Best Mobile Photo Editing Apps iPhone & Android

The 6 Most Popular Mobile Photo Editing Apps to Try

Whether it’s social posts, university assignments, marketing posts, or even that big family album for grandma’s 80th, photos are indispensable to our lives.

Studies show that when information is paired with the right visuals, people retain 65% more information. This is where the right photo editing app can make you do more with your photos.

A photo editing app allows you to edit pictures on your mobile device. You can use filters and other editing tools to touch up your images, enhancing imagery for business or personal use. These apps are available for both iOS and Android devices, and you can easily find them in the App or Google Play store. While most photo editing apps are free or have a ‘freemium’ version, you may be able to access more tools and features by downloading a paid app.

If you’re new to phone editing apps, you may wonder how to get started. Let’s look at the six best photo editing apps currently on the market (based on app store ratings) — we have included a mix of free and paid options to choose from.

The 6 Best Photo Editing Apps

1. Snapseed
Price: Free
Available for: iOS and Android devices

Snapseed is a free photo editing app developed by Google, and its wide range of features rivals most desktop apps. You can open and edit native camera files and export them as a JPG.
Snapseed comes with 29 different tools and filters, including:

• Adjusting the exposure and colour automatically
• Cropping the image to standard sizes
• Drawing out the surface structures in images
• Removing unwanted people or objects from images
• Adding stylized or plain text to photos

2. Adobe Photoshop Express
Price: Free (with premium version
Available for: iOS and Android devices

Adobe Photoshop Express combines the best features of Photoshop with the ease of a mobile app. The app contains many advanced photo editing tools but is surprisingly intuitive and easy to use.

You can use the app for basic editing and retouching, like cropping, adding borders, rotating photos, and adjusting the colour contrast. You can also create photo collages and add text to your photos to create memes or watermarks.

To use the app, you’ll start by creating a free Adobe ID account. Once you log into the app, you can upload a photo from your phone or take a new one with the in-app camera.

3. Canva
Price: Free (with a premium version)
Available for: iOS and Android devices

Canva is one of the best options for anyone needing to create graphics and branded photos. In addition to editing photos, you can create posters, flyers, logos, social media posts, and so much more.

The app comes with thousands of professional templates and images to choose from. Canva is available as a desktop, online, and mobile app so that you can access it from any device. And if you pay to upgrade to Canva Pro, you can invite other people to collaborate and edit images as well.

4. VSCO
Price: Free (with a premium version)
Available for: iOS and Android devices

VSCO is similar to Instagram because it offers photo editing tools and an online community. But the main draw of VSCO is the exceptional filters. The app’s filters make your photos look like they came from an analog camera and add a classic look to your photos.

You can import RAW files and edit them to give your photos a more professional look. And you can share your photos directly to other social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

However, you will have to pay for a VSCO membership to access more advanced features like HSL and Split Tone. The membership is $19.99 per year with a free 7-day trial.

5. TouchRetouch
Price: $3.99
Available for: iOS and Android devices

Have you ever taken a great photo and then noticed an undesirable object in the background? Even a small blemish can ruin the look of your image. With TouchRetouch, you can easily remove these objects from your pictures.

You can remove background images, like trash cans, street signs, or photo bombers. You can remove text from Instagram and Snapchat posts and remove pimples or other skin blemishes.

There is a small fee to download TouchRetouch, but once you’ve paid it, no subscriptions or in-app purchases are required.

6. Pixelmator
Price: $4.99
Available for: iOS and Android devices

Pixelmator is a powerful photo editing app that comes with all the tools and features needed to edit photos. You can instantly improve your pictures with single-tap colour presets, and the Repair tool will remove any blemishes or unwanted objects.

But you can also use Pixelmator to create eye-catching designs. You can add shapes, texts, and artwork to your images or add shadows, gradient fills, and outlines. You can even use the app to paint images directly on your mobile app.

Things to Watch Out For

Mobile photo editing apps are an excellent resource for anyone that needs an easy way to create professional images and graphics. And since most of these apps are either free or very low cost, you may want to take advantage of several apps.

But you may run into a problem if your data storage is low. Every photo editing app you download will take up additional space on your phone. And that’s not considering the amount of space it will take to save multiple edited photos on your phone.

According to the ACCC Communications Market Report, Aussies use around 25GB of monthly data. If your current data plan isn’t up to speed, you may want to consider a new provider.

Circles offer the best data mobile plans in Australia at unbelievable prices and no lock-in contracts. So go on, test all of the apps we’ve listed above without ever worrying about running out of data!