Are you interested in photo editing on the go? Then, a mobile photo editing app is the perfect option for you! To help you choose the best photo editor app, I have compiled a list of the top choices. They include both paid and free photo editing apps. 

The list of smartphone photo editing apps includes both Android and iOS applications. Furthermore, some of the apps have features like cloud storage and organization tools. Mobile photo editing applications are crucial for convenient photography edits.

To help you choose the best photo editing app, we have created a summary of each photo editor app. So, let’s dive into the best photo editing apps for editing your images on your Android or iPhone smartphone.

Best Photo Editor Apps in 2023

Interested in knowing which image editing app is most suitable for your needs? I have curated a list of the 10 best mobile photo editing apps in 2023. These apps offer a wide range of photo retouching and editing options for casuals and professional photographers alike. Even a photography studio can use mobile photo editing apps for quick, on-the-go retouches.

The best mobile photo editing apps (in no particular order) are: 

  • VIMORY: Photo Editor
  • Lightroom Photo & Video Editor
  • Photoshop Express Photo Editor
  • Picsart AI Photo Editor
  • Pixlr
  • Afterlight
  • Snapseed
  • Apple Photos
  • Google Photos
  • Polarr: Photo Filters & Editor
  • VSCO: Photo & Video Editor

Let’s explore each of the above photo editor apps in more detail. 

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VIMORY: Photo Editor

VIMORY is an excellent mobile photo editing app that helps youngsters, businesses, photographers, and graphic designers make amazing designs with their photos. 

It is available in both Android and iOS and makes it easy to start designing creative photos for social media like TikTok and Instagram. 

Features

  • Many Original Filters.
  • Diverse Photo Effects.
  • Various Colorful Frames.
  • Templates for Slideshows.
  • Ready Made Formats for Instagram, Facebook, and Other Social Media.

Platforms: Android, iOS.

Pricing: Free (With In-app Purchases for Premium Features).

Lightroom Photo & Video Editor

If you are interested in photo editing, you have probably heard of Adobe’s class-leading offering, Lightroom. Even if you do not use the desktop version of Lightroom, you will enjoy photo editing with the Android and iOS versions of Adobe Lightroom Photo & Video Editor. 

The Lightroom mobile app offers advanced post-production capabilities. 

Features:

  • Masking (Paid)
  • Healing (Paid)
  • Geometry (Paid)
  • Cloud Storage (Paid)
  • Shoot Photos On Android. 
  • Shoot Raw Photos On iPhone.
  • Content-aware Object Removal. 
  • Auto Object And People Selection.
  • Wide Range Of Adaptive Presets For Skies And Portraits.
  • Correct White Balance, Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites, & Blacks. 

Platforms: Android, iOS

Pricing: Free (With In-app Purchases for Premium Features)

You can subscribe to Lightroom’s mobile-only apps for $4.99 per month, with 100GB of synced cloud storage. Furthermore, a standard Lightroom Creative Cloud Plan for $9.99 per month allows full use of the app with 1TB of storage.

Photoshop Express Photo Editor

Another staple of the photo editing industry is Adobe Photoshop. Adobe also offers a mobile version of its star product called Photoshop Express Photo Editor. 

Similar to Lightroom mobile, Photoshop Express is a freemium offering, with the basic features available for free. 

Lightroom is better for photo correction and enhancement. On the other hand, Photoshop Express is perfect for creating collages, blemish removal, text overlays, masks, and compositing. 

Features

  • Skin Smoothing
  • Face-Aware Liquify
  • Effects And Filters
  • Content-Aware Healing
  • Stickers And Overlays
  • Edit Raw Images Natively

Platforms: Android, iOS

Pricing: Free (With In-app Purchases for Premium Features)

Picsart AI Photo Editor

Picsart is one of the most well-known mobile photo editing apps with over 1 billion downloads in just the Google Play Store! You will not go wrong with this photo editing application. 

Picsart offers an AI text-to-photo generator to create fun images from text prompts! Furthermore, you can easily share photos on social media. 

Features

  • Add Makeup 
  • Cartoon Effects
  • Trending Filters
  • Blur Backgrounds 
  • Change Hair Color
  • Background Eraser 
  • Remove Unwanted Objects

Platforms: Android, iOS

Pricing: Free (With In-app Purchases for Premium Features)

To get the best of Picsart AI Photo Editor, you need to subscribe for $11.99 monthly or $55.99 yearly. 

