This is probably the most Photoshop-like application for the Mac, which can be downloaded from the App Store and is considered to be one of the best free Mac apps for photo editing. PhotoScape has almost everything you might need to view, optimize, edit, print or just having some fun with photos. If you need a simple, good-looking photo editing app, Aviary is a great way to go. It offers all the tools we’ve come to expect in basic photo editing apps without any time-wasting registration. It offers all the tools we’ve come to expect in basic photo editing apps without any time-wasting registration.

There are many choices of apps that have photo editing tools such as filters, brightness, vignette and cropping, but it can be a challenge deciding which ones are the best. In my opinion, here are 20 of the best photo editing apps that you should consider downloading.

Adobe Photoshop Express (iOS/Android/Windows Phone)

Camera+ has many sophisticated photo editing tools like touch exposure and focus. There is a Stabilizer shooting mode to help you take sharp photos and zoom up to 6x. One of the best features in Camera+ is called Clarity, which makes intelligent adjustments to improve upon photos even in low light situations. There are many scene modes like Food, Sunset, Night, Portrait and Beach built into Camera+ to ensure you capture shots at the optimal setting.

When taking photos using Camera+, I would recommend using the “Horizon Level” feature because it helps prevent crooked shots. Camera+ also has a variety of borders you can choose to touch up the photos. Some of the other tools Camera+ has include effects (“Grunge,” “So emo,” etc.), brushing, layering, white balance, 1-tap red eye removal, vignette and tone.

Camera360 (iOS/Android/Windows)

Camera360 has over 700 million users around the world. This app is especially popular in Asia and has been endorsed by several celebrities. There are more than 200 filters available on the Camera360 app. And you can add some creativity to your photos by using live face effects and stickers.

Darkroom (iOS)

Darkroom is a photo editing app that has all the bells and whistles that you would expect plus more. Aside from being able to crop, brighten, saturate, fade and add filters, you can also adjust the curves, colors and tones. The Darkroom app also has infinite undo history and custom filter support.

One of the best features in the Darkroom app has is the ability to edit photos without having to import them. And if there are certain photos that you want to quickly access, then you can “favorite” them.

Darkroom is available as a free download, but it has a number of in-app purchases. For example, the Portraits, Landscapes and B&W features cost $1.99 each.

FaceTune (iOS, Android, Windows)

FaceTune is definitely a must-have photo editing app. FaceTune wasdesigned to help you improve selfies and portraits. I definitely could have used this app when I was in high school for my yearbook and prom photos.

FaceTune can widen smiles and brighten teeth. It can also be used to remove pimples and blemishes and brighten dark circles under the eyes. Plus it can also remove red- and white-eye effects.

Replacing grey hairs with a different color and filling in bald patches is a cinch with FaceTune. And you can use FaceTune to refine jawlines, reshape the nose, add color to your lips and apply blush shades and eye shadows.

Font Candy (iOS)

As the name implies, Font Candy is a photo editing app that allows you to overlay creative font captions on your photos. If you are having writer’s block, then you can select preset sayings from the app. Font Candy also has scaling and cropping tools that you can use. As demonstrated by the screenshots, this app can come in handy for creating marketing materials and wedding-related graphics.

Flickr (iOS/Android)

Flickr has been one of the most popular professional photographer communities since 2004. Yahoo! acquired Flickr in 2005, which enabled the photo social network to scale its growth. There are now over 12 billion photos that have been shared on Flickr. And Flickr offers 1TB of free storage to all of its users. Flick’s mobile app lets you edit photos, add filters and crop images from the camera roll.

There is a pro version of Flickr that offers advanced stats on your photos, an ad-free browsing experience, a desktop auto uploading tool, a one year subscription for Adobe Photoshop CC and Lightroom CC and a couple of other smaller perks. The pro version of Flickr costs either $5.99 per month or $49.99 per year.

Google Photos (iOS/Android)

Google Photos is a free unlimited photo and video storage service that spun out of Google+ and evolved from Picasa. Google Photos is also tightly integrated with Google Drive.

Photos up to 16 megapixels and videos up to 1080p resolution can be uploaded to Google Photos for free. However, higher quality photos and videos uses up your Google Drive storage.

Once the photos are uploaded, Google allows users to search for people, places, dates and subjects of their photos. For example, you can search for “beach in Florida” and it will find the photos that are relevant to that query.

When you tap on the Pencil icon of a photo, the app goes into edit mode. From there, you can adjust the Light, Color, Pop and Vignette effects. Google Photos also has filters, crop and rotation tools. Another useful feature is that Google Photos lets you review each individual shot when you upload photos in burst mode. Photos can be restored to the original state if you decide later on that you don't like the edits.

