- Digital Photo Editing Software Free
- Digital Photo Editing Programs
- Best Free Photo Editing Software
- Best Photo Editing Freeware
Free software that reads barcodes from images or PDF files. 12399 IrfanView Portable 4.56 Pick A portable, advanced, fast, free image viewer/converter for Windows. Photo editor free. Photo & video. Photo Editor is a simple application and easy to manipulate image editing. Adjust color, add effects, rotate, crop, resize, frame, mirror, and draw on your photos. Options include adjusting color hue, saturation, contrast, and brightness.
Choosing the best photo editor is something most people occasionally have to do because we live in a digitally and technologically advanced age where people are constantly sharing digital images and using them for other purposes such as blogging.
With so many photo editing applications out there, it is very important to compare different options and features in order to ensure you end up with the best photo editor for your needs.
Best Overall- Movavi Photo Editor
Movavi photo editor is a full-featured photo editing tool which not only allows you to easily remove unwanted objects or tourists from images, but also enables you to replace image background, add watermarks and captions etc. What's more, with Movavi photo editor, you can enjoy 1-click photo quality enhancing with its Magic Enhance tool. Cropping, resizing, rotating, straightening tools will help you get more aesthetically pleasing composition. Movavi Photo Editor delivers much more than everyday photo editing apps – try the awesome object and background removal features!
Below is a list of the top 15 best free photo editor software 2018. The list is divided into three categories to make your selection easier.
1. SOFTWARE
a) PhotoScape
PhotoScape is a package deal kind of software. It includes all the major features you need to edit your pictures. Some of PhotoScape's capabilities include: blooming, red-eye removal, filters, cropping drawing pictures, text, balloons, frames, backlight correction, white balance adjustment, brightness, color, resizing, raw converter, rename, color picker, screen capture, splitter, print, animated GIF, page combine, batch editor and viewer.
- Beginner friendly
- Easy to use
- It has numerous features and capabilities
- Fast
- Flexible operation
- There are explanations for everything in order to make it easy for a beginner to understand what they are doing.
- It still needs some additional features such as background changing ability. Other than this, this software does not have any other disadvantage.
b) GIMP
GIMP is a free software suitable for photo editing tasks like image authorizing, photo retouching and image composition. GIMP is a very powerful software with features and capabilities you might not find in other similar software. GIMP can be used as a professional photo retouching program, a simple paint software, an image renderer, an image format converter or an online batch processing system among others. This software is extensible, expandable and modular. GIMP was designed to include extensions and plugins that make it possible for you to do almost everything with the software. This software also has a scripted interface that enables you to achieve anything from the simplest task to the most complicated task.
- Great alternative to Photoshop
- It is free
- Easy to use
- IT has numerous features
- Beginner friendly
c) Paint.NET
Paint.Net is one of the best full-featured photo editing software. It has a streamlined and intuitive interface and provides you with all the tools you need to edit your photos. This software supports layers, special effects and unlimited undo among others. It also has a growing active online community that is very friendly and provides plugins, tutorials and any other help you might need. It is perfect for beginners and expert photo editors.
- Fast download
- Small footprint
- Great for basic image manipulation
- Requires some additional features in order for a user to be able to do advanced photo editing.
d) Picasa
Picasa is a great software. You can use it to share, print, organize, find and transfer images. This software organizes all your pictures in one album so as to save you the hassle of going through your files to locate an image you want to edit. Picasa works with PSD, BMP, GIF, movie files and JPEG. Picasa is compatible with most digital cameras and it is able to detect your USB driver to import images into the software. The editing tools included in this software include: color switch to black and white, color enhancing, red-eye removal, custom and standard cropping among others.
- Easy file sharing
- Image import saves you the hassle of going through your files to get images
- Easy to use
- Fast download
- User-friendly interface
- Google no longer supports this software. This means there will not be any more updates for the software.
e) Photo! Editor
Photo! Editor is a basic photo editing tool that you can use to optimize and fix your digital images in just a few clicks. This photo editing software has basic tools such as clearing skin imperfections and wrinkles, red-eye removal and retouching tools such as color optimization. The software also features a cropping utility, lighting effects and a caricature tool that enables you to add hilarious effects to your pictures. Another great thing about Photo! Editor is the fact that it gives you an option to compare your original image with the edited image. This enables you to know whether or not you are moving in the right direction. This software is perfect for beginners and professional photo editors.
