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Best photo editing software: Quick Menu

Picking the best photo editing software can be a headache. There are lots of options out there, so which one is right for you?

A lot depends on the gear youre using, your technical knowledge of photography, and your existing experience using image editing software. If youre just shooting a few snaps on your camera phone for social media, you probably dont need a powerful and complicated application like Photoshop or Lightroom. Thats where more streamlined programs like Photoshop Elements or PaintShop Pro are so effective.

But if youre an avid photographer using one of the best mirrorless cameras around, youll definitely want something more in depth, that will allow you to edit and fine tune your images to make them the best they can be. All in one programs like ON1 Photo RAW are perfect for this, offering creative inspiration and professional-quality results.

Budding influencers, meanwhile, or content creator, may be more interested in impact, immediacy and shareability. Programs like Skylum Luminar Neo take AI effects and reality enhancement to a new level for your social channels, while Adobe Lightroom uses cloud storage so you can edit photos on any device.

Pros will obviously need in-depth editing control, advanced image organization and search tools, and professional workflows designed for editing at pace and meeting client demands. This is where Lightroom Classic, Photoshop and Capture One come up trumps.

To help you compare them all, weve compiled and tested a list of the best photo editing software applications around. Weve also included a list of the best free photo editing software below, which are perfect for those on a tight budget or who only edit images occasionally.

Read on to find out which software is best for you.

Best overall

1. Adobe Photoshop Elements 2024

Best overall Adobe Photoshop Elements is our best overall pick for most people, thanks to its underlying power, ease of use, strong tool set and cross-platform compatibility. For serious editing work, though, you'll have to look elsewhere.

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Best for AI effects

Best for AI effects Luminar Neo is a constantly evolving editing platform that uses AI technologies throughout to produce spectacular reality enhancements perfect for social media. Its recently introduced its own generative AI tools.

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Best all in one editor

3. Best all in one editor

Best all in one editor ON1 Photo RAW combines image browsing and cataloging, raw processing, extensive preset image effects and filters, and even image composites via layers and masks. It also uses AI extensively for masking and enhancement.

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Best for pros

Best for pros Photoshop is the ultimate image editing software if you're a professional user. It offers everything you'll need in a reasonably affordable package. It's primarily aimed at pros though, and doesnt offer quick fix effects or image cataloging tools.

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Best for photographers

5. Adobe Lightroom Classic

Best for photographers Lightroom Classic combines professional-level organizing tools with editing features powerful enough that you may not need a dedicated photo editor like Photoshop. Lightroom (CC) is a stripped-down version that uses cloud storage.

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Best Photoshop alternative

6. Best Photoshop alternative

Best Photoshop alternative Affinity Photo is one of the cheapest programs here, but is actually a powerful dedicated photo editing tool on the same professional level as Photoshop. It is also subscription free, coming with a one-off perpetual license.

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Best photo editing software all round

Effective Organizer app manages your photo library

New AI tools bring the latest editing tricks

Guided edits help you learn

Lacks tools for more serious photography

Novice-friendly approach can grate

Photoshop Elements is aimed squarely at beginners and intermediate users, so it wont suit experts and professionals, but it does have more advanced tools in its Expert mode, and can suit the widest range of photographic needs and user levels.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2024 is the latest version. Adobe updates Elements every year, and this time around its added more of Adobes Sensei AI technology, so that you can now select skies and backgrounds with a single click. You can also create movie Photo Reels from still photos, add animated movement effects to still images, apply one-click fixes for dehazing, background removal, colorizing and more.

Theres so much to explore, however, including no fewer than 62 guided edits in the latest version, that it could all get a little overwhelming, and while Elements is terrific for all sorts of projects, including social media graphics, photo gifts and more, its not really geared towards serious photographers. It does have an Expert mode and it can open and edit raw files, but without the more advanced options in other programs.

But Photoshop Elements is subscription free, and if you shoot videos too, you might want to take a look at the Photoshop Elements + Premiere Elements bundle. Premiere Elements does for video editing and sharing what Elements does for photos.

The best photo editing software for reality-bending effects

Platform: Windows, MacOS, mobile

Excellent sky replacement

Time-saving AI effects

Constant evolution of features

Relies on paid extensions for some tools other editors include as standard

Ever-changing bundles, pricing and offers

Skylum Luminar Neo is the latest version of the Luminar photo editor and has evolved into a modular software platform built around Luminar Neo itself and a growing set of Extensions for additional effects. It is still possible to buy a lifetime license, but the pricing is clearly driving subscriptions.

Billed as the photo editor for photographers who want results not technicalities, Luminar uses a set of Essential, Creative, Portrait and Professional filters (and Extensions, where installed) that can be used individually or together to create anything from simple photo enhancements to spectacular reality bending. The results are often excellent, particularly the AI Sky Replacement, which was the first such tool and is still the best.

Luminars GenErase tool is the first of its new Generative AI options, where its now catching up with Photoshop, and while its not especially quick at removing objects from scenes, the results are often quite remarkable.

Luminar Neo is ideal for photographers and content creators who want to make regular photos spectacular with minimal know-how and effort. Its probably less useful to more technically minded photographers, and Skylums constantly changing deals and offers can be confusing.

