Best Camera Editing Software For Mac

Jul 14, 2020  Advanced abilities continue to make their way into accessible, affordable, and consumer-friendly video editing software as each new generation of software is released. For example, multicam editing, which lets you switch among camera angles of the same scene shot with multiple video cameras, used to be a feature relegated to pro-level software. Mar 12, 2020  Download Windows Camera. Choose the Best Webcam Software. Well, these are our picks for the top 10 best webcam software you can download right now. The software we included in our list have been selected after an in-depth assessment of their UI, their versatility and ease of usage, not to mention the different requirements of a diverse audience. Jun 28, 2020  Shotcut is highly versatile free video editing software available on Mac and PC. Once you get past the somewhat steep learning curve, you’ll find you can do quite a lot with Shotcut. And, since it’s a free software, you have the option of seeing whether or not you like it without having to pay a cent. Mar 06, 2020  Best Photo Editing Software for Mac: Top 10 Picks. Skylum Luminar 4. Luminar is the Entry Level Best Photo Editing Software for Mac. Luminar 4 is one of the best mac photo editing programs that. Adobe Photoshop Elements. ACDSee Photo. May 13, 2020 The Best Drone Video Editing Software Makes Any Video Look Professional So there you have it, our recommendations for the best drone video editing software of 2020. If you’d like to try anything on this list for yourself, head on over to the manufacturer’s site, where you should be able to snag a free trial.

What is the best video editing software for Mac?
The best video editing software for Mac is Final Cut Pro. It is an Apple product designed to harness the power of Mac computers for speedy and flawless editing. It comes equipped with state-of-the-art video/audio editing tools, including special effects, filters, motion graphics, and an array of enhancements for creating professional videos.

What should you look for in video editing software for Mac? That is a question you may ask when looking for an application to edit your videos. But the better question is–where do you plan to use your videos? The answer can help you choose, as some solutions are simpler than others, allowing for the quick creation of professional-quality presentation or tutorial videos. Other platforms are the more advanced types, with an array of high-tech tools suitable for use by commercial video/film producers and editors.

You’ll be surprised at the diverse range of video editing software for Mac in the market today. If you research all of them, you’ll need to take a few days of leave from work. Don’t worry; we have done the heavy lifting for you and came up with a lineup of the 12 best video editing software for Mac. These best video editing tools are either intuitive to casual users or powerful for pros, while some are scalable so that they can be used by both types of users. We also highlight the key features of each software to make it easier to compare them.

What are the best 12 video editing software solutions for Mac?

Employees prefer Mac for work because it increases productivity, a survey found. Also, workers believe that Mac computers boosted their creativity and collaboration. What’s more, they say that Mac enables them to be self-sufficient.

Workers choose Mac for better productivity

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Source: Apple Insider

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Since workers across a broad stream of departments prefer to use Mac, it is a natural course for software vendors like video editing software companies and developers to take their product right at Mac’s doorstep. As one of the 100 million Mac and MacBook users worldwide, you’re on the right track upping the ante of your video quality (our apologies, PC users), not just with the right machine, but with any of the software on our list. If your requirement is not Mac-specific, you can read our 20 best video editing tools for more options.

12 Best Video Editing Software for Mac

1. Final Cut Pro

First on our list of 12 best video editing software for Mac is Final Cut Pro. It is Apple’s premier professional video editing software for macOS users. The application is built to tap into the robust processing core, graphics card, and VRAM that power the latest Mac machines. With the software harnessing multi-core and multi-thread hardware capabilities of Macs, together with a huge set of cutting-edge editing tools, the result is smooth and accelerated post-production work from start to finish.

Final Cut Pro gives you the ability to import, share, and edit videos from a variety of cameras and devices with support for multiple formats. It has numerous tools for editing and timeline, trimming, effects, audio enhancement, color correction, closed captions, multimedia management, and project workflow. It can handle VR headset playback and 360-degree video editing, as well as HDR and ProResRAW sources. The software allows you to integrate dozens of third-party tools, devices, content, and plug-ins to give you an extendable platform.