- Easy to use
- Numerous features
- Fast download
- Comparison feature enables you to compare your original image with the edited image
- User-friendly interface
- Beginner friendly
- It experiences crashes when used for a long period of time.
f) Raw Therapee
Raw Therapee is a software that is specialized for processing photos in their raw format. This software is more complex compared to other similar programs. Some of the features of this program include: retouching, adjusting exposure, shadows, highlights, white balance, color panels, perspective, sharpness, cropping, resizing, batch editing, raw file editing and filters among others. This software is perfect for hobbyists, professional photographers and anyone who needs a high quality editing software.
- Easy to use
- Has many features and tools
- Can be used for advanced editing
- Batch editing
- Raw file support
- Complex interface
- No pre-set filters
- Harder to learn compared to other photo editing software
2. FREE ONLINE IMAGE EDITORS
a) Pixlr
Pixlr is an online photo editing tool with numerous professional features such as brushes and layering. This photo editing tool has very advanced features that make it a major rival for desktop photo editors. Therefore, if you are looking for an online photo editing tool that would offer you the same service as a desktop photo editor, Pixlr would be a perfect tool. This software is perfect for beginners as well as professional photo editors.
- Easy to use
- Advanced features
- Numerous tools
- Free
- User-friendly
- Pixlr gets very slow at times especially when you are using editing tools like smudge tool. This is caused by the complexity of the editing tool.
b) PicMonkey
PicMonkey has all the basic features you need to edit your photos like brushes, effects and filters. Apart from this PicMonkey includes a number of design features like whole themes, textures and overlays among others. If you are looking for a photo editing tool that you can use to do basic enhancements and add text to your images, PicMonkey is the best software for you.
- It is free
- It has numerous features
- Can be used for basic photo enhancement
- User-friendly interface
- Easy to use
- It cannot be used for very advanced photo editing.
c) Fotor
Fotor is a powerful online photo editing tool with great usability. With Fotor, you can achieve very good photo editing results in a very short time. This photo editing tool has a variety of functionality tools that you can use to edit your photos. These include: brushes, layering, rendering for HDR and automatic enhancement algorithms among others. Fotor also has an easy design functionality that enables you to complete editing tasks quickly. This photo editing tool can be used for both basic and professional photo editing.
- Beginner friendly
- User-friendly interface
- Easy to use
- Numerous editing features and tools
- Can be used for both advanced and basic photo editing
d) BeFunky
BeFunky is probably the easiest online photo editor you can use. This online photo editing tool has a very intuitive and simple interface which makes it perfect for beginners who might not have any experience in editing. It has all the basic features you need to perfect your pictures. Some of these features include: layering, brushes and preset filters among others. Apart from this, BeFunky also gives you the option of adding graphics, texts and overlays to your pictures.
- It is very easy to use
- Intuitive interface
- Numerous features
- Fast
- Beginner friendly
- BeFunky can only be used for basic photo editing. This is is because it lacks advanced features which are required for professional photo editing. Therefore, if you are looking for a professional photo editor, BeFunky is not the photo editor for you.
e) Adobe PhotoShop Express
Adobe Photoshop Express is an online photo editing tool offered by Adobe. The funny thing about this online photo editing tool is the fact that it looks nothing like PhotoShop. This is odd considering that both editors are offered by Adobe. Nonetheless, Adobe PhotoShop Express has a very intuitive interface and covers all the basics very well. One of the best features of this online editing tool is the film strip view that is provided at the bottom of the editor page when you are using a number of adjustment tools. Instead of using a slider to adjust the white balance, saturation and other subjective tweaks, this photo editing tool displays the changes incrementally allowing you to choose your favorite from the different options provided. Adobe PhotoShop Express also has advanced tools like distortion, sketching and tinting.
- Free
- Great for advanced and basic editing
- Easy to use
- Great PhotoShop alternative
- Numerous tools and features
- You have to create an account to use this online editing tool.
3. MOBILE
a) Adobe PhotoShop Mix ( Available on Android and iOS)
Adobe PhotoShop Mix is perfect for cutting out, combining and seamlessly blending different pictures to create high-end multi-layered images. This application has numerous features and tools that you can use to transform your basic images to look like professional images. Adobe PhotoShop Mix is only compatible with android, iPhones and iPads and it is free.
