Improving the rendering of your photos, retouching a flaw in a portrait, or even cropping an image are common operations that you may need to perform on your computer. To achieve this, the good news is that you don't necessarily need to invest in professional photo editing software like Photoshop.
Indeed, there are many free tools that integrate all the necessary functions that will allow most people to edit their photos. After testing several, we've compiled a comparison of the best free photo editing software.
Summary
1. GIMP
GIMP is undoubtedly the most well-known editing software among free software enthusiasts. This open-source utility is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It allows you to edit photos as well as create graphics.
GIMP uses an interface similar to professional software like Adobe Photoshop and allows you to work on an image using a layer system that allows you to superimpose modifications without altering the original image.
With a very large number of tools to its credit, GIMP is aimed at an advanced audience. However, it is possible to learn how to master the main functions of the program thanks to the numerous tutorials published directly on the official website.
GIMP integrates classic editing tools (cropping, color balance, saturation, etc.) but also offers the use of more advanced retouching tools such as the healing tool or the clone tool which will allow you, for example, to remove distracting elements from an image, or to correct an unsightly pimple on a portrait.
Photos edited in GIMP can be saved as a working file that can be reopened later in the software to continue editing. Alternatively, they can also be exported as an image to your PC.
- Download GIMP on Telecharger.com (Free)
2. Adobe Photoshop Express Editor
Usually, when someone mentions photo editing, Adobe Photoshop is the first name that comes to mind. The photo editing application, reserved for professionals and advanced users, is now available with a monthly subscription for a sum that not everyone is willing to spend on software used occasionally.
Few people know this, but Adobe also offers a free, lightweight version of its photo editing tool. Adobe Photoshop Express Editor is accessible to everyone, directly from your usual web browser.
The interface of Adobe Photoshop Express Editor is much simpler and more accessible than that of the original tool. The left column groups the various editing tools, while the main pane allows you to view your edits in real time, undo or reapply them, reset your image, or view your photo before/after.
The editing tools available in Adobe Photoshop Express Editor, as basic as they are, can be quite sufficient for laypeople. This includes cropping, rotation, automatic correction, exposure management, red-eye correction for portraits, adjustment of brightness or white balance, removal of unwanted elements (Touchup function)...
In short, the essential tools for photo editing are present with Adobe Photoshop Express Editor. You can even enhance your photos with graphic elements (text, bubbles, stickers, etc.) to highlight certain elements of your image).
- Download Adobe Photoshop Express Editor on Telecharger.com (Free)
3. Darktable
An open source competitor to Lightroom software, Darktable is a photo manager that allows you to catalog your images, but also to develop your RAW files.
Darktable's interface provides access to a light table where you can view your images within a catalog, as well as a darkroom where you can develop your RAW files and edit your photos.
In detail, Darktable offers everything you need to improve the rendering of your images. You can manage contrast, brightness, and saturation settings, but also adjust shadows and highlights or even act on the base curve.
With this free software, you can crop and rotate your photos, refine their orientation, or even play with the exposure of your image. Furthermore, Darktable includes a module that allows you to display your thumbnails on a world map or even generate a slideshow of the most beautiful images in your catalog.
- Download Darktable on Telecharger.com (Free)
4. Rawtherapee
Free and open source, RawTherapee is a tool similar to Darktable. It is software designed for developing raw images in RAW format. Available on Windows, macOS, and Linux, RawTherapee is aimed at both amateur and professional photographers.
It features a non-destructive processing engine and relies on demosaicing algorithms to offer advanced editing tools. It can also use two demosaicing algorithms simultaneously on the same image.
With it, you can adjust the colors of your photos and highlight the smallest details. It supports multi-image RAW files and allows hot pixel corrections.
- Download RawTherapee on Telecharger.com (Free)
5. PhotoFiltre
Developed around the core of PhotoFiltre Studio, PhotoFiltre 7 includes all the essential features. Available only on Windows, this free photo editing software benefits from an easy-to-use interface. The tools it provides are simple enough for you to apply basic adjustments to your images: brightness, contrast, saturation, and color balance can be modified in just a few clicks.
On PhotoFiltre Studio, less experienced users can let the software automatically manage levels and contrast.
Furthermore, PhotoFiltre 7 offers a number of predefined filters whose parameters can be fine-tuned very easily. For example, you can easily blur an area you want to hide, turn your photos into black and white or sepia, or even apply an artistic filter that radically transforms the image.
Basic editing tools are also present, such as the clone stamp, which can be used to correct certain image defects. PhotoFiltre 7 also uses a layer system that will be useful for adding modifications on top of the original image, without damaging it.
- Download PhotoFiltre on Telecharger.com (Free)
6. Paint.NET
Available on Windows, Paint.NET is a fairly intuitive image editing software. Its interface is close to standards and allows easy access to all editing tools.
