AKVIS AirBrush: Give a Photo the Soft, Sprayed Look of an Airbrush Painting
AKVIS AirBrush is a Windows, macOS and Linux program that turns photos into airbrush-style paintings, for hobbyists and designers who want the look without painting by hand. The Home license costs $49 once, but it paints in one color family only. Full color starts at $69.
Real airbrush work gives soft edges, smooth gradients and a slightly unreal polish, the look of custom car art and old posters. AirBrush applies that as a filter: pick a preset, adjust a handful of sliders, and press Run.
Quick facts
- Version: 9.6
- Developer: AKVIS
- Platforms: Windows 7-11 (32/64-bit), macOS 10.12 to macOS 27 (64-bit), Linux 64-bit (standalone only)
- Editions: standalone app, or a plugin for AliveColors, Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Corel PaintShop Pro and other editors
- Price: $49 Home, $69 Home Deluxe, $89 Business, all one-time
- License: never expires, covers 2 computers
- Trial: 10 days, all features, no registration
- What we checked: the license comparison table on the vendor site, the 64-bit Windows installer on the download server (62 MB, file dated April 15, 2026), and the price of all four licenses on the order page on November 6, 2026. We didn't install the program or paint our own photos
Before you buy
The $49 Home license works in Monochrome mode only. AKVIS says it plainly: Home owners "can create airbrush drawings only in Monochrome mode". That means every painting comes out in shades of one color. Original Colors, which keeps the colors of your photo, and Multicolor both need Home Deluxe or Business, and so do the Smudge and History Brush tools.
For most people, Home Deluxe at $69 is the real starting price. It also includes both the plugin and the standalone app. Home and Home Deluxe are for personal use, so paid work needs Business at $89.
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Overview
AirBrush works as a one-job filter. You open a photo, choose a preset from the gallery, and fine-tune it with sliders for detail, sharpness, smudging, shading, lightness, contrast and spray. The program window shows Before and After tabs, so you can compare at any time.
The three painting modes decide the color of the result. Original Colors keeps your color range for a photorealistic painting, Monochrome renders it all in shades of one color, and Multicolor uses gradations of contrasting colors.
AKVIS AirBrush 9.5 in Presets view. The gallery on the right previews each preset on your own photo.
Features
Three painting modes
AKVIS AirBrush paints in Original Colors, Monochrome or Multicolor. All three are available on Home Deluxe and Business, while the Home licenses get Monochrome only, so check which one you want before you buy.
Presets you can save and share
AKVIS AirBrush comes with ready-made presets, and you can save your own settings, then import and export them to swap with other users.
Text, canvas and frames
AKVIS AirBrush adds a text or image watermark, a canvas texture and a frame, on every license. That covers the finishing touches for a print or a post without opening another program.
Batch processing
AKVIS AirBrush can run one set of settings across a folder of photos, on every license. AKVIS also sells a separate AirBrush Video filter for After Effects and Premiere Pro.
The Decoration tab with a Vignette frame on a castle landscape, in version 9.5.
Benefits
You get a recognizable artistic style in minutes, and the same preset gives a whole set of pictures one matching look. For a designer that means a poster or a set of social images with a consistent treatment. For a hobbyist it means a picture that looks made, not filtered.
Real-World Uses
- Custom vehicle art: preview how a photo would look as an airbrushed motif before paying an artist.
- Posters and T-shirts: soften a portrait into a graphic image with a frame and text.
- Video stills: process exported frames in a batch for a stylized clip.
- A striking single-color print: Monochrome mode on the Home license suits a toned wall print.
Who It's For, and Who Should Skip It
AKVIS AirBrush suits people who like this particular look and will use it often, especially Photoshop users who want it one click away as a plugin.
Skip it if you want a general photo editor, because it does one effect. Skip the Home license if you expect your painting in color. If you want pencil or charcoal looks, AKVIS sells separate programs for those.
Usage Guide
- Download the installer and run it. On Windows it contains both the standalone and the plugin.
- Start the program, or open a photo in your editor and call AirBrush from its filter menu.
- Open the Presets view and click through the previews.
