7 Best Photo Editing Apps To Unleash Your Image’s Potential
- August 26, 2020
- Digital

With the proliferation of social media, the sharing of a big portion of one’s life is very commonplace. On top of the accessibility of photo taking and image sharing, the technology has dramatically improved such that one can easily alter their images to suit their preferences. With just a touch on your phone, your image can look drastically different than the one you just took!
On top of the ready-made photo editing settings available on the various social media platforms, there are also independent apps that have popped up on the market to help you beautify and accentuate your images into something stunning. Create images that stand out with these 7 best photo editing apps!
Note: This list is strictly not in order.
1. PicsArt Photo Studio

With over 1 billion downloads to date, PicsArt Photo Studio is no stranger when it comes to photo editing. On top of filters and fundamental editing tools, the app also offers additional features such as aesthetic fonts and beautifying tools that allow you to change your hair colour, put on makeup stickers and more. If you wish to turn your images into drawings, PicsArt Draw offers you customisable brushes and pro drawing tools to create illustrations and effects!
It doesn’t just stop at still images! In addition to photo editing, you can also edit your videos – or better yet, make them from scratch! With their revolutionary AI Music generator, scouring for royalty-free music will be a thing of the past. With their video editing feature, creating exciting stories to life will be an absolute breeze. Let your creativity flow with PicsArt Photo Studio!
Price: | Free; Offers In-App Purchases |
Available On: | App Store & Google Play |
2. Adobe Lightroom

Adobe Lightroom needs no introduction. As one of the most sought after photo editing software in the market, it allows you to retouch and edit full-resolution photos wherever you are, with just a simple tap and drag of the sliders. On top of their easy-to-use image editing tools, you can also have access to your presets anywhere, and the same edits will automatically be applied across all devices.
Unleash your photography potential with their Pro Camera. Go past the limiting phone camera settings, and revel in camera controls that can grant you more freedom when photo taking. You can now capture an image any way you desire just by dictating its exposure, instant presets and raw. Once you’re done, you can share your photos online in your Lightroom gallery where photo edits and changes sync seamlessly and are always up-to-date. With Adobe Lightroom, photo editing is made simple.
Price: | Free; Offers In-App Purchases |
Available On: | App Store & Google Play |
3. Snapseed

Developed by Google, Snapseed is a complete and professional photo editor that allows you to edit your images without having any prior experience! This intuitive app allows for easy navigation, and learning the function of each tool from its expansive repertoire can be done with just a few uses. Its advanced features aren’t cluttered nor overly complicated, but even so, its performance and accuracy aren’t compromised. Furthermore, its helpful interface allows you to see the changes made in real time. For instance, regularly-introduced enhancements such as the White Balance tool enables you to see the eyedropper effect in real time as you drag it around the image.
If you’re not a big fan of Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop, Snapseed is the photo editing app for you. With Snapseed, everyday edits on your RAW and JPEG files couldn’t be any faster or more user friendly!
Price: | Free |
Available On: | App Store & Google Play |
4. VSCO Photo & Video Editor

If you’re looking for an app that offers both professional image editing tools and art aesthetic, social experience that counters Instagram, you’ve found the right one. As with many other photo editing apps, it comes with the fundamental editing tools and 10 free presets that can easily transform your images.
However, unlike the other photo editing apps that merely stop at providing you with the necessary tools you need to create a stunning visual, VSCO gives you just that but with a little bit more. With a community of more than 30 million creators, you are able to share your images and exchanging photography tips and tricks with others. What makes this app stand out is the absence of numbers – number of likes, followers or even comments. It’s purely a community that allows you to express yourself, without any sort of competition or the like.
Price: | Free; Offers In-App Purchases |
Available On: | App Store & Google Play |
5. Adobe Photoshop Express Photo Editor

Adobe-holics, rejoice! You no longer have to head over to your computer to edit a few photos, you can simply do it on your phone! Photoshop Express delivers a full spectrum of free photo effects and editing features at your very fingertips. On top of the rudimentary photo editing tools, Photoshop Express dives a little bit deeper by offering you specific tools such as blur application, colour noise reduction and even spot healing!
A plus point for those who wish to share their images online, you can also easily add watermarks on your pictures to deter image theft. Furthermore, you’re also able to save your images as PNG file format, allowing for the stacking and layering of multiple images on top of each other without compromising its quality. So tap into your creativity on the go and enhance share-worthy moments with Photoshop Express!
Price: | Free; Offers In-App Purchases |
Available On: | App Store & Google Play |
6. Polarr Photo Editor

Plenty of photo editing comes with their own filters and presets, but Polarr Photo Editor goes the extra mile by giving you the tools to make your very own! You can explore and experiment to find your desired visual aesthetic, instead of relying on premade ones. On top of its user-friendly interface, the app is also designed with instinctive touch controls and several built-in filters used as jumping-off points. This means you’re able to tweak your photos to achieve that perfect balance of light and colour with just a few taps.
You don’t necessarily need to be a professional photographer to use the app, but for those shutterbug pros, you’d be pleased to know that Polarr Photo Editor is able to meet your expectations. You can make finer adjustments to other aspects such as lens distortion and saturation, amongst many other things.
Price: | Free; Offers In-App Purchases |
Available On: | App Store & Google Play |
7. Darkroom: Photo & Video Editor

With Darkroom: Photo & Video Editor, photo editing has never been easier. As a premium photo and video editor, it sets the standard for high-end mobile editing apps. Its excellent UI interface allows for easy navigation even for beginner and casual photographers, but is also powerful enough for professional photographers.
On top of their extensive free toolkit that can edit your Live Photos, Portraits and RAW images, you also have excess to other fundamental editing tools such as the Curves, Selective Colour and Portrait Blur Editing tool. Not to mention, you’re also able to edit any of the built-in or premium filters to suit your preferences, or simply make your own! Similar to the Adobe Lightroom, you’re also able to apply edits and filters in batches! However, one particular downside this app has is it’s only available on the Apple App Store.
Price: | Free; Offers In-App Purchases |
Available On: | App Store |
Conclusion
With so many photo editing apps out there, the possibilities are endless! Since most of the features are largely the same, you’ll just need to find one that suits your needs. If you need one to simply edit photos for your own enjoyment, an app that has the sheer fundamentals will suffice. If you wish to edit photos professionally on the go, then an app that has more complex features is worth looking into. Figure out what you want to achieve and fiddle with the apps’ features and UI design to find one that you like best!