Free photo editing software will always have clients. Today, the demand for photo editing and retouching products is very high and software has recorded significant development in the area. Everyone can edit photos using a laptop or mobile devices. Photo editing software has to be multifunctional and provide tools for beginners and professional users.
GIMP is one of the best photo editing software for Windows because is a complete photo editor that rivals Photoshop in terms of capabilities and features.It provides everything you need, from basic image corrections like exposure control and white balance to advanced editing tools like Transform and Heal. If you are looking for the built-in free video editing software for Windows 10, the good news is that you can try Microsoft Windows 10 Photos app, which is pre-built in your Windows 10 computer, so you don't need to download it again. If you can't find the Photos app, you can also install it again from Microsoft Store directly. The best free video editing software for PC and Mac lets you do virtually everything paid software can. If you have a consumer machine like a MacBook or a Windows laptop with integrated.
Adobe Photoshop may be the best choice among the photo editing programs but it's expensive and needs a lot of learning time. It's designed more for advanced users and many of its features aren't useful for an average user. So instead of buying a complicated program that you don't entirely use, is better to look for a free photo editor that provides all that you need.
The best free photo editors offer useful features such as removing red-eyes, resizing, black and white conversion, effects, presets and styles, textures, tools for creating collages, and tools for image retouching. The following list includes some of the best free photo editing software available for Windows.
1. Microsoft Windows 10 Photos
Microsoft Photos couldn't miss from the list of best free photo editing software for Windows. It's an excellent free picture editing software, built-in with Windows 10. Microsoft Photos provides basic adjustments like exposure and color corrections, highlights and shadows adjustments, and clarity control. But what makes Photos stand out is its wide range of attractive presets that allow you to change the look of your images in seconds.
Microsoft Photos goes beyond being a free photo editing software by including video editing tools. You can make clips, trim videos, add titles and effects, and even add background music to your video.
2. Luminar
Although it has a good price, Luminar isn't a free photo editing software. But it has a trial version you can use for free and fall in love with the features of Luminar.
Designed for photographers, Luminar provides all the tools you need for photo enhancement and retouching. It has over 70 filters, grouped in intuitive categories, which allow you fix any type of photo, create atmosphere, or add special effects. Luminar also provides endless Looks, presets that completely transform a picture. You can find Looks for landscapes, portraits, aerial shots, black and white photos, and many more. And if you don't find what you need, you can always download more free Looks from Luminar Marketplace.
Luminar works with layers and masks, provides geometric transformations, and allows you to save your settings as a custom Look. It also offers outstanding digital assets management, batch processing, and a customizable interface. And all its features are available in the trial version.
Luminar is powered by Artificial Intelligence and provides automatic image enhancement tools like AI Sky Enhancer and Accent AI Filter. It detects objects and faces in your image and decides what adjustments are best for them. And you can fine-tune everything using just a slider. Its free trial is a great opportunity to see what a professional photo editor can do.
3. GIMP
GIMP is one of the best photo editing software for Windows because is a complete photo editor that rivals Photoshop in terms of capabilities and features. It provides everything you need, from basic image corrections like exposure control and white balance to advanced editing tools like Transform and Heal. It also provides RAW support, which not many free editors can do.
Before the 2.10 update, many considered GIMP a complicated program because of its interface. But now GIMP has finally changed its look and workflow and became an attractive and modern photo editor.
GIMP also provides a wide range of filters that help you edit photos in seconds. Overall, it's one of the best photo editing software for Windows, it's free, it's easy to download and install, and can face Photoshop anytime.
4. Lightroom
Adobe Lightroom has only a free 7-day trial but it's cloud-based and offers a professional online editor. You can use it with mobile devices and work remotely, quickly fix your images, and share them with your client. Otherwise, Lightroom is an expensive solution, which costs $9.99 per month for a year.
