40+ Image Manipulation Software apps and Tools
Image manipulation or image editing software, apps and tools are computer programs and applications specifically developed for modifying and improving digital images. They allow users to edit, manipulate and enhance digital photos, images or graphics. They also make them more appealing, and arrange them in a suitable layout.
With image editing software and apps, users can effortlessly carry out tasks like and features, such as cropping, resizing, color correction, tones, retouching, composition, applying filters and effects, removing backgrounds, adjusting brightness and contrast, among others.
These tools typically present a user-friendly interface that incorporates a diverse set of editing tools and controls, enabling users to make precise modifications to their images. Advanced image editing software often go a step further by offering additional features such as layers, masks, and brushes.
These advanced capabilities provide users with more sophisticated editing options, allowing them to create complex compositions and manipulate images in intricate ways.
Photographers, graphic designers, artists, and individuals seeking to enhance their photos or generate visually appealing digital content frequently rely on image editing software and apps. These tools play a critical role in professional image editing workflows and find extensive usage in various fields including advertising, publishing, web design, and social media.
There are both free and paid image editing software and apps available. Below are some of the top image manipulation software, apps and tools.
Best Image Manipulation Software apps and Tools
Adobe Photoshop is the go-to for pros in graphic design and photography. It’s powerful, versatile, and lets you do everything from basic photo retouching to complex image creation. It’s the gold standard but comes with a learning curve and a subscription price tag.
GIMP is an open-source, free alternative to Photoshop with many of the same features. It might not be as sleek, but for a free tool, it’s a beast at handling most editing tasks.
Corel PaintShop Pro is a great Photoshop alternative for Windows users that balances a good set of editing tools with an easier learning curve. It’s also more affordable, making it appealing to hobbyists and small businesses.
Krita is tailored more for digital artists, especially those into illustration and comics. It’s free, open-source, and packed with a bunch of tools for sketching and painting digitally.
Pixlr is an online editor that’s perfect for quick edits without the need to download software. It’s surprisingly powerful for a web-based tool and perfect for lightweight tasks.
Known for being super easy and beginner-friendly, Canva is great for non-designers looking to create social media posts, presentations, and simple designs. It’s more about design than heavy-duty photo manipulation.
Luminar Neo
Luminar Neo is focused on photographers, with AI-powered tools that help enhance photos quickly. It’s great if you want to up your photography game without getting into the weeds of technical editing.
Tailored specifically for photographers, Adobe Lightroom is all about making your photos pop with powerful but streamlined editing features. It’s less about creating and more about enhancing what you’ve already shot.
Affinity Photo
Affinity Photo is a professional-grade alternative to Photoshop with a one-time payment (no subscription!) and many of the same features. It’s fast, sleek, and widely loved by photographers and designers alike.
Pixelmator
Pixelmator is a Mac-focused image editor that offers powerful tools with a friendly interface. It’s a lightweight and affordable option for those who want good editing features without going full Photoshop.
Paint.NET
Paint.NET is a free and simple photo editor that’s a step up from basic tools like MS Paint but not as intimidating as Photoshop. It’s popular for quick and easy edits.
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite is more of a package for graphic designers that want to work with vector graphics and layouts. It’s a solid alternative to Adobe Illustrator with a focus on both illustration and photo editing.
Inkscape is a free, open-source alternative to CorelDRAW or Adobe Illustrator, it specializes in vector graphics. Perfect for creating logos, icons, or any design work that requires scalability.
Photopea
Photopea is a web-based image editor that feels a lot like Photoshop but without the need to download anything. It’s surprisingly powerful and a great free option for casual and intermediate users.
Photoscape X
Photoscape X is a simple and fun photo editor that’s great for quick fixes, adding filters, and organizing your photo library. It’s easy to use and ideal for beginners.
Adobe Photoshop Express is a mobile and web-based simplified version of Photoshop, perfect for quick edits on the go. It’s more for tweaking and sharing than in-depth editing.
Darktable
Darktable is an open-source photography workflow application and raw developer, much like Lightroom. It’s perfect for photographers looking to organize, develop, and tweak their raw images, and it’s completely free.
Lightzone
LightZone is a free, open-source raw photo editor that allows for non-destructive editing, meaning you can always revert back to the original image. It’s great for photographers who want to enhance their images without losing data.
RawTherapee is another free raw image editor that’s packed with advanced color correction, noise reduction, and exposure tools. It’s ideal for photographers who need detailed control over their images.
PicMonkey is a user-friendly, web-based design tool for quick edits, collages, and adding graphics to photos. It’s especially popular for creating social media posts and light photo enhancements.
InPixio Photo Studio
InPixio Photo Studio is a photo editor designed to help you enhance, crop, and fix images with ease. It’s beginner-friendly with AI tools to improve photos, making it ideal for people who don’t want to dive too deep into technical editing.
Polarr is a sleek photo editor available both as a web and mobile app, Polarr is known for its advanced filters and the ability to create custom looks. It’s user-friendly but powerful enough for intermediate editors.
ACDSee Photo Studio is a well-rounded photo editor with powerful organizational tools, it’s great for photographers looking to manage large collections of images while still having access to robust editing features.
Photo Pos Pro
Photo Pos Pro is a free editor that packs a punch with an easy-to-use interface for beginners and advanced tools for more experienced users. It’s versatile enough for photo editing, retouching, and even creating graphics.
Snapseed
Snapseed is a mobile app with professional-grade editing capabilities. It’s known for being intuitive yet powerful, offering advanced features like selective adjustments and healing tools right on your phone
DxO PhotoLab
Known for its incredible noise reduction and lens correction tools, DxO PhotoLab is a favorite among photographers for enhancing raw photos. It’s all about fine-tuning your images to perfection.
