ExifToolGui vs XnView MP
This comparison pairs two programs that photographers often install side by side without realising they are different species. XnView MP, from XnSoft (Pierre-Emmanuel Gougelet), is a cross-platform image viewer, organizer and converter that also shows and partly edits metadata. ExifToolGui — Bogdan Hrastnik’s GUI, continued as V6 by Frank Bijnen — is a dedicated Windows front-end for Phil Harvey’s ExifTool that does nothing but metadata, and does it at full ExifTool depth. Choosing between them is really choosing what the program is for. This page is part of the Comparisons hub, with ExifToolGui vs jExifToolGUI and ExifToolGui vs Adobe Bridge; files are on the download page.
The honest summary: if you want one program to browse, organize and convert a library and glance at its metadata, XnView MP is built for that. If the metadata itself is the job — auditing every tag, repairing dates, writing descriptive fields, removing location data — ExifToolGui is built for that. Many libraries end up using both, in sequence.
The two programs at a glance
| ExifToolGui (V6, Frank Bijnen) | XnView MP (XnSoft) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Dedicated ExifTool front-end for metadata viewing/editing | Image viewer / organizer / converter with metadata features |
| Platforms | Windows only | Windows, macOS and Linux |
| Metadata viewing | All metadata ExifTool recognises, via ExifTool | Shows EXIF, IPTC and XMP |
| Metadata writing | Full ExifTool writing through Workspace and Modify menus | Can write IPTC and partly XMP |
| Format breadth | Whatever ExifTool reads/writes (metadata scope) | 500+ image formats read, plus batch rename/convert |
| Licence | GNU GPL v3.0 (free software) | Freeware for private, educational or non-profit use; commercial use requires a licence |
Two rows decide most real cases. The writing row: XnView MP’s documented editing reaches IPTC fully and XMP partly, which covers captions and keywords for many users but is not a general metadata editor — EXIF repair work such as DateTimeOriginal correction is ExifTool territory. And the licence row: XnView MP is freeware with a use condition, not free software — private, educational and non-profit use is free, while commercial use requires a licence. ExifToolGui’s V6 fork is GPL-3.0 free software with no such use split.
Browsing and organising vs auditing and repairing
XnView MP’s centre of gravity is the library itself: thumbnails, organisation, batch renaming and conversion across more than 500 formats it can read. Metadata there is something you check while doing something else — confirm a date, read a caption, fix a keyword on export. ExifToolGui’s centre of gravity is the file’s tag set: a file list, a Metadata panel driven by your own Workspace definitions (you choose exactly which tags are shown and editable), an ExifTool direct view, and Modify operations for date shifts, geotagging from track logs and metadata removal. When a reader asks ‘why does this photo sort wrong / share its location / carry the wrong credit’, the auditing tool is the one that answers, because it shows everything ExifTool can see rather than the common fields only.
Platform and workflow fit
XnView MP runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, so a mixed-OS household or studio can standardise on it in a way ExifToolGui (Windows-only, both in the original and in Bijnen’s fork) cannot match. On a Windows desk, the question flips to depth versus breadth in the daily workflow. A practical combined pattern, and the one this site’s guides assume: browse and cull in your viewer of choice, then open the keepers in ExifToolGui for the metadata pass — dates verified, credits and keywords written through the Workspace, GPS deliberately kept or removed — before the files go anywhere else. The tools are complements wearing similar clothes, not substitutes, and treating the viewer as your metadata editor is where partial XMP writing quietly limits you.
One more practical distinction belongs in this section: breadth of display is not depth of record. A viewer that opens 500+ formats is showing you the fields it chooses to surface for each; a metadata front-end is showing you the record the file actually carries, including groups a viewer has no reason to display, such as maker-note internals or embedded GPS detail. When a file’s history matters — a submission, a dispute, a privacy decision before sharing — the record, not the summary, is the evidence, and that is the ground ExifToolGui was built to stand on.
Verdict
Choose XnView MP as your library front door if organising, viewing and converting are the daily work and your metadata needs stop at viewing EXIF/IPTC/XMP and writing IPTC plus some XMP — and note the licence condition if the use is commercial. Choose ExifToolGui when the metadata is the deliverable: full-depth inspection, date and time repair, batch descriptive editing and removal, all through ExifTool, under GPL-3.0, on Windows. Choose both if, like many photographers, you have a library to run and files whose metadata must be provably right.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can XnView MP replace ExifToolGui for metadata editing?
Only for light needs. XnView MP shows EXIF/IPTC/XMP and can write IPTC and partly XMP. Full-depth work — viewing every tag ExifTool recognises, repairing EXIF dates, removing metadata groups — is what the dedicated ExifTool front-end exists for.
Is XnView MP free for commercial work?
No. Its licence is freeware for private, educational or non-profit use; commercial use requires a licence. ExifToolGui’s V6 fork, by contrast, is GPL-3.0 free software.
Which one runs on Mac or Linux?
XnView MP — it is cross-platform on Windows, macOS and Linux. ExifToolGui is Windows-only. The cross-platform ExifTool GUI in this family is jExifToolGUI, compared in the hub.
Browse the full Comparisons hub for the remaining pairings, including ExifToolGui vs Exif Pilot, and get ExifToolGui and ExifTool from the download page.