15 Best Free Photo Editing Apps for Android and iOS
So you want to promote your business through photography, but you want to catch your customer’s attention. This is extremely difficult to do. Especially in the age of social media when attention spans are shrinking to just eight seconds. Fortunately, the best photo editing apps can help you get one step closer to success by using photo filters and touching up images.
Thirty-two percent of marketers say visual images are the most important form of content for their business. Can you afford to not invest in a photo editing app that could skyrocket your visual brand? Furthermore, we created a product photography course on how to take stunning product photos with your phone.
We put together a list of the 15 free photo editing apps on the market, so you can choose which one suits your picture editing needs the most.
Product Photos pulling your marketing down? Learn about angles, lighting, editing, and more in our Product Photography course.
But First, What Is a Photo Editor App?
A photo editing app is a software application designed to edit pictures on a mobile device. For a business, this means you can create a great visual strategy, displaying your products in a professional manner by simply using your mobile phone.
This type of app offers a wide range of diverse features from cropping, controlling shutter speed, and adding filters. But you can also find cool photo editing apps that let you create collages or create automatic settings for various scenes. When looking to improve the visual side of your business, you can do so much with the photo editing apps listed below.
The Best Free Photo Editing Apps for iPhones and Android
1. Snapseed
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Snapseed Photo Editor App
Google’s Snapseed packs a punch, rivaling desktop photo editors with its huge range of features and an intuitive interface.
Just like you’d expect, this free photo editing app comes with a range of preset filters. However, unlike most apps, you can edit these filters and even create your own from scratch.
It also has all of the classic tools, such as cropping, straightening, frames, text, vignettes, etc. And the sharpening feature does the job without making the image look grainy.
Then, things get interesting.
Snapseed has precision masking, which allows you to edit the depth of field – photographers often do this to make the background blurry and bring the foreground even more into focus.
There’s also a “Selective Adjust” tool. This lets you select a specific area of your photo and adjust the saturation, contrast, and brightness of that single point.
What’s more, the photo editor app saves your edit history, so you can amend your previous edits at any point.
2. VSCO
Available on iOS and Android | Free
VSCO Photo Filters App Free
Like Instagram, VSCO combines a camera, editing tools, and an online community.
But it’s all about the filters.
This free photo app provides a set of stunning filters that make your photos look like they were taken on an analog film camera. These soft and subtle filters add a touch of class to your photos compared to many heavily filtered Instagram presets. And you can also adjust them via a simple slider.
Of course, the app also has all the standard editing tools, like adjustments, cropping, borders, and vignettes. You can also use VSCO to adjust the exposure, contrast, temperature, or skin tones.
Once you’re done editing your photo, you can share it with VSCO’s community or to another social network – like Instagram! The app even lets you share on WhatsApp and SMS using the in-built sharing feature.
3. Prisma Photo Editor
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Prisma Photo Filter App
OK, sure – most filters that turn photos into “drawings” or “paintings” are downright awful.
Prisma is the exception.
This free photo editing app uses artificial neural networks (whatever that means), which “enable users to make photos appear like they were painted by Picasso, Munch, or even Salvador Dali.”
Give it a go – you might be surprised by how much you like it. You can pay to access additional filters, but there’s a generous set provided free of charge. In total, there are more than 500 creative filters you can choose from.
Prisma also has its own online community similar to Instagram. So, once you’re done editing, you can share your image to your Prisma feed, save it directly to your device, share it on any social media app, or send it via email or messaging.
4. Adobe Photoshop Express
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Adobe Photoshop App Free
Adobe Photoshop Express takes many of Photoshop’s best photo editing tools and squeezes them into a mobile app. And despite providing 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. These filters automatically correct common issues, such as color temperature and exposure problems.
Before you can use Adobe Photoshop Express, you’ll need to sign up for a free Adobe ID account. When you’ve finished editing your photo, save it directly to your device or share it to other marketing and social media apps.
5. Foodie
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Foodie Free Photo Filters App
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 eyeshot and makes the colors pop.
Bottom line: If you take pictures of food, you need this free photo editing app.
6. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Adobe Lightroom Photo Editing App
If you’d like to up your game even further, check out Adobe Lightroom CC.
