Image Editors That Natively Support AVIF Files

The AVIF (AV1 Image File Format) format provides superior compression and image quality compared to legacy formats like JPEG and PNG. As web adoption increases, creative workflows require reliable tools to read and write these files without relying on third-party plugins. Several leading image editing software packages now natively support both opening and exporting AVIF files.

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program)

GIMP offers out-of-the-box support for AVIF files beginning with version 2.10.22. Utilizing the libheif library, GIMP allows users to open AVIF images directly and export them via the standard "Export As" menu. When exporting, users can customize compression settings, bit depth, and color profiles to balance image quality with file size.

Affinity Photo 2

Serif introduced full native AVIF import and export capabilities in Affinity Photo version 2.4. Users can open AVIF images directly into the workspace with accurate color rendering and export their finished projects to AVIF through the Export Persona or the standard File Export dialog. The software provides granular controls over quality, subsampling, and metadata retention.

Paint.NET

Paint.NET provides native opening and saving capabilities for AVIF files starting with version 4.3.8. The integration is built directly into the core application, leveraging the Avif-format encoder/decoder. During export, Paint.NET presents a preview window along with sliders for quality, compression speed, and lossless encoding options.

Krita

The open-source digital painting and raster editing software Krita includes native AVIF support as of version 5.1. Creators can import AVIF files into their layer stack and export projects directly to .avif. Krita supports high-dynamic-range (HDR) data and high bit-depth color profiles, making its AVIF implementation particularly suitable for modern color workflows.

Pixelmator Pro

Pixelmator Pro supports native AVIF opening and exporting on macOS, introduced in version 3.1. Taking advantage of Apple's system-level AVIF integrations alongside its own rendering engine, Pixelmator Pro allows users to edit AVIF files seamlessly and export web-optimized images with customizable compression options and full HDR support.

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe introduced native read and write support for AVIF in modern versions of Photoshop. Users can open AVIF files directly into the standard workspace or through Adobe Camera Raw, depending on bit depth and color profiles. Completed files can be saved or exported as AVIF through the "Save a Copy" or "Export As" workflows on supported operating systems.