FastStone Image Viewer: features, formats, license and download
FastStone Image Viewer is a Windows image browser, viewer, converter and light editor from FastStone Soft. It is free for personal and educational use, opens all common formats plus camera RAW files, and combines an Explorer-style thumbnail browser with a full-screen viewer, batch conversion and renaming, slideshows and basic editing. Version 8.5, released on June 24, 2026, is the current release and is available as an installer or a portable ZIP.
This guide covers what the program does, which formats it opens, how the license works for home and business users, which download to pick, whether it is safe, and how it evolved from the 6.6 performance release to 8.5.
What is FastStone Image Viewer?
FastStone Image Viewer is a lightweight image management program for Windows that handles viewing, sorting, converting and quick edits in one window. The main browser looks like Windows Explorer: a folder tree on the left, a thumbnail grid in the middle and a preview pane. Double-clicking an image opens the full-screen viewer, where toolbars stay hidden until you move the mouse to a screen edge.
The program targets users who want something faster and more capable than the Windows Photos app without the weight of a full photo editor. Core feature groups, per the developer's feature list:
- Viewing: full-screen mode, zoom, a magnifier, a histogram and side-by-side comparison of up to 4 images.
- Editing: resize, rotate, flip, crop, sharpen, blur, lighting, color, curves and levels, red-eye removal, clone stamp and healing brush, with multi-level undo.
- Management: tags, ratings, EXIF metadata, drag and drop, batch convert and batch rename.
- Output: slideshows with more than 150 transitions and music, printing, contact sheets, email and wallpaper.
- Extras: scanner acquisition, screen capture, a PDF viewer, video and audio playback, and bright, gray and dark themes.
If you are comparing alternatives, XnView covers similar ground with broader cross-platform support.
Which file formats does FastStone Image Viewer support?
FastStone Image Viewer opens all mainstream image formats, a long list of camera RAW formats and several modern codecs. The developer lists these groups:
| Format group | Supported formats |
|---|---|
| Common images | BMP, JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, PCX, TGA, ICO, CUR, WMF |
| Modern codecs | WebP, AVIF (since 7.8), JPEG XL (since 8.4), HEIC/HEIF |
| Documents and design | PDF, PSD, EPS, SVG (since 8.5) |
| Camera RAW | CR2, CR3, CRW, NEF, NRW, PEF, RAF, RWL, MRW, ORF, SRW, X3F, ARW, SR2, SRF, RW2, DNG |
One dependency matters: HEIC support relies on the Windows Imaging Component codecs on Windows 10 and 11. If HEIC photos from an iPhone do not open, install Microsoft's HEIF Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store first, then reload the folder in FastStone. Version 8.5 also lets you rotate WebP files and save them with a single click.
Is FastStone Image Viewer free?
FastStone Image Viewer is free for personal and educational use, with no adware or spyware according to the developer. Commercial use requires a paid license. FastStone sells a lifetime license on its order page, priced per user with volume discounts:
| Number of users | Price per user (USD) |
|---|---|
| 1 user | $34.95 |
| 2 to 9 users | $29 |
| 10 to 19 users | $22 |
| 20 to 49 users | $18 |
| 50 to 99 users | $14 |
| 100 to 299 users | $11 |
| 300 to 999 users | $8 |
| 1,000 users and more | Contact FastStone |
A quick rule for deciding: if the program runs on a home PC for your own photos or on a school device for study, the free terms apply. If it runs on a company machine or supports paid work, budget for a license. The order page does not spell out upgrade terms, so check them with FastStone before buying for a team.
How to download and install FastStone Image Viewer
FastStone Image Viewer is available in three packages from the official download page, and the right one depends on whether you want a regular installation:
- Open the official download page on faststone.org.
- Pick the EXE installer for a standard installation with Start menu entries and file associations.
- Pick the ZIP if your browser or mail filter blocks EXE downloads; it holds the same installer in compressed form.
- Pick the portable ZIP if you want to run the program from any folder or a USB drive without installing it.
- For the portable build, extract the archive to a folder of your choice and start the program executable from there.
The portable version is useful on shared or locked-down PCs and for keeping your settings on a removable drive. FastStone publishes the program for Windows only; the download page offers no macOS or Linux build.
Is FastStone Image Viewer safe?
