Photoshop can do halftone if you know where the filter is. Bitgrain is built around it, in the browser, for a fixed one-time price.
Photoshop is the most capable image editor there is, and this page is not going to pretend otherwise. But most people reaching for it to make a halftone poster or a grainy cover are using one filter and paying a subscription for the other thousand. Bitgrain is for that specific job.
| Capability | Bitgrain | Photoshop |
|---|---|---|
| Halftone | Built in, mono, color and CMYK with per-channel rotation | Color Halftone filter, limited control |
| Dithering | 14 kernels, live preview, custom palettes | Only via index-color or export, no live control |
| Riso, ASCII, glitch | Built in, deterministic | Plugins or manual channel work |
| Generative AI | None, anywhere | Generative fill and AI features throughout |
| Your images leave your device | No, everything is local | Cloud features and sync enabled by default |
| Price | Free tier, then one price for 10 years | Monthly subscription, forever |
If you already know Photoshop and pay for it, its halftone and dither will get you there. Bitgrain is for the person who does not want a subscription to add grain to one image, and who wants the print look without hunting through filter menus.
No. Bitgrain imports flat images, RAW, HEIC and TIFF, not layered Photoshop documents. It is a finishing and effects tool, not a full retouching editor.
It is more controllable for this use. You get mono, color and CMYK separation with per-channel angle, cell size, and a live preview, rather than a single filter dialog.
No. The free tier exports at web resolution with a watermark. Pro is a one-time payment that covers 10 years, with no recurring charge.