program is for free. It's totally waste of time and a pain in the a** to use. Even such a simple this as adding a text to a picture is a joke.

For a free alternative to Photoshop, GIMP is incredibly useful software. The site Downloadster.net provided a wealth of information in a clean, understandable format, covering everything from an overview of GIMP's applications to what to expect while downloading. All the information a user might need when considering an open source image editor is readily available.
The download was simple, and installation was not complex at all.
As far as usability: GIMP has a HUGE range of features, and it can get confusing for a beginner like myself, who has no experience with ANY image editing software. In a short time, however, between the help files and internet advice, I discovered how simple complex-sounding operations are, like adding a transparent layer or editing colour ranges. The sheer scope of features was a little overwhelming, and the multi-window interface was complex for me. The help files are useful and fairly navigable, but I feel that it was written more for users with a little more experience than I have.
I can tell already, however, that as I get more accustomed to GIMP I'll be able to do a lot. There is also a lot of information online for anyone with specific questions; GIMP takes a bit of learning but is well worth it, particularly for the price.

GIMP is a really great alternative to photoshop. It is a great avenue for photo editing, retouching and even creating.

It still contains the editing necessities like layers, brushes, filters, etc. I also like that it has a multi-windowed layout which is really cool and new. Its interface is quite innovative but simple to use. And since I am not an expert editor, it really helps. It is also stable in my opinion since I didn't experience it crashing which is good since I don't have to fear losing my image file in the middle of editing.

Plus and perhaps its best feature, it's free, completely free!