Photo editing software helps enhance, manipulate, and format digital photos.
From simple apps that offer basic editing to advanced tools, there are various photo editing solutions available on the market for experienced as well as novice designers. But not every feature-rich photo editing tool is affordable.
That’s where free software comes to your rescue. Free photo editing tools not only let you digitally enhance and manipulate images but do so without burning a hole in your pocket. They also offer an intuitive environment, making it easier for teams to work together and start designing.
This article highlights the five best free photo editing software tools (sorted alphabetically) based on user reviews and ratings. (Click here to read the methodology followed to select these five products.)
See the full list of best photo editing software in Capterra’s software directory.
1. Canva: Provides an intuitive editing dashboard
Canva is an online image editing solution for first-time photo editors as well as advanced designers. It helps design, customize, and share assets such as brochures, flyers, logos, resumes, and posters on social media platforms.
With Canva, you can import PDF files and turn them into editable designs. You can add elements such as emojis and animated icons to your designs. You can also create animated assets by applying movement to words and using dynamic text animations.
Canva’s key features include Image cropping, color correction, and photo effects to add texture to images. The software lets you collaborate with teammates to create designs together in real time. You can start a project, invite team members, and give editing rights to them.
Canva offers chat and email support. It is web-based (i.e., can be accessed from a browser) and also has apps for desktop and mobile (iOS and Android) devices.
Key Features
- Animation
- Asset library
- Audio file management
- Collaboration tools
- Custom fonts
- Content management
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Cost to upgrade
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Designing dashboard in Canva
2. Fotor: Lets you process multiple images in batches
Fotor is a multiplatform photo editor and graphic design tool that helps create visual content. It lets you edit, crop, and resize images; enhance and beautify them using filters; and remove or change backgrounds.
With Fotor, you can create photo collages, business cards, images for social media posts, and video tutorials. You can add customized watermarks to your graphics and share them directly through the platform.
Fotor has a collection of stock photos and design templates that you can choose from to add to your presentations and projects.
Fotor offers email, chat, and phone support. It is web-based and also has apps for desktop and mobile (iOS and Android) devices.
Key Features
- Batch processing
- Collaboration tools
- Content sharing
- Image library
- Pre-built templates
- Watermarking
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Cost to upgrade
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Cropping images in Fotor
3. inPixio Photo Studio: Supports multiple image formats
inPixio Photo Studio is a digital photo editing tool that crops details, objects, and backgrounds in photos per your needs. It lets you customize the contrast and color of digital photos and add filters and frames to them.
The software provides a library of photo effects and filters to create custom-edited pictures. Its histogram feature lets you adjust light exposure to choose how dark or bright you want your photos to be. It supports various RAW files and image formats in addition to the standard JPEG and PNG formats.
inPixio Photo Studio offers email and phone support. It is web-based and also has apps for desktop and mobile (iOS and Android) apps.
Key Features
- Batch processing
- Content import/export
- Content sharing
- Drag and drop
- Order management
- Pre-built templates
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Cost to upgrade
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Adding filters in InPixio PhotoStudio
4. PhotoScape X: Lets you add multiple elements in pictures
PhotoScape X is an image editing software tool for graphic designers. It offers filters, effects, frames, objects, brushes, and tools to edit your digital assets and create custom images.
The software lets you combine and merge photos vertically or horizontally to create one final image. It also offers a built-in GIF creator to build animated GIFs and add stickers and dynamic text to your digital assets.
PhotoScape X offers email support. It’s deployed on premise and has a desktop application for Mac and Windows devices.
Key Features
- Batch processing
- Content import/export
- Content sharing
- Drag and drop
- Image library
- Pre-built templates
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Cost to upgrade
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Editor in PhotoScape X
5. Pixlr: Lets you animate your designs
Pixlr is an online photo editor for graphic designers. It lets you edit photos and create designs from your browser. It offers a library of design and social media templates to help create digital assets such as brochures, wedding invitations, and newsletters.
The software has a photo collage maker with pre-made collage templates. You can use the collage maker to compile and arrange pictures. You can also remove backgrounds from images and add customized layouts to your pictures.
Pixlr offers email support. It is web-based and also has a mobile app for iOS and Android devices.
Key Features
- Content import/export
- Content sharing
- Drag and drop
- Image library
- Pre-built templates
- Real-time editing
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Cost to upgrade
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Adding filters to an image in Pixlr
How to choose the right free photo editing software
Whether you’re an advanced designer, a professional photographer, or someone just starting with photo editing, it’s crucial to have a tool that caters to your specific needs. These are some considerations to keep in mind when choosing a photo editing software solution:
Check file format compatibility. Choose a free photo editor that is compatible with all image file formats, especially JPEG, PNG, and GIF. This capability will help you compress the file size of your images for online publishing.
Assess image sharing capabilities. An ideal photo editing software tool should let you share your digital assets on various social media platforms as well as internally via communication platforms. Choose a tool that allows you to achieve this.
Look for data migration functionality. Merely having a photo editor is not enough. Pick a tool that also offers the capability to name, track, and migrate multiple photos to a different system if required.
Common questions to ask while selecting free photo editing software
A free photo editor often comes with limitations, but these limitations shouldn’t stop you from scaling your business. Ask the vendor these questions to avoid purchasing a tool that doesn’t fulfill your needs.
What are your integration options?
Many photo editing software tools integrate with social media platforms, image sharing websites, and project management tools to let you cross-share digital assets. Check if the tool you’re exploring provides such integrations.
What kind of customer support should I expect?
Some vendors offer limited-to-no support for the free version of their software. Priority support is mostly only available for paid versions and, sometimes, bugs with the software might affect access to your projects. Therefore, check the kind of customer support you get with the free version before finalizing any product.
What are the storage options available?
Data storage is generally limited in free software versions. Therefore, check if the available storage space meets your editing needs. Also, check if the tool allows you to create a backup of all projects to protect your assets from accidental deletion.
How did we choose these products? We didn’t—you did
To find your ideal software match, you need information you can trust—so you can save time, stay on budget, and focus more energy on growing your business. It’s why we vet and verify all our user reviews and recommend only the tools endorsed by people such as you.
In other words, our product recommendations are never bought or sold, or based on the opinion of a single individual—they’re chosen by your peers, reflecting the views and experiences of our independent base of software reviewers.