In terms of photo editing, Lightroom gives you control over each aspect of an image, amazing presets, geometry tools, and a neat, fluid workspace. It has a wide community of photographers and trainers around it, which makes it easy to learn and comfortable to use. Among other features, it's worth mention shift focus, selective edits, noise reduction, healing brushes, and a wide range of special effects. Lightroom was designed for professional photographers, with complex image organizing capabilities and professional photo editing tools.
5. Photolemur (Full free with watermark)
Photolemur has a free version that only allows you to export images with watermark. But it's a small price paid for the amazing automatic features of this photo editing software. It analyzes your photos and automatically adjusts it using powerful Artificial Intelligence algorithms.
Photolemur provides features such as color recovery, sky enhancement, foliage enhancement, noise reduction, exposure compensation, tint perfection, lens correction, dehaze, and natural light correction. It's capable of enhancing any type of photo but has dedicated tools for face enhancing and skin retouching. It's a great editor for beginners and professionals with little time to spare. Instead of spending hours editing photos, use a smart editor and take more time for creative activities.
Photolemur isn't expensive software and has a traditional license. The full version offers batch processing, RAW support, and many other filters and features. It's available as a standalone software, Photoshop and Lightroom pugins, and Apple Photos extension.
6. Zoner Photo Studio Free 18
Zoner Photo Studio Free is the 18th version of Zoner Photo Studio and was released in 2016 as free software. It's still available for download. However, the newer version, Zoner Photo Studio X provides much more features but is no longer free. Choose to download the older version and you'll get the newer one for a 30-days trial and then the older free version.
Zoner Photo Studio 18 provides many modern features such as organizing tools, masks, filters, gradients, tools for highlighting, removing noise, adding frames, and correcting perspective, support for HDR, and tools for capturing the screen, batch processing, and creating video slideshows.
You can choose to compression your images and save the originals in the cloud. You receive unlimited server space and an address with an easy to remember name (for example, myphotos.zonerama.com)
Despite the fact that editing capabilities are limited compared with the professional version of Zoner Photo Studio, the free version is quite impressive. It allows you to change image resolution and canvas size, add text, overlay images, add effects, make color correction, sharpen images, and work with shutter speed and white balance. Zoner Photo Studio is one of the best free photo editing software you can try.
7. LightZone
If you're looking for the best photo editor for Windows that is free and can handle RAW files, then LightZone may be the perfect solution for you. This photography editing software was recently made open source, which means you can start using it right away and edit your RAW files without having to buy a premium photo editor for Windows.
LightZone allows you to start editing your photos by choosing one of its many ‘Styles'. These are presets that combine different settings and give your photos a starting look you can then transform. Among Styles you'll find Soft Skin Tones, Bright Scene, Midtones Sharpening, Crisp, and Soft Toning. Each style has a distinct look and works best on a specific type of photos. There are also styles that improve your image such as Sharpen, Hue/Saturation, Noise Reductions, and Black and White. You can fine-tune each style to create your artistic vision.
All these features make LightZone a very compelling free picture editing software.
8. Paint.Net
For those looking for a simple and free image editing software, Paint.Net is a good solution. Over the years, the software has turned into a very capable image editor that rivals the best photo editing software for Windows.
It provides a very good user interface and doesn't try to mimic Photoshop like many other free programs do. It rather keeps things simpler and logical. Paint.NET offers many image enhancement tools like Curves and Levels, layers, blending modes, and creative tools. It also provides more advanced tools like Clone Stamp, which makes Paint.Net a force to be reckoned in the space of free photography editing software.
What puts Paint.Net in the list of best free photo editing software is the fact that its capabilities can be enhanced by using a wide selection of plugins. It has an active community of users that supports the constant growing of plugins list and the editor's improving.
9. Photo Pos Pro
Photo Pos Pro is a free image editing software that has a lot to offer. It has a customizable interface that appeals to both beginners and advanced users. It has an online community where new users learn how to use the program and ask for help. It has a number of image editing tools that let you enhance your photos. Brave software update. And it also has graphic design capabilities that allow the creation of collages, business cards, and more.