The software is a standalone, on-premise solution priced at $299 (one-time payment). While it is locally deployed, the software allows you to upload, organize, and download files from online storage and stock media sites for project collaboration and sharing. It is designed for iMac and MacBook computers with macOS 10.13.6 or later versions of the operating system.

  • Advanced tools for video/audio editing, motion graphics, and delivery
  • Built on 64-bit architecture for handling complex projects and effects
  • Extendable workflow via integration with dozens of external tools

2. Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe Premiere Pro is a video editing software for professionals and enthusiasts. Its claim of being “a cut above the rest” has an element of truth about it. That’s because it has become a popular tool for filmmakers, videographers, TV editors, and YouTube content creators. It has evolved into an industry-standard not only in video editing but also in workflow automation and media asset management. It supports all kinds of cameras, all types of formats, and any platform, including Mac and PC. This would make an excellent platform to use in conjunction with content marketing software, which could assist you in reaching out to your audience.

From its extensive R&D and the suggestions of its horde of users, Adobe Premiere Pro is a continually improving product with new features rolled out for every new release. It offers a new Freeform view for organizing and viewing storyboard and media files; rulers and guides for the precise layout of clips, text, and graphics; auto-Ducking for adding ambient sounds into your audio mix; faster mask tracking; and a dozen other enhancements on audio and video.

Of course, all the other features Adobe Premiere is known for are still there, including precise color grading, motion graphics, and animation, instant audio improvement, and integration with hundreds of partner technologies. The software also works seamlessly with its sibling Adobe products like After Effects, Audition, Photoshop, InDesign, and others. The software is part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud, which means it is accessible online from any connected device. It has several packages for business, students, and schools. For individuals, the plan is pegged at $29.99/month or $239.88/year.

  • Established industry leader
  • Multi-platform, multi-format, compatibility
  • Regular roll out or updates and new features

3. iMovie

iMovie is another Apple product designed for macOS and iOS platforms. It is an entry-level video clip editing tool to help you produce visual stories from photos and videos. It gives you access to themes, templates, and tools for adding music, titles, and effects. It makes it easy for you to capture and cut photos directly from your iPhone, transfer them automatically to your iCloud Drive, then download them to your Mac or iPad, where you can add music, transitions, and fades, special effects, and other final touches.

iMovie, however, is not a barebones application. It can handle 4K videos and is loaded with dozens of design styles for creating animated titles and credits. You can also apply cinematic filters and effects on the entire video or the selected clip. In addition, it lets you control video speed (speed up or slow down), include green screen effects for changing backgrounds, put in picture-in-picture or split screens, and add or edit audio elements. iMovie is free and can be downloaded from the App Store.

  • Zero-cost solution video editing tool for Mac and iOS devices
  • Easy to navigate and simple to use with intuitive features
  • Allows for quick creation of short videos and sharing them online

4. WeVideo

WeVideo is a cloud-hosted video editing and sharing software that can support multiple formats and multiple platforms, including Mac, PC, Chromebook, Android, and iOS devices. The software makes it a breeze for you to capture, create, view, and share your videos even at up to 4K resolution. Its advanced editing features and simple interface allow you to produce professional-level videos without the needed expertise and without having to pay for expensive tools.

With WeVideo, you can edit anywhere on any device with full control over tools for video editing and processing, motion titles, green-screen effects, screencasting, picture-in-picture, voiceovers, collaboration, and sharing, and media management. It utilizes Jumpstart technology that lets you start editing without waiting for your video to upload, allowing you to create movies in minutes. It has a storyboard, timeline, pre-built templates, and advanced text editing features to further speed up your video creation.

WeVideo has a free plan, and four paid plans that start at $3.74/month. Its higher-priced plans give you access to a library containing thousands of video, music, and image files that you can use for your video projects. But if you prefer an all-around solution, you can look at digital asset management software instead.

  • Provides file and media management, collaboration, and sharing tools
  • Supports more than 600 video, audio, and video formats
  • Maintenance-free cloud platform

5. Filmora

Filmora is designed to simplify the video editing process through an online solution that can be accessed through any connected device. It can be used by all kinds of video creators, whether for creating personal movies or for coming up with business presentations, product demos, or marketing videos. It allows you to incorporate overlays, filters, custom titles, and transitions as well as adjust audio, remove background noise, and set keyframes. Aside from basic editing tools, you also have compositing tools for imaginative videos using green-screen effects and layering clips.