- This app can be downloaded for free
- It is very easy to use
- Fast
- Numerous tools and features
- Can be used for basic and advanced photo editing.
- Great PhotoShop alternative
b) AirBrush Easy Photo Editor(Available on both Android & iOS)
Airbrush Easy Photo Editor is the best application if you want to make your pictures perfect. This app has all the features you need to achieve perfect results. Some of the features include: blemish and pimple remover, perfect skin, teeth whitening, eye brightening, retouching effects, photo lengthening, real-time editing and radiant filters among others. With this application, you can transform a very basic and dull picture to look like a professional picture. It is free and it is compatible with both android and iOS.
- Very easy to use
- Constantly being updated
- Numerous features
- Free
- Compatible with both android and iOS
- Saves edited images in separate folders
Digital Photo Editing Software Free
c) Cupslice (Android only)
Cupslice is among the most trending apps on social media. This app has numerous powerful features that enable you to transform your pictures. This app features numerous filters that you can use to tweak your photos to make them appear brighter and unique. The best thing about the filters is the fact that they leave your picture looking very natural. This way, it is very hard to tell that you have edited your picture. The app is very easy to use and it is only available for Android phones.
- Easy to use
- Free
- Powerful features
- Natural filters
- Doesn't take up too much space
d) Fotor Photo Editor (Available on Android and iOS)
Fotor Photo Editor is a one stop app for editing, sharing and selling pictures. Fotor has evolved from being one of the most user-friendly photo editing applications to a growing photography community platform. Apart from editing pictures on this app, you get the opportunity to connect with numerous photographers around the world. This enables you to get inspiration, make new friends and learn new photography skills. It is a great platform for photography enthusiasts, hobbyists and professional photographers. This application provides you with all the photo editing tools you need to transform your pictures. Whether you want to edit your picture to post on social media or use it for professional projects, Fotor will work very well for you.
- It is free
- Photography community platform
- User-friendly
- Fun
- Numerous editing tools
- Perfect for beginners and professionals
- It does not have a delete option for pictures. This leads to a lot of memory use up which is not great if you have a limited amount of space on your phone.
Conclusion
In conclusion, if you love sharing pictures on social media or you are a professional photographer, you will really benefit from these photo editing tools. They are easy to use and you can find one for all your devices. Test them out to find out which one works best for you.
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- February 10, 2020
- 32 min to read
Modern digital photography goes hand in hand with post-processing software. Although today the photo editing software market offers an unlimited number of options for photographers of all levels, most of the community sticks to tried-and-true Adobe Photoshop. It indeed is a universal app equipped with tools that a professional photographer would wish for, but it's time to make way for the new.
For the past decades, a lot of new and worthy photo editors entered the market bringing revolutionary technologies into the mundane editing process making even the most complex editing tasks doable for novices and streamlined for pros. Here we listed some of the best photo editing apps on the market including both old and new for photographers of different needs and skill levels.
1. Luminar 4
Completely revamped Luminar 4 is finally here to shake up the world of photo-editing software. Improved to be even more intuitive, Luminar 4 also brings a ton of brand-new AI editing tools designed to speed up the photo editing workflow.
- AI Sky Replacement automatically changes the sky and relights and recolors the entire photo to match the new sky.
- AI Skin Enhancer & Portrait Enhancer do all the retouching for you with just one click.
- AI Enhance automatically enhances your photo by making numerous adjustments of different complexity.
- AI Structure brings details up or down depending on your needs.
- Sunrays adds realistic sun rays to your photo that you're free to tweak as you please.
- Smart Contrast was improved to produce a more detailed and textured image.
Luminar 4 can not only be used as a stand-alone app but also as a plug-in for Adobe's Photoshop and Lightroom to make the best of your tools.
