Photo editing apps are crucial to any phone photographer’s arsenal. These smartphone apps can perform many adjustments, from enhancing detail to removing unwanted items. They allow us to tweak our images to get the best possible tones and colors out of any environment.
The best free photo editing apps will improve the quality of our photos while providing good usability. Our list of the best free photo editing apps includes various approaches for different types of photography. Read on to find the best photo editing app for you.
Photo editors are some of the most popular apps for smartphones. So you need to know what to look for to select the best one. Here are a few pointers you’ll need to consider.
Easy User Interface
Smartphones have small screens compared to computers. So you only have so much space to edit the details in your images. That’s why your photo editor needs to have a well-organized user interface. You need to easily find the tools you need and use them efficiently.
Quality Presets
These days, just about every photo editing app features presets or filters. But most of them tend to vary in quality. Instagram is a perfect example of terrible filters. And using their presets often results in muddy photos with unnatural colors. The best smartphone apps have presets that change the look of your images without making them appear artificial.
Advanced Features
Most people are satisfied with a photo editor that does nothing but add filters to their photos. But why stop there? You can use editing functions to remove blemishes and even add graphics. Photo apps vary wildly when it comes to advanced features.
You will now find most photo editing apps have AI features. These systems can read our photo and edit them accordingly.
Usage
There are 100% free photo editing apps, and some offer a free version with limited functionalities. Of course, choosing the app that lets you do the most without paying is best. But it can also be tricky because many of these free apps tend to lack the best features. Research the app you like and find out how much editing it lets you do for free.
Updates
Improving software isn’t just necessary for adding features. It also helps solve issues that may appear when you’re using the program. If the app you have right now doesn’t offer updates, you may want to consider looking at other options. Otherwise, you’ll soon have outdated software that doesn’t work as well as before.
| App Store |
App Store
iOS, Google Play
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| App Type |
App Type
All-in-one
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| In-App Purchases |
In-App Purchases
Yes
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| AI Features |
AI Features
Yes
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| Best For |
Best For
Photographers who want great editing abilities with an easy interface
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It isn’t surprising that the best photo editing app comes from the digital imaging giant, Adobe. But thanks to its brilliant consideration for the mobile user experience and its excellent editing abilities, it is the best phone app for photo editing.
Lightroom covers a wide range of photo editing. It provides the basic range of photo editing adjustments, including automatic edits and AI abilities. It even has quick object removal and background blur options, perfect for in-depth customization.
Adobe has considered every small aspect of the user experience. All the controls are easy to operate, and the crop options include all social media formats. You can also create and apply presets and edit videos. All this tells us you may not need another photo editing app on your phone.
| App Store |
App Store
iOS, Google Play
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| App Type |
App Type
All-in-one
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| In-App Purchases |
In-App Purchases
Yes
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| AI Features |
AI Features
Yes
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| Best For |
Best For
Photographers who want more control and to create custom edits
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If you want more in-depth customization in a photo editing app, take a look at Photoshop Express. This app allows you to perform dramatic selective edits that can completely change your photograph.
The biggest advancement in the Photoshop Express app comes from the use of AI. You can add generative AI elements directly to your photo. The use of AI makes object and background removal much more accurate as well.
On top of these advanced features, Photoshop Express is a great app for creating collages and adding custom frames and presets to your photos. This photo editing app is ideal for those who want to spend time photo editing on their phone.
| App Store |
App Store
iOS, Google Play
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| App Type |
App Type
All-in-one
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| In-App Purchases |
In-App Purchases
Yes
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| AI Features |
AI Features
Yes
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| Best For |
Best For
People who want specific aesthetics from their photographs
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VSCO is a free photo editing app that focuses on the immediate emotion you get from photographs. It does this by using presets that edit the color and, therefore, the feel of the photograph.
You are able to create simple edits that reflect film photography. VSCO also provides AI-recommended presets. This can help you search through the hundreds of presets they have. You can edit each preset as well.
VSCO is also able to create collages and special in-camera effects with its camera app. It can also be a great way to share images. VSCO is for photographers who want to color grade their photographs to a specific feel.
| App Store |
App Store
iOS, Google Play
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| App Type |
App Type
All-in-one
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| In-App Purchases |
In-App Purchases
Yes
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| AI Features |
AI Features
Yes
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| Best For |
Best For
People who want a wide range of controls
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Snapseed is another one of the all-in-one photo editing apps that perform a range of various adjustments. These adjustments help you tune your photos to a fine degree. You can do this by using the brush tools. Also, every effect has customization options.
