"It's like getting a Bentley and looking for cheap used mismatched tires." Gene you forgot to add "There is no free lunch."

Now screwing up any car with significantly unmatched tires is not wise, but traditionally women do get a free lunch when the check is handed to the man. Poof, analogies mess up thinking, so I ask you Gene, with a perfectly good mind why do you screwup your thinking and communications to others with analogies? Use facts and references that stick to the subject like flypaper.

Free programs from "open source" are often excellent. Many use the basic tools to trim and polish an excellent photo taken by a Bentley camera or a pocket camera with a one-inch sensor and computer designed zoom lens.

With the advent of Ai in photo processing and older plugins such as Topaz low cost and free edit programs work miraculous image changes. Gimp is of course an example of FREE ever-improving Open Source software that for most people and has abilities riveling PS which is like a Bentley built on an outmoded chassis.

Here PS wins, but only in some areas, and Gimp is declared great for most of the "car owners"
https://www.pcworld.com/article/3509458/gimp-vs-photoshop-we-compare-the-leading-free-and-subscription-image-editors.html

Another comparison and PS wins only by a squeak 97% vs 96% for Gimp
https://comparisons.financesonline.com/gimp-vs-adobe-photoshop-cc

Alternatives to Michelin Tires for your Bentley camera:
https://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/best-photoshop-alternatives/

Never forget that new tires that you can afford are better than driving on bald tires because you can not afford those Adobe PS tires that you will pay for monthly forever and even after your death because the dead can not cancel their subscription.

"Adobe Photoshop Express is a free image editing and collage making mobile application from Adobe Inc. The app is available on iOS, Android and Windows phones and tablets. It can also be installed on Windows desktop with Windows 8 and above, via the Microsoft Store. Photoshop Express Editor has various features which can be used to enhance photos."

Two key words, "Express" and "free". The organizer/file browser called Bridge is also free from Adobe. They work best if you have an account, but you don't have to have anything in that account that is being billed.

You ask this every time, but still don't understand that for some of us it really isn't about money.

To use your Bentley analogy is a more aligned way (for me and some other linux users): It's like getting a Bentley that can only use "X tires", but the rest of the world predominantly uses "Y tires". Now "Y tires" are more expensive and have been around longer, so there is plenty of brand following. Unfortunately, "Y tires" do not work on my Bentley without modifying them in a way that they lose performance. BUT......."X tires" provide the same basic functionality and a lot of other performance characteristics of "Y tires". But again, they aren't as expensive, and therefore must be inferior because not everyone understands.

Now...most of us "X tire" users are really happy in our bubble and leave the "Y tire" people alone about their choices. Because at the end of the day, it's just that a personal choice.

"It's like getting a Bentley and looking for cheap used mismatched tires." Gene you forgot to add "There is no free lunch."

Now screwing up any car with significantly unmatched tires is not wise, but traditionally women do get a free lunch when the check is handed to the man. Poof, analogies mess up thinking, so I ask you Gene, with a perfectly good mind why do you screwup your thinking and communications to others with analogies? Use facts and references that stick to the subject like flypaper.

Free programs from "open source" are often excellent. Many use the basic tools to trim and polish an excellent photo taken by a Bentley camera or a pocket camera with a one-inch sensor and computer designed zoom lens.

With the advent of Ai in photo processing and older plugins such as Topaz low cost and free edit programs work miraculous image changes. Gimp is of course an example of FREE ever-improving Open Source software that for most people and has abilities riveling PS which is like a Bentley built on an outmoded chassis.

Here PS wins, but only in some areas, and Gimp is declared great for most of the "car owners"
https://www.pcworld.com/article/3509458/gimp-vs-photoshop-we-compare-the-leading-free-and-subscription-image-editors.html

Another comparison and PS wins only by a squeak 97% vs 96% for Gimp
https://comparisons.financesonline.com/gimp-vs-adobe-photoshop-cc

Alternatives to Michelin Tires for your Bentley camera:
https://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/best-photoshop-alternatives/

Never forget that new tires that you can afford are better than driving on bald tires because you can not afford those Adobe PS tires that you will pay for monthly forever and even after your death because the dead can not cancel their subscription.

I have to agree with @Gene51 here. His analogy is more spot on. It’s not about using the brand that fits your vehicle it’s about using cheap mismatched tires after spending so much on a high end luxury vehicle. It is always about the money. The OP did not say they were a Linux user and did not ask about software that works on Linux. That is a different question. I am not disparaging the OP for asking about free software. To each their own. But I agree with Gene51 you(in general not the OP) spend thousands on photography equipment then want to cheap out on free software which may very well be the most important or one of the most important links in the chain of getting what you see with your eye to the final image. In the larger perspective high end editing software might be the least expensive expenditure of all. The gold standard of software, photoshop, costs less than a single lens and there are others that cost even less.

To answer the OP directly the best free software would most likely be the software that came with your camera. My personal experience is the software that comes with the camera will perform all the editing functions you will need short of actual pixel manipulation and do it very well. Those software packages for what they are, better than just good, they are usually excellent.