Best Free and Low-cost Photo Editing Software, Services and Apps

For ecommerce sellers, effective product photography is one of the main factors that drive conversions. Customers can touch or experience your products physically, so it’s up to you to make them come to life for online shoppers.

That’s why we’ve put together key tools and resources for beautiful DIY product photography and a step-by-step guide to every aspect of the shoot.

While getting the right shot is important, it’s what you do with it afterwards that really takes it home. No matter how well you shoot your photos, there are always ways to improve with photo editing afterwards.

We’ve rounded up a list of the best free photo editing software and apps, plus some paid ones, that you can use to make your shots really shine online.

Paid options usually offer the best photo editing software and tools available, since paid products often respond to feature requests and ship updates more consistently. However, if you’re on a budget or you just need a quick solution for simple editing, a free alternative can definitely work for you.

GIMP

GIMP is arguably the most sophisticated and best free photo editor. You can use this free image editing software to retouch, edit and draw. You’ll have to download the program to your computer before you begin.

Fotor

Fotor is a browser-based option that offers editing and beauty retouching. Its High Dynamic Range feature can be particularly useful: You can take three photos with different exposures to combine them into a single image, with the best light and tone from each of the separate photos. It’s one of the best free photo editors out there, and you can also go pro for added features for a small monthly fee.

Inkscape

Inkscape is a free photo editing software that you download to your computer. The “professional vector graphics editor for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux” allows you to create and manipulate objects, change colors and add text, among other features.

Pixlr

Pixlr is a free photo editing software that has both a mobile app and a web app. Features include a sponge tool, brush tool, red eye correction, gradient and more. You can also pay for the Pro version for upgraded features, or stick with the free image editing software option.

Photoshop Express

Another Adobe product, Photoshop Express is an app for your phone. You can use it to crop, fix red eye, share on social media and more. We’d pretty much recommend all of Adobe’s image editing products — it’s tough to choose which is the single best free photo editor from their suite.

Photo POS Pro

With specific versions for professional and novice photo editors alike, Photo POS Pro is a free photo editing software that you download to your computer. Remove backgrounds and unwanted objects, apply color correction, and create borders and overlays.

InPixio

Download the free picture editing software InPixio to “create beautiful photos — with 1 click!” Built for those new to photo editing, the list of features is short but valuable for simple editing needs.

BeFunky

BeFunky is a browser-based and free picture editing software, with an optional upgraded paid version. The free edition allows users to crop, resize, rotate, and adjust exposure and lighting to your images.

FreeOnlinePhotoEditor.com

A very basic but easy-to-use and browser-based free picture editing software is FreeOnlinePhotoEditor.com. Crop, rotate, adjust colors, add borders and effects, and create text overlays for your pictures.

Canva

Canva is a free photo editing tool that many use to create graphics and brochures. The browser-based photo editor also has an paid version you can upgrade to access more advanced features.

Snappa

With Snappa's drag-and-drop editor, it’s quick and easy to create your own graphics for blog posts, social media profiles and ads. The tool provides access to more than half a million free stock photos, 70,000+ vectors and shapes, and 200+ fonts. It's free to download up to 5 files per month, or $10 a month for unlimited downloads.

 

Best low-cost photo editing software and apps

Photoshop Elements

The Adobe Photoshop suite is the ultimate in photo editing. Photoshop Elements offers every image editing tool you need and then some. This is some of the best photo editing software out there, which also means that it’s not cheap.

Note: Consider also Photoshop CC, the latest edition of Photoshop that only costs $9.99 every month.

Photoshop Lightroom

Elements offers huge functionality in editing photos one-by-one. Lightroom focuses on editing in batches. So it retains many of the features you’d find in Elements, but is especially valuable for organizing and editing a large number of pictures.

ON1 Effects

ON1 Effects boasts itself as a “one-stop solution” due to its robust list of features. Stackable filters, presets and textures allow flexibility to complete all of the edits you need to get the look you want.

Fiverr

Fiverr is a marketplace for small, inexpensive gigs. Many service providers on Fiverr edit photos, some with experience in ecommerce or even specific industries. Too many to sift through? Rank your options by “Recommended,” “High Rating” or “Express Gigs.”

Tucia

If you don’t want to hunt down the right individual to send photos to, consider Tucia, an agency that has edited over 3.7 million photos. There are three tiers of service for different features, starting at $8/image. One guarantee we love: unlimited free revisions.

Portrait Professionals

If your images feature human models, take a look at Portrait Professionals. It’s a downloadable tool that’s optimized for airbrushing portraits to fix blemishes and reshape the face.

7. Pixelz

Starting at $1.45 per image, Pixelz uses proprietary software to strip your images of their backgrounds so that you can substitute something in its place (for example, pure white or the right shade of blue). It promises a 24-hour turnaround. This is best for simpler editing projects, since it’s automated instead of edited by hand.

8. Bright River

Bright River (formerly Mister Clipping) draws clipping paths by hand, not with automated software, to remove the backgrounds of your photos. Prices start at $0.99 per image.

9. KeyShot

KeyShot is an image rendering software that can create 3D visuals and models. Major brands often use it to create their marketing materials. It’s the priciest item on this list of best photo editing software, but you can play around with a fully functional license for free.

10. PicMonkey

PicMonkey is the final tool on the list of best photo editing software; it was originally built on a single feature: the option to make a collage. Now you can use it to create templates for a consistent look and feel across all your visuals.

What’s the best photo editing software, apps and tools in your opinion? Share your recommendations in the comments below!