Best HawkView Alternatives in 2026
15 photo viewer software our editors would look at instead of HawkView, in our ranking order.
HawkView: A capable Windows viewer for RAW, modern formats, metadata, conversion and slideshows. Where it falls short: professional and commercial use requires a paid license.
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Best forCross-platform power users and photo managers
A format-rich desktop viewer with serious cataloging, metadata, and batch tools.
- Contact sheets
- Side-by-side compare
- Color management
9.0/10★★★★☆Visit XnView MP -
Best forWindows users wanting a free all-round viewer
A free Windows viewer with RAW support, comparison, batch tools, editing, and scanning.
- Contact sheets
- Side-by-side compare
- Color management
8.8/10★★★★☆Visit FastStone -
Best forWindows users needing batch image operations
A practical Windows viewer for batch conversion, resizing, renaming, and RAW support.
4.8/10★★☆☆☆Visit IrfanView -
Geeqie not yet scored
Best forFree cross-platform photo organization
A capable free viewer for RAW files, comparisons, metadata, collections, and bulk file work.
- Contact sheets
- Side-by-side compare
- Color management
—not yet scoredVisit Geeqie -
Best forProfessional photographers with fast ingest workflows
A focused photo workflow tool for rapid ingest, culling, previewing, and metadata work.
- Contact sheets
- Side-by-side compare
- Color management
9.0/10★★★★☆Visit Photo Mechanic -
gThumb not yet scored
Best forLinux users wanting an organizer and editor
A broad Linux photo viewer with RAW support, metadata tools, catalogs, and conversion.
- Color management
- RAW image support
- Metadata viewer
—not yet scoredVisit gThumb -
Best forLinux users wanting viewing and annotation
A capable open-source Linux viewer with annotation, comparison, and collection tools.
- Side-by-side compare
- Color management
- Metadata viewer
7.2/10★★★★☆Visit KDE -
Loupe not yet scored
Best forLinux users wanting a simple modern viewer
A free, open-source Linux viewer for straightforward browsing, metadata, and basic image edits.
- Color management
- Metadata viewer
—not yet scoredVisit Loupe -
Ristretto not yet scored
Best forMinimal Linux folder and slideshow viewing
A focused Linux viewer for folders, thumbnails, zoom, rotation, and slideshows.
- Metadata viewer
—not yet scoredVisit Ristretto -
Best forRAW-focused photographers on Windows or macOS
A focused desktop viewer for inspecting, sorting, and comparing RAW files.
- Side-by-side compare
- Color management
- RAW image support
7.0/10★★★★☆Visit FastRawViewer -
Best forFree multi-platform format coverage
A capable free viewer for broad format coverage across Windows, macOS, and Linux.
- Color management
- RAW image support
- Metadata viewer
8.4/10★★★★☆Visit ImageGlass -
nomacs not yet scored
Best forOpen-source users needing comparison and batch tools
A capable open-source viewer for RAW, PSD, comparison, metadata, and batch workflows.
- Side-by-side compare
- RAW image support
- Metadata viewer
—not yet scoredVisit nomacs -
Best forMac photographers needing advanced metadata tools
A focused macOS viewer for RAW browsing, metadata work, culling, and batch processing.
- Contact sheets
- Side-by-side compare
- Color management
9.0/10★★★★☆Visit ApolloOne -
PhotoQt not yet scored
Best forOpen-source viewers needing broad format support
A broad-format desktop viewer with metadata, RAW, color management, and conversion tools.
- Color management
- RAW image support
- Metadata viewer
—not yet scoredVisit PhotoQt -
JPEGView not yet scored
Best forWindows users wanting portable image viewing
A capable open-source Windows viewer for broad formats, RAW files, slideshows, and basic edits.
- Color management
- RAW image support
- Metadata viewer
—not yet scoredVisit JPEGView
HawkView Alternatives: Common Questions
What is the best alternative to HawkView?
XnView MP: #1 in our Photo Viewer Software ranking, with an editor score of 9.0 out of 10. A format-rich desktop viewer with serious cataloging, metadata, and batch tools.
Is there a free alternative to HawkView?
Yes. XnView MP, FastStone Image Viewer, IrfanView, Geeqie and gThumb have a free plan or a free tier (13 of the 15 alternatives on this page).
HawkView vs Each Alternative
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Supported platforms | RAW image support | Side-by-side compare | Contact sheets | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| not scored | HawkView | Yes | — | Windows 10 and 11 | Yes | — | — | — |
| 1 | XnView MP | Yes | — | Windows, macOS, Linux | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.0 |
| 2 | FastStone Image Viewer | Yes | — | Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8.8 |
| 3 | IrfanView | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | 4.8 |
| not scored | Geeqie | Yes | None | Linux, macOS, Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | — |
| 5 | Photo Mechanic | No | $14.99/mo | macOS, Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.0 |
| not scored | gThumb | Yes | None | Linux | Yes | — | — | — |
| 7 | Gwenview | Yes | None | Linux | — | Yes | — | 7.2 |
| not scored | Loupe | Yes | None | linux | — | — | — | — |
| not scored | Ristretto | — | None | linux | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | FastRawViewer | No | — | Windows, macOS | Yes | Yes | — | 7.0 |
| 11 | ImageGlass | Yes | — | Windows, macOS, Linux | Yes | No | — | 8.4 |
| not scored | nomacs | Yes | None | Windows, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, OS/2 | Yes | Yes | — | — |
| 13 | ApolloOne | Yes | — | macOS | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.0 |
| not scored | PhotoQt | Yes | None | Linux, Windows | Yes | — | — | — |
| not scored | JPEGView | Yes | None | Windows | Yes | — | — | — |
Guides on Photo Viewer Software
- 5 Best Photo Viewer Software for Windows 11 [2026]Aug 2026
- 15 Best Photo Viewer Apps for Windows 10 (2026)Aug 2026
- 5 Best Photo Viewer Apps for Windows 11Aug 2026
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Sep 2026