✅ Pros:
- Non-destructive editing
- Intuitive interface
- Improved performance
- In-depth customization
- Available as a plug-in as well
✖️ Cons:
- Mediocre library functions
- Limited exporting options
2. Adobe Lightroom
Adobe Lightroom has been the app of choice for professional and amateur photographers alike for many years now. It offers a well-thought-out set of features for managing, organizing, processing, and exporting your photos. With the advanced library features, like labels, keywords, collections, and search filters, the app makes it easy for you to keep track of large numbers of photos. Lightroom comes with a good selection of RAW profiles to define colors in your photos for more precise editing. Tweak your photos to perfection with adjustment sliders, perspective and lens correction tools, retouching tools, filters, profiles, and presets to speed up your workflow.
✅ Pros:
- Built-in file management system
- Face detection and tagging
- Color and luminosity masking
- Plug-in support
✖️ Cons:
- Not the best choice for beginners
- A bit too taxing for Windows
- No auto-tagging
- Comparatively slow importing
❓
What photo editing software do you use and why? Let us know in the comments, we'd be very interested to know!
3. ACDSee PHOTO STUDIO ULTIMATE 2020
Photo Studio Ultimate 2020 is a one-stop photo management and post-processing tool for Windows. It comes with everything you need to handle your files, like categories, keywords, face detection, ratings, color labels, metadata, geolocation, and more. It's quite powerful when it comes to photo editing, too, offering a broad set of tools for a variety of different purposes. It allows you to process your RAW, JPEG and other types of files in a non-destructive way in Develop Mode and perfect them in Edit Mode by adjusting color and lighting, bringing out details, removing flaws, and adding final touches. The user interface is completely customizable to suit your preferences.
✅ Pros:
- Excellent built-in file management system
- Powerful post-processing features
- Fully customizable interface
Foxit reader x64. ✖️ Cons:
- Available only for Windows
- Too overwhelming for beginners
- Subscription-based online storage gallery
4. GIMP
GIMP is a free and open-source photo-editing tool that has been around for more than 20 years. It boasts a limitless number of state-of-the-art features that you wouldn't expect to see in a free photo-editing app. The interface has been recently updated to be easier to use, however it still can be quite confusing for novices. GIMP offers a broad set of tools suitable not only for basic but for advanced editing, too. Here you can enhance colors, adjust hue and saturation, fix composition, adjust sharpness, reduce graininess, remove unwanted objects, work with masks, layers, and more.
✅ Pros:
- 100% free
- Open access to the source code
- Has a broad selection of tools for different purposes
- Plug-in support
- Available for the main operating systems
✖️ Cons:
- Non-intuitive workflow
- Difficult to get the hang of
- Lack of HDR support
5. Aurora HDR
Aurora HDR is a powerful HDR tool that brings innovation and simplicity together. The most recent update introduced a new Quantum HDR engine with AI-powered tone mapping technology which allows for more intelligent photo merging to produce vivid yet natural-looking photos. Whether you're creating an HDR photo from bracketed shots or a single image, the app's neural network enhances the photo and makes sure that no halos or ghosting spoils the final result. The brand-new Smart HDR Structure feature boosts details and sharpness without creating undesired artifacts that can make a photo look unrealistic. With over 80 distinctive Looks, you can make your photo look stunning in just one click.
✅ Pros:
- One of the best HDR photo editors
- Swift performance
- Corrects badly taken single shots
- Doesn't create artifacts, halos, or noise
- Available as a stand-alone app and plug-in
- Plug-in support
✖️ Cons:
- None worth mentioning
Digital Photo Editing Programs
6. Adobe Photoshop Elements
Developed for beginner and hobbyist photographers, Photoshop Elements' functions are naturally more limited than Photoshop's but it has all the essentials for achieving astonishing results. It offers three editing modes:
The Quick mode includes the simplest tools for straightening and cropping photos, removing unwanted objects, enhancing portraits, and applying filters.
The Guided mode uses step-by-step wizards to take you through more complex edits like removing objects, replacing the background, merging multiple photos, creating double exposures, and more.
The Expert mode gives you access to more complex Photoshop-like features including layers, masks, and filters.
✅ Pros:
- Excellent for entry-level photographers
- Simple and straightforward interface
- One-time purchase
- A bunch of Photoshop-like features simplified for nonprofessionals
- Dozens of clear guides
✖️ Cons:
- Too limited functionality
❓
Exposure X5 looks like a refined version of Lightroom that inherited only the features that photographers liked and used the most. Some of the most hated features were eliminated or improved. Thus, there's no time-consuming import process in Exposure X5 - you can get straight to editing by adding a folder with your photos in a few clicks. The interface is very well-organized and can be customized to suit your editing purposes. Besides non-destructive layer-based editing and cutting-edge tools that are crucial for the professional photo-manipulating process, Exposure X5 offers a mind-blowing collection of over 500 presets that you can customize to your liking.