Photo Pos Pro provides basic image editing tools such as exposure adjustments, white balance settings, color correction, and saturation control. Photo Pos Pro also offers filters like Sharpness and Blur, layers, and creative effects.
So, if you're looking for a picture editing software that provides basic editing and some neat advanced tools, then Photo Pos Pro is definitely worth a look.
10. PhotoScape X
PhotoScape X may not be the best free photo editing software you'll ever use. But it provides easy ways to add filters and make basic image adjustments. For example, the Magic Color filter is really good for enhancing colors without making them look artificial or exaggerated. Another good example are the Light Leak effects that add a vintage look to your pictures.
Among the tools of PhotoScape X are Cut Out for removing the background of an object, Combine for overlaying multiple photos, GIF Creator for making animations, Split for dividing a photo into smaller pieces, Photo Merge for basic HDR creation, and Frames for adding fun borders.
PhotoScape X is a basic photo editing software and can't overtake editors like Photoshop. Still, it's a fun editor that can help you do basic adjustments and add creative effects to your photos.
11. Pixlr (Online image editor)
Pixlr definitely deserves a place on the best photo editing software for Windows list. It's an online editor that can be used with a wide range of browsers and devices. You only need internet connection to load the page. After that Pixlr works on your device and doesn't need connection anymore.
Pixlr has a Photoshop-like interface that you can customize and many image editing tools. Among its features are exposure controls, white balance adjustments, sharpness, blur tools, color corrections, contrast adjusting, and shadows and highlights settings. You can work with layers and masks as well, which really takes Pixlr's capabilities to the next level. It also provides curves and levels adjustments, keyboard shortcuts, and plenty of fun filters.
Overall, Pixlr is a very capable and easy to use free image editing software. You can use it anywhere and anytime and it's particularly useful for editing pictures on location and sending them quickly to your clients.
12. RawTherapee
Another free editor for Windows is RawTherapee. It provides non-destructive RAW editing and many other features that make it similar to Adobe Lightroom. Free photo editing software doesn't usually have all the features that RawTherapee offer and that's why it's on our best photo editing software for Windows list.
RawTherapee offer exposure, white balance, and color adjustments, shadows and highlights settings, and other image enhancement tools. The only thing that's missing is digital assets management.
You can use RawTherapee with GIMP by default and make more creative changes to your exported RAW files. We've really appreciated the possibility to export files directly into a free complex photo editor.
13. DarkTable
The list of free photo editing software wouldn't be complete without DarkTable. It's one of the best free photo editors for Windows that supports RAW files. DarkTable provides plenty of RAW editing tools that somehow clutter the interface. Still, after you get used to working with them you'll see only the benefits of having a wide range of tools.
If you compare Darktable with Lightroom, which many say is the best photo editor for Windows that provides RAW editing, you'll see that DarkTable offers many of Lightroom's features. It also produces similar results when you use the same settings, which is the proof of its amazing capabilities. The only Darktable's drawback is a less streamlined design that requires more time for making the same edits. But if you consider that DarkTable is a free picture editing software and Lightroom is quite expensive, you can make this little compromise.
14. InPixio
InPixio is a free photo editor for Windows that aims to be the best photo editing software for those looking for a complete solution. It has three distinct parts: The Photo Eraser, The Photo Cutter, and The Photo Editor. The Photo Eraser allows you to remove different objects from your photos to make them look cleaner or bring more focus to the main subject. The Cutter allows you to remove the background from your photos, which can be great for design work or for commercial photographs.
The Photo Editor is where you edit your photos. From simple adjustments to brightness, contrast, and saturation to applying vintage effects, there's a lot happening in the Editor part of the suite. However, to gain access to the Editor, you have to get the Pro Version of InPixio, which isn't free. Regardless, the free version of the program offers useful features you can use for object or background removal – things that many of us need from time to time.