Filmora supports 4K video editing, multiple footage, and multi-format sources. It is capable of importing multiple videos and using up to a hundred layers of multimedia materials for creating complex stories, without having to pour in hours of work. Once you’re done with your video project, you can quickly transfer it to DVD or sharing directly to Facebook or Vimeo right from the Filmora platform. The software offers various pricing plans for schools, individuals, and businesses and has dedicated plans for Mac and Windows users. Its Filmora plans for Mac are priced at $49.99/year for a one-year subscription for one Mac; $59.99 for a lifetime license; and $179.97 for a lifetime license of up to five Macs.

  • Simplified professional-level video editing
  • Dozens of creative filters and special effects
  • Dedicated packages for Mac users

6. DaVinci Resolve

DaVinci Resolve is a professional, on-premise editing solution that brings together tools for 8K editing, visual effects, color correction, and audio editing in one package. It is built to streamline post-production workflows and enable multi-user collaboration. It allows for one-click shuttling between tools for editing, effects, color, and audio. These capabilities enable members of a post-production team – producer, director, video and sound editors, graphic artists, and others – to easily work together on completing the project, whether it is a TV show, music video, or full-length feature film.

DaVinci Resolve is a complete color grading program for film and video editing. It offers color correction and finishing tools that editors and colorists can use to create cinematic results regardless of whether the project is intended for theater, TV, or online viewing.

DaVinci Resolve is available in just two plans. First is a free one with all the tools for editing, motion graphics, visual effects, color correction, and audio enhancement. The second is a paid plan at $299 that adds several 3D tools, plugins, special effects, and collaboration capabilities.

  • Affordable high-end video/audio post-production platform with advanced features
  • Over 250 tools for compositing, keying, compositing, rotoscoping, text animation, etc.
  • Optimizes CPU and GPU for smooth and responsive playback

7. HitFilm Express

HitFilm Express is a free online video editing and visual effects software that gives you all the tools you need to prepare you for professional filmmaking. You can create Hollywood-style movies right from your home studio without the need to hire professional video editors. The software supports both Mac and Windows and is ideal for indie filmmakers out to make theater-ready movies. It gives you a revolutionary workflow that can combine timelines, customize the interface, work with various formats, configure export settings, and more.

With HitFilm Express, you get video editing tools for adding animations, enhancing composite shots, add unlimited video/audio tracks, modify layers, make precise cuts, and add smooth transitions. You also have at your disposal tools for color correction and grading, keying and extraction, 3D modeling, simulating objects and particles, and an array of other special effects.

HitFilm Express requires a high-end system such as that of MacOS 10.11 or higher. While the software is entirely free, you have to buy add-on packs and modules ranging from $10 to $50 each, which extend the software’s functionalities and give you more specialized effects to work on.

  • Offers extensive, regular tutorials for recreating FX footage from hit movies
  • Cost-effective, feature-rich editing/special VFX software
  • Dedicated technical support team and active online community

8. Wideo

Wideo is an online animated video platform accessible by Mac, Windows PC, and other connected devices. It is intended to help businesses come up with fun and engaging promotional, explainer, and marketing videos. Creating presentation videos through Wideo is fast and easy, with 80 ready-made templates. You can create, edit, and share videos using the drag and drop interface. You don’t have to start from the ground up since there are ready-made templates that allow you to create animations in no time, even without any video editing background. And while you are at it, you can keep these 13 video marketing trends for 2020 in mind to ensure that your efforts hit the mark.

There are several template categories you can choose from to match your business and industry, including those for ecommerce, marketing, product demos, startups, school projects, company presentations, and more. The process is simple – sign up to create your account, then choose from the ready-made templates or, if you prefer, upload your own. You can then customize your video by adding transitions, apply effects, change the animation speed, copy or remove keyframes, and preview your work before uploading them online and sharing interactive links.