Pixlr

Pixlr is a solid mobile photo editor app for casual photographers who need minor fine-tuning and adding preset effects. The Pixlr interface is easy to use and includes simple photo editing tools. 

Features

  • Collage Layouts
  • Canva-style Templates
  • Colorful Overlays To Adjust Tone
  • Auto Fix For Instant Color Adjustment
  • Remove Blemishes, Whiten Teeth, And More.

Platforms: Android, iOS

Pricing: Free (With In-app Purchases for Premium Features)

You will need to pay $1.99/month to turn off ads and get premium stickers, borders, fonts, overlays, and more. 

You can subscribe to Photoshop Express’s Premium starting at just $4.99/month or $34.99/year for full functionality. 

Afterlight

Afterlight is an impressive mobile photo editing app for Android and iOS. 

The Android version of the Afterlight free photo editing app is less advanced than the iOS version. Therefore, I would not recommend using the Android app as it was last updated on Nov 19, 2014!  

The iOS version of Afterlight offers many impressive features like cropping, exposure, contrast, and saturation adjustments. However, some of the best features of Afterlight are only available on the premium version.

Features

  • Textures
  • Gradients
  • Sharpness
  • Tone Curve Editing
  • Frames And Borders
  • Artwork Fonts And Designs
  • Material And Text Overlay
  • Advanced Filters For Hue, Saturation, And Lightness (HSL)
  • Unique Filters Like Film And Vhs-look Filters (130+ Filters)

Platforms: Android (not recommended), iOS

Pricing: Free (With In-app Purchases for Premium Features)

The photo editor app Afterlight offers a monthly membership for $2.99, while the yearly and lifetime memberships cost $17.99 and $35.99 respectively. 

Snapseed

Snapseed is one of the original innovators of the mobile photo editing app. It is now owned by Google and offers a unique user interface. First, you move up or down to select the adjustment you want. Then, you move left or right to make the adjustment. 

The best thing about Snapseed? It’s 100% free

Features

  • Lens Blur
  • Face Enhance
  • Glamour Glow
  • Healing Brush
  • Tonal Contrast
  • Crop, Rotate, Expand
  • HDR and Perspective Editing
  • Edit RAW Camera Files (DNG Format Only)

Platforms: Android, iOS

Pricing: Free

Apple Photos

The Apple Photos app comes preinstalled on all apple devices like iPhones, iPads, and Macs. So if you have an iPhone or iPad, you can click photos right from your device and edit them on the native Photos app. 

Apple Photos has a very nice interface as it is first and foremost a photo management app. You can curate your photos while focusing on the best shots. Also, sharing photos from one Apple device to another is a lightning-fast and efficient process.

Features

  • Live Photos
  • Auto Enhance 
  • Long Exposure 
  • Share Via iCloud
  • Face Recognition
  • Organize Your Photos
  • Edit Raw Photos In The App
  • Edit Shadows And White Balance

Platforms: iOS

Pricing: Free

Google Photos

Google Photos is a must-have photo app for any smartphone. While its photo editing capabilities are basic, Google Photos helps store and organize your photos in the cloud. So, if you ever lose or brick your smartphone, you will keep access to your photos.

Features

  • Collage Templates
  • Create Gifs From A Batch Of Photos
  • Crop Photos And Add Text And Drawing Overlays
  • Filters (HDR, Dynamic, Radiant, Luminous, And Airy)
  • Adjust Basic Elements Like Color, Light, Exposure & Contrast

Platforms: Android, iOS

Pricing: Free

Some caveats of Google Photos include a 15GB storage limit. If you want to expand your storage, you need to pay for it. 

Polarr: Photo Filters & Editor

Polarr stands out with its community features. You can create and share custom filters among the Polarr community. However, it is also a solid photo editor for Android, iOS, and the web. 

Features

  • Weekly Updated Filters 
  • Create And Share Your Own Filters
  • Retouch Skin, Face Shape, And More
  • Overlays For Weather, Texture, Gradient, And More
  • Selective AI Objects Like Sky, Background, Person, And Animal
  • Global Adjustments Include Light, Color, Toning, Grain, And More!

Platforms: Android, iOS

Pricing: Free (With In-app Purchases for Premium Features)

It will cost you $1.99/month to access the Lite version of the app and $3.99 for the studio version. A paid subscription gives you access to the full app with new content and styles weekly. 