15. Inkscape
Inkscape is an open-source picture editing software that is more useful for graphic design than for photography. It provides a variety of tools that allow users to edit vector images, similar to Adobe Illustrator. Tools like Shapes, Paths, Clines, Transformation, and Text make Inkscape a very capable vector graphics editor but you can use it as a photo editor as well.
It may not be the free professional photo editing software you were hoping for, but it's still a very good software that deserves to be on the list of the best free photo editing software available today. If you're a graphic designer and want an alternative to the expensive Illustrator, then try Inkscape.
For now, we end here our list of the best photo free photo editing software available for Windows. Free photo editors are usually considered mediocre in comparison with the paid options but that's not always the case. Yes, paid editors have more features and often better support from the manufacturers, but that doesn't mean that free photo editors don't offer enough. As you can see from the above list, there are many free professional photo editing software that can be used to apply filters and effects, to enhance images, and even to edit RAW files.
- January 16, 2020
- 33 min to read
Top 10 Shortlist:
- Luminar (7 days full free version)
- Adobe Lightroom (7 days trial)
- Paint.NET (Free)
- Adobe Photoshop Elements (7 days trial)
- Gimp (Free)
- Aurora HDR (7 days full free version)
- Photolemur 3 (Free with watermark)
- Fotor (Free basic plan)
- Fhotoroom (Free + Offers in-app purchases)
- AirMagic (Free with watermark)
Tired of looking for the free feature-rich photo editor? Want to try out something new? Or just need to find your perfect editing software compatible with Windows 10? You've come to the right place.
Be my guest and learn about the top-ranking photo editing programs for Windows 10 on the market. Knock yourself out!
1. Luminar (7-day free trial)Apart from being one of the best international editors (it's translated into 10 languages so far), Luminar 4 is also a top plugin for Adobe products such as Photoshop and Lightroom.
The program is very snappy, user-friendly, and easy-to-use. The design is super simple and minimalistic. Nothing distracts you from the editing process. Besides, Luminar 4 team have recently updated a few super useful features you should try:
- AI Sky Replacement (changes the sky, matches the colors of other objects with the sky, fixes poor lighting, and removes unnecessary objects);
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- AI Skin Enhancer & Portrait Enhancer (smooths the skin, gets rid of pimples and blemishes without obliterating the skin texture, enhances skin color and adds natural shadows);
- AI Structure (face detection, emphasizes the details, gives a photo a natural-beauty look);
- Sunrays (adds realistic-looking sunbeams between hard-to-reach objects like twigs, trees, and bushes);
- AI Enhance (enhances the overall look of the photo, adjusts the colors to create a more realistic effect);
- Smart Contrast (makes a realistic contrast, emphasizes texture).
✅ Pros
- Boasts of a wide range of video guides;
- Offers non-destructive editing;
- Easy to use;
- A perfect plugin for Lightroom, Photoshop or Photos for macOS;
- Has a free 7-day trial;
- Has pleasant discounts for upgraded plans
✖️ Cons
- A little bit slower than Lightroom and Photoshop;
- Limited exporting options;
- Luminnar's Library loses to Lightroom's DAM.
2. Adobe Lightroom (7 days trial)
If you're savvy in photo editing and need your editor to have all the best features on the market, go for Lightroom. Many professional photographers say that no editing software can ever fill in for Lightroom.
Lightroom is a well-known universal program for editing that has a 7-day free trial. The cloud allows you to save, store, and share any of the edited photos. No matter where you edit (phone, laptop, tablet), Lightroom applies the changes everywhere. Besides, the interface of the program is clear. Intuitive thinking is pretty much everything you need to figure out how to use Lightroom.
✅ Pros
- Non-destructive editing;
- A cloud-based system;
- Easy processing of RAW files;
- Incredible presets;
- Unique filters and tools (post-crop vignette, geometry tools, etc.)
