Getting people to stop and notice your photos is tough, especially on social media where scrolling happens fast.
Fortunately, the right photo editing app can help you create images that grab attention. With nearly half of marketers highly valuing visual content, investing in a photo editing tool is wise.
We’ve compiled a list of the top 26 mobile photo editing apps, covering both free and paid options, to help you enhance your images’ appeal.
What is a photo editing app?
A photo editing app is software that allows you to modify images on your phone or tablet.
It contains a wide range of features, including cropping, adjusting shutter speed, and removing blemishes.
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These capabilities enable you to create eye-catching images for personal or commercial use.
The best free photo editing apps for iPhone and Android
1. Snapseed
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Best for: Advanced photo editing on a mobile device.
Google’s Snapseed rivals traditional computer photo editing software with its extensive features and user-friendly design.
This free app offers a variety of filters, such as Retrolux, Grainy Film, and Vintage.
You also get all the classic tools, including cropping, straightening, adding frames, text, and vignettes.
Plus, Snapseed contains a few unique features, like Selective Adjust. These come in handy when you want to fine-tune specific parts of your image
2. VSCO
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Best for: Classic-look filters.
VSCO offers filters that give your photos an analog film feel. These filters are soft and add a touch of elegance, unlike the heavy filters common on Instagram. You can easily adjust them with a slider.
This app also includes basic editing features: adjustments, cropping, borders, and vignettes. With VSCO, tweaking the exposure, contrast, temperature, or skin tones is a breeze.
Once you’re done editing, you can share your photo on VSCO’s own community or other social networks, including Instagram, WhatsApp, and SMS, thanks to the easy sharing options.
3. Prisma
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Best for: Turning your photos into artistic “paintings” and “drawings.”
Prisma is a mobile editing app that transforms your photos into artwork using the style of famous artists like Van Gogh and Picasso.
With Prisma, you can explore more than 500 artistic styles in its extensive library. New styles are added daily, encouraging you to experiment with your creativity.
Want to edit just part of your photo? Prisma’s Portrait Segmentation feature lets you pick whether the art style drapes just the subject or everything else around it.
Plus, Prisma is easy to use. It doesn’t matter if you’re new to editing photos or if you’ve been doing it for a while. Prisma helps you make your photos look amazing without much effort.
4. Photoshop Express
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Best for: All-around photo editing.
Adobe Photoshop Express takes many of Photoshop’s best photo editing tools and squeezes them into a mobile app.
Despite containing plenty of advanced features, this free photo editing app is easy to use on a small touchscreen.
Just upload a photo from your device, take a new one with the camera, or use an image from your Adobe Creative Cloud account, and then start editing.
It has all the tools you’d expect—cropping, red-eye correction, brightness, contrast, saturation, filters, borders, etc. However, the best part is its selection of smart filters, which automatically correct common issues, such as color temperature and exposure problems.
5. Foodie
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Best for: Taking your food photos to the next level.
Everyone has been guilty of taking pictures of their food at some point. Foodie embraces this impulse and helps you take your food photos to an entirely new level.
The editor is somewhat similar to Instagram’s—except that all of the 30 filters and editing features are set up with food in mind.
Plus, it helps you line up the perfect bird’s-eye shot and makes the colors pop.
Bottom line: If you take pictures of food, you need this free photo editing app.
6. Adobe Lightroom
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Best for: Professionals and those wanting to make quick pro adjustments.
Adobe Lightroom is one of the best mobile apps for editing RAW files (an image format that allows for more detailed edits without reducing the photo’s quality).
This app provides professional-level adjustment tools right on your phone or tablet. You can fine-tune light, color, details, distortion, and grain with easy-to-use sliders.
If you decide to upgrade with an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, Lightroom offers even more. You’ll gain access to advanced options like selective editing and Adobe Sensei, a smart technology that automatically categorizes your photos by their content for easier organization and retrieval.
7. Collage Maker
Available on iOS | Free
Best for: Creating the ultimate photo collages.
Collage Maker makes creating collages easy and fun. With thousands of layouts, you’ll find the perfect one for any picture.
The app offers lots of styles and backgrounds. You can play with text, changing fonts, colors, and sizes to your liking.
Moreover, it provides basic editing tools like cropping, adjusting brightness, and applying filters to perfect your collage.
8. Adobe Photoshop Fix
Available on Android | Free
Best for: Editing portraits.
Adobe Photoshop Fix isn’t for adding filters or effects to your photos. Instead, it’s designed for fixing or removing unwanted aspects of your images.
When you upload a portrait, the app will automatically register each of the subject’s facial features. Then you can adjust their size, shape, and position to create the perfect image.
If you’re a Creative Cloud user, you can also share your edits directly to Photoshop on your desktop computer for further editing.
9. Visage
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Best for: Retouching selfies.
First things first: There’s nothing wrong with pimples, bags under the eyes, or teeth that aren’t perfectly white when taking a selfie.
Still, whenever our vanity gets the better of us, Visage is ready and waiting.
This free selfie photo editing app lets you quickly and easily retouch your portrait photos. Specifically, you can smooth skin, reduce skin shine, whiten teeth, apply eye makeup, and more.
The app also includes a set of interesting backgrounds and effects to spruce up your selfies.
The downside is that the free version of the app shows a lot of ads, and your finished photo edit will have a branded hashtag applied to the bottom. However, you can always upgrade to the pro version ($4.99 per month or $9.99 per year) to avoid these drawbacks.
10. Photoleap
Available on iOS | Free
Best for: Adding dramatic effects to images.
Photoleap by Lightricks ranks among the best photo editors for creatives.
One of its most popular features is the ability to blend photos to create dramatic effects. You can also add graphic elements to your images.
While it has many of the same features as Photoshop, the learning curve isn’t so steep. That said, to get the most out of Photoleap, you’ll probably need to watch a bunch of its tutorial videos.
The downside is that the free version only allows you to use two layers at once. So, you’ll need to subscribe to the unlimited version if you want to let your creativity run wild.
11. Google Photos
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Best for: Refining and organizing your images.
If you’re seeking a powerful tool for managing and editing your photos, Google Photos is a top choice.
This app excels in photo organization, making it simple to sort and find your images based on places, people, and objects.
And it also offers a comprehensive editing toolkit you can use to refine your photo. From basic adjustments like exposure and cropping to advanced filters and AI-powered enhancements, there’s something for every level of expertise.
12. Afterlight
Available on iOS | Free
Best for: All-around editing and artsy overlays.
Afterlight dubs itself the “all-in-one, feature-packed” photo app—which is a fair summary.
It has all the basic features you would expect, including tools to adjust the exposure, hue/saturation, contrast, and tone. And the options to add and customize text are vast.
Plus, there are more than 20 advanced tools to choose from, including unique curves, selective hue, grain, and many more.
Creators will appreciate Afterlight’s extensive library of textures and effects, including prism effects, real film light leaks, and dusty film overlays. These textures help you make unique images that grab attention.
13. Canva
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Best for: Business-related branded photos.
OK, so Canva is not just for photos. It’s for creating posters and other visuals across your website and marketing collateral, but that’s why we love this app.
Take a photo, upload it to Canva, edit it, and start creating amazing visuals that end up consistent no matter where your customers see them.
With filters, vignettes, and more, your photos can look professional in minutes, and so can everything you post on ocial media and your website.
14. Apple Photos
Available on iOS | Free
Best for: Editing photos shot on iPhone.
Apple Photos is a free app for iPhones, iPads, and Macs. It’s built into these devices so that you can edit your photos immediately.
The app includes a reliable auto-adjust feature and a wide range of editing tools. With an intuitive slider system, you can modify exposure, brilliance, highlights, and more.
Apple Photos also helps you organize your pictures. You can quickly find any photo by searching for places, things, or people in it.
Sharing photos with friends and family is simple, too. You can create Shared Albums or send links through iCloud whenever you want to share memories with others.
15. GoDaddy Studio
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Best for: Adding beautiful text to your images.
GoDaddy Studio (formerly Over) has a little bit of everything— blurring, tints, opacity—but the option to add text is where it truly shines.
You can use the app to add multiple text overlays, which you can style individually to your images. It has a great catalog of fonts, as well as a simple interface for quick editing.