✅ Pros:
- Beginner-friendly
- Well-organized and customizable interface
- No power-draining import process
- Non-destructive layer-based editing
- A broad selection of free presets
- No subscription
✖️ Cons:
- The interface design looks a bit outdated
- Lack of panorama and HDR tools
Best Free Photo Editing Software
8. Capture One Pro
Capture One Pro is a full-fledged pro photo editor created for experienced photographers and serious hobbyists. Originally designed for tethered shooting, Capture One Pro is the fastest and most flexible tethering tool for photographers of all genres. It also offers top-notch RAW photo-editing functionality, smart photo organization tools, layer support, powerful adjustment tools, and plenty of other features you're looking for in professional-grade photo software.
✅ Pros:
- Exceptional rendering of RAW files
- Numerous adjustment tools for different needs;
- Layer-based editing
- Industry-leading tethering features
- Fast and smooth spot removal
- Annotations feature
✖️ Cons:
- Lack of third-party plug-in support;
- Lack of panorama and HDR tools
- Limited organization features;
- Absence of history panel
9. Affinity Photo
Even though Affinity Photo can't boast any organization or management tools, it's well-packed with all kinds of editing features for photographers of all levels. The workflow includes several Personas, or modes, focused on different editing stages. Develop Persona focuses on RAW file processing, Photo Persona is used for boosting your photos using layers, lighting and color adjustments, curves, LUTs, etc. Tone Mapping Persona is for HDR editing, Liquify Persona for bending photos, and Export Persona for exporting finished photos.
✅ Pros:
- Layer-based editing
- RAW editing tools
- Panorama, HDR, and focus stack merging tools
- No subscription
✖️ Cons:
- No lens-based corrections
- Lack of organization tools
- No ability to save custom workspaces
- Poor noise reduction
10. Pixlr
One of the most powerful online photo tools, Pixlr has become a popular choice when it comes to making quick photo corrections. Since it's a web app, it doesn't take up any room on your computer and is compatible with all operational systems. https://jxlbb.over-blog.com/2021/01/wondershare-video-converter-ultimate-10-0.html. Pixlr features a clean and intuitive interface with many tools for cropping, selecting, transforming, removing objects, retouching and adjusting your photos using numerous sliders for brightness, contrast, vibrance, saturation, shadows, and more. It also offers a vast collection of filters and effects that will enhance your photos in a snap!
✅ Pros:
- Beginner-friendly
- Great for quick editing
- Online
- 100% free
- Has a clean interface
- Offers a nice collection of filters and effects
- Mobile version available
How to right click on macbook pro 2012. ✖️ Cons:
- Limited functionality
- Advertising can be annoying
- Can be laggy sometimes
11. Paint.NET
Developed to replace the iconic Microsoft Paint, Paint.NET has grown into a full-featured yet simple photo-editing tool for WIndows. The app offers a user-friendly interface that's very easy to navigate. https://masrathegee1974.mystrikingly.com/blog/creative-market-ruin-photoshop-action-1757737-download-free. Paint.NET is packed with a nice set of tools for making your photos look beautiful in the most effortless way. Here you can play around with various adjustments, such as levels, curves, contrast, brightness, saturation, and more, selecting and removing objects, resize and crop your photos, and so much more!
✅ Pros:
- 100% free
- Unlimited history
- Layer-based editing
- Tons of creative filters and effects
- Suitable for beginner and intermediate users
- User-friendly interface
- Plug-in support
Best Photo Editing Freeware
✖️ Cons:
- Only for Windows
- Interface design looks a bit outdated
- Limited functionality
❓
Do you agree with our opinion in this article? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
FAQ:
Q: Which one is the best photo editing software?
A: Luminar 4 is the best photo editing software because it offers the most powerful collection of features and tools for different editing needs.
Q: What is the easiest free photo editing software?
A: Paint.NET is the easiest free photo editing software, however, it has a very limited number of features suitable only for basic editing.
Q: Which photo editing software is the best for HDR photo editing?