With Paint.NET, all the essential functions for basic editing are present, starting with the clone stamp, which is useful for removing unwanted elements from your photos and portraits in just a few clicks. The same goes for the selection tool, essential for cropping or reframing an image.
In Paint.NET, image adjustment settings (curves, brightness, levels, etc.) are grouped in the dedicated menu and can be modified individually, or automatically for less experienced users. The photo editing software includes several presets that can automatically adjust levels.
Like PhotoFiltre, Paint.NET lets you work with layers on your images. Several effects can be applied to your images to change their overall appearance. For example, you can transform a landscape into an ink sketch, a pencil sketch, or even an oil painting.
- Download Paint.NET on Telecharger.com (Free)
7. Photo Pos Pro
Offered free of charge for personal or commercial use, Photo Pos Pro is an image editing software that can be used to edit an existing photo or to create a new image from scratch. The program is aimed at both beginners and more advanced users and offers two different interfaces depending on your level of expertise.
Photo Pos Pro includes everything you need to edit your images. You can remove unwanted objects, modify or delete backgrounds, create collages, apply filters, and much more. With its many tools, the program, which also supports RAW files, will allow you to correct colors, reduce red eyes, or add effects. It works using a layer system, which allows you to superimpose the changes you have made, without affecting the other corrections.
Please note that upon installation, Photo Pos Pro will offer you a 7-day free trial by default for a more comprehensive Premium version of the program. Remember to uncheck this box. You will still be able to take advantage of all the features offered in the basic version of the application.
Download Photo Pos Pro on Telecharger.com (Free)
8. PhotoScape
In a different genre, PhotoScape offers to retouch your images, but can also do a lot of other things. In short, you can use it as an image viewer, a printing module, a GIF generator, a layout tool.
PhotoScape can also act as a batch processor, which is useful for simultaneously applying the same adjustment to several photos.
In its classic editing mode, Photoscape only offers automated modules, which will delight users who are uncomfortable with the idea of manually modifying settings they don't understand. The software has predefined and easy-to-understand parameters for applying different levels of adjustments: low, medium, and high. A click on one of them is enough to apply them to your images.
Finally, PhotoScape offers a large number of filters to modify the overall appearance of your photos. In addition to the traditional filters adding artistic effects, the software also offers filters similar to those found on Instagram, under the title Film Effect. Each of these effects can be applied with varying intensity, again very simply, by directly indicating the desired level.
Note that, during its installation, PhotoScape offers you to install Google Drive. Remember to uncheck this option if you don't want the browser.
- Download PhotoScape on Telecharger.com (Free)
9. Pixlr
Pixlr aims to be accessible, simply because the application takes the form of an online service that can be accessed from any web browser—regardless of the operating system you use. In addition, the platform targets two distinct audiences thanks to these two solutions: Pixlr Editor and Pixlr X.
First, Pixlr Editor looks like any other image editing and retouching software, except that it opens in your web browser. The Webapp's interface is similar to those offered by GIMP, Paint.NET, and PhotoFiltre, as are the functions it includes. The application will allow you to adjust the basic settings of your images, but will also offer you the possibility of applying simple retouches, notably thanks to the clone stamp or the defect erasure tool.
Pixlr Editor is available, by default, in English, but it is possible to switch the interface to French from the language menu. Very comprehensive, this photo editing software allows you to adjust various settings. This includes levels, curves, exposure, brightness and contrast, color hue and saturation, and others. In addition, it includes the application of various filters (vignetting, blur, HDR effect, etc.).
For its part, Pixlr X is aimed at less experienced users. The program offers a very simple way to edit your photos, thanks to an ultra-intuitive interface and preset settings that can be applied to your images in one click: cropping, adjusting colors and brightness, applying filters and effects, etc.
Pixlr X's interface is so easy to understand that even the most reluctant users will find themselves using it without difficulty. All images edited with the software can be exported in JPG and PNG formats in different quality levels and sizes. Obviously, each of these parameters has an impact on the final size of the generated file.
- Download Pixlr on Telecharger.com (Free)
10. Polarr Photo Editor
Polarr Photo Editor is an online photo editing tool, accessible from any browser and requiring no registration. When you arrive on the home page, the tool immediately offers you to open a photo stored on your computer. Once the image is selected, it opens directly in the editor and is ready to be edited.
On the left, Polarr groups together basic editing tools such as filters, the ability to add text, retouch faces in the image, crop the shot, or even superimpose effects in the form of layers. However, some effects are part of the Pro version of Polarr, which requires the creation of an account and the payment of a monthly or annual subscription.
On the right side of the interface, Polarr brings together all the tools for adjusting and setting image parameters. You can play with colors or light, enhance certain details, apply vignetting, and much more. The editing pane also displays a histogram that also provides access to all the information contained in the image metadata.
Polarr offers three image saving formats (JPEG, PNG, and TIFF). Alternatively, the software allows you to add a watermark and even offers to remove metadata from the edited image.
- Download Polarr on Telecharger.com (Free)
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