✖️ Cons
- Has more features in iOS version;
- A little bit expensive;
- Not the best decision for beginners.
Paint.NET is a veteran of photo editing. This editing software offers users to enjoy its elementary and snappy design. Besides, the program is super responsive and has no bugs.
Paint.NET can't be called a rival to Photoshop or Lightroom. It's not surprising because, otherwise, no one would ever opt for the latter.
✅ Pros
- The FREEST of all free photo editors;
- A simple familiar design;
- Compatible with any OS.
✖️ Cons
- No text correction if you applied a filter;
- No Burn and Dodge filters;
- No mask of layers.
4. Adobe Photoshop Elements (7 days trial)
This program is a brand new product by Adobe featured in 2020. The editor brings the editing experience to another level. You get hooked on handy modes such as Quick Mode, Expert Mode, and Guided Mode.
Whereas other editors like Photoshop take time to adjust, Adobe Photoshop Elements is a no-brainer. A fully optimized interface, simple tools, and step-by-step guidelines will make your editing fast and enjoyable.
✅ Pros
- Perfect for beginners;
- The best object removal feature on the market;
- Adobe Ecosystem
✖️ Cons
- No cloud storage;
- Doesn't process 3D objects;
- No phone app.
✅ Pros
- Open to code manipulations;
- A wide range of filters;
- 100% Free;
- Fit for almost any photo manipulation purposes.
✖️ Cons
- Could be slower than Photoshop;
- Average score on Trustpilot
- No iOS, Android, and Desktop applications.
✅ Pros
- A lovely and simple layout;
- Super speedy and snappy work;
- Never gets buggy;
- Non-destructive editing;
- AI-powered system;
- Good both for newbies in editing and pros.
✖️ Cons
- Not that functional as Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom;
- No healing brush in the standalone version;
- Long response when uploading big raw images.
✅ Pros
- Instant auto-correction;
- Super speedy;
- Advanced Artificial Intelligence;
- Supports 18 languages.
✖️ Cons
- Could be slow while processing RAW files;
- You no longer know what to do with your Photoshop subscription.
If you're looking for an app to start your graphic design or photographing career, opt for Fotor. It's a simple and feature-rich photo editor that lets you expose your talent for image manipulation/creating.
It's compatible with all the devices you need. You can use it on your laptop and mobile phone depending on your choice. It's free and has an intuitive interface which is more than enough to make your first dive into the photo-editing world.
✅ Pros
- Some freelance graphic designers say it's the best money-value offer;
- Super user-friendly layout;
- Compatible with PCs, phones (Android and iOs);
- Supports 9 languages.
✖️ Cons
- Not fit for professional photographers/designers;
- Gets confused with 800x800-sized photos (last time I checked);
- Sometimes, it's pretty slow.
Fhotoroom is your pick if you're looking for Snapseed or VSCO alternative. The mobile app works flawlessly, especially on Android devices. The desktop app also boasts of cool features such as Text Layer, Highlight Tint, Shadow Tint, etc.
✅ Pros
- Has a phone app, a desktop app, and an app for Mac OS;
- A dedicated photo-sharing community;
- The free version doesn't give way to the premium one;
- 200+ sorting and ordering methods;
- Perfectly compatible with Windows 10.
✖️ Cons
- No auto-correction;
- The in-app camera crashes on iOS;
- The app might crash while applying the Ansel filter;
- An outdated interface.
The software is perfect for newbies in aerial photography. You just drag the photo you need to edit, wait 5-10 seconds, and receive the 'after' version of your photo. Of course, you can edit your photos by yourself from scratch but even auto-corrections could be a final result.
✅ Pros
- Suitable for editing drone photography;
- Drag-and-drop algorithm;
- Useful features like auto-correction, tonal contrast, sky enhancement, haze removal, etc.)
✖️ Cons
- No mobile app;
- You can't edit videos;
- No preset descriptions.
