Best Photo Editing Apps (Android & iOS)

Having Photoshop and Lightroom installed on your laptop is pretty useful as it can help you do more creative stuff on your photo; however, carrying a laptop is a hassle. It’s more convenient to edit the picture you just took with your smartphone, on your smartphone.

We have listed some of the best photo editing apps you can download to give your photos professional-like results, on-the-go. All apps that we will be mentioning are available for both Android and iOS (unless stated otherwise).

Author’s Note: Do note that most of these apps have In-App Purchases, but using the free version will do you just fine.

RNI Films

If you love analog film looks, RNI Films is one of the best apps you can download. It has almost 50 free filters to choose from.  You can also adjust settings on your photos manually like exposure and contrast, change the strength of the screen you applied, and add grain — all the tools you need. Now, if you want to have a little bit more filter options, you can buy film packs for PHP 199USD 3INR 287EUR 3CNY 25, or you can unlock all the filters under ‘Slide’ by just sharing on your Facebook.

Download: iOS

PicsArt

If you want to be more creative with your photos, PicsArt is the one you need. It has a lot of tools like doodle, clone tool, adjust curves, add effects, add layers of photos, and more. Also, PicsArt has a community inside the app wherein you can share your artwork and also do artworks inspired by others. You can have the ad-free version plus additional tools for PHP 159USD 3INR 230EUR 3CNY 20/month, or you can purchase a 1-year subscription for PHP 1,050USD 18INR 1,517EUR 17CNY 130.

Download: Android | iOS

Enlight by Photofox

If you are on iOS, I highly recommend Enlight. The user interface of this app is pretty straight forward as compared to PicsArt. You get layer functionality, automatic edge detection – which is essential when erasing specific parts of your photo, built-in filters, add doodle, blending options, transform, and more. Although if you want to have more layers to work on and tools to use, you can opt for the paid subscription for PHP 419USD 7INR 605EUR 7CNY 52/month or PHP 3,490USD 59INR 5,042EUR 57CNY 433 one-time purchase. It is expensive, but this app is worth its price. But from my experience, the free version works fine.

Download: iOS

Phonto

If you need to create pub-mats, posters, or any text-centric materials, Phonto is one of the best apps you can download. It allows you to install fonts from the web for more customization, and you can also manipulate the text, like adding shadows, outlines, and more. In addition to these tools, you can also add multiple images, shapes, and such.

Download: Android | iOS

Lightroom

One of the best editing apps when it comes to color manipulation is Lightroom. Just like its desktop version, you can add and create your own presets. You can adjust exposure, contrast, brightness, to more advanced tools such as curves, texture, tones, and more. If you have an Adobe account, you can access photos and preset that you imported to Lightroom using another device. If you find having 100GB cloud storage and extra tools like skew, selective, and healing tools useful, then you can pay PHP 249USD 4INR 360EUR 4CNY 31/month. If you just want to try those features out, you can hop on the 1-week free trial.

Download: Android | iOS

VSCO

VSCO is one of the popular editing apps on this list. It has hundreds of filters to choose from and also has all the necessary controls you need like exposure and such. But the cool thing about this app is that since there are plenty of filters to choose from, VSCO will suggest a filter that it thinks will suit your photo. You can copy and paste your edits from another picture, which is very helpful, especially when you have a theme on your Instagram feed. If you want to have 200+ more filters, add filters to videos, and weekly tutorials, you can pay PHP 87.50USD 1INR 126EUR 1CNY 11/ month.

Download: Android | iOS

Snapseed

Google develops Snapseed. It has over 29 tools and filters, which include Healing, Brush, Structure, HDR, Perspective, and more, plus you can edit RAW photos, which I find useful, especially when you have a camera that can directly send photos to your phone. It doesn’t have any in-app purchases, which is excellent considering the massive selection of tools and filters it offers.

Download: Android | iOS

I use some of these apps, and I hope these can help you create stunning photos too. If you use a photo editing app that is not on this list, lets us know in the comments section below.