7 Best Free Photo Editing Apps for iPhone & Android 2022
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| Ilustrasion |
Looking for the best photo editing apps? Whether you're on Android, iOS and iPadOS, we've spent hours fiddling with filters and radial gradients to bring you this list of the best photo editing apps you can download today. (Searching for the best photo editors for desktop computers? Check out our separate best photo editors guide for that).
As you can see from the guide below, we're a little spoiled for choice when it comes to mobile photo editors. After all, not long ago photo editing demanded desktop machines packed with RAM. Today, even a basic Android phone has the clout to tackle your tweaks – which is just as well, given that it’s likely used to shoot most of your snaps.
Still, for some of us, only high-end pro camera kit will do – so can mobile devices still deliver where it matters when it comes to perfecting those pics? The answer is yes, as you can see with our number one pick for best photo editing app, Affinity Photo.
While other apps in this list are great for lightweight tweaks, Affinity Photo is a desktop-quality editor that you can take on the road. Even better, it doesn't need a bank balance-sucking subscription either. That doesn't necessarily mean it's the best photo editing app for you, though.
This regularly updated list looks at our favorite photo editors for Android, iPhone and iPad. We explore features that make each entry stand out, and explain why we think it should be a part of your mobile toolkit – whatever your skill level. Be mindful that even if you’re wedded to particular products, branching out is useful – you could find it beneficial to prefer a tablet-oriented app on iPad, but go for something simpler, sleeker and swifter on your phone.
Whatever your needs, these are the best photo editing apps around right now.
1. PicsArt
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| PicsArt |
PicsArt is our top pick of the best photo editing apps, because it's fun, easy to use, yet covers just about all the bases for consumer mobile photography. It provides lots of creative control, excellent image-editing tools and a large variety of attractive filters. In addition, you can quickly select or create fun stickers, combine your pictures into highly customizable collages, add artistic text and share. The full-featured camera module includes pre-capture effects and photo tools.
You can use Remix Chat to share and collaboratively edit photos with the 150 million monthly users of PicsArt, or only with your friends. In-app tutorials are easy to follow, and challenges prompt users to submit their creations based on a specific type of edit or a theme; winners are selected by community vote.
However, ads for PicsArt premium pop up frequently (and annoyingly) in the middle of editing processes. To turn them off — and to have the video editor, plus more tools, filters and content — you have to buy a premium subscription for $11.99 for a single month or $55.99/year. (There’s also a student discount).
PicsArt offers a rich and highly accessible collection of photo-editing and collaging tools for consumer photographers. And it provides lots of creative control while keeping everything fun and lively. Adobe Photoshop Camera is one of the best photo editing apps due to its AI, which applies special effects and photo corrections before or after you shoot with your phone’s camera.
2. Adobe Photoshop
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| AdobePhotoshop |
The iPad version of Adobe Photoshop has a few clever desktop features, such as the refine edge brush, which lets you better define an object you want to select, and rotate canvas. Both features are touch-enabled, too.
Adobe promises that it will add new lenses (all free) on a regular basis, some created by celebrity artists and influencers. Since each of the lenses has variations (accessed by swiping right or left), you can have hours of photo adventures. PS Camera is a delightful app that is essentially push-button photography, even though you can make some adjustments to the effects. As such it will appeal more to fun-loving photographers, rather than pros or serious amateurs. The app is free and there is no premium version.
3. PhotoDirector
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| PhotoDirector |
PhotoDirector combines complete creative control, a user-friendly interface and royalty-free stock library provided by Shutterstock and iStock. Whether you've spent years learning the ins and outs of advanced editing techniques or you've just begun your creative journey, PhotoDirector's professional-quality tools can transform a quick snap into a stunning image.
Along with all the basic editing tools you'll ever need, you can experiment with color grading, making personalized collages, taking advantage of object removal tools or using the AI-powered sky replacement for adding flawless sunsets to your images.
You can even animate photos using the guided animation modules. Draw motion lines and create anchor points for a customized animation or add already animated stickers and decor to delight your followers.
Alongside animation, PhotoDirector also makes the most popular Instagram effects easy to apply. While some apps feature advanced techniques that overwhelm or intimidate beginners, PhotoDirector's user-friendly interface and straightforward functions will simplify the process.
No matter if you're editing one photo or hundreds, you can quickly upload, adjust, and create on-the-go with your phone or seamlessly transition to your Chromebook or tablet for edits at home.
4. Pixlr
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| Pixlr |
Pixlr specializes in providing just enough variety for users. You won't ever feel overwhelmed by the available options. Still, you can use intuitive brushes as well as preset effects, overlays, and style filters to transform your photos into black-and-white, film, or sepia tones.
While Pixlr is free to download, the free version of the app has ads and limits your access to editing tools.
Casual users may enjoy the simplicity of the Pixlr app, but anyone who wants access to comprehensive editing tools and advanced effects may find Pixlr lacking in more than one area. Pixlr's Premium subscription however does offer access to more editing tools, the price is more than twice the cost of PhotoDirector's monthly subscription and doesn't provide users with the ability to create professional-quality edits on the go.
5. Canva
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| Canva |
Canva's primary appeal among is its library of versatile, customizable templates. You can sort through Canva's existing templates, choose one that suits your design aesthetic and make personalized adjustments.
The app also provides graphics that you can use in your Instagram story creations. If you'd prefer not to create a story from one of the app's templates, you can access Canva's library of elements to craft a post of your own creation.
While Canva does offer a limited array of photo effects, if you want to produce any professional-level photography edits, you will need to look for a more advanced app such as PhotoDirector. Canva's photo effects are limited to resizing, adjusting color, and overlaying filters onto your photo.
6. InShot
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| InShot |
InShot Photo Editor Pro is a fairly decent editor. This is a new style editor with tons of things like filters, stickers, and other such effects. The app houses all of these effects in a store-style layout and you can pick and choose the ones you want to download. Of course, some of them are only available on the pro subscription so prepare for that. In any case, it does actually edit some photos. You can do things like retouch photos, cut things out of the image, and it covers the other basics like cropping and such. We think the $7.99 per year subscription is relatively reasonable as long as you use the app consistently. Plus, the developer has a bunch of other photo and video editor apps in the Play Store.
7. AirBrush
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| AirBrush |
AirBrush is an excellent option for editing photos of people. It features a lot of people-focused features such as pimple removal, skin smoothing, red-eye removal, and a teeth and eye brightener function. There is also a bokeh mode to turn any photo into one with a blurry background. In addition, the app comes with a separate camera function that lets you edit the photo before you take it. Thus, you can get your selfie framed up in the camera and then apply edits before taking the final product. There is a subscription for some of the more advanced features, but you do get a 7-day free trial to try it before you spend anything.