9 Best Free Photo Editing Apps

These are all the best apps I've used to edit photos on Android and iOS

Check out these free photo editing apps to help make the pictures you take on your phone or tablet even more amazing than they already are. In fact, you might love them so much that you won't find much of a need for online photo editors or image editing software.

I routinely use most of these apps for various reasons, which I describe below. Collectively, they have tons of features, so they're useful for pretty much anything: add text, delete the background, adjust colors, change the orientation, apply effects, add a frame, overlay stickers, remove red eyes, combine pictures, touch up a face, and much more.

Whether you use iPhone or Android, you'll be pleased to know that nearly all of these apps are compatible with your device and completely free to download and use. Most of them include premium features if you want extras like AI-assisted edits.

01
of 09

Snapseed

The Snapseed image editor app on Android
What We Like
  • Loaded with professional-level effects.

  • Fun to experiment with nondestructive effects.

  • User-friendly interface.

  • Zero ads.

What We Don't Like
  • Pro-level tools may require a learning curve for beginners.

  • Can't take a new picture through the app; must select images stored on device.

Google’s Snapseed app is interesting because while it has a very clean and straightforward UI, and is even ad-free, it’s not necessary the best app if you’re after a simple photo editor. I say this because it has a long list of tools — if you like having options, however, then you’ll love this app. It’s been one of my favorites for a long time.

The effects and styles you can add to an image are very nice, and applying them is extremely easy with simple finger swipes.

The first menu is for looks. Pick from styles like smooth, morning, or silhouette to instantly apply a preset look. All the other editing tools are in the tools menu.

Over 25 tools are available, like tune image, curves, healing, glamour glow, HDR scape, black and white, retrolux, grainy film, head post, frames, selective, and drama. A text tool (with lots of styles) and frames are just a tap away as well.

Once you've selected a tool, swipe left or right to make it have a smaller or bigger impact on the picture. Vertical swiping toggles the tool's various settings. Having this level of control over a tool's strength makes this image editor stand out from the others I've tried. Just tap-and-hold at any time to compare an edit to the previous one to see how awesome (or not so awesome) it'll look if applied.

You can save edited images with a custom name in any folder, or open them directly from Snapseed into another app.

Download For:

02
of 09

Adobe Photoshop Express

The Adobe Photoshop Express mobile app
What We Like
  • Full-featured customizable app packed with goodies.

  • No Photoshop experience required.

  • Easy-to-use; delivers top-notch results even for beginners.

  • Advanced save options.

What We Don't Like
  • Must log in.

  • No community features.

Adobe's app is an excellent choice for anyone. I tend to grab it before the others in this list, especially when I need overlays or a quick way to select the subject or background. It has several interesting and handy tools, zooming is allowed at any time, and you can easily compare your edited image to the original.

The image you want to edit could be a new one that you snap from within the app, or it can reside on your device or Creative Cloud account. Editing the picture is super easy through the menus at the bottom. Lots of neat filters are included, and you can even blend them.

If you want to crop the picture to make it fit a specific device, this app has several useful presets included, like one for the device you're using, a box, a Facebook ad/image/cover photo, and others for LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, etc. There are also rotate and transform options like skew.

The corrections you can make include clarity, sharpen, dehaze, and more. Adjusting shadows and highlights is possible with split tone. Blur and vignette toggles are included, and you can also use a blemish remover, red eye remover, and text tool as well, and add stickers and frames.

Download For:

03
of 09

PhotoRoom

The PhotoRoom free picture editor app
What We Like
  • Instant background removal.

  • Brush over items to remove them.

  • Cheap yearly subscription to unlock the whole app.

What We Don't Like
  • Most of the app is not free.

  • All images save with a watermark.

  • Lacks traditional editing tools like crop, color edits, etc.

Called the "most popular AI photo editor in the world," the free version of PhotoRoom has a very limited feature set. But boy is it still great. I use this app to remove the background or specific objects from a photo.

In addition to those core features, PhotoRoom lets you overlay text and import loads of other items onto your photos. These include shapes, graphics, logos, other pictures, accessories, banners, letters, and more. Layer support makes it easy to manage all of it, but unfortunately, only a few items are free within those categories.

Overall, this app is great if you need to remove the background. Once you do that, you can even import your face into a sleek profile picture template to use on a website like LinkedIn. Photos do save with a watermark, though.

Download For:

04
of 09

Pixlr

The Pixlr Android image editor app
What We Like
  • Super easy to use.

  • Several tools.

  • Lots of overlays to pick from.

  • Also supports collages.

What We Don't Like
  • Always shows an ad when you save.

  • Few font options.

  • Awkward zoom controls.

Pixlr is easy to use and offers 2 million combinations of free effects, overlays, and filters. All the menu options are along the bottom of the app for easy access.

The tools include crop, rotate, double exposure, common adjustments, autofix, auto contract, blur, smooth, sharpen, splash, heal, and red eye removal. For fine-tune control, brushes are included to brighten, darken, pixelate, and doodle. There are also neat effects, countless overlays, and stylize options like pencil and watercolor. Pixlr supports frames and text as well.

A super handy feature I use over and over is the before/after preview. Press-and-hold the image to see how it looks before and after your edits. However, one thing I don’t like is that this app includes a button to remove the image’s background, but it’s really just a link to the app store, because it’s a totally different app.

When you're finished editing, you're given the option to save as a custom size or pick from small, medium, or max.

Download For:

05
of 09

piZap

The Pizap free image editor app
What We Like
  • Free filters, stickers, and stock images.

  • Well-suited for making memes.

  • Layer support.

  • Also supports collages.

What We Don't Like
  • Unable to zoom closer.

  • No undo or redo button.

  • Unresponsive buttons.

  • Costly subscription if you’re after more features.

Compared to other photo editing apps, piZap lacks most of the traditional tools I’d expect to see. Instead, I include this app because it’s a good photo collage maker and includes unique tools to make emojis, social media cover photos, stickers, and app icons.

I’ve found the cover photo maker the most useful. It’s incredibly easy to create a perfectly sized photo for Facebook, YouTube, Etsy, and other websites. piZap includes a traditional image editor, too, but it's very basic; you can add text, overlay other images, include a border, and paint freehand.

Something else you might like is this app's ability to import photos from Pixabay and Unsplash. Those are free image sites, so they provide great inspiration if you don't have an awesome photo of your own to prepare for your social media profile.

The pro version can be tried for a week to remove ads and watermarks, unlock premium templates and more tools, and access the background remover, text to image AI tool, and additional items.

Download For:

06
of 09

BeFunky

The BeFunky Android image editor app
What We Like
  • Great for portrait touch-ups.

  • Photo editor and collage maker.

  • User-friendly and intuitive interface.

  • No banner or pop-up ads.

What We Don't Like
  • Difficult to align text precisely.

  • Too easy to accidentally back out of edits.

  • Some of the better tools cost.

BeFunky is an extremely easy app to use because the buttons are clear and understandable and all the editing tools are categorized into sections that make them easy to find.

You can do lots with this app, including the normal editing tasks, but also touch-ups. There are tools to remove red eye, fix blemishes, whiten teeth, iron out wrinkles, change eye color, and apply lipstick and other makeup.

There's also a text tool with layering support and tons of font styles, a handful of frames, and menus that hold options for for adding objects like hearts, stickers, speech bubbles, shapes, emoticons, and more.

I appreciate all the AI tools, but I wasn't able to use them for free because they require BeFunky Plus. On that note, unlike basically every other photo editor app I've used, this one does not provide the option to use paid tools with a watermark; you have to get Plus to use any of the paid features.

You can save to your account if you log in. Otherwise, your options are social media or your device.

Download For:

07
of 09

PicLab

The Piclab image editor mobile app
What We Like
  • A fun, easy-to-operate app.

  • Great for collages.

  • Shares to social media sites.

What We Don't Like
  • Saves with a watermark and shows lots of ads.

  • Free version lacks advance editing options.

  • In-app purchases required for many features.

  • No redo button.

The PicLab app shows a small watermark at the bottom of the picture when you save it, but if the other apps in this list didn't do it for you, you might like this one. It has an image editor and a collage maker.

The menus include text, stickers, filters, adjust, overlays, and crop. Far fewer than similar apps, but they still include nearly everything you'll need from a free app. Over two dozen font types are free and there are several sticker categories to find things like numbers, quotes, and themed stickers regarding flowers, love, summer, fitness, and baby announcements.

Something I don't see in every image editor is overlays. You can instantly add shapes, lighting effects, and textures to the whole image and adjust the opacity for a neat effect. The result always looks like something that took hours to complete, even though it's just a tap away.

PicLab Pro removes the watermark, unlocks all the filters, stickers, fonts, and overlays, and provides more features with zero ads. There's often a trial you can use for free.

Download For:

08
of 09

PicsArt

The Picsart Android image editor app
What We Like
  • Excellent functionality includes time lapse, collage, effects, and stickers.

  • Robust social interaction possibilities with other artists.

  • Plenty of creative user controls.

  • Lots and lots of tools.

What We Don't Like
  • Not suitable for children under 13 due to some mature content.

  • Must create an account.

  • Frequent "free trial" requests.

  • Cluttered, potentially overwhelming UI.

With over a billion installs, PicsArt is clearly one of the more popular free photo editing apps. Likely because it's chock-full of features, some completely unique to the other in this list.

When you begin editing, you can choose from photos on your device or start with a template, background, or stock photo. At any time, you can save the image back to your device with just one button, a great way to store several iterations of the same picture with different edits.

Some of the unique tools I've used in this app include free crop, dispersion, clone, stretch, and motion. Loads of effects are in the app but only a handful are free, including HDR, noise, and film.

Retouch is a section meant for adjusting portraits. I particularly like the ‘auto’ button to perform quick repairs, but I’ve also enjoyed using the skin tone, hair color, and teeth whitener tools with success.

The other menus include: sticker, cutout, text, add photo, fit, brushes, border, mask, draw, lens flare, and more.

There's clearly a lot you can do here, and most of it is free. Of course, like most free apps, if you want more options, you'll have to pay. A 7-day free trial is available.

Download For:

09
of 09

VSCO

The VSCO free image editor app on Android
What We Like
  • Save styles as a custom recipe for future edits.

  • Customize the menu with your favorites up front.

  • Detailed history timeline.

  • Robust social community.

What We Don't Like
  • Must sign in.

  • Text, borders, and collages aren't free.

  • Lots of the tools are locked behind a membership.

VSCO is a much simpler app than most of the others on this list. There are several filters that honestly could be the only edit you apply; they look that good. You can toggle the strength to make it exactly how you want.

There are also your basic editing tools, so you can change contrast, exposure, etc., although several other are not free. The skin tone fixer isn't very specific—it's just a single draggable strength-based tool that applies to the whole image—but it worked fine for my samples.

Something none of the apps in this list can do, but that's included for free here, is the ability to save all the edits you've made as a recipe. This makes it super easy to do the exact same thing on other photos without having to remember all the tiny adjustments you applied.

Apart from the limited-time trial, you can pay on a monthly basis to get the complete library of presets, no ads, pro tools, and more.

Download For:

Was this page helpful?