While Adobe charges a fee to use its main Photoshop software, the company does offer free image editing tools in the form of the Photoshop Express application. Available for Android, iOS and Windows tablets and phones, this surprisingly capable app allows you to enhance and tweak your photos in a number of ways. Edit your photos with our online photo editor. Like Photoshop but fun and easy!
- Free Picture Editing Software Download
- Online Editing Software Like Photoshop
- Online Photoshop Editing Service
- Online Photo Editing Software Like Photoshop
- 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. Apple image converter.
- 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
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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
✖️ 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
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
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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
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. 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
✖️ 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. 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
✖️ Cons:
- Only for Windows
- Interface design looks a bit outdated
- Limited functionality
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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. Must have apps for macbook pro 2018.
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.
When you think about creating and editing masterful images, you think of Photoshop. Adobe Photoshop is the second name for professional editing software. You just can't do without it. Really? What if we tell you there are myriads of Photoshop alternatives which are equally good and at par as Photoshop? So, if you are looking for Photoshop alternatives that are easier to use or work as a free Photoshop alternative for Mac, Linux machine, Windows PC or any android device, we have got for some great options to consider-
Pixlr – Photo Editor Online
Free Picture Editing Software Download
Impressive 2 million +combinations of free effects, filters, and overlays to offer? Surprised? Don't be because Pixlr turns your mobile device into a complete photo editing tool to flaunt your creative masterpieces. This free online photo editor is perfect for those who need mobility without sacrificing the use of powerful tools. Pixlr can run on any browser and assures users that confidentiality of images is maintained. This is the friendliest photoshop alternatives for people who are not familiar with the complexities of photo editing. Some of the important features of Pixlr are as follows -Layers, Adjustments, Filters, Object Transform, Eraser, Brushes, Lasso, Magic Wand, Image retouching and more.
GIMP – GNU Image Manipulation Program
GIMP is one of the free photoshop alternatives with an open-source image editing platform. This software offers an array of amazing features which can genuinely compete with Photoshop. The professional quality features encompass color adjustment tools, automatic image enhancement tools, cropping, noise reduction, customizable brushes and lot more to explore. This editing solution also offers its services for advanced users including layer masks, filters, and an animation package. Its support for downloadable and pre-installed plugins is praiseworthy. Some of the amazing features of GIMP are Customizable interface, Graphic Design Elements, Photo Enhancement, Hardware Support, Digital Retouching, Inkscape, Scribus and a lot more.
Paint.NET – Free Software for Digital Photo Editing
This simple and innovative user interface offers every feature worth praising. Paint.Net enables users to handle multiple images easily with the help of the tabbed document interface. The tabs demonstrate a live thumbnail of images. This facility makes the navigation simple and fast. This is the fastest online photo editor like Photoshop. The essence of Paint.NET lies its user-friendly interface. The tool has been designed in a way that you can begin using it without looking at tutorials. Layers are generally found in expensive editing tools but Paint.NET works on the layer basis. Paint.NET offers some amazing editing tools such as the magic wand, simple text editor and the clone stamp.
Adobe Photoshop Express – Online Image Editor
This wonderful editing tool lets you edit and share your photos in no time. Millions of creative folks have trusted this photoshop alternative for good reasons. Create professional-quality collages because of the flexibility and control it offers. With some great options such as auto retouching, red-eye removal, cropping, rotating, white balancing, sharpening, saturation filters and more., Adobe Photoshop Express becomes one of the great photoshop alternatives available. This tool looks and feels the same as photoshop but with fewer options. They both are completely different from each other.
Photo Pos Pro -Best Photo Editor
Create stunning artworks and enhance your photos with this complete photo editing suite. Earlier a paid application not available for free, this Pixelstyle photo editor is capable of doing some awesome tasks. The user interface is easy with commonly used tools in the top bar. Photos Pos Pro is well equipped with stunning features such as red-eye reduction tool, image sharpening, noise reduction, Good selection of effects and filters, a broad range of customizable brushes and a lot more to offer. Add this powerful tool to your design arsenal and enhance your images in a more beautiful way.
Affinity Photo – Professional Image Editing
Affinity Photo has got everything you need to edit, retouch and enhance your images. If you have been using Photoshop for a while, it is a no-brainer for you. Affinity Photo boasts a huge list of features including Raw editing, HDR merges, Panorama stitching, Layers, Focus stacking, Real-time editing, Batch processing, Real-time previews, no subscription, PSD editing and so on. One of the recently added change is Affinity Photo can be used for both on Windows and Mac. When you first time starts working with Affinity Photo, you are welcomed by useful video tutorials, basic instruction, hands-on notes to open a new document.
Sketch – Digital Design Toolkit
Sketch is built for professional designers who do not compromise with quality. An intuitive interface, powerful features, an expansive plugin ecosystem, Sketch is one of the ultimate photoshop alternatives. From conception to the final product, Sketch supports you in every way. This photo editor is the mixing pot of Photoshop and Illustrator. It offers infinite zooming and vector shapes to provide multiple resolutions option. The functions like layers, color picker, gradients and style presents are some of the key features of Sketch. This is the reason why it is one of the top pics of the web designers.
Pixelmator Pro – Image Editing Tools
This wonderful image editor is designed to make professional images and it is almost for everyone. If you are looking for an extensive collection of tools, painting, creating graphic designs, adding stunning effects and drawing vector graphics, then Pixelmator Pro is something you should go for. The design looks and feels as Mac, but a simple user-friendly interface allows you to create stunning layouts. You would fall in love with painting, thanks to a classy painting engine that is staggeringly natural, responsive and fluid. The collection of handcrafted brushes lets you have a more enjoyable experience in creating complex paintings.
Corel PHOTO-PAINT – Image Editor
This easy and professional editing tool gives you an opportunity to work with color management AND create composite illustrations and texture fills. The edit fill tool dialog opens the door of creativity. This amazing tool is still waiting to be discovered. Corel PHOTO-PAINT offers many tools similar to Adobe Photoshop. They create the same results but operate differently.
SumoPaint – Online Image Editor
This online image editor is engineered with studio-grade painting engine. Its super-fast and precise operations guarantee an amazing editing experience. All the basic image manipulation features are available for free. Gradient fill, blur, line tools, clone, smudge, a variety of brushes, brush effects and brush styles, text and more are some of the great features of SumoPaint. This reliable software can be implemented with a single click. The exciting set of tools and features support high-level photo editing. Create professional looking images with layering tools.
Acorn – Image Editor for Mac
This image editing software was emerged in 2007 and has provided artists with an economical platform to edit their images in style. Some of the useful features of Acorn include curves, levels, layer styles, non-destructive filters, blending modes and much more. Acorn 6 is the most recent edition and it offers new scale and transforms options, the ability to use emoji on a path and the ability to use the clone tool across images or layers. Overall, this is a great pick if you want to ditch Photoshop or you have got a limited budget.
PicMonkey – Graphic Design Maker
Online Editing Software Like Photoshop
Make your ideas come to life with this wonderful photoshop alternative. The offered dazzling filters and effects help you transform images to a next level. Tons of photo filters,3000 graphics and textures, 235 gorgeous fonts and myriads of collages feeds your creative beast. The artist-made templates provide you the flexibility to customize a college for your various needs. PicMonkey also offer several templates to create money-making pinterest images.
Fotor – Free Photo Editor and Design Maker
Online Photoshop Editing Service
This revolutionary photo editor can create any image you wish with just a few clicks. Fotor can easily adjust color, size, light and more. This photo editor lets you express more feelings in the form of collage. The beauty retouching feature helps you look your best with Fotor's blemish remover, teeth whitener, photo reshaping, wrinkle remover and a lot more that one can imagine. Fotor is fully loaded with capabilities that enable you to create magic with pictures.
Final Words
Online Photo Editing Software Like Photoshop
Every organization has different needs and requirements and no software platform can be perfect. Do your groundwork, compare all Photoshop alternatives, read reviews and choose the product that fits your bill. We would love to be in touch so let us know which Photoshop alternative you find most beneficial.