Snapseed has professional controls such as Curves and RAW editing. Options like this can be helpful for a professional who may use photo editing apps for their photography. These functions can give you great quality results to post to social media.
| App Store |
App Store
iOS, Google Play
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| App Type |
App Type
Filters and effects
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| In-App Purchases |
In-App Purchases
Yes
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| AI Features |
AI Features
No
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| Best For |
Best For
Photographers looking to apply presets and filters to their photos
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Afterlight is a free photo editing app that focuses on presets and other visual effects rather than in-depth editing. The simplistic user interface is perfect for photographers who don’t want to spend too much time on photo editing apps.
You are able to customize your edits. Afterlight places all these controls at the bottom of the app, putting your images at the front and center. This makes adjusting edits easy to customize. You will also find a range of framing and photo layering options.
| App Store |
App Store
iOS, Google Play
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| App Type |
App Type
Graphic design
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| In-App Purchases |
In-App Purchases
Yes
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| AI Features |
AI Features
Yes
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| Best For |
Best For
Photographers and graphic designers
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Canva is one of the ideal photo editing apps for people who want to make graphic designs out of their photographs. An app like this is perfect for content creators who want custom graphics for their social media platforms.
Canva allows you to perform a huge range of actions from your smartphone. It even has basic editing functions and effects, so you do not have to use another app. The most useful feature is that it connects to your desktop app, so working on images and designs can be done on the go.
| App Store |
App Store
iOS, Google Play
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| App Type |
App Type
All-in-one
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| In-App Purchases |
In-App Purchases
Yes
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| AI Features |
AI Features
Yes
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| Best For |
Best For
Photographers looking to experiment with photo editing
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The PhotoDirector app is another app that is absolutely loaded with features. Their desktop app has an incredible selection of tools that allow photographers to access all aspects of photo editing. And their mobile app isn’t any different.
The PhotoDirector app is an excellent option for photographers who want to try a wide range of photo editing tools. From enhancing to body editing, resizing to sharpening, there are few photo editing tools that you cannot find in this app.
| App Store |
App Store
iOS, Google Play
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| App Type |
App Type
Graphic design
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| In-App Purchases |
In-App Purchases
Yes
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| AI Features |
AI Features
Yes
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| Best For |
Best For
Using design templates to create custom images
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Picsart is another photo editing app that allows you to create unique designs using your photographs. The app is ideal for quick product shots with the remove background feature and a smart AI background feature. These features help isolate your subjects and make them the center of attention.
The app also gives you a wide range of design templates to help you create easy graphic designs for social media content. It can be extremely simple to add text to your images. There is even an option to generate AI images inside the application.
| App Store |
App Store
iOS, Google Play
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| App Type |
App Type
Filters and effects
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| In-App Purchases |
In-App Purchases
Yes
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| AI Features |
AI Features
Yes
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| Best For |
Best For
Transforming photos into art
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Prisma provides its users a dedicated approach to transforming your photos into works of art. It provides a huge selection of filters, and each one comes with basic editing tools to fine-tune your effects.
The functionality and user experience are what make this app shine. Every detail is considered to make your photos unique and exactly how you like them. This results in an app that allows you to unleash your creativity. Prisma is a photo editing app that is ideal for photographers who want to see their images in a new light.
| App Store |
App Store
iOS, Google Play
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| App Type |
App Type
Filters, effects, and design
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| In-App Purchases |
In-App Purchases
Yes
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| AI Features |
AI Features
Yes
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| Best For |
Best For
Photographers looking for a simple editing style
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Pixlr is a simple-to-navigate photo editing app that does a great job of providing easy adjustments to our pictures. Each tool is easy to control and makes photo editing an easy task. There are also plenty of options for collages and a wide range of templates to help you create custom designs.
Pixlr is best for photographers who want to quickly add certain overlays and effects to their images. It is less in-depth than other photo editing apps on this list, but it can perform simple tasks quickly and easily.
| App Store |
App Store
iOS, Google Play
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| App Type |
App Type
Retouch
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| In-App Purchases |
In-App Purchases
Yes
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| AI Features |
AI Features
Yes
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| Best For |
Best For
Retouching your images on a smartphone
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TouchRetouch is one of the photo editing apps that specializes in removing unwanted objects from your photographs. It is ideal for removing small imperfections or distracting objects from your photos. You can swipe over the object with your finger, and the content-aware fill will replace it.
