Are you looking to improve your photographs but unsure which online photo editor to use? We’ve created a handy guide to help you decide which one is right for you.
Plenty of photographers use Photoshop to edit and process their images but what if you don’t have a few hundred pounds to spare? What are your options? Well, there are other editing software titles available including the free programme titled Gimp but there are also several free online editors popping up on the internet. So here’s ePHOTOzine’s rundown of the top 10 best free online photo editing tools available on the web.
Pixlr Photo Editor
Pixlr gives you a choice of an advanced or “Playful” editor, as well as an older editor (which uses Flash), which has a lot of tools that someone who knows their way around Photoshop would be very used to seeing. It even features layer masks and several filters including Gaussian Blur, unsharp Mask etc. You can create a new image from scratch or open images you have already produced to tweak. You save as you do in all editing software by going to File>Save where you can then choose various places to save your image to which includes on your hard drive and on sites such as Flickr. It’s easy to use, quick to load and something well worth of making a note for next time you’re using a computer away from home that doesn’t have any photo editing software on it apart from Paint!
Adobe Photoshop Express
Photoshop Express is Adobe’s answer to free online editing software. It is available on all major platforms, including androids for smartphones and apps for iPods and iPads.You need to create an account at photoshop.com, which then enables you to access a whole host of free features. The sits also boasts free online galleries and links to all the popular sharing sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Photoshop Express Editor enables you to perform all the usual tasks, such as adjusting exposure, cropping and adjust colour, along with a load more features. It boasts some new tools too such as the ability to pixellate and crystallise images giving effects such as stained glass. Cleanly set out and easy to use, this software is pretty good for a free online editor.
Photopea
Photopea is an on-line photo editor, with advanced tools and controls, with a familiar look and style to normal photo editing software. It even supports .PSD, .PNG, .GIF, .JPG, SVG, .XD, .sketch, .PDF, .XCF, RAW files and even more formats. If you’re familiar with Adobe Photoshop, then you should find Photopea very familiar looking, and it supports Layers, Channels, and Paths, Spot healing, and many of the tools and features you’re used to using.
Canva
Canva is one of the most popular graphic design tools on the market. The tool is very easy to use, convenient, and intuitive. This photo editing software acts as an all-in-one platform for everything graphic design. As a graphic design software, it lets you create brochures, posters, social media graphics, calendars, video, presentations, logos, watermarks, labels, menus, resumes, letterheads, wallpaper, t-shirt designs, and more. This free online image editor can be used by anyone, with or without any experience in graphic design, which makes it an absolute no experience photo editor. The vast amount of templates means you can create something in a matter of seconds. While the free subscription already contains a lot of great features, you will need to get the Premium subscription to unlock specific features, templates, and tools. With the paid subscription, you will also be able to access the millions of stock photos, videos, and design elements in their library.
Another great thing about Canva is being able to use their design tool on the go. You can download their app on your Apple, Mac, Android, iOS, or desktop. You can easily use it on a browser as well. However, the only downside is that you will need to be connected to the Internet.
Best for: Anyone with or without graphic design experience.
Darktable
An open source photography application, darktable brands itself as a virtual lighttable and darkroom for photographers. As a post-processing program, it’s a free alternative to popular tools like Lightroom. The interface is quite similar to Lightroom and it allows you to manage RAW files and conduct general post processing.
This tool is considered by some photographers as the best online photo editor. Patience is key with Darktable because it’s not a simple filter editing tool. You’ll need to be familiar with raw development in a non-destructive manner.
Darktable allows you to export your images, which covers formats like JPG, PNG, PDF, and more. It also offers over 61 image operation modules which support powerful blending operators. If you don’t want to buy into paid subscriptions, then darktable is a great alternative.
Best for: Photographers working with raw files.
Polarr
Polarr is a multi-platform photo editing software available for iOS, Android, Mac, and Windows. Whether you’re looking to access it on the web via your Chromebook or your Apple devices, Polarr is an advanced photo editor at the tip of your fingers. The tool offers more than just filters and effects, it allows you to create professional retouches and edits. Polarr is great for both novice and professional to make minor retouches, as well as fine adjustments and lens distortion on your images.
One of the best things about Polarr is the ability to customize your interface with all the tools you need. You can also customize your own style with colors and overlays to your own liking. With their mobile apps, you can even generate QR and short codes to share your images and styles with others, making it a more collaborative platform.
Best for: Quick, easy way to make customized edits.
Design Wizard
Design just got easy! You can create impressive videos and image designs in minutes with Design Wizard’s easy to use software.
The free features allow you to magically resize your designs. You can also upload your fonts, photos, logos and create custom color palettes! The library holds over 1 million premium images, thousands of high quality videos, illustrations and graphics and more. Every video and image has also been licensed for commercial use.
While there is plenty of value on the Free plan, you can also go Pro or Business. The Pro plan gives you 60 image design downloads per month, image uploads, font uploads, free previews and 1GB storage. On the Business plan, you get unlimited standard video downloads, 1 premium video per month, unlimited image design downloads. video uploads, add text and images to videos and 10GB storage.
Best for: Social media marketers and business owners.
Fotor
Try the free photo editor Fotor (for Windows or web browsers) – an excellent tool with an extremely easy-to-understand UI that makes it simple to use. Considering how choppy some browser-based programs can be, Fotor’s performance is fantastic and won’t hog system resources—which can cause your computer to start chugging along like a broken locomotive and waste precious time.
Fotor provides a wonderful set of Smart Filters and effects, as well as an engaging photo collage tool, and can handle RAW files without much issue. Fotor also allows some limited design functionality in the form of business cards, social media images, posters, banners, documents, collages, and invitations, which should be useful to bloggers and digital marketers.
While Fotor lacks any actual art features such as a paintbrush, and is not suitable for really high-end effects like other apps in this list, it does what it does very well and is good for general photo editing for those who don’t need advanced functions.
Best for: Hobbyists and beginners, social media influencers, and digital marketers.
Befunky
Befunky is simple, intuitive, and one of the best options for performance on this list. It features a variety of awesome elements to boost your image quality as well as a nice and simple collage feature. Like Fotor above, Befunky also contains many design elements that allow you to create lovely postcards, brochures, posters, slides for Powerpoint presentations, and invitations with only a few simple steps.
If your goal is social networking posts, printable assets, or a presentation for a client, then Befunky is a good option for you. While it may lack features as wide-ranging as other options on this list you would be hard pressed to find a faster and more efficient option for cranking out simple creatives in a reasonable time frame.
Best for: Bloggers and people looking to create social media assets.
PicMonkey
PicMonkey’s best feature is its ease-of-use compared to more advanced options on our list. It’s straightforward and the UI is friendly and intuitive (so much so that my eight-year-old can handle it in a few short moments), laid out logically and without clutter. Featuring a great collage maker that outshines most other simple photo editors, PicMonkey is accessible to everyone.
It also has all sorts of really useful templates that help speed up your workflow as well as facilitate the creation of headers and banners for blogs, websites, and marketing materials. While PicMonkey can only process one file at a time, it is still a great option for an online photo editor app.
As with several other entries on this list, PicMonkey has additional features hidden behind a paywall. You can still ride out a 7-day free trial to access the added functionality but are required to select a billing option to do so.
Best for: Web designers and bloggers.
Conclusion:
Try them now and don’t forget to save this page as we will be keeping it up-to-date with new free online photo editor that we find or you can leave a comment on the article about free online photo editor you prefer if we haven’t mentioned it above.