The photoshoot is only the first half of creating a great image. A skilled photo editor can take a good RAW image and use a myriad of techniques to create a stunning final photo. Post-processing can enhance what you did capture and create effects that aren’t always possible in the photography studio.

Once you’ve got the hang of understanding your camera, exposure basics and how to compose a great photo it’s time to learn a few photo editing essentials to put the finishing touches on your artistic vision.

Photo editing can be pretty daunting. Open up any post-processing program, and you’ll be confronted by a slew of sliders, tools, and options (it’s enough to make anyone feel overwhelmed!).

Fortunately, basic photo editing isn’t nearly as hard as it seems. There are a few simple steps you can take to get great results right off the bat.

The best photo editor helps you remove unwanted elements from photos, pull attention to crucial components, and even adjust essential elements like brightness, contrast, or colour.

Unfortunately, many of the top-rated photo editors can be quite expensive. If you’re just getting started with your visual content strategy, you might not have the cash to invest in something like Photoshop or Lightroom.

That’s why here’s a list of free photo editor softwares, perfect for beginners.

GIMP

Gimp is the most popular free photo editor online by far. It’s not even close. And if you squint your eyes really hard, you could swear you were using Photoshop or some other super expensive editor. Unlike most other programs on the list, Gimp is more than a photo editing program. It’s an “image manipulation program.”

This is the most sophisticated image editor online. It’s used by more scientists, graphic designers, illustrators, and wannabe Instagram models than any other.

Gimp also has a huge advantage over competitors: it’s constantly evolving. Thousands of people in the Gimp ecosystem are constantly extending its functionality by introducing new and exciting capabilities every day.

Pros:

Unrivalled features
It’s basically Photoshop but FREE
Great UX
Always evolving

Cons:

Hard to get used to (but worth taking the time to learn)

Fotor

Fotor has tons of features that you usually find in high-priced camera editing software, but it’s insanely easy to use. It’s so easy to enhance photos, it’s almost comical. There are 13 different 1-tap options, so you can make all of the most common photo enhancements with next to no human effort. This is basically iRobot in reality (humanity is useless with Fotor). If you aren’t a photo editing pro and just want to make great images, then Fotor is the best editor to start with.

Pros:

High-powered and easy to use
1-tap enhancements are stupidly easy
Looks great and feels intuitive

Cons:

Ads are annoying
Not as powerful as more complex software

Canva

If you’re in a pinch and need to upload a few photos fast, Canva Photo Editor is the photo editing app for you.

We were amazed at how easy it was. You can edit right from the browser! Upload your image, play around with the filters, and download your photo. It’s really that easy.

Canva has enough features to make great photos:

Filters
Brightness/Color adjustment
Crop
Resize
Rotate
Flip

That’s it though. This is a bare-bones photo editor, so don’t expect much. The good thing is, you can use it on a Mac or PC.

If you need to make fast changes like cropping or resizing or just want to add a filter, definitely use Canva. For anything else, choose a different editor.

Pros:

By far the easiest photo editor
Basic image editing without the hassle

Cons:

When we say basic, we mean basic. You really can’t do much else besides crop, resize, or rotate aside from adding filters

PhotoScape X

PhotoScape X promises everything you need to edit and customize photos in one easy-to-use app. The software includes GIF creation, photo combining, colour picking, screen capture, and even collage creation. You can cut components out of photos, remove the background, or adjust the brightness and saturation levels.

Because there are so many features to explore, PhotoScape comes with access to a range of video and written tutorials to get you started. This also means that the software does have a higher learning curve than some free options, however.

Features include:

Pre-made filters and effects
Cut out and background removal
GIF creation
Screen capture
RAW image management
Combine photos and create collages
Batch editing

Best for: Unique image creation and background removal

Pixlr

Recently updated for 2021, Pixlr is an amazing online photo editor that helps you create better images in your browser. There are AI-powered tools to help you create more professional edits, as well as a variety of design templates, pre-made filters, and collages. You can even quickly remove the background from your images.

Pixlr is great if you want to spice up your next marketing campaign with artsy images, thanks to a huge range of filters and one-click effects. It’s also very easy to use for beginners.

Features include:

Robust one-click editing tools for saturation and sharpening
Tutorials for beginners
Free vector graphics editing
Selection of free stock photos
Pre-made templates and filters

Best for: Making quick tweaks to colours and saturation

BeFunky

A free online photo editor intended for basic enhancements to your everyday images, BeFunky helps with things like colour creations, filters, and photo retouching. If you want to change the background colour in a product image or update a social media post design, BeFunky is a great choice.

For those keen to create things like postures, brochures, and other sales assets, there’s a built-in Graphic Designer feature that allows you to build custom templates. You can turn photos into art with unique filters, crop and resize images, and batch processes as well.

Features include: