Free plans only

10 Best Free Free Photo Editing Apps of 2026

By the Rankozo research desk · Updated November 12, 2026

10 of the 10 tools in our best free photo editing apps ranking offer a permanent free plan. Snapseed scores highest among them at 9.2 out of 10.

1. 01

   Snapseed

   phone users who want a full editor with no subscription

   Free; no paid plan, in-app purchases or ads

   Full entry, No. 1 overall

   Paid from

   Free

   Score 9.2

2. 02

   Photopea

   desktop and laptop users who need layers and PSD support without installing anything

   Free with ads; optional Premium account (USD check pending)

   Full entry, No. 2 overall

   Paid from

   Free plan

   Score 8.7

3. 03

   GIMP

   desktop users who want a full open source editor with plug-ins and scripting

   Free and open source; no paid plan

   Full entry, No. 3 overall

   Paid from

   Free

   Score 8.6

4. 04

   darktable

   photographers who shoot RAW and want a free alternative to paid desktop raw editors

   Free and open source (GPL 3.0); no paid plan

   Full entry, No. 4 overall

   Paid from

   Free

   Score 8.4

5. 05

   Adobe Lightroom

   phone photographers who may later pay for cloud sync and Adobe's AI tools

   Free app; Premium from $49.99 a year (100GB) in the US App Store

   Full entry, No. 5 overall

   Paid from

   $4.17

   Score 8.3

6. 06

   Canva

   people who edit photos to turn them into social posts and designs

   Free plan; Canva Pro $144 a year for one person

   Full entry, No. 6 overall

   Paid from

   $12

   Score 8.0

7. 07

   Picsart

   social creators who want stickers, collages and AI effects in one phone app

   Free app; Picsart Plus $64.99 a year in the US App Store

   Full entry, No. 7 overall

   Paid from

   $5.42

   Score 7.8

8. 08

   Pixlr

   browser users who want quick edits plus AI fill and background removal

   Free with ads; Pixlr Premium $9.99 a month in the US App Store

   Full entry, No. 8 overall

   Paid from

   $9.99

   Score 7.8

9. 09

   Fotor

   occasional editors who want the cheapest verified paid upgrade

   Free Basic plan; Pro US$39.99 billed yearly

   Full entry, No. 9 overall

   Paid from

   $3.33

   Score 7.6

10. 10

    VSCO

    photographers who want film-style presets and a portfolio community

    Free app; VSCO membership annual, 7-day free trial (USD check pending)

    Full entry, No. 10 overall

    Paid from

    Free plan

    Score 7.5

Scores and prices come from our Best Free Photo Editing Apps ranking, which uses one method for every tool. Questions or corrections: editorial@rankozo.com