A: Aurora HDR is the best HDR photo editing software with a broad set of tools for creating and correcting HDR images.
Q: How can I edit pictures on my computer for free?
A: GIMP free photo editor is the best way to edit pictures on your computer for free. It's well-packed with features and is suitable for beginners and pros alike.
Q: Which photo editing software can be used as a plug-in for Photoshop/ Lightroom?
A: Luminar 4 is the best Photoshop/ Lightroom plug-in that allows you to use its unique features in your go-to photo editor.
Whether you take photos for fun or business, it's not an easy task to find a photo editing software that can best fit your photo editing needs with so many different options on the market. We believe that it's easier to find something when you know what you're looking for, so we came up with three criteria that you should take into account when looking for your one and only photo app. So, we recommend you to make your choice based on the features you want your app to have, the platform you're going to use it on, and the price that you're ready (or not) to pay for it. This will help you to filter out the irrelevant options and narrow your choices down to a few most suitable ones.
FeaturesWe believe that all photo editing apps can be divided into several categories based on what they have to offer to users of different levels and needs. These categories are:
- Photo editing software for beginners. If you're just starting out in photography or need to apply quick corrections to your photos once in a while, you should opt for a beginner-friendly photo editor like Paint.NET or Pixlr. Such editors usually have a clean and straightforward interface without too many tabs and icons, and a decent set of tools for applying basic corrections.
- Professional photo editing apps are designed for professional photographers and advanced hobbyists and give more control over photo processing and editing. Their use requires more specialized knowledge of photography and high photo-editing skill. Pro-grade photo editors like Adobe Lightroom or Capture One Pro often come with an in-build photo management system, provide support for RAW files, tethered shooting, and presets.
- Software for creating and editing vector graphics. As you probably know, there are two types of graphics: raster and vector. Raster graphics represent images as a pixel grid, while vector graphics use lines and curves. Vector software can't change pixels and thus is ineffective for photo correction. However, you can use vector software to add graphics to your photo such as text, shapes, lines. Many raster photo editors include a handful of vector tools, like GIMP or Photoshop.
- AI photo software uses AI-based technology that allows reducing manual photo editing to a minimum - even the most complex editing tasks such as retouching or removing objects can be done with just a few clicks. Such apps are a popular choice among beginners and pros alike as they substantially speed up the editing process without affecting the quality. Luminar 4 is one of a few decent AI photo editing tools on the market.
- Open source photo editing apps are apps for which the source code can be viewed and changed by any user, like GIMP. It means that any user can interact with the program code to correct bugs, improve the exciting features and add new ones. Open-source software is usually completely free and for this reason much beloved by users of different levels of expertise.
There is another thing you should take into account when looking for your perfect photo-editing app - the platform you're going to use it on. If you're a Mac or Windows user, you've got a wider choice of options unlike, for example, Chrome OS users, who have a much more limited choice. Let's take a closer look at what we have here.
- Windows is the most compatible with most of the photo software you're going to want to use. If you're a Windows user, you have a great number of options to choose from including most widely-used apps like GIMP, Luminar 4, Lightroom, Paint.NET, and more.
- As Mac is the second most popular operating system, you won't have any troubles finding a photo app compatible with it. Here you still have a vast number of options including Lightroom, Aurora HDR, Luminar 4, etc. The popular GIMP, however, isn't compatible with Mac.
- If you're a Chromebook user, your choice is limited to Google Play apps. Those, however, include a pretty good number of options, such as GIMP, Photoshop, Lightroom, and others. If you have strong programming skills, you could try installing external apps as well.
It doesn't matter what platform you're using if you choose to work in an online photo editor. It runs in a browser and doesn't need installing.
If you're looking for an app for your Android or iOS device, you should check what your app store has to offer. Some web and desktop apps, like Pixlr or Lightroom, however, have mobile versions.
PriceNo matter how good the software is, its price can be a real dealbreaker. Luckily, not all photo editing software is paid for. There are such apps as GIMP and Paint.NET that are completely free. Paid options include subscription-based (Photo Studio Ultimate 2020, Lightroom) and one-time-fee (Luminar 4, Photoshop Elements, Affinity Photo) software. Some paid apps though have free trial versions, so you can test an app for free for several days to see if it's worth the money.