Opportunities › Free, open-source image editor for Windows users › Proposed app
Stackpane
Layered photo compositing in your browser, with the shortcuts you already know
- Score
- 15
- confidence 53
- Evidence
- 6
- items on the page
- Rivals
- 3
- named in sources
- First version
- 90 d
- estimate
- Type
- Desktop app
- PWA: runs in the browser, installs on Mac and Windows
- Market since
- 1996
- Mature market · AI estimate
ScreensConcept
Desktop app: Image compositing with layers, masks, and adjustment tools requires long editing sessions with dense controls and keyboard shortcuts that professionals use at a desk. Sample screens on a computer, in the proposed brand. Their numbers are sample data.
Beach Poster
Autosaved on device7 layers
About this appAI proposal
Stackpane is a layer-based image editor that installs as an app on Windows from the browser. It has layers, masks, adjustment layers and blend modes, and its keyboard shortcuts follow the Photoshop habits many editors already have.
It is for photographers, designers and hobbyists on Windows who do not want a subscription and found GIMP's interface unfamiliar. Editing stays non-destructive: every adjustment, mask and transform can be changed later.
The first version covers core compositing: selections, brushes, clone stamp, gradients and basic adjustments. Heavier AI tools come later as optional paid add-ons. The core editor is meant to stay free.
- Tagline
- The layered editor you already know how to use. Free to start.
- Voice
- PlainPracticalDirect
- Why this name
- A stack of panes of glass is a simple picture of layers. Two plain words joined, easy to say and spell.
In the first version
Members say which features they would use. It tells PWAS what people want; it changes no score.
Familiar shortcut map
Tool keys, brush resizing, free transform and layer commands follow common Photoshop habits. Remap any key and import or export your set.
No member yet
Non-destructive layers
Layers, groups, masks, adjustment layers and blend modes. Change or switch off any step without redoing the work.
No member yet
Core compositing tools
Marquee and lasso selections, brushes, clone stamp, gradients and transforms for cutting out and combining images.
No member yet
Adjustment layers
Levels, curves, hue and saturation, and color balance as editable layers with their own masks.
No member yet
Brand identityAI proposal
Check the name against trademark registers before using it.
Palette
#1F2A2EInk Slate · text, icon background#F4EFE6Paper · surface#1F6F6BDeep Teal · primary#E2672BEmber · accent#C9A227Brass · data highlight
Typography
Aa
Stackpane
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789
The layered editor you already know how to use. Free to start.
PricingAI proposal
The material gives no competitor prices. It only says Photoshop is a paid subscription. These tiers are a starting point to test, not a market-based price.
Free
Free
- Full core editor
- Layers, masks, blend modes
- Photoshop-style shortcut preset
- Local files, works offline
Plus
$6 a month
- AI background removal
- Content-aware fill
- Lens correction
- Priority support
Team support
Contact us
- Support agreement
- Shared shortcut presets
- Help with rollout
Would you pay Plus · $6 a month?
Your answer tells PWAS which prices people accept. It changes no score.
No answers yet.
What it could be worthEstimate
What a software business making this much sells for today, from real deals. Pick a monthly revenue.
If it makes
Worth about
$194,000
Sale range $132,000 to $263,000
$120,000 a year in revenue
From 87 software businesses listed and sold on Empire Flippers in the last year, revenue vetted by the broker: they sell for about 19× their monthly revenue, most between 13× and 26×.
Measured on profit, the middle deal is 32× monthly net profit: about 2.7 years of profit.
An estimate, not an offer or financial advice. A real price depends on profit, growth, churn, how much of the work is the owner's, and the buyer.
How it would growAI proposal
How the product would reach new customers through its own use, and how the first ones would be found. A plan to test, not a result.
- Built-in loop
- Shared outputs. Users export images and share project links or before-and-after views. Free exports carry no watermark, but an optional small credit and a shareable read-only layer view can show others how the piece was made.
- Do they become customers?
- Viewers of a shared image are mostly not editors. Test whether people who open a shared layer view click through and install. Exports alone bring exposure, not customers.
- First customers
- Windows-based hobbyist photographers and freelance designers who currently use a cracked or lapsed Photoshop copy, or abandoned GIMP, for simple compositing.
- Where to reach them
- The GitHub issue thread: Reply to the 30-reaction issue with a demo and invite commenters to test the first build.
- Photo editing communities: Post short compositing walkthroughs in forums and subreddits for free-tool users, using the shortcut preset.
- Short video tutorials: Publish Photoshop-to-Stackpane tutorials showing common tasks done with the same keys.
- First milestone
- 200 weekly active users finishing a composite, and 20 of them joining a paid add-on waitlist within 60 days of launch.
Why people already pay for this
- VerifiedOpen GitHub issue has 30 reactions and 16 comments
- Public claimThere is significant demand among Windows users for a free Photoshop alternative with familiar workflows
- Public claimGIMP is a known alternative but lacks Photoshop-familiar workflows and shortcuts, creating a gap in the market
- Public claimA Photoshop-style compositing tool with familiar shortcuts would be valuable to Windows users
- AI inference
Tech stack
Every proposal builds on the same PWA base, installable from the browser on any phone or computer. Dashed boxes are what this app adds.
- AppNext.js and TypeScript
- PWAManifest and service worker
- UITailwind CSS
- Data and authSupabase Postgres
- PaymentsStripe
- EmailResend
- HostingVercel
- This app · Image engineWebGL/WebGPU canvas renderer with WebAssemblyLayer blending, masks and brushes must stay fast on large images in the browser.
- This app · Local file storageOrigin private file system and File System Access APILarge projects must save on the device and open offline, not only in the database.
RisksAI inference
- TechnicalMatching desktop editor speed in a browser is hard. Large files, many layers and smooth brushes may strain memory and the GPU, and could make it feel worse than native.
- CommercialPeople who want a free tool may never pay for AI add-ons. A free core could leave too little revenue to fund development.
- Intellectual propertyShortcuts and a familiar layout are fine to copy as habits, but icons, panel names or file-format handling that mimic Adobe could draw legal objections. Needs review.
- PlatformThe opportunity asks for a Windows app, but this is a PWA. File access and GPU features vary by browser, and some users may reject a browser-based editor.
- DataOpening layered files from other editors is hard to do fully. Gaps in import fidelity could stop professionals from switching.
Everything marked AI proposal or AI inference was written by a model from the evidence on the opportunity page. The proposed name must be checked against trademark registers before it is used.