FastStone Image Viewer is safe when you download it from faststone.org: the developer states the program contains no adware and no spyware. The risk comes from third-party download portals that wrap installers in their own download managers. A short checklist:
- Download only from faststone.org or the mirror linked on its download page.
- Let Microsoft Defender or your security software scan the file before you run it.
- Upload the file to a multi-engine scanner such as VirusTotal if you want a second opinion.
- Check that the installer does not offer extra software; the official one should not.
Regular maintenance is another point in its favor: FastStone shipped six releases (8.0 to 8.5) between April 2025 and June 2026, and version 8.5, for example, fixed PDF links that were not clickable.
How to use FastStone Image Viewer efficiently
FastStone Image Viewer is fastest when you work from the thumbnail browser and use the full-screen viewer only for inspection. A few habits make a difference:
- Click once in the viewer to switch between best fit and actual size (100 percent), then press and hold the left mouse button to use the magnifier on details.
- Press Ctrl + 0 to reset the zoom to 100 percent (added in 8.2).
- Use Ctrl + Shift + K for Auto Fit and Ctrl + Shift + L to lock the zoom ratio while comparing a series (added in 7.8).
- Select up to 4 thumbnails and open the compare view to pick the sharpest shot.
- Use the batch convert and rename tool to resize, convert and rename a whole shoot in one pass.
For simple bulk resizing without the viewer, FastStone also offers a separate tool, covered in our FastStone Photo Resizer review.
The Import Photos and Videos tool copies files from a camera or card. It can limit imports to a date range, and version 8.5 added options to start importing automatically and handle duplicate file names automatically.
FastStone Image Viewer version history: 6.6 to 8.5
FastStone Image Viewer has shipped steady updates since version 6.6, the release this article originally covered. Version 6.6 (September 2018) focused on speed: faster image loading, faster opening of big folders, faster copy and move operations, and faster processing of embedded ICC color profiles, which it enabled by default. When ghacks tested 6.6 at the time on a folder of 554 photos (4.75 GB), switching between images was instant once thumbnails had loaded. The release also improved the internal video player introduced in version 6.3.
| Version | Release date | Headline change |
|---|---|---|
| 6.6 | September 19, 2018 | Faster loading, folders and file operations; ICC profiles on by default |
| 7.5 | March 10, 2020 | Dark theme and audio playback |
| 7.6 | March 31, 2022 | New database engine |
| 7.7 | August 24, 2022 | HEIC/HEIF loads 40 to 100 percent faster |
| 7.8 | September 28, 2023 | AVIF support |
| 8.0 | April 28, 2025 | Two larger thumbnail sizes |
| 8.2 | November 21, 2025 | Create ZIP archives from selected files |
| 8.4 | May 29, 2026 | JPEG XL support |
| 8.5 | June 24, 2026 | SVG support and import automation |
Dark theme and audio playback in version 7.5
Version 7.5 (March 2020) added two features that are still part of the program: a true black Dark theme next to the Bright and Gray themes, and playback of audio files. In 7.5 the theme was switched from the Settings menu (Settings > Dark). Audio support was off by default: open Settings with F12, go to the Video tab and check "Support audio formats (mp3, wav, wma, midi...)". A second option then sets the visualization shown during playback (Alchemy, Wave, Battery, Ocean or Fire).
Once enabled, audio files appear in the thumbnail browser, and the preview pane plays the selected track with pause, stop, previous, next and volume controls plus bitrate and file size details. It is a media browser feature rather than a music player: playback stops when you select another file or open another folder.
FAQ
Is there a FastStone Image Viewer for Mac?
No. FastStone Image Viewer is a Windows program, and the official download page offers no macOS or Linux version.
Can FastStone Image Viewer open RAW photos?
Yes. It opens 17 RAW formats, including Canon CR2 and CR3, Nikon NEF, Sony ARW, Fujifilm RAF, Panasonic RW2 and Adobe DNG.
Does FastStone Image Viewer have a dark mode?
Yes. Since version 7.5 the program offers a dark theme alongside the bright and gray themes, and version 8.5 extended dark theme support to the PDF viewer.
Related: restore Windows Photo Viewer in Windows 11
I’m unable to Open 3 Separate JPGs and make a Composite JPG of the 3 for a Forum post. Open 2nd JPG overlays the 1st in Single view area. IS THAT a reality of the App? MS Photo Viewer was used instead. Looks good otherwise.
