Introduction
"The best camera is the one you have with you" is an old adage in photography, and there's a lot of truth to it. Even as someone who has at least five cameras at home, I capture more photos with my smartphone than with any other device. And smartphone cameras have advanced so much that it doesn't even feel like a tradeoff anymore.
However, capturing photos is just the first step in creating a great image. To truly make your photos shine, editing is essential. Fortunately, in recent years, mobile photo editing apps have become as powerful and effective as their desktop counterparts. Here are the six best photo editing apps for iPhone and Android in 2024, based on extensive testing and real-world use.
The Best Photo Editing Apps for iPhone and Android
- Adobe Photoshop Lightroom - Best for Professional Mobile Photo Editing
- Snapseed - Best Free, Powerful Photo Editing App for iPhone and Android
- VSCO - Best for Filter-Based Photo Editing
- Apple Photos - Best Free Photo Editing App for iPhone
- Google Photos - Best Free Photo Editing App for Android
- Lensa - Best AI-Powered Photo Editing App
What Makes a Great Photo Editing App?
While making basic edits to a photo can have a transformative effect, it isn't a hard or complicated problem for developers to solve. That's why there are so many photo editing apps out there that all work relatively well. Even the scammiest, most ad-filled app can be used to make a photo look a little brighter and sharper, though the user experience will be terrible, and you'll probably be left with a big watermark over your photo.
While truly awful apps are easy to avoid, the bigger problem is the sheer number of mediocre photo editing apps that rely more on aggressive marketing and high monthly subscriptions than on being the best tool for the job. If you use one of these apps, you may be happy with the improved look of your photos, but you'll be overpaying for tools you can get for free from apps that are nicer to use.
Criteria for Selection
To make it onto this list, each mobile editing app had to:
- Have Powerful Editing Features: The app should allow adjustments to exposure, contrast, color, and crop at the very least. Ideally, it should offer advanced tools like curves, HSL, and local adjustments, though these might not always be included in the free version.
- Be Easy to Use: A good photo editing app should have an intuitive workflow, even if it offers powerful features. While advanced apps might have a learning curve, they should still be suitable for photographers of any level.
- Provide Repeatable Results: Users should be able to make similar adjustments to multiple images. This can be achieved through saving edits as presets, copying and pasting settings, or reapplying previous edits.
- Be Appropriately Priced with No Ads and Minimal Nagging to Upgrade: High-quality photo editing shouldn't require an expensive subscription or suffer from intrusive ads. Many of the best tools are free, and where there is a subscription, it should offer significant value.
Best Professional Mobile Photo Editing App: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom (iOS, Android)
Pros:
- Excellent free plan
- Super powerful editing features
- Best-in-class all-around
Cons:
- Confusing pricing structure
- Steep learning curve
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is the gold-standard photo editing app on every platform, including iOS and Android. While aimed at professional and hobbyist photographers, it's entirely suitable for editing any kind of image shot on your smartphone.
Lightroom packs a lot into a surprisingly usable app. It's one of the best photo catalog apps, allowing you to sort and organize your images, and even back them up to Adobe's cloud storage. But it's the image editing features that truly stand out.
All the basic tools you need to edit your images are included for free, such as curves and the ability to save your own presets. You can tweak exposure, color, contrast, crop, and everything else. The auto adjust feature is powerful and accurate, often serving as a great baseline for further edits.
Lightroom Premium adds features like local adjustments and masking, a powerful healing tool, and more presets. It's available as part of various Creative Cloud plans that also include Adobe Photoshop, the desktop versions of Lightroom, and different amounts of cloud storage. The cheapest option is to upgrade through your smartphone for $4.99/month, which includes Lightroom Premium on your smartphone and 100GB of cloud storage. For $9.99/month, the Lightroom 1TB plan adds Lightroom on the web and desktop, along with 1TB of cloud storage.
The biggest downside is that Lightroom assumes a certain familiarity with photography. If terms like "exposure" are gibberish to you, there will be a learning curve. The tutorials are solid, and the app is user-friendly, but be prepared to spend some time learning.
Best Free Image Editing App for iPhone and Android: Snapseed (iOS, Android)
Pros:
- Completely free for all features
- Great local adjustments system
- Really easy to use
Cons:
- Intermittent updates from Google
Snapseed was one of the first truly great mobile photo editing apps. It was so good that Google bought it to acquire the dev team and technology behind it. Despite not being a priority for Google, Snapseed remains a super powerful and completely free mobile image editing app.
Snapseed packs in all the basic tools, as well as some decent filters and a great selective adjustment system called U Points. These allow you to adjust the brightness and color levels of different areas of your image with a few quick taps. Such local adjustments are typically locked behind paid plans, making Snapseed a compelling choice, especially given its user-friendly interface.
