FastStone Image Viewer vs gThumb

FastStone Image Viewer9.1Visit GgThumb8.5Visit

Higher score FastStone Image Viewer #2 in Photo Viewer Software 9.1/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit FastStone

vs

G gThumb #6 in Photo Viewer Software 8.5/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 5 features Visit gThumb

• FastStone Image Viewer fits best

  Windows users wanting a free all-round viewer

• gThumb fits best

  Linux users wanting an organizer and editor

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Side by side

Feature	FastStone Image Viewer 9.1/10 Visit ↗	GgThumb 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	8.5
Ranking	#2 in Photo Viewer Software	#6 in Photo Viewer Software
Best for	Windows users wanting a free all-round viewer	Linux users wanting an organizer and editor
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	—	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Desktop	Self-hosted, Desktop
Platforms	Windows	Linux
Support	Email, Docs	Community
Built for	Solo, Small business, Enterprise	Solo, Small business
Features FastStone Image Viewer 5/5 · gThumb 3/5
RAW image support	✓	✓
Side-by-side compare	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Contact sheets	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Color management	✓	✓
Metadata viewer	✓	✓
Specs
Supported platforms	Windows	Linux
Our review
Pros	Supports camera RAW formats and EXIF metadata viewing Compares up to four images and creates configurable contact sheets Adds batch conversion, renaming, scanning, editing, slideshows, and portability	Supports common formats plus RAW, HEIF, AVIF, SVG, and JPEG XL Combines metadata editing, file management, catalogs, and search Free, open-source desktop software with camera import and slideshows
Cons	Commercial use requires a paid lifetime license Available for Windows rather than multiple desktop platforms Its broad toolset may be more than casual viewers need	Available for Linux distributions rather than multiple desktop platforms Editing tools focus on basic adjustments such as crop, rotation, and color controls Designed for GNOME workflows, which may not suit every desktop environment
Our verdict	FastStone Image Viewer is a Windows desktop application for browsing, viewing, organizing, comparing, editing, converting, and presenting digital images. It suits Windows users who want more than a basic viewer, particularly photographers… Read the review →	gThumb is a desktop photo viewer, browser, editor, and organizer for Linux, with a focus on GNOME environments. It covers a wide range of image formats, including PNG, JPEG, WebP, SVG, JPEG XL, HEIF, AVIF, TIFF, GIF, and RAW. That makes it… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• FastStone Image Viewer — where it wins

  • Supports camera RAW formats and EXIF metadata viewing
  • Compares up to four images and creates configurable contact sheets
  • Adds batch conversion, renaming, scanning, editing, slideshows, and portability

  Where it doesn't

  • Commercial use requires a paid lifetime license
  • Available for Windows rather than multiple desktop platforms
  • Its broad toolset may be more than casual viewers need

• gThumb — where it wins

  • Supports common formats plus RAW, HEIF, AVIF, SVG, and JPEG XL
  • Combines metadata editing, file management, catalogs, and search
  • Free, open-source desktop software with camera import and slideshows

  Where it doesn't

  • Available for Linux distributions rather than multiple desktop platforms
  • Editing tools focus on basic adjustments such as crop, rotation, and color controls
  • Designed for GNOME workflows, which may not suit every desktop environment

• FastStone Image Viewer9.1/10 · Free plan

  A free Windows viewer with RAW support, comparison, batch tools, editing, and scanning.

  Visit FastStoneFull verdict →
• GgThumb8.5/10 · Free plan

  A broad Linux photo viewer with RAW support, metadata tools, catalogs, and conversion.

  Visit gThumbFull verdict →