If you’re looking for a simple app to quickly edit a photo, why bother installing Photoshop or GIMP when you have such a vast sea of free image editors online? Web apps are so underrated. They can actually perform just as well as some free desktop image editors. You just need to know where to look.
Here’s a list of simple, free online image editors. All of them do not require you to download anything. Only Photoshop Express Editor requires registration. And best of all, they all load in a few seconds so why not give them a try?
1. Adobe Photoshop Express Editor
An online image editor (registration required) that has all the basic features you’ll need for simple photo editing. It doesn’t support layers or filters but does offer touchups, image adjustments (sharpening, white balance), and red-eye correction among others.
2. Splashup
Another free online image editor that’s quick to load. It’s equipped with almost all of the features found in desktop image editors including layers, filters and brushes. It does most functions you’d expect but most people just want to resize images online and it does that too.
3. Pheonix – Aviary Suite
Also a free web image editor, Phoenix isn’t as quick to load but boasts a rich editing toolset. It comes with usual suspects: layer support, magic wand, and blend modes. You might also want to check out the other web apps offered by Aviary.
4. Sumo Paint
A free, web-based image editor that allows you to edit and create images. Loading local images is a breeze and it comes with almost all of the features you’ll need: layer support and effects, adjustments, filters, colour picker. It feels very responsive for a web app.
5. Picnik
Just like Adobe Photoshop Express Editor, Picnik is mainly for photo editing and a lot of users use it as an option to resize images online because it’s just so quick to load. In addition to the basic tools like image cropping, resizing, exposure correction and sharpening; it has a library of predefined effects.
I’ll stop right here because I believe a list of 5 is pretty optimal. If you have any app suggestions, feel free to voice them out in the comments.
Fred
November 16, 2010
Very nice article, but I also love to use PhotoScape
Jackson Chung
November 16, 2010
Yeah it’s a great app. I love Pixelmator for Mac.
Michele
November 16, 2010
I’ve used GIMP and have been satisfied. It’s a big program, but powerful, and absolutely free
Michele
November 16, 2010
Nevermind.I see the article offers alternatives to GIMP
Jackson Chung
November 16, 2010
Thanks for dropping by, Michele!
John Hauxwell
November 17, 2010
Pixlr does every thing I need and also has an express version for quick fixes. Photo editor online – Pixlr.com edit image : http://www.pixlr.com/
Jackson Chung
November 19, 2010
Thanks for the recommendation, John!
Roni
November 18, 2010
Fantastic recommendations. As a cheap grad student at home and technology educator in the classroom, I so appreciate your sharing. I’m particularly impressed with Sumo Paint, as were my students. A post crediting yours here: http://youthandtech.wordpress.com/2010/11/18/free-photoshop-alternatives-for-teachers-students-classrooms-web-based-photo-editing/
Jackson Chung
November 19, 2010
Hey Roni,
I appreciate the linkback! Happy to be of help.
Anneliese Buddemeyer
November 28, 2010
Major thanks for the article post. Awesome.
Jackson Chung
December 2, 2010
Hi Anneliese,
Thanks for dropping by!
danny6114
April 13, 2011
Are any of these suitable for a rank amateur to be introduced to photo editing? If not could you suggest a simple program to learn on?
Jackson Chung
April 13, 2011
Well, online image editors are solely for convenience. If you’d like to learn photo editing, try GIMP or Photoshop. There’s a slight learning curve but that’s the whole point or learning photo editing anyway.
Karen
May 10, 2011
Are any of these particularly good for knocking out backgrounds? I have to do a lot of that, putting sometimes complex objects on a white background.
Jackson Chung
May 10, 2011
Karen, try Sumo Paint.
satamusic
June 5, 2011
online meh. free Paint.NET is where it’s at. http://www.getpaint.net
James C.
August 21, 2011
All good photo editors. I’m looking for a photo stitcher like the one in Arcsoft PhotoStudio 4.0 and 5.5. Pano’s do not work for less than 3 photos. Very pertinent information, thanks.
Kevin Fegan
September 7, 2011
James, Which program do you use to do stitching ?
If your stitcher requires 3 or more pictures and you only have 2 pictures, then you could take one picture and split it into two…
For example, you could copy the picture and crop out about 40% on the right and save the remaining 60%. Then copy the picture again and crop out about 40% on the left and save the remaining 60%. You now have 3 pictures to be stitched together. Perhaps you may have to play around with the percentages a little bit.
If that doesn’t work because of the differing picture sizes or for some other reason, you could try this:
Take the right-most picture and save a mirror image of it and let the stitcher combine the pictures as Left+Right+Mirror. The Mirror image should be easy to crop out when done.
Truth Talker
June 15, 2012
please do the morally right thing and spread the truth