Free plans only

4 Best Free Photo Editing Software of 2026

By the Rankozo research desk · Updated November 12, 2026

4 of the 10 tools in our best photo editing software ranking offer a permanent free plan. Affinity scores highest among them at 8.8 out of 10.

01
Affinity
photographers who want a free layer editor
Free for individuals; AI tools need a Canva premium plan
Full entry, No. 1 overall
Paid from
Free
Score 8.8
02
darktable
raw shooters who want a free Lightroom alternative
Free, open source under GPL 3.0
Full entry, No. 5 overall
Paid from
Free
Score 8.3
03
GIMP
free layer-based retouching on any OS
Free, open source
Full entry, No. 8 overall
Paid from
Free
Score 7.8
04
Adobe Photoshop
retouchers and compositors who need the deepest toolset
Photoshop Mobile & Web from $7.99 per month or $69.99 per year in the US App Store; desktop plans not checked in USD
Full entry, No. 9 overall
Paid from
$7.99
Score 7.7

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