Editing lets you adjust the tint, size, and text alignment of the image. Plus, you can pinch to resize the text. Customize as you like and then share on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networks.
16. Bazaart
Available on iOS | Free
Best for: Surreal and artistic image effects.
Bazaart helps you change up your photos with cool effects. Use its tools to combine different design elements into something new.
You can layer text and graphics on your photos or move parts around for a surreal look. The goal is to explore your creativity in unique ways.
Bazaart is easy for beginners, with features like quick background removal and simple templates to get you started.
17. LD
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Best for: Creating cinematic content.
LD by Lens Distortions lets you tap into the power of elegant overlays and natural elements to create truly vivid images.
LD’s free version has all the tools you need to add a touch of pictorial magic to your photos. You can add dynamic light rays, integrate natural elements (rain, snow, etc.), place iconic glass textures, and more.
Upgrading to the app’s premium version, LD+, unlocks more layers, the full suite of image and color effects, plus premium features like automatic Portrait mode layers, erase/mask tool, and TIFF photo export.
18. Focos
Available on iOS only | Free
Best for: Adding realistic bokeh effects.
Focus lets you make your photos look like they were taken with a professional camera. It does this by letting you change where the photo is sharp and where it is blurry, even after you take the picture.
You can choose different shapes for the blurry parts to make your photos pop. The app also lets you add light effects as if you are moving the light around your photo.
You can save these edited photos in your phone’s gallery or keep them in the app to change them again later. If you save an image with the blur effect, it keeps the information that lets you adjust the focus again..
The best paid photo editing apps
19. SKRWT
Available on iOS and Android | $1.99
Best for: Adjusting the perspective of your photos.
Have you ever taken an amazing photo that just wasn’t quite lined up right? Perhaps the perspective was slightly tilted or askew? SKRWT fixes these issues.
This photo editing app lets you adjust the perspective of your images so that everything lines up perfectly. It has automated cropping and perspective correction. Or if you prefer, you can use the 4 Points Correction feature to edit the perspective of your image manually.
You can also use the app to correct lens distortion—a common problem with smartphone cameras. No wonder SKRWT claims it’s the “missing link in high-end smartphone photography.”
20. Facetune
Available on iOS and Android | $3.99
Best for: Professionally editing selfies.
Facetune is a portrait photo editing app for selfie enthusiasts.
With just a few swipes and taps, you can make your selfies look professionally edited. Smooth out your skin, whiten your teeth, clear away blemishes, and even tweak your facial features.
It’s wise to use Facetune sparingly. Overdoing it might make your selfie resemble a wax figure.
To avoid over-editing, you can press and hold the blue button at the screen’s bottom. This lets you compare the original with the edited selfie, helping you decide when to stop.
21. TouchRetouch
Available on iOS and Android | $3.99
Best for: Removing unwanted objects from your photos.
Have you ever taken a photo with an unwanted object you wish you could remove? TouchRetouch is a photo editing app that lets you do just that.
You can use this photo editing app to remove things like telephone wires, posts, power lines, street signs, or trash cans. You can also remove blemishes, pimples, or even pesky photobombers.
Plus, the app is extremely simple to use. You can remove most objects with just one tap. If you need help, there are tutorials within the app that teach you how to harness its full potential.
22. Pixelmator
Available on iOS | $4.99
Best for: Layer-based editing features.
Pixelmator is ideal for anyone needing a layer-based image editor on their iPad or iPhone.
With this app, users combine images, shapes, and text to craft visually compelling compositions.
Editing tools available in Pixelmator allow for quick fixes and detailed adjustments. This versatility makes it suitable for both spontaneous edits and complex projects.
Furthermore, Pixelmator ensures seamless integration with its desktop counterpart. You can easily synchronize your work across devices, maintaining creativity flow without interruption.
23. Mextures Photo Editor
Available on iOS only | $1.99
Best for: Quick and professional layer editing.
Mextures Photo Editor is a layer-based photo editing app that makes advanced photo editing simple.
You can use the app to stack different edits and adjustments on top of each other and edit them individually.
Plus, the app comes with plenty of beautiful filters for quick editing. And you can save your editing formulas to apply to other photos in the future.
