Today, thanks to our smartphones, which are usually within reach in our pockets, our most cherished memories and unforgettable moments are captured within seconds. The mobile camera has become the most common tool for capturing a photo, which is then usually stored on our smartphones or shared on several social media platforms.

On the other hand, businesses are now relying on social media platforms to advertise their products and promote a good brand image. With a huge audience and lower costs than other marketing strategies, social media marketing through creating creative visual content is becoming very popular, with almost all businesses, ensuring a strong online presence.

With the growing importance of visual content, countless numbers of posts are uploaded on the internet every day, with everyone ensuring that their posts stand out. Whether it’s for personal use or achieving higher business sales, everyone now needs the right photo editing applications. With so many apps to choose from, we have compiled some of the best photo editing applications for you. 

1.    Snapseed

This free photo-editing application is developed by Google and is considered one of the most popular apps. The application is available for both Android and iOS mobile devices. Explicitly designed for the mobile interface, the application has a very smooth workflow on all mobile devices. It is easy to use, yet it has all the features you would expect from professional photo editing software. So whether you are a professional photographer or simply want to edit your pictures in high-quality, Snapseed will work well for you.

2.     VSCO

Another free, very popular application is VSCO, which goes beyond being a photo editing application. Alongside its many available editing tools with film-like filters, VSCO has a built-in camera that allows you to capture images to save and edit them without exiting the application. It also includes a community of photographers to share your experience with. What makes this app unique is its elegant filters, which allow you to add subtle filters to your pictures and create vintage-like photos.

3.    Adobe Lightroom

Often used with Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom is considered one of the most popular applications used by photographers. A photo editing and photo management tool, Lightroom have the majority of the image manipulation tools you’ll ever need as it has several editing tools that beginners would find to be more than enough, yet it is also popular among advanced users. Lightroom is also much easier to use than Photoshop, with the latter having more complex features that could take the user a longer time to learn. Moreover, the application is more than just a photo editing tool as it helps you import, organize, manage, and find your photos.

However, the application needs a subscription to work on your device. If you aren’t the biggest fan of subscriptions, there are many alternatives to Lightroom which you can find on Cultured Kiwi, listing the functions you need to be looking for when considering an alternative as well as reviews on the best applications.

4.    Adobe Photoshop Express

This application is simply similar to Photoshop, which you normally use on your PC. The mobile application has many of Photoshop’s editing tools, but on a mobile app. It’s very easy to use on a mobile phone and has several advanced photo editing tools such as cropping, red-eye correction, brightness, saturation, borders, as well as smart filters.

5.    Prisma

This application, which is also available on Android and iOS is very unique; it allows you to turn your photos into artistic paintings and drawings. While you might find this feature to sound a little bit cliché, you’d be surprised at how much you might like the results. Moreover, Prisma has its own online community just like Instagram, so you can post your photos after editing them to your feed.

6.    Enlight

This application is perfect for getting very creative results. Along with the traditional editing tools that you can find on other applications, Enlight has several unique design elements that you can apply to your photos. Moreover, its “Mask Tool” allows you to apply your edits/changes to the specific parts of the photos that you would like, giving you total control over your editing.

Now that you have read about our top 6 picks for the best photo editing applications, are you a little confused about which one is the best?  Well, it depends on your needs and your usage. Whether you are looking for easy and simple photo editing tools for your own personal use, you are interested in creating classic and vintage-like edits, or you’re looking for more artistic and complex effects and edits, these aforementioned apps are worth trying.