I’ve tried Irfanview, XnView as well, FastStone Image Viewer is the best of the three and the one I use. It has tons of of batch image editing functions built into it, more than the others IIRC.
I made a mistake. It’s the file portable.db that needs to be deleted for the video functionality to be disabled…
There’s a setting to turn it off.
Finally figured out what is causing FS viewer to crawl and display videos…
Delete ZipDll.dll and it will be like new and faster :) I don’t know what it does not do but you can use an old copy of zipdll.dll from a previous install (version 6.0 is fine)
Finally figured out what is causing FS viewer to crawl and display videos…
Delete ZipDll.dll and it will be like new and faster :) I don’t know what it does not do but you can use an old copy of zipdll.dll from a previous install (version 6.0 is fine)
FS viewer is awesome. Not sure I’m liking the direction they are adding to the software. Aka adding video viewing. Already have tons of awesome palyers (ex potplayer) for this functionality.
I need FS viewer to stick to image viewing. My goto viewer for literally 10 years.
FSview was my choice back in the windoze days.
Pity they don’t make a linux version, I’m stuck with the heavy xnview.
“The improvements are significant and visible.”
6.4 to 6.6: Not seen any “performance” improvements on my side??
FastStone has been my default viewer and editor for years and I’ve tried most everything out there. Simple interface, no updates baggage, silly overblown web site or “Look at me!” stuff, the way software should be. Happy to donate for this. Ver 6.6 loads thumbnails faster and opens folders with lots of pix faster. Improvements when it seems everyone else is making their products worse! Yay!
For heavy duty pro type editing, I use Affinity Photo, it can produce some spectacular photos, but for viewing and most editing FastStone has plenty of options.
Been using HoneyView for years and I’m perfectly happy with it.
It’s fast, doesn’t have much bloat and has some handy features.
The only downside is hasn’t been in active development for quite a long time now, so it only gets security patches and some bugfixes.
Arguably, it was much faster.
Replaced the old but good and discontinued Picasa, for those who have big albums of pics.
I’m still using ACDSee 3.1. If it works, don’t fix it!
Actually im still using ACDSee 3.1 :D Glad to see im not alone
Still using old ACDSee, have yet find small fast simple viewer that would even offer as option a similiar main Window where you can navigate between folders/view pics just by using PageUp/Down and Enter keys just like in old ACDSee.. i just don’t get it why , the best way..
Still using old ACDSee, have yet find small fast simple viewer that would even offer as option a similiar main Window where you can navigate between folders/view pics just by using PageUp/Down and Enter keys just like in old ACDSee.. i just don’t get it why , the best way..
Still using old ACDSee, have yet find small fast simple viewer that would even offer as option a similiar main Window where you can navigate between folders/view pics just by using PageUp/Down and Enter keys just like in old ACDSee.. i just don’t get it why , the best way..
Still using old ACDSee, have yet find small fast simple viewer that would even offer as option a similiar main Window where you can navigate between folders/view pics just by using PageUp/Down and Enter keys just like in old ACDSee.. i just don’t get it why , the best way..
Still using old ACDSee.. what kind of programming magic the person who made it used ?, still ever so fast in 2018 :-)
Also why don’t FastStone Image Viewer or any other new imagebrowsers still don’t use/even offer as option to use type of “main window” where you can move easily/fast between folders/pics just by using PageUp/Down/Enter keys just like in ACDSee.. I just don’t get it..
I’ve never been able to access the official site. I can access it using VPN etc. I wonder why it throws this error for me: “The requested URL was rejected. If you think this is an error, please contact the webmaster. “
Yandex.DNS can’t resolve this either. I had to switch to my ISP’s DNS resolver, which worked fine and I could access the address. I wonder where the problem is so I can contact them and have this solved. I was inclined to believe it’s on Yandex part, though they have always been reliable in the past years I’ve used their service. This is the first time I encounter such an issue.
I use GoogleDNS and have no issues accessing the website.
I think a lot of ISPs use GoogleDNS anyway.
tnx , will check it out tonight.
with the version i’m using atm, it can almost take a minute to load some folder information, and then the indexation & sorting still needs to happen.
but those folders have more then 100 000 pictures in them, so nice test case.
Yes, much faster on a folder with 8k+ JPEGs (mostly 8MPx, 12MP and 5MPx files). Love this program <3
I prefer IrfanView, because it seems the closest to the default Windows Photo Viewer.