Only paid plans allow branding, longer videos, and full HD downloads. There are three paid plans offered, starting at $59/month or $19/month if billed annually.

  • Over 80 video templates built by professionals
  • You get premium support, priority downloads, privacy control, and monetization rights
  • Easy drag-and-drop video creation and editing

9. VideoPad

VideoPad is a full-featured digital video editor built with a simple user interface and intuitive tools. It is suitable for use by individuals and businesses looking to create professional-quality videos minus the complexity and high cost. With the software, you can create and edit videos simply by adding clips through drag-and-drop function, apply video effects from a library of over 50 transitions and effects, and burn your videos on DVD or upload them online. The software supports all major video formats such as avi, wmv, mpv, and DivX, regardless of the video source.

VideoPad comes with video optimization tools to fine-tune colors, adjust video speed, and add images to sequences, and do 360-degree or 3D editing. The on-premise software is available in several pricing plans, including a lifetime license at a discounted price of $34.99. Several add-on tools for capturing, converting, recording, labeling, and more, are offered at additional cost. There are also separate editions available for Mac OS X, Windows, iPhone/iPad, Android, and Kindle devices.

  • Has a dedicated edition for Mac users
  • Utilizes pure digital editing tools
  • Equipped with complete video optimization capabilities

10. Lightworks Pro

Lightworks Pro is a big player in the video editing industry, having been used in blockbuster films like Pulp Fiction and Heat. The software is a complete video creation, and editing package for work intended not only for big-screen projects but also for TV, social media, video sharing sites, and for professional-level business projects. Lightworks is loaded with features that include an intuitive interface, easy timeline editing, and trimming, audio and video effects, multi-format support, up to 4K video export, and access to royalty-free video and audio content.

Whether you’re making a short video or feature-length films, Lightworks got you covered with all the professional-grade tools you need to do precise edits and enhancements like color grading, blending, transitions, keyframing, and adding special effects. The video editor integrates with Blackmagic Fusion, an image compositing tool for creating VFX for movies, commercials, and TV shows. Also, you can utilize plug-ins from Boris, a vector-based titling tool, for adding filters, graffiti, and graphics. The online platform offers a free version with limited features and three premium editions with prices starting at $24.99. You can also get a full license with no expiration for $437.99.

  • Runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux systems
  • Enhanced VFX with Boris FX plug-ins and Blackmagic Fusion tools
  • A vast set of tutorial videos and vibrant online user community

11. macXvideo

macXvideo is a free, next-generation video processing application dubbed as the best tool for 4K video processing. Despite its name, it is not an Apple product but is designed to leverage the computing capabilities of Mac machines for efficient and effortless compression of 4K (up to 8K) videos without loss of quality. The software is simple to use with intuitive tools that do not require video editing expertise for editing, decoding, encoding, and compressing ultra-high-definition 4K or higher resolution videos.

macXvideo offers a number of video editing features for transforming raw videos into high-quality movies. It comes with tools for video trimming/cutting, splitting, merging, variable playback speed, captions/subtitles, and audio enhancements. It also has capabilities for adjusting and correcting colors, saturation, gamma, contrast, and hue. The software supports videos from whatever source and is compatible with all types of audio/video formats, codecs, size, and quality.

  • Entirely free on-premise video editing solution
  • Superior and fast processing for UHD video materials
  • Next-gen video compression technology while retaining near original video quality

12. Rocketium

Rocketium is a cloud-based video creation and editing software that makes it easy to produce business videos. Targeted at marketers, publishers, and agencies, the software provides a simple and hassle-free way for businesses to tell their stories or relay their messages through promotional videos, product or company presentations, or ad campaigns. It offers powerful and professional design and editing tools for video scene trimming, cropping, and adding multimedia elements like music and images. You get single-click styling, colors, fonts, animation options, and timing, and positioning, among others.

Rocketium is compatible with Mac and Windows operating systems. It gives you access to millions of royalty-free video footage, images, and soundtracks so you can easily complete your video with all the components you need. You can likewise customize your video to reflect your brand and use the software’s “workspaces” to collaborate with colleagues on your project. Rocketium is available in four paid plans starting at $9/month.

