10 Best Photo Editing Apps of 2026

Lightroom is the most complete everyday editor for people who shoot a lot and want to keep everything in one place. Adobe's Mac App Store listing describes AI Denoise, Super Resolution, one-click subject selection, masking, adaptive presets and an AI Remove tool, plus video editing with the same tools. The main draw for hobbyists is sync: edit a full-resolution photo on the desktop and the change appears on your phone and on the web. The phone app is free, which makes it easy to try the editing model before paying. On the desktop, the subscription is $11.99 a month or $118.99 a year in the US App Store after a 7-day trial, and cloud storage and generative credits are sold as separate tiers. People who dislike subscriptions or want to store everything offline may prefer an app they can buy once, but for most enthusiasts Lightroom is the editor with the fewest gaps.

Affinity now combines vector design, pixel editing and page layout in a single app, and Canva makes it free for individuals. For photographers, the pixel side covers the work people used to buy Photoshop for: layers, retouching, compositing and non-destructive adjustments, with undo history saved in the file so you can step back from an export to your first edit. It opens PSD files with their layers and structure preserved, which helps if you trade files with Photoshop users. Versions exist for Mac, Windows and, newly, iPad with Apple Pencil support. The trade-offs are clear. There is no photo library or catalog, so you still need something else to sort a shoot, and the AI tools are only available if you pay for a Canva premium plan. The interface carries design and layout tools a photo hobbyist may never use. As a free, capable layer editor, though, nothing else on this list matches it.

Pixelmator Pro is the Mac editor for people who want depth without a subscription. The App Store listing, now published by Apple, describes pro-grade color adjustments for photos and video, machine learning tools that remove backgrounds, enhance images, increase resolution, and reduce noise and compression artifacts, plus a Repair tool for removing unwanted objects. RAW files from over 750 cameras are supported, including compressed Fujifilm RAWs, and over 40 presets give quick film and cinematic looks. Beyond photos, it handles layers, vector shapes, typography, painting and more than 200 templates, so it doubles as a light design app. The price is $49.99 once on the US Mac App Store. The limits: it runs only on Mac, it does not manage a large photo catalog, and serious raw shooters may want a dedicated developer such as Lightroom or Capture One alongside it. For a Mac hobbyist who edits a photo at a time, it is excellent value.

Snapseed is the easiest recommendation for anyone who edits mostly on a phone and does not want to pay. Google's App Store listing promises 30+ tools and filters with no subscriptions, purchases, ads or watermarks, and the toolset is genuinely broad: Selective adjustments, Healing, Double Exposure, Motion Blur, Portrait tools, film simulations with Halation, Bloom and Grain, and one-tap smart masking for subjects or backgrounds. Batch editing applies a look to several photos at once, edits are non-destructive, and the built-in Snapseed Camera lets you shoot with a film look already applied. It opens JPG and some RAW files. What it lacks is everything a desktop workflow brings: no computer version, no cloud library, and only partial raw support. As a free phone editor, though, it covers more than many paid apps, and it is the right place to start before spending money.

Photoshop is still the most capable image editor for anything beyond adjusting a photo. Adobe's App Store listing for the mobile app describes Generative Fill to add or remove objects, Tap Select for quick selections, background removal and replacement, the Spot Healing Brush, collages, and an AI Assistant that suggests edits and explains the tools as you go. On a phone the core tools are free, and the Photoshop Mobile & Web plan is $7.99 a month or $69.99 a year in the US App Store; desktop plans are sold on Adobe's site. Lightroom can send a photo to Photoshop as a Smart Object and get the result back, which is how many enthusiasts use the pair. The downsides are familiar: it takes time to learn, it does not organize a photo library, and the most powerful features cost money. If your photography leans toward composites, restoration or creative edits, it is worth the effort.

Luminar is built around getting a strong result quickly. Skylum's pages describe generative tools (GenErase, GenSwap and GenExpand), sky replacement, portrait and skin retouching, a clone tool, and dodge and burn, with Luminar Neo supporting over 1000 cameras and common raw formats such as CR3, NEF and RAF. The current licenses cover desktop, mobile and web apps with cross-device editing, so you can start a photo on a phone and finish it on a computer. Pricing is sold as one-time licenses that you keep, with a 30-day money back guarantee; the AI tools and asset library of 2150+ presets and 550+ skies are tied to Luminar Prime, which renews after 365 days. When we checked, the pricing page showed us zloty rather than US dollars, so the USD price is pending. Luminar's library tools are lighter than Lightroom's, and the license tiers take a moment to understand, but for quick, dramatic edits it is easy to like.

darktable is the free answer to Lightroom's desktop raw workflow. The project describes it as an open source photography workflow application and raw developer: a lighttable that manages your images in a database, and a darkroom for developing them. Editing is fully non-destructive, the processing core works in floating point, and modules range from crop and exposure to advanced effects. It is also one of the few open source tools that supports tethered shooting. Installers are published for Windows, macOS and Linux, and it is licensed under the GNU GPL, so there is no price and no paid tier. The cost is time. darktable's scene-referred approach and long module list are harder to learn than any commercial app here, and there is no phone version, cloud sync or vendor support desk. For a raw shooter who enjoys learning the craft and does not want a subscription, it is remarkable value.

Capture One is the raw editor many studio and fashion photographers use, and enthusiasts pick it for its color and tethering. The pricing page lists support for 550+ cameras, industry-leading tethering with Live View, and assisted tools such as masking in a click, face and body skin retouching, AI crop, Match Look and Enhanced Denoise, plus negative film conversion for people scanning film. Plans include a desktop Pro subscription, an All in One plan that adds the iPad and iPhone app and cloud settings, a Studio plan for high-volume work, and a one-time Pro License for people who do not need the newest updates. Capture One also says subscribers can switch to a perpetual license at any time, at no extra cost once they have subscribed for 5 years. When we checked, the page showed us euro prices only, so the USD price is pending. It is more expensive and less beginner-friendly than Lightroom, which is why it ranks lower for hobbyists.

ON1 Photo RAW pitches itself as a replacement for using Lightroom and Photoshop together. The product page describes raw processing, editing, layers, masks and effects in one app, so you can browse, retouch and export without switching programs. The AI tools are included rather than sold as extras: NoNoise AI for high-ISO shots, Resize AI for enlarging, Generative Erase, Sky Swap AI, Restore AI for old photos, and Super Select AI with depth masks for quick selections. The 2027 release adds a new raw engine, a reworked masking experience and an AI Culling Assistant. ON1 stresses that no subscription is required, with a free trial and a mobile app. When we checked, the page did not show us a US dollar price, so pricing is pending. The interface packs a lot in and is less polished than Lightroom's, and yearly versions mean paid upgrades if you want new features, but owning one app that does both jobs appeals to many enthusiasts.

VSCO made film-style phone editing popular, and the app still centers on presets. Its App Store listing describes 200+ presets and filters, including Film X looks inspired by Kodak, Fuji and Agfa, and Recipes that save your favorite combinations. You can paste one edit onto up to 100 photos, and tools such as HSL, Dodge and Burn, Split Tone and Grain go well beyond basic filters. The Pro tier adds AI Lab for removing distractions, upscaling and repairs, and the app also covers video editing, collages, portfolio sites and client galleries. The app is free to download; in the US App Store, Plus costs $9.99 a month or $39.99 a year and Pro $14.99 a month or $69.99 a year. VSCO is less suited to raw-heavy desktop work and the best tools sit behind membership, but for phone shooters who want a recognizable style and a community, it is a strong choice.