10 Best Free Photo Editing Software

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Paid photo editing software will provide professional tools to help you handle large workloads and create artistic photos.

Yet, if you are an amateur, investing in paid software may not seem necessary. Instead, you have quite a few free options that meet basic photo editing needs.

I have experienced many different photo editing programs. The following ten names are the software with the most impressive user experience.

Let’s check it out now!

1. GIMP

Created with GIMP

Specifications

  • Platform: Windows, macOS
  • Online editor: No.
  • Layers: Yes.

Key Features

GIMP is photo editing software available on many different platforms. It is also open-source software that supports users to edit features for each project.

The above advantages are not the main reason I am impressed with GIMP. The software also wins my particular liking for its powerful features.

With impressive conversion and recovery capabilities, it delivers images as good as any paid software I’ve ever used.

In addition, this tool is also handy for graphic design. It quickly transforms images into unique works of art.

With just a little creativity, getting impressive icons and graphics is not difficult.

Despite possessing many advantages, GIMP still has some disadvantages. Some of them can be mentioned as the open source code is difficult for beginners or the interface is not professional.

Price: Free.

Website Link: https://www.gimp.org/

Pros

  • All free.
  • Open-source.
  • Support for graphic design.
  • Support image format conversion.
  • Available on many different platforms.

Cons

  • Need to improve the interface.

2. Ashampoo

Ashampoo Photo Optimizer Free

Specifications

  • Platform: Windows.
  • Online editor: No.
  • Layers: No.

Key Features

If you are just getting started with image editing, open-source software like GIMP can be difficult for you. Instead, look to simple tools like Ashampoo.

This software offers quite a few handy tools that few free options have. Some tools I regularly use of Ashampoo Photo Optimizer are removing dark spots from portrait photos and changing the color of some pixels.

In addition to manual photo editing tools, the software also supports batch automatic photo editing.

I especially love this feature. Because with just one click, I have changed the size, format, filters, and many other parameters of a series of photos.

Sometimes the above feature reveals disadvantages. Some of my post-edited landscape shots were too bright, causing the image to drift.

Price: Free.

Website Link: https://www.ashampoo.com/en-us/photo-optimizer-free

Pros

  • Save time editing.
  • Intuitive interface, easy to use.
  • Full of essential photo editing tools.
  • Provide many advanced tools
  • Useful for landscape photo editing.

Cons

  • Need to improve automatic optimization.

3. Photoshop Express

Adobe Photoshop Express Editor

Specifications

  • Platform: Windows, macOS
  • Online editor: Yes.
  • Layers: Yes.

Key Features

If you work in a field related to multimedia content creation, you must have at least once heard of professional photo editing software like Adobe. Its free online version has all the advantages that any experienced user would love.

Some outstanding features are combining images, removing objects, and adding filters to improve image quality.

Adobe Photoshop Express Editor meets the needs of professional photo editing entirely well. However, it sometimes makes me uncomfortable when some features require a Creative Cloud subscription.

Price: Free.

Website link: https://www.adobe.com/express/feature/image/editor

Pros

  • Support object deletion.
  • Provide many filters
  • Support online editing.
  • Meet the needs of professional photo editing.
  • Create impressive products from multiple images.

Cons

  • Some features require a Creative Cloud subscription.

4. Photo Pos Pro

Photopos

Specifications

  • Platform: Windows.
  • Online editor: No.
  • Layers: Yes.

Key Features

I always use Photopos to work with my digital photos and computer graphics.

The software supports many useful features, such as a recovery brush and auto-correction. Especially with the latest version, Photopos has a new interface bar with tools arranged scientifically.

I am also pleased with the printing and computer graphics support Photopos provides. This software gives me enough tools to create beautiful works of art.

The downside is that it is only compatible with Windows operating systems. macOS or Linux users won’t be able to edit photos for free with this software.

Price: Free or Paid ($49.90).

Website Link: https://www.photopos.com/PPP3_BS/Default.aspx

Pros

  • Friendly interface.
  • Support easy printing
  • Suitable for graphic creation.
  • Many useful unique features.
  • Wide range of digital image editing tools.

Cons

  • Limited platform support.

5. Paint.net

Paint.net

Specifications

  • Platform: Windows.
  • Online editor: No.
  • Layers: Yes.

Key Features

Intuitive and innovative was the first impression I had of Paint.NET. The software interface is easy to get used to, and even for beginners.

However, Paint.net is not simply software with a beautiful user interface. It also impressed me with its powerful tools.

These tools will continue to be upgraded in both quantity and quality shortly. Paint.net’s online community is constantly adding unique plugins.

Overall, the experience Paint.net brings is as impressive as the famous paid digital photo editing software. However, because it was initially oriented to be an alternative to Microsoft Paint, Paint.net is only available for the Windows operating system. It might be a big drawback if yours is a macOS or Linux.

Price: Free or Paid ($8.99).

Website Link: https://www.getpaint.net

Pros

  • Friendly Interface.
  • Many professional tools.
  • Constantly adding plugins.
  • There is a supportive community.
  • Suitable for primary and professional photo editing.

Cons

  • Only compatible with Windows operating systems.

6. Inpixio

Inpixio

Specifications

  • Platform: Windows.
  • Online editor: No.
  • Layers: Yes.

Key Features

Deleting objects is my favorite feature of Inpixio. Other free photo editing tools often show disadvantages when removing objects. Yet, Inpixio is an exception!

It uses AI technology to reconstruct the background behind the deleted objects. So, after removing the subjects, the photo is still quite natural and professional.

Besides the intelligent eraser, Inpixio also owns a lot of other exciting features, such as Photomontage AI to create funny photos, and automatically edit them.