  • Access to huge multimedia content
  • Trello-like task boards for managing projects
  • Built-in video content translation tool for 100+ languages

Use Free Trials to Find the Best Video Editing Software for You

Reading up on a video editing software and watching demos and tutorials may not be enough. For you to find which application works best for you, you need to have hands-on experience with a platform. But subscribing to each program on your shortlist could be unnecessarily expensive. Fortunately, vendors now offer free trials of their products. You can take advantage of these to test drive tools and features.

Speaking of finances, it is an easy choice to go for the most expensive video editing software from a well-known developer. This is because you can be sure it packs a punch, feature-wise. It may not be suitable for your budget, though. Still, there are other solutions on the list that could serve as an alternative to your first choice. With those, you have the powerful tools you need that will still enable you to create the best videos.

  • February 10, 2020
  • 33 min to read

Modern digital photography goes hand in hand with post-processing software. Although today the photo editing software market offers an unlimited number of options for photographers of all levels, most of the community sticks to tried-and-true Adobe Photoshop. It indeed is a universal app equipped with tools that a professional photographer would wish for, but it’s time to make way for the new.

For the past decades, a lot of new and worthy photo editors entered the market bringing revolutionary technologies into the mundane editing process making even the most complex editing tasks doable for novices and streamlined for pros. Here we listed some of the best photo editing apps on the market including both old and new for photographers of different needs and skill levels.

1. Luminar 4

Completely revamped Luminar 4 is finally here to shake up the world of photo-editing software. Improved to be even more intuitive, Luminar 4 also brings a ton of brand-new AI editing tools designed to speed up the photo editing workflow.

- AI Sky Replacement automatically changes the sky and relights and recolors the entire photo to match the new sky.

- AI Skin Enhancer & Portrait Enhancer do all the retouching for you with just one click.

- AI Enhance automatically enhances your photo by making numerous adjustments of different complexity.

- AI Structure brings details up or down depending on your needs.

- Sunrays adds realistic sun rays to your photo that you’re free to tweak as you please.

- Smart Contrast was improved to produce a more detailed and textured image.

Luminar 4 can not only be used as a stand-alone app but also as a plug-in for Adobe’s Photoshop and Lightroom to make the best of your tools.

✅ Pros:

  • Non-destructive editing
  • Intuitive interface
  • Improved performance
  • In-depth customization
  • Available as a plug-in as well

✖️ Cons:

  • Mediocre library functions
  • Limited exporting options

2. Adobe Lightroom

Adobe Lightroom has been the app of choice for professional and amateur photographers alike for many years now. It offers a well-thought-out set of features for managing, organizing, processing, and exporting your photos. With the advanced library features, like labels, keywords, collections, and search filters, the app makes it easy for you to keep track of large numbers of photos. Lightroom comes with a good selection of RAW profiles to define colors in your photos for more precise editing. Tweak your photos to perfection with adjustment sliders, perspective and lens correction tools, retouching tools, filters, profiles, and presets to speed up your workflow.

✅ Pros:

  • Built-in file management system
  • Face detection and tagging
  • Color and luminosity masking
  • Plug-in support

✖️ Cons:

  • Not the best choice for beginners
  • A bit too taxing for Windows
  • No auto-tagging
  • Comparatively slow importing


What photo editing software do you use and why? Let us know in the comments, we’d be very interested to know!

3. ACDSee PHOTO STUDIO ULTIMATE 2020

Photo Studio Ultimate 2020 is a one-stop photo management and post-processing tool for Windows. It comes with everything you need to handle your files, like categories, keywords, face detection, ratings, color labels, metadata, geolocation, and more. It’s quite powerful when it comes to photo editing, too, offering a broad set of tools for a variety of different purposes. It allows you to process your RAW, JPEG and other types of files in a non-destructive way in Develop Mode and perfect them in Edit Mode by adjusting color and lighting, bringing out details, removing flaws, and adding final touches. The user interface is completely customizable to suit your preferences.

