It's quite easy to enhance your shots using free photo editing software, whether you just want to erase a few imperfections or optimize the colors of your composition.

While Adobe Photoshop remains the go-to software for anyone looking to invest in a photo-editing app, there are still some great freeware out there. Currently, GIMP is the best in its field. It comes as close to Adobe's offerings as possible, is open source, and delivers more features than some other paid apps. Including support for layers, plugins and masks - not to mention that it allows you to work on Photoshop PSD documents.

However, it can be overwhelmingly complex for many beginner photographers, especially if all you have to do is crop an image before posting it online. We have collected all the perfect tools below to meet your needs. Whatever your expertise or degree of photo editing to satisfy.

The best photo editor is: Adobe PhotoshopIf you are seriously interested in photo editing, or if you plan to turn your hobby into a profession, it remains impossible to compete with the premium proposal of Adobe Photoshop. It is certainly not free like the software below, but it turns out to be surprisingly inexpensive if you opt for the Adobe Creative Cloud subscription.

How to choose your free photo editing software?

When choosing photo editing software, the first thing to consider is your level of confidence and experience in photo editing . If you just want to make a few tweaks (remove blemishes and optimize color levels, for example), a simple online tool might be ideal, as it does those minor tasks well without overwhelming you with options.

On the other hand, if you need to do more in-depth editing, it's best to opt for desktop software that offers layers and masks, which will give you complete control over the process.

This type of software is also a good choice if you have several photos to edit. Some programs can even retouch these in batches, just to save you a lot of time.

Finally, it is useful to think about the use you will make of the exported photos. Online photo editors can often only export images in JPG format, and only at relatively low resolutions. This might be fine for images you want to post online (most photo editors include the ability to post images directly to Facebook or Twitter), but if you'd rather print your creations, it's best to look to services like GIMP or Paint.NET. These will allow you to export your photos in almost any format and in high resolution.

1. GIMP

The best free software for advanced aesthetic editing

Technical specifications

Platform: Windows, macOS, LinuxLayers: YesExport formats: 40+

Why GIMP buy

+Advanced editing tools+Cross-platform support+No ads

Why wait

-Slightly more complex to learn

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is the best free photo editing software currently in circulation. It has multiple tools for optimizing your photos, tools that you generally use in high-end (and expensive) applications. , and new features are added every day.

The toolbox provided is breathtaking. It includes layers, masks, curves and levels. You can easily remove flaws from your shots with GIMP's excellent cloning and optimization tools. But also create custom brushes, apply perspective changes or isolated areas with smart selection tools.

Best of all: GIMP presents itself as open source software, its community of users and developers has created a huge collection of plugins to further extend its functionality. Many of them are pre-installed, and you can download more from the official glossary. If that's not enough, you can even install Photoshop plugins.

2. Ashampoo Photo Optimizer

Edit your photos hassle-free with automatic optimization tools

Technical specifications

Platform: WindowsLayers: NoExport formats: JPG, PNG, BMP, TIF

Why buy it

+One-click optimization+Precise manual controls+Clean interface

Why wait

-This automatic optimization appears random

If you count volume number of photos you need to edit quickly, Ashampoo Photo Optimizer might just be the right tool for you. Its interface comes across as clean and uncluttered, and completely ad-free (although you need to submit an email address before you can start using it).

Importing photos is meant to be a breeze, and once they've been added to the pool, you can select multiple photos at once to rotate or flip them vertically/horizontally - giving you saves valuable time. You can also choose individual photos to enhance with the software's own one-click enhancement tool. In our tests, this tool responded particularly well to transforming landscapes, but didn't always shine on portraits.

If you want to make manual color and exposure corrections, you have half a dozen sliders to do so. It's a shame that you can't apply the same color changes to a whole set of photos at once. However, it is an excellent program dedicated to making quick fixes.

If you are looking for more advanced editing features, check out Ashampoo Photo Optimizer 7 - the premium version of the software.

