Although I use (and have used for years) Nikon's proprietary raw editor for my D810 files, I have used PWP for 90% of the editing/image processing I require, for probably the last ten years. I also have CS6, but use it for only a few things.
PWP is easy to use and does most of what the average user requires. Plus it has some great things that even Photoshop does not do as easy. Having said that, the largest difference between PWP and Photoshop is that PWP does not use the layers paradigm, but generates a new image after each action, hence leaving the original alone. You also can't use plug-ins, one of the things common to Photoshop. A bit getting used to, but once you get your mind wrapped around that, it is quite a simple program to understand. Generating a mask (the program actually generates an 8 bit black and white image - that you can save for later use and which can also be used in Photoshop) is super easy and can be done with a number of different methods.
And printing is super easy to do out of PWP.
As has been stated, the owner is always personally responding to Forum questions/suggestions and often responds within an hour or two. Some great tutorials are also available.
Also can't beat the price.
I recommend a 30 day trial to anyone who is interested.
No connection to the company, just a satisfied user.
Marv