✅ Pros:

  • Excellent built-in file management system
  • Powerful post-processing features
  • Fully customizable interface

✖️ Cons:

  • Available only for Windows
  • Too overwhelming for beginners
  • Subscription-based online storage gallery

4. GIMP

GIMP is a free and open-source photo-editing tool that has been around for more than 20 years. It boasts a limitless number of state-of-the-art features that you wouldn’t expect to see in a free photo-editing app. The interface has been recently updated to be easier to use, however it still can be quite confusing for novices. GIMP offers a broad set of tools suitable not only for basic but for advanced editing, too. Here you can enhance colors, adjust hue and saturation, fix composition, adjust sharpness, reduce graininess, remove unwanted objects, work with masks, layers, and more.

✅ Pros:

  • 100% free
  • Open access to the source code
  • Has a broad selection of tools for different purposes
  • Plug-in support
  • Available for the main operating systems

✖️ Cons:

  • Non-intuitive workflow
  • Difficult to get the hang of
  • Lack of HDR support

5. Aurora HDR

Aurora HDR is a powerful HDR tool that brings innovation and simplicity together. The most recent update introduced a new Quantum HDR engine with AI-powered tone mapping technology which allows for more intelligent photo merging to produce vivid yet natural-looking photos. Whether you’re creating an HDR photo from bracketed shots or a single image, the app’s neural network enhances the photo and makes sure that no halos or ghosting spoils the final result. The brand-new Smart HDR Structure feature boosts details and sharpness without creating undesired artifacts that can make a photo look unrealistic. With over 80 distinctive Looks, you can make your photo look stunning in just one click.

✅ Pros:

  • One of the best HDR photo editors
  • Swift performance
  • Corrects badly taken single shots
  • Doesn’t create artifacts, halos, or noise
  • Available as a stand-alone app and plug-in
  • Plug-in support

✖️ Cons:

  • None worth mentioning

6. Adobe Photoshop Elements

Developed for beginner and hobbyist photographers, Photoshop Elements’ functions are naturally more limited than Photoshop’s but it has all the essentials for achieving astonishing results. It offers three editing modes:

The Quick mode includes the simplest tools for straightening and cropping photos, removing unwanted objects, enhancing portraits, and applying filters.

The Guided mode uses step-by-step wizards to take you through more complex edits like removing objects, replacing the background, merging multiple photos, creating double exposures, and more.

The Expert mode gives you access to more complex Photoshop-like features including layers, masks, and filters.

Best Camera Editing Software For Mac

✅ Pros:

  • Excellent for entry-level photographers
  • Simple and straightforward interface
  • One-time purchase
  • A bunch of Photoshop-like features simplified for nonprofessionals
  • Dozens of clear guides

✖️ Cons:

  • Too limited functionality
Are you a Lightroom, Luminar, or Photoshop user? Then you'd probably want to see our collection of the best free and paid presets for them.


7. ON1 Photo RAW 2020

ON1 took the best of Lightroom and Photoshop to create Photo RAW 2020 that’s brimming with professional-grade tools for editing, correcting, and enhancing photos. Here you can work with layers, masks, and blending modes, which give you more control over the final result as well as tweak numerous adjustment sliders to make your photos look more polished. With the abundance of various tools and panels, however, the interface looks a bit crowded and is somewhat difficult to navigate, which can significantly slow down the workflow.

Good Free Picture Editing Software For Mac

✅ Pros:

  • One-time payment
  • Uses layer-based editing
  • A large collection of presets
  • Uses fractal technology for resizing
  • Panorama stitching
  • HDR merging;
  • Focus stacking;

✖️ Cons:

  • A bit too crowded interface
  • Not very intuitive to navigate
  • Limited exporting options

8. Exposure X5

Exposure X5 looks like a refined version of Lightroom that inherited only the features that photographers liked and used the most. Some of the most hated features were eliminated or improved. Thus, there’s no time-consuming import process in Exposure X5 - you can get straight to editing by adding a folder with your photos in a few clicks. The interface is very well-organized and can be customized to suit your editing purposes. Besides non-destructive layer-based editing and cutting-edge tools that are crucial for the professional photo-manipulating process, Exposure X5 offers a mind-blowing collection of over 500 presets that you can customize to your liking.

