Photoshop is undoubtedly the best program with which to retouch photos and edit images on the PC but it is not accessible to everyone, since it is a commercial product sold by Adobe with a very high license cost (even by subscription). Fortunately, however, there is no shortage of alternatives to the famous photo editing program and many of them are available as a web app, that is, usable online without having to download anything on our computer: a simple web browser such as Google Chrome is enough to retouch all the photos online.In the following guide we will show you the best online sites and apps for editing and retouching photos and images in a professional and personalized way, so you can edit your personal photos for free without having to spend absurd amounts for the original Photoshop.
Sites and apps to replace Photoshop
The sites and apps that we will show you are suitable for an audience that has the good will to learn the trade of a graphic designer but they are also good for those who use graphic editing programs on a daily basis, since they can replace Photoshop in the easiest and most repetitive tasks.
Best sites to edit photos online
The best web service we can use as an alternative to Photoshop is Pixlr X, which we can reach from the official website.
This simple and effective image editor includes all the basic functions we are used to using in Photoshop, so you can edit any type of image with a very well-stocked toolbar and some of the best photo filters and effects. This site is ideal if you want to make changes to an image or photograph without having professional software.
Another very good site for retouching photos and editing images online is Photopea, accessible from the official website.
This web app presents itself as the real alternative to Photoshop for free, with a similar interface and the ability to perform almost all the retouching operations on the images that can be done with the most well-known program. In fact, there are many tools available in the main menu, special effects, photographic filters, frames, shapes and stickers and then many embellishments to make up the photo and correct any kind of imperfection.
If we are looking for a very easy to use photo editing site, we invite you to give it a try FotoFlexer, available from the official website.
With this site we will have a lower bar with all the main photo editing tools, which will allow you to add text, cut part of the images, resize, apply filters, add stickers and change the background in a few simple steps.
If we want to try other web apps to edit photos, we invite you to read our guide 10 sites to make changes on photos quickly without registration.
Best programs to edit photos for free
Are we looking for a good Photoshop alternative to install on our work computer? Although the quality of the Adobe program is unmatched from a professional point of view, for quick or amateur retouching we can try GIMP, available for free from the official website.
This program offers so many tools and, once you learn how it works, it can also replace Photoshop for sporadic retouching or to quickly edit photos shared on social networks or in chat. GIMP offers numerous filters and effects and can be enhanced with external plugins, so that it is almost on the same level as Photoshop.
As an alternative image editor on PC we can also use Paint.net, available for free from the official website.
This program can be seen as an enhanced version of the Paint editor integrated in Windows: it comes with an interface rich in features and options and allows you to apply filters, edit multiple images at the same time and apply changes on multiple levels, so you can apply your changes like a pro.
Do we want a very simple program to edit photos on the fly? In this case we can rely onPhotos app, built into Windows 10.
By opening any photo or image on Windows 10 we will be able to open the editor for changes by pressing the pencils icon at the top, so that we can crop, flip and enhance any image with a few clicks. From the same menu we can access the advanced functions to add effects, to add animated text, to add a 3D effect or to draw freehand.
If we are looking for other applications to edit images for free on PC, I refer you to reading our article Best Photoshop alternative graphics programs, free.
Best free photo editing apps
Do we often use the smartphone or tablet to retouch photos? In this case, we recommend that you use the app Photoshop Express, provided free of charge by Adobe and available for Android and for iPhone / iPad.
With this app we will have at our disposal most of the functions that we used to use on the PC program, with a convenient interface designed to be able to modify any image with two simple touches on the screen. With this app we can also open the projects we had started on the PC program, so as to apply changes on the fly or change an effect.
Another very good app for retouching photos and editing images from mobile is Snapseed, available free for Android and for iPhone / iPad.
This app surprises for the large amount of filters and changes that you can apply to your photos and images downloaded from social networks, with an ease of use that is difficult to find in other apps or in other solutions seen with other applications. After the modification we can create a copy of the image to save in the internal memory or share it immediately on social networks, so as to show everyone our photo editing skills.
If we are looking for an app with a lot of social and trendy effects, we invite you to give it a try PicsArt Photo Editor, available free for Android and for iPhone / iPad.
By uploading our photos on this app we will be able to apply a very large number of effects and filters, able to improve the quality of any image and to add details and filters able to favor anyone who uses a lot of Instagram or other photographic social apps.
To discover other mobile apps to retouch photos and edit images, just read our articles Best App to Edit Photos on iPhone with Filters and Effects e Best App to Edit Photos on Android.
Conclusions
All the apps and web tools that we have reported above will allow you to avoid buying or downloading the cracks for Adobe Photoshop and in any case to modify all the photos and images that you will come across: for amateur photo editing. the Adobe program is really wasted, as well as difficult to learn and use. For beginners there are many apps and many simple and immediate sites to use to retouch photos and edit images, obtaining more than good results.
In another guide we have shown you the best Free photo editing programs for Mac, while if we look for other sites to apply complex effects to photos, we refer you to reading the guide 10 complex photo editing effects made easy with free online tools.