Instagram (iOS/Android)

Instagram is one of the most popular photo and video sharing mobile applications with over 500 million users. Photos on Instagram can be shared privately or publicly.

Instagram has many filters to choose from and there are several editing tools you can use such as: adjust/crop, brighten, contrast, structure, warmth, saturation, color, fade, highlights, shadows, vignette, tilt shift and sharpen.

Facebook acquired Instagram for $1 billion back in 2012 and integrated its advertising platform with the mobile photo social network since then.

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Litely (iOS)

Litely is a photo editing app created by a photographer named Cole Rise, who is known for creating filters on Instagram like Amaro, Hudson, Sierra, Sutro and Rise. With the Litely app, you can adjust crop, exposure, sharpness and custom vignetting. There are 66 presets in the shop and new packs are going to be added in future updates.

Microsoft Selfie (iOS)

Microsoft built a solid photo enhancement app for iOS called Microsoft Selfie. Microsoft Selfie considers age, gender, skin tone, lighting and several other variables to enhance your selfies. One of the best features in the Microsoft Selfie app is called Intelligent Portrait Enhancement — which fixes photos up with one click. In dim light situations, the Denoise mode is automatically enabled — which reduces noise by using burst shots. And there is an auto exposure feature that corrects backlit photos.

PicsArt (iOS, Android, Windows)

PicsArt is one of my most favorite mobile photo apps because it has a ton of features. PicsArt has been downloaded over 300 million times thus far and it can be used for editing photos, making collages and drawing. It also has a built-in social network for sharing your photos. Some of the tools it has include crop, perspective, stretch, tilt shift, artistic filters, borders, masks, text, lens flare and speech bubbles. PicsArt is free to download, but itgenerates revenue by selling additional tools like Love Quotes, Tattoo Fonts and Birthday Frames.

Prisma (iOS/Android)

Prisma is a mobile app that turns your photos and videos into art inspired by the styles of Van Gogh, Munk, Picasso and Levitan. You simply take the photo or video while using the app or pick one from your camera roll and select the filter. Prisma uses deep learning algorithms to apply each creative filter on the photos and videos. Primsa has over 30 styles and it has been downloaded tens of millions of times since it was released over the summer.

Photo Editor by Aviary (iOS/Android)

The Aviary app has filters, stickers, frames and several other editing tools. Over 1,500 of the Aviary effects are free. Like FaceTune, Aviary makes it easy to erase blemishes and whiten teeth. What I like about Photo Editor by Aviary is that it is integrated with Behance, an online portfolio service that supports creative photography professionals.

Repix (iOS/Android)

Repix is a photo editing app that is used by more than 15 million people. Repix has more than 25 effect brushes and 16 filters. There are also more than 10 frames to choose from. Plus there are editing tools like brightness and saturation controls. And there are creative effects like flares and posterize.

Retromatic (iOS)

The Retromatic app makes it easy to give your photos retro-style themes complete with a wide range of stickers and effects. There are over 18 retro filters, 17 graphic themes and 70 retro stickers available in the app.

Snapseed (iOS/Android)

Snapseed is a photo editing app that Google acquired in 2012. Snapseed has 25 tools including crop, rotate, perspective, brush, white balance and vignette. And Snapseed supports the ability to edit RAW DNG files.

One of my favorite Snapseed features is Lens Blur, which adds a Bokeh effect to images. And there is a glamour glow feature that works well for fashion shoots and portraits. Some of the other filters include HDR Scape, Drama, Grunge, Grainy Film, Vintage, Retrolux, Noir and Black and White. Snapseed also supports frames. And you can add focus to the eyes and add face-specific lighting.

Trigraphy (iOS)

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Trigraphy is an app that turns your photos into abstract art. Trigraphy has 11 effects, more than 20 textures and 74 preset filters. Plus Trigraphy allows you to export your photos up to 4096 x 4096 pixels. Some of the photos taken with this app look like they should be in a museum!

VSCO (iOS/Android)

VSCO is an app that supports advanced camera controls and a photo editing community. With VSCO you can publish images and journals and curate content in your profile. VSCO has a number of presets, tools and filters.

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What is the difference between VSCO and Instagram? VSCO does not have social components such as “likes” and “comments” for photos. VSCO seems to be more favored as the go to app for professional photographer portfolios. VSCO’s app description used to say: “Because beautiful imagery trumps social clout, the number of followers, comments, and likes are absent from the platform.”

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What are your thoughts about these 20 photo editing apps? Have you used any of these? Are there any other apps that aren't mentioned in this article that you like? Please leave a comment!