✅ Pros:

  • Beginner-friendly
  • Well-organized and customizable interface
  • No power-draining import process
  • Non-destructive layer-based editing
  • A broad selection of free presets
  • No subscription

✖️ Cons:

  • The interface design looks a bit outdated
  • Lack of panorama and HDR tools

9. Capture One Pro

Capture One Pro is a full-fledged pro photo editor created for experienced photographers and serious hobbyists. Originally designed for tethered shooting, Capture One Pro is the fastest and most flexible tethering tool for photographers of all genres. It also offers top-notch RAW photo-editing functionality, smart photo organization tools, layer support, powerful adjustment tools, and plenty of other features you’re looking for in professional-grade photo software.

✅ Pros:

  • Exceptional rendering of RAW files
  • Numerous adjustment tools for different needs;
  • Layer-based editing
  • Industry-leading tethering features
  • Fast and smooth spot removal
  • Annotations feature

✖️ Cons:

  • Lack of third-party plug-in support;
  • Lack of panorama and HDR tools
  • Limited organization features;
  • Absence of history panel

10. Affinity Photo

Even though Affinity Photo can’t boast any organization or management tools, it’s well-packed with all kinds of editing features for photographers of all levels. The workflow includes several Personas, or modes, focused on different editing stages. Develop Persona focuses on RAW file processing, Photo Persona is used for boosting your photos using layers, lighting and color adjustments, curves, LUTs, etc. Tone Mapping Persona is for HDR editing, Liquify Persona for bending photos, and Export Persona for exporting finished photos.

✅ Pros:

  • Layer-based editing
  • RAW editing tools
  • Panorama, HDR, and focus stack merging tools
  • No subscription

✖️ Cons:

  • No lens-based corrections
  • Lack of organization tools
  • No ability to save custom workspaces
  • Poor noise reduction

11. Pixlr

One of the most powerful online photo tools, Pixlr has become a popular choice when it comes to making quick photo corrections. Since it’s a web app, it doesn’t take up any room on your computer and is compatible with all operational systems. Pixlr features a clean and intuitive interface with many tools for cropping, selecting, transforming, removing objects, retouching and adjusting your photos using numerous sliders for brightness, contrast, vibrance, saturation, shadows, and more. It also offers a vast collection of filters and effects that will enhance your photos in a snap!

✅ Pros:

  • Beginner-friendly
  • Great for quick editing
  • Online
  • 100% free
  • Has a clean interface
  • Offers a nice collection of filters and effects
  • Mobile version available

✖️ Cons:

  • Limited functionality
  • Advertising can be annoying
  • Can be laggy sometimes

12. Paint.NET

Developed to replace the iconic Microsoft Paint, Paint.NET has grown into a full-featured yet simple photo-editing tool for WIndows. The app offers a user-friendly interface that’s very easy to navigate. Paint.NET is packed with a nice set of tools for making your photos look beautiful in the most effortless way. Here you can play around with various adjustments, such as levels, curves, contrast, brightness, saturation, and more, selecting and removing objects, resize and crop your photos, and so much more!

✅ Pros:

  • 100% free
  • Unlimited history
  • Layer-based editing
  • Tons of creative filters and effects
  • Suitable for beginner and intermediate users
  • User-friendly interface
  • Plug-in support

✖️ Cons:

  • Only for Windows
  • Interface design looks a bit outdated
  • Limited functionality


Do you agree with our opinion in this article? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

FAQ:

Q: Which one is the best photo editing software?

A: Luminar 4 is the best photo editing software because it offers the most powerful collection of features and tools for different editing needs.

Q: What is the easiest free photo editing software?

A: Paint.NET is the easiest free photo editing software, however, it has a very limited number of features suitable only for basic editing.

Q: Which photo editing software is the best for HDR photo editing?

A: Aurora HDR is the best HDR photo editing software with a broad set of tools for creating and correcting HDR images.

Q: How can I edit pictures on my computer for free?

A: GIMP free photo editor is the best way to edit pictures on your computer for free. It’s well-packed with features and is suitable for beginners and pros alike.