Inpixio is my favorite photo editing software. Yet, sometimes I’m still not satisfied with its sample graphics store. Hopefully, the publisher will update some exciting graphics in the following versions to make photo editing easier.

Price: Free trial or $49.99

Website Link: https://www.inpixio.com

Pros

  • Support image editing.
  • Improve image quality.
  • Edit with one touch.
  • Innovative object removal tool.
  • Create funny pictures with AI.

Cons

  • Graphics template limited.

7. Photoscape

Photoscape

Specifications

  • Platform: Windows, macOS
  • Online editor: No.
  • Layers: Yes.

Key Features

If you simply want to resize, add effects, and adjust the colors of your basic images, PhotoScape is a free software worth considering.

The most important feature of the software is the editor, which includes all the tools to enhance the image quality.

In addition, the software also supports creating animated GIFs, printing photos, and cropping images.

Photoscape does not help much with my need to delete objects or combine multiple images into one frame. However, for more straightforward tasks such as improving sharpness or cutting images into pieces, Photoscape does quite well.

In addition to not supporting professional photo editing requirements, its disadvantage is also reflected in the interface. Publishers need to improve the interface further to provide the most intuitive user experience.

Price: Free

Website link: http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/index.php

Pros

  • All free.
  • Support multiple platforms
  • Meet basic photo editing needs.
  • Support creating animated GIFs.
  • Include many essential photo editing tools

Cons

  • Need to improve the interface.

8. Pixlr

Pixlr

Specifications

  • Platform: Windows, macOS
  • Online editor: Yes.
  • Layers: Yes.

Key Features

With Pixlr, I can create stunning designs right in the browser. This free software works well on laptops, computers, and mobile phones. Surprisingly, on any platform, it delivers professional work.

I often take advantage of Pixlr’s built-in filters to quickly get photos with impressive color, contrast, and detail. If you want to unleash your creativity, you can edit every detail of your photos, thanks to the tools Pixlr provides.

With Pixlr, with just one click, I get stunning photos. Yet, the maximum size of an image edited with Pixlr is only 3,840 pixels. It is a rather notable drawback of this online photo editing tool.

Price: Free or Premium

Website Link: https://pixlr.com/

Pros

  • Easy to use.
  • Offer many filters
  • Support online editing.
  • Work on multiple platforms.
  • Many professional features.

Cons

  • Limited image size.

9. Befunky

Befunky

Specifications

  • Platform: Windows, macOS
  • Online editor: Yes.
  • Layers: Yes.

Key Features

Befunky is one of my favorite photo editing and collage creation software. It possesses quite a few valuable tools for my use needs.

Some include an editor that resizes images, artsy filters that turn photos into works of art, and professional font removal.

In particular, I highly appreciate the software’s batch-processing feature. With Befunky, resizing or editing multiple images no longer takes too much time.

This software supports online photo editing quite conveniently. Yet, in my assessment, it contains too many ads. This is also the only downside of this powerful free tool.

Price: Free

Website Link: https://www.befunky.com

Pros

  • Many useful tools.
  • Turn photos into works of art.
  • Batch photo editing saves time.
  • An all-in-one photo editing solution.
  • The font removal is pretty good.

Cons

  • Contains many ads

10. Picverse

Picverse Photo Editor

Specifications

  • Platform: Windows, macOS
  • Online editor: No.
  • Layers: Yes.

Key Features

I always use Picverse to edit my old photos. This freeware’s ability to recover old images surprised me. Thanks to AI technology, it handles noise areas quite well, reducing wrinkles and scratches on photos.

AI technology also contributes significantly to improving image quality. This clever software optimizes colors and contrast quite nicely. The edited photos are pretty vivid but also very natural.

Movavi also owns a lot of other valuable features, such as providing many filters, removing objects, and adjusting sharpness.

However, this software still lacks some advanced features. Therefore, it will not be my top choice if I want to edit photos professionally.

Price: Free.

Website Link: https://www.picverse.com

Pros

  • Good old photo recovery.
  • Improve image quality.
  • Provide more than 100 filters
  • Support object deletion.
  • Many essential photo editing tools.

Cons

  • Lacks some advanced features

Buying Guides

Here are some of my photo software searching tips that promise to help you with your selection process. Scroll down for details!

Experience

Please consider your current photo editing skills and experience.

Online software with essential tools will be the best choice if you are a beginner and only need to improve the colors and resize images.

Whereas if you need to perform more complex techniques, the professional software meets your needs well.

Editing Tools

The most basic editing tools are to adjust the size, brightness, contrast, and add effects. In addition, you should also be interested in more professional tools such as Collage, GIF, layer, and mask.

Ability to export

Most free online editors only support exporting images in JPG format, low resolution. If you need to print images, looking for tools that allow exporting high-resolution photos and many different formats is better.

FAQs

Here are some common questions regarding free photo editing software. If you have the same interest, do not miss any information.

Which free software is best for photo editing?

GIMP is the best free photo editing software. It has all the necessary tools, is easy to use, and is available on many platforms.

What is the best free photo editing software for beginners?

Some free photo editing software that beginners should consider is Paint.net, Photoscape, and Befunky.

Is GIMP the best free Photoshop?

GIMP is a photo editor worth considering. It is entirely free but offers all the features of paid software.

Is GIMP for free?

GIMP is an entirely free and open-source image editor.

Do professionals use GIMP?

Experts rate GIMP quite highly. A large number also especially love this software.

Conclusion

For me, GIMP is still the best free image editing software. It’s powerful, easy to use, and produces art for free.

Adobe Photoshop Express Editor is also a tool worth considering. It includes quite a few advanced functions and good support for professional users.

So what are your options? Consider carefully the software list above. You will find a tool that meets your operational needs.