VSCO: Photo & Video Editor

VSCO provides a modern interface with a focus on social sharing. If you want to join a thriving community of photographers, VSCO is the app for you. For example, the feature VSCO Spaces enables participants to contribute, share, and discuss posts. You might remember the VSCO girl movement a few years ago when the app gained popularity.

Features

  • 200+ Presets
  • Crop and Rotate
  • Create Collages
  • RAW Photo Editing
  • Vintage Film Effect
  • Advanced Photo Editing Tools
  • Adjust Contrast and Saturation

Platforms: Android, iOS

Pricing: Free (With In-app Purchases for Premium Features)

Many photo editing tools in the VSCO app require a subscription. It costs $7.99/month or $29.99/year. 

How to Select the Best Photo Editing App?

Selecting the right photo editor app can be challenging as many options are available. 

So, how do you select the best mobile photo editing app? 

First, you need to decide what you will use the image editing app for. Depending on your need, there are several free photo editing apps available. 

From the options, you can choose the most suitable photo editor. It is always advisable to give the free-trial versions a go to see if you like using the image editing app. 

How Do Mobile Photo Editing Apps Compare To Desktop Software?

The best photo editor apps are suitable for quick edits on a smartphone. So, what extra features do you get if you use the best photo editing software for desktops or laptops? 

Desktop photo editing software offer advantages in the following areas:

  • Larger Display
  • Better Control
  • Advanced Features

Larger Display

Desktop photo editors typically have at least an 11’ display for the smallest laptops, with support for multiple monitors for pro setups. As a result, mobile apps cannot offer the same amount of features as their desktop counterparts. 

Better Control

A mobile photo editing app is controlled by a touch screen and/or a stylus (for tablets). However, desktop software offers more control methods including a mouse, keyboard, graphics tablet, and trackpad. As a result, you get better control if you use desktop photo editing software. 

Advanced Features

You get limited (but still useful) features in mobile photo editing apps. However, the desktop versions offer a complexity of features for unlimited creativity. For example, Adobe Photoshop is a full-fat desktop software that allows you to perform complex work with many layers and features. But, for most people, the feature set of a photo editor app is good enough. Only professional photo editors will need more than a mobile image editing app. 

However, mobile photo editing apps offer a benefit over their desktop counterparts. Mobile image editing apps are cheaper, as they usually offer a basic version for free. Furthermore, you pay less than you would for a desktop version. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, the best mobile photo editing apps in 2023 are good enough for editing on the go. You can directly click RAW photos on your smartphone and edit them using many of the image editing apps described above. 

Do you need bulk photo editing for your business? Then, you can check out a photo editing company to help you quickly edit your photos. 

If you enjoyed reading about the best mobile photo editor apps in 2023, please leave a comment below. I would enjoy reading about your experience with any of the image editing apps described in this article. Also, please let me know if I missed any good photo editing applications. 

Thanks for tuning in. Happy editing! 

Photo Editing App FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Photo Editing Apps. 

What is the best free photo editing app?

Some of the best free image editing apps include Snapseed, Picsart, Photoshop Express Photo Editor, and Adobe Lightroom Mobile. All of these photo editor apps are available for both Android and iOS platforms.

How can I edit photos on my smartphone like a professional?

Follow these steps to edit photos like a professional on your phone:
First, choose your photo editing app
Use filters and presets to see if it does the job
Take advantage of automatic modes 
Crop to get rid of unwanted parts
Straighten lines
Bring colors to life with color correction
Adjust the white balance
Remove spots and clutter
Add finishing touches

What’s the new photo app everyone is using?

Some of the trending photo editing apps in 2023 include Snapseed, Picsart, PicSnap, and Polish.

Does iPhone have a free photo editor app?

Yes, iPhones have free photo editing apps available. Firstly, the default Apple Photos app offers image editing capabilities. Finally, if you want a third-party app, Snapseed is completely free!

What image editing app do most photographers use?

Photographers use many mobile photography apps for planning, shooting, and editing their photos on the go. Some popular examples are Adobe Photoshop Express, TouchRetouch, Afterlight, and VSCO.

Is the Photoshop mobile app free?

Yes, the Adobe Photoshop Express app for Android and iOS is free to use. However, you can unlock advanced features by paying a monthly fee.

What is the easiest free photo editor app for beginners?

Snapseed and Pixlr are two of the most beginner-friendly image editing apps. You can make basic edits with minimal guidance.

This page was last edited on 19 August 2024, at 3:08 pm