However, Snapseed falls short in repeatability. You can reapply your last set of edits to a new photo, but you can't create presets or batch process images. If maintaining a specific look across your social media accounts is important, this may not be the best app for you. But if you want a free, powerful, easy-to-use mobile image editor, Snapseed is a fantastic choice.
Best Filter-Based Photo Editing App for iPhone and Android: VSCO (iOS, Android)
Pros:
- The best filters you'll find in any app
- Nice, intuitive editor
- Incredibly well thought out
Cons:
- Limited free plan and relatively pricey subscription
- Social features may not appeal to everyone
While the popularity of heavily filtered images has waned somewhat since the mid-2010s, filters remain a powerful way to give your images a cohesive look. The best of the filter apps is VSCO.
VSCO started by creating Lightroom presets that emulated film stock and eventually developed a powerful, filter-forward photo editor. Unlike many filter-based apps, VSCO's presets are well-considered and thoughtfully grouped into packs of related presets. For example, the eight color grade presets are named CG1 through CG8, while KP1 through KP9 emulate Kodak Portra, a popular film stock.
Not every preset will work for every image, but it's easy to find and save a few favorites or work from the suggestions VSCO offers. Besides filters, VSCO has all the regular image editing tools you'd expect, along with pro touches like dodging and burning and split toning. Additional effects like grain patterns, scratches, and film borders can also be added. Plus, you can save recipes based on combinations of filters and edits.
VSCO includes some social features, but they can be safely ignored if they don't interest you. The only downsides are the overwhelming number of filters, which take time to navigate, and the limited free plan. The $29.99/year subscription is a strong choice for those who love the film/filter aesthetic, though the $7.99/month option is harder to recommend.
Best Free Photo Editing App for iPhone: Apple Photos (iOS)
Pros:
- Easy to use
- All essential image editing tools included
- Integrated with the rest of the Photos app
Cons:
- Too basic for some users
Apple Photos doesn't have the most powerful photo editor out there, but it's free and integrated right into your camera roll. For quick edits to a photo you just took, the "Edit" button is just one tap away.
The auto adjust feature works well, and all the basic—and some advanced—editing tools are included. You can tweak exposure, brilliance, highlights, shadows, contrast, brightness, black point, saturation, vibrancy, warmth, tint, sharpness, definition, noise reduction, and vignette through an intuitive slider system. The included filters are solid, and you can even copy and paste edits between images.
While not the most exciting choice, Apple Photos is reliable for quick edits. Unless you need a more powerful app or specific features, there isn't much reason to look elsewhere, especially if it means dealing with ads and a poor interface in a free app.
Best Free Photo Editing App for Android: Google Photos (Android)
Pros:
- Free with some powerful AI-driven tools
- Great auto-adjust feature
- Integrated with the rest of the Google Photos app
Cons:
- Locked features behind a paywall
- Disappointing filters
Google Photos is the closest Android alternative to Apple Photos. While originally a photo catalog and backup app, it has become a powerful image editor in its own right.
All the basic tools are there: exposure, contrast, white point, highlights, shadows, blacks, saturation, warmth, tint, skin tone, pop, and vignette. The auto adjust feature is robust, and Google has added powerful AI-driven editing tools. For example, when you select an image, the app suggests the best tools for improvement. "Enhance" might brighten a photo, adjust the contrast, and crop out distractions in the background.
The biggest issue with Google Photos is that many features are only available with a Google One subscription. This plan offers additional cloud storage and a few other benefits. Also, the filters are disappointing compared to those in other apps.
Best AI-Powered Photo Editing App for iPhone and Android: Lensa (iOS, Android)
Pros:
- Fun, powerful AI effects
- Great at cleaning up selfies
- Easy to use
Cons:
- Not a traditional photo editor
- Costly for a niche app
Most of the apps listed here are traditional photo editors with adjustments for exposure, color, contrast, etc. However, AI-powered tools are increasingly used for specific editing tasks, particularly for selfie improvements.
Lensa, by the developers of Prisma, is the best example. Instead of general photo editing, Lensa focuses on selfie enhancements. You can tweak the shape of your face, eyes, and nose, and even change the background of your selfies to something more appealing. The "Magic Correction" feature is particularly impressive, transforming selfies into polished, natural-looking images.
While Lensa isn't a general photo editor and is somewhat expensive for a niche app, it excels at what it does. It's worth trying out the free trial to see if it fits your needs.
Final Thoughts on Mobile Photo Editing Apps
Photo editing is highly personal. Some people prefer highly filtered images with extreme saturation, while others enjoy subtle enhancements that mimic natural film. No app is perfect for every user, but each app listed here has its strengths. Whether you want a professional editing tool like Adobe Lightroom or a free and easy-to-use app like Snapseed, there's an option for you.
With these tools, you can turn your smartphone photos into stunning images, ready for sharing on social media or printing for your home. So pick your favorite app and start editing!