3. Canva

Enjoy professional templates from your web browser

Technical specifications

Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux (in browser); Android, iOS, iPadOS (mobile app)Layers: NoExport formats: JPG, PNG, PDF

Why buy it

+Large selection of templates+Includes free cloud storage+Mobile app available

Why wait

-No precise manual editing tools

Canva is photo editing software that runs in your web browser. It lets you turn your favorite snaps into greeting cards, posters, invitations, and social posts. If you want to maintain a neat online presence, this is the perfect tool for you.

Canva has two plans, free and paid. The first is sufficient for personal use. It requires your registration by email, in return for which you benefit from a free storage space of 1 GB on the cloud. Enough to host your photos and drawings, then modify them using 8,000 templates made available to you. As well as a double folder helping you to organize your creations.

You won't find advanced tools like clone brushes and smart selection here, but you will enjoy a set of handy sliders to apply tints or improve sharpness, brightness, saturation and contrast of your pictures. The text tools, on the other hand, are intuitive. Likewise, you will compose with a large selection of backgrounds and other graphic elements to complete your projects.

4. Fotor

Enhance your photos in seconds

Technical specs

Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux (in browser) Layers: NoExport formats: JPG, PNG, PDF

Why buy it

+Next level filters+Batch photo processing+High resolution export options

Why wait

-No plugin support

Fotor is an ideal software to enhance your photos in just a few seconds. If you need to touch up a specific area with, say, the clone brush or the eraser, you're out of luck. On the other hand, if your needs remain standard, its high-end filters will respond perfectly to the call.

For example, you have a foolproof toggle tool and a huge number of color adjustments, all easily accessible via Fotor's smart menu system. You can also manually edit your own curves and levels, but without the complexity of paid software.

Fotor's most notable feature, and one that's sorely lacking in many free photo editing apps, is its batch processing tool - give it a stack of photos and it'll filter them all at once, which comes in handy if you have a memory card full of vacation photos and need to mask out blurry or missed shots.

5. Photo Pos Pro

A rich interface that adapts to your level

Technical characteristics

Platform: WindowsLayers: YesExport formats: 15+

Why the buy

+Smart interface+Two modes offered: beginner and advanced

Why wait

-Limited resolution on file export-Not cross-platform

Photo Pos Pro is not as well known as Paint.net and GIMP, and yet it comes across as a very high quality equal, with advanced tools to optimize your images.

The software interface is smarter and more accessible than GIMP's panoply of menus and toolbars, with a generally consistent layout. If that still seems too intimidating, you can choose the "novice" mode which will expose you to a simplified presentation - like Fotor. You choose.

The "expert" mode, on the other hand, grants both layers and masks for more sophisticated editing. As well as tools to adjust curves and levels manually. You can still access one-click filters via the main menu, but the focus leans more towards the more advanced features.

It's a pity that the free version of Photo Pos Pro only allows exporting images with a maximum size of 1024 x 1024 pixels. If you're preparing images to later share them online, that's not really a problem, but it limits the usefulness of the program if you want to print your work.

6. Paint.NET

A bit old, but still reliable

Technical specifications

Platform: WindowsLayers: YesExport formats: 10+

Why buy it< /h5>+Layers and filters widely available+Support for plugins

Why wait

-Less options than GIMP-For Windows only

More is not, believe it or not, always better. The simplicity of Paint.NET is one of its main selling points; it's free, fast and easy-to-use photo editing software, ideal for trivial tasks that don't necessarily justify the power of tools like GIMP.

Don't let the name fool you. This is not just a cheap copy of Paint. Although it was originally intended to replace Microsoft's basic service. It is actually a photo editing software with a large volume of layers and filters offered.

Paint.NET's interface will remind you of its namesake, but over the years the editor has been able to add advanced editing features like a history and a myriad of community-created plugins. Not to mention a brilliant 3D rotate/zoom function, very handy for recomposing images.

7. PhotoScape

The most complete free tool for processing photos in raw format

Technical specifications

Platform: WindowsLayers: NoExport formats: JPG, PNG, TIF, BMP, GIF

Why buy it

+Raw file conversion+Large selection of filters+Create animated GIFs

Why wait

-Unusual interface

At first glance, PhotoScape looks like to a rather basic photo editing software. But take a look at its main menu and you'll discover a host of features: converting raw files, splitting and merging photos, creating animated GIFs, and even a rather odd (but useful) feature that lets you print lined paper, graph paper or music paper.

The main thing, of course, is photo editing. PhotoScape's interface is one of the most esoteric of our selection, with functions grouped together - by page - in bizarre configurations. It certainly doesn't try to ape Photoshop, and yet includes fewer options.

This app is for beginners, but that doesn't mean you can't get good results. PhotoScape's filters appear quite advanced, making it a great choice if you need to level, sharpen, or lightly filter photos on the fly.

8. Pixlr X

A comprehensive online editor delivering clean and fast results

Technical specifications

Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux (via browser)Layers: NoExport formats : JPG, PNG

Why buy it

+Uses HTML5 rather than Flash+Elegant design

Why wait

-Less powerful than the Pixlr Editor software-Maximum image size: 3840 pixels

Pixlr X is the successor to Pixlr Editor, which has been one of our favorite online (and free) photo editors for many years.

Pixlr X brings several improvements to its predecessor. For starters, it's based on HTML5 rather than Flash, which means it can run on any modern browser. It also looks sleek and well-designed, with an interface reminiscent of Photoshop Express, and a choice of dark or light colors to suit your personal taste.

With Pixlr X, you can precisely modify colors and saturation, sharpen and blur images, apply vignette effects and frames, and combine multiple images. It also supports layers, which many free online photo editors don't. Also, it grants a wide range of tools for painters and draftsmen.

9. Adobe Photoshop Express Editor

A convenient way to quickly fix lighting and exposure issues

Technical specifications

Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux (in browser )Layers: NoExport formats: JPG only

Why buy it

+Premium filters+Enjoyable design

Why wait

-Requires Flash-Only supports JPG format

As its name suggests, Adobe Photoshop Express Editor is a scaled-down (and online) version of the world's most widely used photo-editing software. As you might expect, it has a more comprehensive toolkit than the downloadable Photoshop Express app, but it only supports JPG images under 16MB.

Again, this is a Flash-based tool. Still, Adobe offers handy mobile apps for all platforms, so you won't miss a thing if you're using a smartphone or tablet.

This browser-based photo editor has all the panache you've come to expect from Adobe. And, while it doesn't have as many tools as some of its competitors, everything there is meant to be tweaked to perfection. Adobe Photoshop Express Editor is a real pleasure to handle. Its only downsides are the limits on the size and types of uploaded files, and the lack of support for layers.

10. PiZap

A fun editor for social media influencers and addicts.

Technical features

Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux (in browser)Layers : NoExport formats: JPG, PNG

Why buy it

+Image banks available to you+Large collection of templates for social networks

Why wait

-Some options are paid-Maximum resolution: 1310 x 737 pixels

PiZap online photo editor is available for free in HTML5 and Flash version, which makes it compatible with all devices. You can choose to work on a photo from your hard disk, from Facebook, from Google Photos, from Google Drive, from Google Search or from a catalog of image banks. This choice is impressive, although some stock images are only available to premium subscribers and you should be aware of copyright issues if you use a photo directly from Google Images.

PiZap's editing interface features a dark, modern design that makes heavy use of sliders for quick adjustments - a system that works much better than icons and drop-down menus if you're moving on screen media tactile.

When you have finished your work, you can share it on all social networks, as well as on PiZap's own servers, Dropbox and Google Drive. You can also save it to your hard drive, email it, or enter an embed code. On the other hand, you will only be able to export your work in high resolution if you have opened your wallet to obtain the premium editor.