It’s also fantastic for applying dust, film grain, textures, gradients, or light leaks.
24. Distressed FX
Available on iOS | 99¢
Best for: Unleashing your editing creativity.
Distressed FX allows you to add a wide range of textured images and overlays to your images to create something amazing.
With this photo editing app, you can turn images into photographs, add extra elements that you wouldn’t otherwise have at your disposal, and so much more.
If you are looking to create visuals that pop, Distressed FX should be your go-to choice.
25. Superimpose X
Available on iOS | $4.99
Best for: Creating stunning double-exposure images.
This is the ideal photo editing app for creating Photoshop-like effects. Using the masks, layers, and blending modes in Superimpose X, you can create stunning double-exposure images that add a new dimension to your branding.
The app offers up to eight layers on iOS. For masking, it lets you adjust the brush strength and size to ensure you get the edges and other details.
Superimpose X also offers a masking library where you can store your masked images for later use.
Plus, the app lets you adjust saturation with desaturation, lightening, darkening, and other brushes. If you want to present a unique brand on social media and other online properties, this app is for you.
26. Aftercut
Available on iOS | $2.99
Best for: Masking and filtering on iOS.
Aftercut is the perfect app to add filters and masks to content on an iPhone.
With a range of pre-made effects to choose from, you can design professional-looking images that go above and beyond what you can achieve with apps like Instagram.
The app also has options to create blur effects, edit images in monochrome, and even adjust your clarity, brightness, and contrast levels. Experimenting with tones and flipping through channel mixers is a lot of fun.
Although Aftercut isn’t quite as advanced as Photoshop, it does give you a lot of similar functionalities for a lower price, including seven cut out tools. You can even adjust, resize, or extend the selection area while editing an image.
Level-up your visual branding with photo editing apps
There are so many amazing apps for photo editing that, at times, it can become overwhelming. To find the best free photo editing app for you and your brand, think about what you want to achieve and then test some picture editing apps to find the right one for you.
For best results, stick to just one or two—it’s better to become highly skilled in one app than to have mediocre skills on many.
Here’s our roundup of the best photo editing apps available in 2024:
- Snapseed: Best for advanced photo editing on a mobile device.
- VSCO: Best for classic-look filters.
- Prisma: Best for turning your photos into artistic “paintings” and “drawings.”
- Photoshop Express: Best for all-around photo editing.
- Foodie: Best for taking your food photos to the next level.
- Adobe Lightroom: Best for professionals and those wanting to make quick pro adjustments.
- Collage Maker: Best for creating the ultimate photo collages.
- Adobe Photoshop Fix: Best for editing portraits.
- Visage: Best for editing selfies.
- Photoleap: Best for artistic photo editing.
- Google Photos: Best for sharing your photos to build an online following.
- Afterlight: Best for all-around editing and artsy overlays.
- Canva: Best for business-related branded photos.
- Apple Photos: Best for editing photos shot on iPhone.
- GoDaddy Studio: Best for adding beautiful text to your images.
- Bazaart: Best for surreal and artistic image effects.
- LD: Best for Creating cinematic content.
- Focos: Best for adding realistic bokeh effects.
- SKRWT: Best for adjusting the perspective of your photos.
- Facetune: Best for professional selfie editing.
- TouchRetouch: Best for removing unwanted objects from your photos.
- Pixelmator: Best for a huge range of photo editing features.
- Mextures: Best for quick and professional layer editing.
- Distressed FX: Best for unleashing your editing creativity.
- Superimpose X: Best for creating stunning double-exposure images.
- Aftercut: Best for masking and filtering on iOS.
Photo editing apps FAQ
What is the best free photo editing app?
- Snapseed
- Prisma
- Canva
- Adobe PhotoShop Express
- Visage
- Photoleap
- Bazaart
What is the best photo editing app for a beginner?
- Adobe Lightroom
- GoDaddy Studio
- Afterlight
- Lens Distortions
- Prisma
- Foodie
What are the best photo editing apps for Android devices?
- Google Photos
- SKRWT
- TouchRetouch
- LD
- Prisma
What are the best photo editing apps for iPhones?
- Apple Photos
- Aftercut
- Superimpose X
- Bazaart
- Focos