- Pick a painting mode and adjust the sliders on the Painting tab.
- Press Run, then add text, a canvas or a frame on the Decoration tab.
- Save the picture. During the trial, test every mode so you know which license you need.
Where it falls short
- Edition gaps. FixThePhoto lists two cons: the standalone version has no PSD support, and the plugin lacks a crop tool. The AKVIS comparison table confirms both.
- It is a single-effect tool. FixThePhoto also notes that it "isn't cheap", and $69 for one look is a fair thing to think about.
- The Linux build has no plugin. It is standalone only.
What Users Say
Published coverage of AKVIS AirBrush is thin but positive. FixThePhoto rates it 4.5/5. We found almost no independent user reviews, and none on the big software review sites, so treat this as a small sample.
Reviewers
"If there’s one thing you have to learn from this AKVIS AirBrush review, it’s that it’s the perfect tool for quick image-to-drawing conversion using the airbrush technique while not demanding any complex manipulations or hand-drawing on the user’s part." Eva Williams, FixThePhoto, May 2021
Softpedia's Vlad Constantinescu, writing in March 2019, called it "A simple to use editing tool" and noted that it gives even novices an easy way in. FixThePhoto's pros are the range of presets, plugin and standalone options, the long RAW format list, batch processing and the 10-day trial.
Both reviews are several versions old. The common thread is speed and ease, and the only recurring criticism is about what each edition leaves out.
Editions and Pricing
| License | Price at checkout | Edition | Use | What you get |
|---|
| Home Standalone | $49 | Standalone app only | Personal, non-commercial | Monochrome mode only, Crop, no PSD |
| Home Plugin | $49 | Plugin only | Personal, non-commercial | Monochrome mode only, PSD, no Crop |
| Home Deluxe | $69 | Plugin and standalone | Personal, non-commercial | All three modes, Smudge, History Brush |
| Business | $89 | Plugin and standalone | Commercial use allowed | Everything in Deluxe |
Buy Home Standalone ($49)Buy Home Plugin ($49)Buy Home Deluxe ($69)Buy Business ($89)
FAQs
Does AKVIS AirBrush Home paint in full color?
No. AKVIS AirBrush Home paints in Monochrome mode only. The Original Colors and Multicolor modes need Home Deluxe ($69) or Business ($89).
Is AKVIS AirBrush a subscription?
No, AKVIS AirBrush is a one-time purchase. The license never expires. Newer versions after your update period need a paid update, which AKVIS sells as 1 Year of Updates for $19.95.
How many computers does an AKVIS AirBrush license cover?
Every AKVIS AirBrush license registers on 2 computers, and they can run different operating systems.
Does AKVIS AirBrush work inside Photoshop?
Yes, as a plugin, and also in AliveColors, Photoshop Elements and Corel PaintShop Pro. The plugin comes with the Home Plugin, Home Deluxe and Business licenses, not with Home Standalone.
Does the AKVIS AirBrush trial have the color modes?
Yes. The AKVIS AirBrush trial lasts 10 days and includes all features, so you can see what Original Colors and Multicolor add before choosing.
Can I use AKVIS AirBrush on client work?
Only with the Business license. AKVIS AirBrush Home and Home Deluxe are limited to non-commercial personal use.
System Requirements
- Windows: Windows 7-11, 32 or 64-bit. Minimum Pentium IV and 4 GB RAM, recommended Core i5 and 8 GB RAM.
- macOS: 10.12 Sierra to macOS 27, 64-bit. Minimum Intel and 4 GB RAM, recommended Intel or M1 and 8 GB RAM.
- Linux: 64-bit Debian, Ubuntu, Red Hat, CentOS, Fedora or openSUSE, standalone only. Minimum Core i3 and 8 GB RAM, recommended Core i5 and 16 GB RAM.
- Plugin: needs a photo editor that supports plugins.
Conclusion
AKVIS AirBrush is worth it if you want this airbrushed look regularly, at the Home Deluxe price of $69. The reason to buy is how quickly it produces a finished, stylized picture. The main reason not to is the trap in the cheapest license: at $49 you get Monochrome only, so buy Home only if that is the look you want.
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