What are the best image editors for iOS?

Question

7

Options
Considered

8

User
Recs.

Jan 24, 2018

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

7 Options Considered

Best image editors for iOS	Price	Platforms	Tethered capture
-- Pixelmator	-	OSX	No
-- Aviary	-	-	-
-- Affinity Photo	$49.99	OSX, Windows	No
-- Photoshop Fix	-	-	-
-- Lightroom	$9.99/mo	Windows OSX	Yes

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score 3 · Answer 1

Pixelmator

Top Pro

Functionality comparable to that of the desktop counterpart

The app allows adjusting colors (contrast, exposure, white balance, saturation, etc) applying dozens of effects, it has tools for painting (100+ brushes, stylus support, smudging, etc), retouching (sharpening, lightening, etc) and graphic design (texts, shapes) and much more. All supporting layer-based and often non-destructive editing techniques. See More

Top Con

Lots of tapping required to get around

Because Pixelmator tries to include as much functionality as it does, a lot of time is spent navigating through menus, finding the appropriate tool for the job. See More

Specs

Platforms:OSX

Tethered capture:No

Top Pro

Cheap

Costs just $5. See More

Top Con

No redo button

See All

Built by Slant

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instantly.

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4.7 star rating

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score 1 · Answer 2

Aviary

Top Pro

Easy to use

The app doesn't overwhelm you with functionality or hide it behind unlabelled icons. It displays about 5 tools at a time beneath the image and allows you to swipe through the complete list of tools horizontally. Most interactions with the software are kept in that bottom row so you can always see the results of your image manipulations. See More

Top Con

Covers just the basics

There are 20 tools for image manipulation. They allow you to change the sharpness, crop the image, apply filters to it, add frames, etc. There are also tools for one tap redeye and blemish removal. See More

Top Pro

Free

The core functionality of the app is offered for free without any ads. You can optionally purchase additional effects. See More

Top Con

Not all effects are free

See All

score 1 · Answer 3

Affinity Photo

Top Pro

Lifetime updates

Pay once, get updates forever. See More

Top Con

Limited selection of plugins

Plugin support was only recently added to AP and not many plugins have been created for the program so far. See More

Specs

Platforms:OSX, Windows

Tethered capture:No

Top Pro

Personas allow separation of concerns

At a high level the interface is organized into broad groups of tools called Personas. Personas like Photo for in-depth image manipulation, Liquify for warping the image, Develop for basic RAW photo development and Export for exporting. Each persona displays only those tools that are needed for that task. See More

Top Pro

Interface will be familiar to those coming from Photoshop

The interface, especially the Photo persona, is laid out in way that's very similar to Photoshop - a panel for icons for tools on the left, a panel for information and settings on the right. See More

Top Pro

Compatible with Photoshop PSD files

Affinity Photo can import and export .psd files. See More

See All

score 1 · Answer 4

Photoshop Fix

Top Pro

Integrates with Creative Cloud

You can save all projects directly to the Creative Cloud allowing you to access them from any device and with any relevant Adobe software. See More

Top Con

Moving projects between Adobe apps could be easier

Projects can't be moved directly between apps, they first have to be saved to the Creative Cloud. This also means that if you're disconnected from the Internet, you can't share projects between applications. See More

Top Pro

The app works exactly the same on an iPhone as it does on an iPad

All functionality and navigation is the same on the iPhone as it is on the iPad. See More

Top Con

Covers just retouching tools

Top Pro

Syncs with Lightroom mobile

The app allows easily accessing all Lightroom mobile assets saved on the device. See More

See All

Answer 5

Lightroom

Top Pro

HDR support

Can merge multiple shots into one in order to expand dynamic range. This turns your iPhone into a much more powerful camera. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows OSX

Tethered capture:Yes

score 1 · Answer 6

Free Photo Collage & Template Designer

Top Pro

Easy tools for image editing

Answer 7

Picktorial

Top Pro

Single-space workflow

I don't need to change to different models every time. See More

Specs

Platforms:Mac OS

Tethered capture:No

DCP Profile Support:Yes

Catalog Free:Yes

See All Specs

Top Pro

Super fast

All operations, even changing between photos is very quick. See More

Top Pro

Intuitive user interface

The UI is very intuitive, the learning curve is very shallow. See More

See All

7 Options Considered

My Recommendation for Pixelmator

My Recommendation for Pixelmator

Functionality comparable to that of the desktop counterpart

Lots of tapping required to get around

Cheap

No redo button

My Recommendation for Aviary

My Recommendation for Aviary

Easy to use

Covers just the basics

Free

Not all effects are free

My Recommendation for Affinity Photo

My Recommendation for Affinity Photo

Lifetime updates

Limited selection of plugins

Personas allow separation of concerns

Interface will be familiar to those coming from Photoshop

Compatible with Photoshop PSD files

My Recommendation for Photoshop Fix

My Recommendation for Photoshop Fix

Integrates with Creative Cloud

Moving projects between Adobe apps could be easier

The app works exactly the same on an iPhone as it does on an iPad

Covers just retouching tools

Syncs with Lightroom mobile

My Recommendation for Lightroom

My Recommendation for Lightroom

HDR support

My Recommendation for Free Photo Collage & Template Designer

My Recommendation for Free Photo Collage & Template Designer

Easy tools for image editing

My Recommendation for Picktorial

My Recommendation for Picktorial

Single-space workflow

Super fast

Intuitive user interface

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