Q: Which photo editing software can be used as a plug-in for Photoshop/ Lightroom?

A: Luminar 4 is the best Photoshop/ Lightroom plug-in that allows you to use its unique features in your go-to photo editor.

Whether you take photos for fun or business, it’s not an easy task to find a photo editing software that can best fit your photo editing needs with so many different options on the market. We believe that it’s easier to find something when you know what you’re looking for, so we came up with three criteria that you should take into account when looking for your one and only photo app. So, we recommend you to make your choice based on the features you want your app to have, the platform you’re going to use it on, and the price that you’re ready (or not) to pay for it. This will help you to filter out the irrelevant options and narrow your choices down to a few most suitable ones.

Features

We believe that all photo editing apps can be divided into several categories based on what they have to offer to users of different levels and needs. These categories are:

  1. Photo editing software for beginners. If you’re just starting out in photography or need to apply quick corrections to your photos once in a while, you should opt for a beginner-friendly photo editor like Paint.NET or Pixlr. Such editors usually have a clean and straightforward interface without too many tabs and icons, and a decent set of tools for applying basic corrections.
  2. Professional photo editing apps are designed for professional photographers and advanced hobbyists and give more control over photo processing and editing. Their use requires more specialized knowledge of photography and high photo-editing skill. Pro-grade photo editors like Adobe Lightroom or Capture One Pro often come with an in-build photo management system, provide support for RAW files, tethered shooting, and presets.
  3. Software for creating and editing vector graphics. As you probably know, there are two types of graphics: raster and vector. Raster graphics represent images as a pixel grid, while vector graphics use lines and curves. Vector software can’t change pixels and thus is ineffective for photo correction. However, you can use vector software to add graphics to your photo such as text, shapes, lines. Many raster photo editors include a handful of vector tools, like GIMP or Photoshop.
  4. AI photo software uses AI-based technology that allows reducing manual photo editing to a minimum - even the most complex editing tasks such as retouching or removing objects can be done with just a few clicks. Such apps are a popular choice among beginners and pros alike as they substantially speed up the editing process without affecting the quality. Luminar 4 is one of a few decent AI photo editing tools on the market.
  5. Open source photo editing apps are apps for which the source code can be viewed and changed by any user, like GIMP. It means that any user can interact with the program code to correct bugs, improve the exciting features and add new ones. Open-source software is usually completely free and for this reason much beloved by users of different levels of expertise.

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Platform

There is another thing you should take into account when looking for your perfect photo-editing app - the platform you’re going to use it on. If you’re a Mac or Windows user, you’ve got a wider choice of options unlike, for example, Chrome OS users, who have a much more limited choice. Let’s take a closer look at what we have here.

  • Windows is the most compatible with most of the photo software you're going to want to use. If you’re a Windows user, you have a great number of options to choose from including most widely-used apps like GIMP, Luminar 4, Lightroom, Paint.NET, and more.
  • As Mac is the second most popular operating system, you won’t have any troubles finding a photo app compatible with it. Here you still have a vast number of options including Lightroom, Aurora HDR, Luminar 4, etc. The popular GIMP, however, isn’t compatible with Mac.
  • If you’re a Chromebook user, your choice is limited to Google Play apps. Those, however, include a pretty good number of options, such as GIMP, Photoshop, Lightroom, and others. If you have strong programming skills, you could try installing external apps as well.

It doesn’t matter what platform you’re using if you choose to work in an online photo editor. It runs in a browser and doesn’t need installing.

If you’re looking for an app for your Android or iOS device, you should check what your app store has to offer. Some web and desktop apps, like Pixlr or Lightroom, however, have mobile versions.

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Price

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No matter how good the software is, its price can be a real dealbreaker. Luckily, not all photo editing software is paid for. There are such apps as GIMP and Paint.NET that are completely free. Paid options include subscription-based (Photo Studio Ultimate 2020, Lightroom) and one-time-fee (Luminar 4, Photoshop Elements, Affinity Photo) software. Some paid apps though have free trial versions, so you can test an app for free for several days to see if it’s worth the money.