Fotor is an easy-to-use online photo editor that focuses on enhancing images with filters, effects, and quick edits. It’s perfect for beginners or anyone who needs fast, simple adjustments.
Capture One Pro
Capture One Pro is a high-end raw photo editor favored by professional photographers for its superior color grading and tethered shooting capabilities. It’s great if you need full control over your image processing.
ON1 Photo RAW
ON1 Photo RAW is a photo editor and organizer that competes with Lightroom. It’s packed with powerful editing tools, is faster than most alternatives, and offers the flexibility to work with raw files non-destructively.
FX Photo Studio Pro
FX Photo Studio is a Mac app that offers hundreds of creative filters and effects, making it ideal for anyone looking to stylize their photos with artistic flair rather than detailed editing.
PicsArt is a mobile app that’s more about fun and creativity than professional editing. It has a wide array of filters, effects, and tools for creating standout images, perfect for social media.
YouCam Perfect
YouCam Perfect is a mobile app focused on beautification tools for selfies. It’s loaded with effects, filters, and retouching tools to make your portraits pop.
VSCO
VSCO is a popular mobile app that’s all about creating aesthetically pleasing photos with minimalistic editing tools and a wide range of filters. It’s a favorite among Instagram users for its vintage-inspired looks.
Ashampoo Photo Optimizer
Ashampoo Photo Optimizer is a simple, no-fuss photo editor that focuses on automatically enhancing your images with one click. It’s great for quick touch-ups and optimization without a lot of manual adjustments.
More of a digital painting software than a photo editor, Corel Painter is beloved by artists for its realistic brushes and media emulation. If you’re into creating digital art from scratch, this is your tool.
Clip Studio Paint
Clip Studio Paint is popular among illustrators, comic artists, and animators. It’s packed with tools for drawing and painting digitally, making it great for those creating detailed artwork and comics.
Procreate
Procreate is a highly acclaimed drawing app for the iPad, known for its user-friendly interface and powerful tools. It’s ideal for digital artists, illustrators, and designers who want to create on the go.
PaintTool SAI
PaintTool SAI is a lightweight and fast digital painting software favored by manga and anime artists for its smooth brush engine and simplicity. It’s less about photo editing and more about drawing.
MyPaint
MyPaint is another open-source, free drawing app that focuses on simplicity and speed. It’s perfect for digital artists looking for an intuitive and clean space to create without distractions.
Paintstorm Studio
Paintstorm Studio is a digital painting tool that offers advanced brush customization and control, making it ideal for artists who want to fine-tune every detail of their brushes and strokes.
Autodesk SketchBook
Autodesk Sketchbook is a professional-grade drawing app that’s free and intuitive. It’s perfect for digital sketching, with a clean interface and a range of customizable brushes. Many artists love it for its simplicity and power.
ArtRage
ArtRage is all about emulating traditional painting tools. It’s fantastic for artists who want to create with realistic oils, watercolors, and textures but in a digital environment. The tools behave like their real-world counterparts.
Rebelle
Rebelle is known for its realistic watercolors and acrylic simulations. It’s perfect for artists who want to replicate traditional painting techniques digitally, thanks to its fluid dynamics and natural blending effects.
MediBang Paint
MediBang Paint is a free digital painting and comic creation software. It’s lightweight and comes with a ton of resources like brushes and comic fonts, making it ideal for illustrators and manga artists on a budget.
FireAlpaca
Fire Alpaca is another free and simple digital painting app. It’s great for beginners and comic artists, with easy-to-use tools and features like perspective grids and comic panel templates.
Mischief
Mischief stands out for its infinite canvas feature, meaning you can zoom in or out forever, which is fantastic for concept artists or sketching big ideas. It’s lightweight but surprisingly powerful.
OpenCanvas
Popular in Japan, OpenCanvas is known for its easy-to-use interface and excellent tools for digital painting. It also has a fun time-lapse feature to record your drawing process.
Black Ink
Black Ink is a unique painting software that focuses on unconventional and customizable brushes. It’s more about abstract art and experimentation, perfect for artists who want to push the boundaries of digital creation.
Leonardo
Leonardo is a simple but fast drawing app focused on smooth performance, especially on tablets. It’s lightweight and easy to use, but still powerful enough for professional artists.
Sumo Paint
Sumo Paint is an online painting and photo editing tool. It’s very accessible, with a good set of features for both creating digital art and editing images directly from your browser.
SpeedyPainter
SpeedyPainter is a lightweight, free painting app focused on simplicity and speed. It’s perfect for quick sketches and studies, offering a straightforward interface without too many distractions.
Artweaver
Artweaver is a painting program that aims to simulate traditional media like oils, acrylics, and pastels. It’s beginner-friendly but still powerful enough for more detailed work, especially if you love the feel of natural media.
Infinite Painter
Infinite Painter is a mobile app designed for both beginners and pros. It’s packed with brushes, blending tools, and a sleek interface. Artists love it for its versatility, especially on tablets.
Ibis Paint X
ibis Paint X is another mobile app that’s great for drawing and comic creation. It offers a ton of brushes, layers, and effects, making it popular among manga artists and illustrators who want to create on the go.
Fresh Paint
Fresh Paint is a Microsoft app that mimics traditional painting, with realistic brushes and textures. It’s fun and intuitive, great for kids and beginners looking to explore digital art with real-world feels.
Adobe Fresco
Designed for digital painting and drawing, Adobe Fresco offers a combination of raster, vector, and live brushes that simulate real oils and watercolors. It’s a favorite among illustrators and concept artists for its versatility and smooth experience.