The best photo editing software for features and scope

Platform: Mac OS, Windows, iOS, Android

Extensive library of presets and effects filters

Support for layers

Can be used as a standalone app or plug-ins

Optional cloud storage and mobile app

HDR effects are somewhat poor

It does so much theres a lot to take in

Its difficult to describe ON1 Photo RAW without resorting to superlatives. Where other programs in this list specialize in particular areas, such as image cataloging, preset effects and in-depth layers-based editing, ON1 Photo RAW does all of this in a single-window workflow. You can use it as a standalone program or use its component tools as plug-ins for Lightroom, for example, and you can get it for a one-off fee or with a cloud-enable subscription theres even a mobile app with editing tools and its own camera.

Because it does so much, its a little thinner in some areas than specialized software. Its layers, for example, dont offer the same depth as Photoshop or Affinity Photo, and its HDR merge results are not as good as those in rival programs. And while its cataloging tools are very effective (you can simply browse photos if you dont want to import them into the catalog), theyre not in the same league as Lightroom Classics, or Capture Ones.

But ON1 Photo RAWs effects presets are varied and inspiring, its effects filters offer endless permutations and its AI masking is both fast and, more often than not, highly effective. ON1 Photo RAW 2024 brings a new Brilliance AI feature that automatically analyzes and enhances images based on their content.

This new feature and ON1 Photo RAWs preset effects do offer an easy entry point for novices, but theres a lot here to take in, and ON1 Photo RAW is probably best suited to more advanced photo editors who already know the basics.

The best photo editing software for beginners using Windows

Simplified, Photography and Complete modes

Value for money

Windows only

Old-fashioned approach

In many ways, Corel PaintShop Pro is superior to Photoshop Elements, as it's a powerful program, yet is easy for novices to grasp, and has some additional tools, such as 360-degree photo editing. It's also touch-screen compatible.

It does do all the jobs that photographers need up to an enthusiast/intermediate level, while catering for outright beginners too. PaintShop Pro does include AfterShot Lab for processing raw images, and more extensive and powerful tools than Photoshop Elements, but its organizing tools are not especially advanced and its workflow feels old-fashioned. And while the Ultimate bundle offers excellent value with a further 7 different add-ons, including PhotoMirage, Corel Painter Essentials and Highlight Reel amongst others, these are separate tools and utilities rather than an extension to PaintShop Pros own features.

PaintShop Pro does have appeal for beginners, long-time PaintShop Pro users or anyone who likes to get as much as possible for the least outlay, but this Windows only software does feel rather like a surviving relic thats doing just enough to stay current. It carries out traditional photo editing tasks perfectly well, but if youre looking for AI inspiration, in-depth layers and masking or professional-level image cataloging and raw processing, you need to check out the other options on our list.

The best photo editing software for photographers

Powerful photo organization

Seamless non-destructive raw editing

Powerful AI masking tools

Subscription only

Still needs external editors or plug ins for some effects

Adobe Lightroom Classic, as its now called, is the original Lightroom, and is for photographers who like to store, organize and edit photos on their own computers rather than using Adobes cloud storage. Its powerful image organizing tools Lightroom Classic the perfect complement to Adobe Photoshop and, indeed, both are included with Adobes good-value Photography Plan.

To work with photos in Lightroom Classic you first have to import them into a catalog, though they can stay in their current location you dont need to copy or move them. Once imported, you can apply practically every kind of photographic enhancement and adjustment though you will still need a regular photo editor like Photoshop to combine images in layers or create more advanced effects.

Lightrooms editing tools are terrific and its new AI subject masking tools make local adjustments and enhancements a breeze. Its non-destructive approach means you can go back at any time to change the settings, and you can even create multiple Virtual Copies of the same photo but with different adjustments.

Adobe Lightroom Classic now has the same status amongst expert and professional photographers as Photoshop itself, and is probably the default photo organizing and editing software for serious users.

The best photo editing software for mobile photography

Platform: Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android

Cloud-based storage access all your photos on any device

Slick and streamlined interface

Lots of help for all user levels

Needs 1Tb of Creative Cloud storage at around $10/month

No support for external editors except Photoshop

You have to be very careful when talking about Adobe Lightroom because there are actually two versions. Lightroom Classic is the regular version for photos stored on your computer, while Lightroom (previously called Lightroom CC) is the web-first version, where all your photos are stored on Adobes servers. The advantage of this is that you can view, organize and edit your photos anywhere, on any device.

Lightroom has the same editing tools as Lightroom Classic, but in a stripped-back interface thats a lot cleaner and more modern. Its image organizing tools are not as powerful, though, so you can create albums but not smart albums.

Perhaps its two biggest drawbacks are that you really need an Adobe subscription plan that includes 1TB cloud storage, and that you can only use Photoshop as an external editor.

That said, the fact that you can use it on desktop computers, mobile devices and even using a web browser makes Lightroom the perfect tool for photographers on the move. The mobile app even includes a camera with powerful manual shooting controls. Lightrooms Discover panel brings expertise and inspiration from a huge Lightroom community, and there are plenty of beginner resources to get you started.

The best photo editing software for professionals

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