This app version of the popular desktop software provides access to professional editing tools on the go. Plus, it even works with RAW files – a high-quality image format popular among photographers.
One of the great things about this best photo editor app is that it’s not trying to do everything for everyone.
Instead, it focuses on providing a set of high-quality adjustment tools presented as simple sliders. These allow you to adjust the light, detail, color, distortion, and grain of your photo.
Should you decide to subscribe to Adobe Creative Cloud, you’ll also get access to additional features. These include selective editing and Adobe Sensei – an AI system that auto-tags your images based on their content, allowing you to quickly find the ideal image.
7. LiveCollage
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Photo Collage Free Photo Editing App
Many free photo editing apps allow you to create simple collages (like Photoshop Express). However, LiveCollage kicks it up a notch.
This photo collage maker has thousands of layouts, so you can always find the ideal one for your needs. There’s a wide range of styles and interesting backgrounds. Plus, you can add text and customize the fonts, colors, and sizes.
The app also provides basic photo editing tools, so you don’t need to switch between apps to create the perfect college.
8. Adobe Photoshop Fix
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Adobe Photoshop Fix Photo Editor App
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.
You can use this intuitive and simple photo editing app to make professional-level edits to your portraits. To start, it covers all of the basics – you can adjust highlights, shadows, colors, and more.
However, it’s the Liquify section that’s truly impressive.
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
Visage Photo Editor App
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. Enlight Photofox
Available on iOS only | Free
Enlight Photofox Photo Editing App
Enlight Photofox is the ultimate, free artistic photo editing app – it even won an Apple Design Award in 2017.
One of its most popular features is the ability to blend photos together to create dramatic effects. You can also add graphic elements to your images.
While it has many of the same features as Photoshop, such as layers, the learning curve isn’t so steep. That said, to get the most out of Enlight Photofox, 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 pro version ($2.74 per month or a one-time purchase of $64.99) if you want to let your creativity run wild.
11. Instagram
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Instagram Photo Editing App
It should go without saying: If you’re taking photos, Instagram is the place to share them.
The site is the third-largest social network in the world after Facebook and YouTube, and as of June 2018, the app has over 1 billion monthly active users.
The platform has all of the basic photo editing tools you might need, including filters, effects, text, stickers, overlays, and more. However, the app also provides other tools to help you grow your following.
For example, you can harness Instagram Insights to understand how your audience engages with your posts, or you can use Instagram Stories or Instagram Live to connect with your following in a more interactive way.
Whichever app you use to edit your photos, you’re going to want to upload them to Instagram.
12. Afterlight 2
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Afterlight Free Photo Editor
Afterlight dubs itself the “all-in-one, feature-packed” photo editing 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 70 frames to choose from and tons of great filters which you can customize to suit your needs.
Best of all, there’s a set of textures, including prism effects, real film light leaks, and dusty film overlays. These allow you to create unique images that stand out and capture people’s attention.
The app also works with RAW files on iOS or Android.
13. Canva
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Canva Free Mobile Photo Editor App
OK, so Canva is not just for photos. It’s for creating posters and other visuals across your website and marketing collateral, but that is why we love this app!
Take a photo, upload it to Canva, edit it, and start creating all your amazing visuals that are consistent no matter where your customers will see them.
With filters, vignettes, and more your photos can look professional in minutes, and so can everything you post on social media and your website.
14. Over
Available on iOS and Android | Free
Over free photo editing app
Over has a little bit of everything – like 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. Moreover, you can add multiple text entries on a single image using the app’s layer system.
Customize as you like and then share on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networks. It’s a neat and low-cost way to start generating brand awareness for your business.
15. Bazaart
Available on iOS | Free
Bazaart iOS review
If you want to do more than just remove blemishes from your last selfie, Bazaart can help you transform your photography with unique effects.
Using montage and collage tools, you can combine multiple design elements to create something new. You can layer text and graphics on your photos and even move segments of the image around for a surreal effect.
Features like instant background removal and templates mean Bazaart is a fantastic product for beginners who are still exploring the phone editing landscape. You can even create Instagram stories with pre-made designs.
For those searching for some extra inspiration to make the most of this app, Bazaart’s Instagram app is a wonderful muse.
