XnView MP vs Gwenview

XnView MP9.3Visit Gwenview8.4Visit

Higher score XnView MP #1 in Photo Viewer Software 9.3/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit XnView MP

vs

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

• XnView MP fits best

  Cross-platform power users and photo managers

• Gwenview fits best

  Linux users wanting viewing and annotation

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Side by side

Feature	XnView MP 9.3/10 Visit ↗	Gwenview 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.3	8.4
Ranking	#1 in Photo Viewer Software	#7 in Photo Viewer Software
Best for	Cross-platform power users and photo managers	Linux users wanting viewing and annotation
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	€3.90/unit one-time	Free
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Desktop	Desktop
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Linux
Support	Docs	Community, Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market	Solo, Small business
Features XnView MP 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, macOS, Linux	Linux
Our review
Pros	Opens more than 500 formats, including camera RAW files Compares up to four images side by side Combines catalog search, metadata editing, and batch tools	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 company use requires a paid license Per-license pricing may complicate larger deployments Feature depth may exceed the needs of simple viewers	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	XnView MP is a desktop photo viewer and organizer for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is suited to photographers, photo managers, and cross-platform power users who need more than basic image opening. The software handles more than 500 image… 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

• XnView MP — where it wins

  • Opens more than 500 formats, including camera RAW files
  • Compares up to four images side by side
  • Combines catalog search, metadata editing, and batch tools

  Where it doesn't

  • Commercial company use requires a paid license
  • Per-license pricing may complicate larger deployments
  • Feature depth may exceed the needs of simple viewers

• 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

• XnView MP9.3/10 · Free plan

  A format-rich desktop viewer with serious cataloging, metadata, and batch tools.

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

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

  Visit KDEFull verdict →