FastStone Image Viewer vs Gwenview

FastStone Image Viewer9.1Visit Gwenview8.4Visit

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

vs

Gwenview #7 in Photo Viewer Software 8.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 5 features Visit KDE

• FastStone Image Viewer fits best

  Windows users wanting a free all-round viewer

• Gwenview fits best

  Linux users wanting viewing and annotation

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Side by side

Feature	FastStone Image Viewer 9.1/10 Visit ↗	Gwenview 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	8.4
Ranking	#2 in Photo Viewer Software	#7 in Photo Viewer Software
Best for	Windows users wanting a free all-round viewer	Linux users wanting viewing and annotation
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	—	Free
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Desktop	Desktop
Platforms	Windows	Linux
Support	Email, Docs	Community, Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Enterprise	Solo, Small business
Features FastStone Image Viewer 5/5 · Gwenview 3/5
RAW image support	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Side-by-side compare	✓	✓
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	Side-by-side viewing, thumbnails, filtering, and full-screen slideshows Annotations include arrows, shapes, text boxes, and stamps Color-profile handling plus JPEG EXIF comment viewing and editing
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 rather than multiple desktop platforms Editing tools focus on basic crop, rotate, resize, mirror, and flip actions Metadata editing is limited to JPEG comments
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 →	Gwenview is KDE’s desktop image and video viewer for Linux, built for browsing and displaying image collections. Its Browse and View modes support thumbnail navigation, folder-based discovery, filtering by filename, date, tag, or rating,… 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

• Gwenview — where it wins

  • Side-by-side viewing, thumbnails, filtering, and full-screen slideshows
  • Annotations include arrows, shapes, text boxes, and stamps
  • Color-profile handling plus JPEG EXIF comment viewing and editing

  Where it doesn't

  • Available for Linux rather than multiple desktop platforms
  • Editing tools focus on basic crop, rotate, resize, mirror, and flip actions
  • Metadata editing is limited to JPEG comments

• FastStone Image Viewer9.1/10 · Free plan

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

  Visit FastStoneFull verdict →
• Gwenview8.4/10 · Free plan

  A capable open-source Linux viewer with annotation, comparison, and collection tools.

  Visit KDEFull verdict →