PicsArt Photo Studio is best suitable for collage making. Although you obviously can edit your photos via PicsArt Photo Studio, that's hands down only ONE out of MANY specializations of the app.
When I first saw the official website of the editor, I thought it was the perfect tool for graphic designers, clipart makers, and abstract art lovers. The coolest things you can get from PicsArt Photo Studio are funny stickers for iMessage (just drag and drop them in your chats), dispersion tool, and Challenges section (here you can find inspiration for your future creations).
✅ Pros
- Awesome filters and effects;
- Simple design;
- Integration with iMessage;
- Completely free;
- A built-in camera;
- The variety of templates.
✖️ Cons
- Pop-up ad windows in the free version;
- Available in mobile version only;
- No sync with the cloud;
- The editor gets buggy from time to time;
- It could be a bit difficult to use.
Like Aurora HDR, KVADPhoto+ 2 is an updated version of the program. Why you should care?
- They fixed some lags;
- There are over 150 stunning filters right now!!!
- And over 200 special effects! Isn't that awesome?
By the way, the guys have released many digital photo frames in case you need to make your design more outstanding. KVADPhoto+ 2 features a wide range of photo manipulation tools like transform tools, adjustment tools, magic tools, and artistic filters.
✅ Pros
- Elementary in usage;
- Many customized features;
- Available on all the devices – from PC to smartphone;
- New Clip Art Stickers;
- You can save Collage and PicFrames as projects which is good for prof graphic designers.
✖️ Cons
- Bugs (compared to the old version, they're not that nasty);
- Some effects are outdated.
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13. PhotoScape (Free + 4-50$ additional services)If you're into simple apps providing basic features, Photoscape is the editing software fit for you. Behind the huge variety of features, most of the users find difficulty in usage. That's certainly not the case with Photoscape.
With the editor, you can do color correction, resizing, cutting, batch editing, screen capturing, tonal contrasting, and RAW editing. That is usually all the average user will look for in the photo editor. Don't worry, your Instagram pictures are sure to be nicely adjusted to your needs with Photoscape!
Besides, for Windows and Mac users, Photoscape offers to use Photoscape X. This one has an updated design and about the same variety of features as its older brother, Check them out!
✅ Pros
- Includes batch editing;
- Allows to make animations;
- A face search feature that allows you to find people looking like you;
- A simple interface.
✖️ Cons
- A bit outdated interface;
- Not quite snappy;
- Doesn't have an erase tool;
- Sometimes, you have system lags;
- Fit only for beginners.
Pixlr is a trust-worthy editing software that will make it worth your while. The great variety of splendid effects, gorgeous filters, and snappily working interface will make anyone savvy in the world of photo manipulation.
Retouching tools don't obliterate the skin texture and get rid of unwanted objects on the photo in a few seconds. The Pixlr's drawing tools let you add anything you want to make your pictures stand out. Hp mfp scan software download.
✅ Pros
- Simple design;
- Has Dark and Light Modes;
- Works within Dropbox;
- Over 500 million users.
✖️ Cons
- No Desktop version;
- Eats the quality of pictures a bit;
- It doesn't work smoothly with a weak Internet connection.
This photo editor is pretty curious due to its primary function. For those of you who didn't know, Lightzone was created as commercial software but, now, it's available for everyone.
Unlike similar photo editing programs, this one doesn't eat the quality of the photos after you saved them. Besides, it easily handles RAW files. Many people consider Lightzone a sibling of Lightroom because of that.
✅ Pros
- So many unique photo-tweaking tools (Gaussian Blur; Fill Flash, Crisp, etc);
- Non-destructive editing;
- The tools you've used get saved in a stack;
- Shows lens names;
- Fancy design.
✖️ Cons
- Support is no longer available;
- No online or email photo sharing;
- Not many formats (the main ones being JPEG and TIFF);
- May seem too basic for pro-photographers.