Photo editing apps like this can turn holiday photos into how you truly remember them without the other tourists standing in the background. There is also line removal, that can get rid of electricity lines that are often distracting to the eye.
| App Store |
App Store
iOS, Google Play
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| App Type |
App Type
Retouch
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| In-App Purchases |
In-App Purchases
Yes
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| AI Features |
AI Features
Yes
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| Best For |
Best For
Cleaning up portrait images
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Polish is a photo editing app that centers around AI features. This approach means the user will have a range of one-click edits that automatically enhance photos. A few of these features are HD portrait, Remove Object, Smart AI Cutout, and Trendy Makeup.
In addition, the app lets you create collages and slideshows. These can be great ways to display multiple images. Polish could be the app for you if you are looking for an app that can cover a wide range of automatic photo edits.
| App Store |
App Store
iOS, Google Play
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| App Type |
App Type
Retouch
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| In-App Purchases |
In-App Purchases
Yes
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| AI Features |
AI Features
Yes
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| Best For |
Best For
Photographers who want a quick way to retouch images
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YouCam Perfect is another all-in-one photo editor that gives you a wide range of AI controls. This app has regular photo editing tools, but it boasts other features like Remove Object and Body Tuner.
This app is great for photographers who want to quickly enhance their images. The AI Enhance tool can sharpen up your photo in seconds. YouCam Perfect is ideal for influencers or people wanting to add an extra touch to their image before putting it on social media.
| App Store |
App Store
iOS, Google Play
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| App Type |
App Type
All-in-one
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| In-App Purchases |
In-App Purchases
Yes
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| AI Features |
AI Features
Yes
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| Best For |
Best For
Photographers looking for a simple editing process
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BeFunky is a fun and simple photo editing app that is ideal for all photographers, from beginners to everyday shooters. You will find all the basic editing tools in this app and a range of more advanced ones. The interface is easy to navigate, and each adjustment is simple to control.
BeFunky focuses on some more fun aspects of photo editing. You will find features that turn your photographs into paintings, cartoons, sketches, and more. This is a great way to share images with friends or produce your own unique cards or prints.
| App Store |
App Store
iOS, Google Play
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| App Type |
App Type
Retouch
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| In-App Purchases |
In-App Purchases
Yes
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| AI Features |
AI Features
Yes
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| Best For |
Best For
Portrait or fashion photographers
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Facetune is another one of the photo editing apps that are great for subtle touch-ups as well as full portrait transformations. As a retouching app, it specializes in producing fashion-like portraits where every detail of the photograph is free of imperfections.
The app has a range of one-click edits to specific controlled tools. The more specific tools have easy brush features that you can control with your finger. This is an easy way to select the imperfections in your photographs. You will also find tools to enhance your smile or even change your hair color.
| App Store |
App Store
iOS, Google Play
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| App Type |
App Type
Graphic design
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| In-App Purchases |
In-App Purchases
Yes
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| AI Features |
AI Features
Yes
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| Best For |
Best For
Photographers who want to resize their images in a simple way
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Instasize is a one of the best photo editing apps for simplicity. The app focuses on providing crop abilities for different aspect ratios for social media. Since the app has been successful, you can now find other useful actions, such as background removal and enhancement.
This app is ideal for phone photographers who know the kind of actions they will take rather than looking for experimentation. The simplicity of the app is its winning feature. Combining this with great abilities, Instasize is perfect for those who want simple edits.
| App Store |
App Store
iOS, Google Play
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| App Type |
App Type
Filters and effects
|
| In-App Purchases |
In-App Purchases
Yes
|
| AI Features |
AI Features
No
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| Best For |
Best For
XXX
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Foodie specializes in food photography. It is an app that prioritizes editing through presets and filters. This makes it easy to transform our images to fit a particular aesthetic. It still has a wide range of basic photo editing tools.
A great feature of Foodie is its in-app camera. This camera comes with a range of different film and camera types that replicate certain styles. The app even comes with tips on how to shoot your food in a more stylistic way.
After looking at the best photo editing apps, we can see that there is a wide selection of apps to choose from. You have three different categories: all-in-one, retouch, and fun applications. Some may combine all these types, and most include basic editing tools.
The best way to find out what is best for you is to download and try them out. They’re all free, and you can always delete the ones that do not work for you.
