The best photo editing software of 2025: Expert tested and reviewed

Adobe Photoshop is the gold standard for many photography professionals — and for good reason. Adobe’s photo editing suite has dominated the market for years. It is well-known for having an advanced, wide variety of tools and options for image creation and manipulation. 

Photoshop can be used for color adjustment, resizing, masking, layering, and more. Every professional tool is at your disposal, from minor corrections to layer adjustments, color tweaks, and generative fills to object removal. New features added to the latest update include distracting object removal, background generation, and workflow enhancements. In addition, Photoshop has now launched an iOS app with Android due to land later this year. 

Customers consider Adobe Photoshop to be intuitive, fast, and one of the best options on the market. I’ve used Adobe Photoshop for everything from photo editing to creative projects for over a decade, and I agree. 

In the early days, Adobe Photoshop was standalone software, but it’s now offered on a subscription basis — a change that is not exactly popular with long-term users. You will need to pay $23 per month, or you can combine your plan with other apps through the $60 per month Creative Cloud subscription. This option includes all of Adobe’s creative apps such as Lightroom, Illustrator, and InDesign. You can also combine Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom for $14.98 per month.

Adobe Photoshop specs: Platforms: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, online | Mobile? Yes | Cloud backup? Yes | RAW support? Yes | Price: Subscription model, free trial

Adobe Lightroom is specifically designed to reduce the workload during batch image editing. When I need to edit photos taken at events, including weddings, I always use this software to manage my workflow. It has handy tools including batch contrast and refinement tweaks, presets, and masking for applying effects like bokeh. These tools drastically reduce the amount of time you need to edit hundreds of photos. 

Between the cloud-based system and desktop-based Classic version, I find that the former works best for mass editing. I prefer Classic’s wider range of tools including brushes and editing effects. Both are great when paired with a Loupedeck. 

Other users say that Adobe Lightroom’s tools and efficiency are a bonus, but many report that customer service needs serious improvement. 

Subscriptions begin at $12 per month. Like Photoshop, you can opt for the full Creative Cloud plan for $60 per month to access all of Adobe’s creative apps. You can also combine Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom for $14.98 per month. A trial is available.

Adobe Lightroom specs: Platforms: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, online | Mobile? Yes | Cloud backup? Yes | RAW support? Yes | Price: Subscription model, free trial

Affinity Photo 2 could be the best subscription-free alternative to Adobe’s Creative Cloud on this list. 

It supports raw image format (RAW) and comes with a wide range of user-friendly image editing tools. These include photo retouching functions, layering, cropping, object removal, color adjustments, brushes, and filters.

During testing, I found Affinity Photo 2 to be a powerful photo editor without the learning curve I experienced with Adobe products. Users say that Affinity Photo 2 is a reasonable editor but lacks some of the comprehensive tools of its rival. Still, the one-time payment is very attractive if you want a photo editor but don’t plan on subscribing. Due to this, I would recommend Affinity Photo 2 to anyone who likes editing photos and images as a hobby as well as photography professionals on a budget.

The price point is certainly likely to lure in photography enthusiasts and professionals alike: Excluding tax, you will pay only $70 for a desktop lifetime license. Alternatively, you could opt to pay $165 — plus tax — for a universal license including access to Affinity Photo 2, Affinity Designer 2, and Affinity Publisher 2. IPad-only licenses are available for $18.49, alongside a seven-day trial.

Affinity Photo 2 specs: Platforms: Mac, Windows, iPad | Mobile? iPad only | Cloud backup? Yes | RAW support? Yes | Price: One-off, $70, trial

Skylum’s Luminar NEO is an artificial intellience-first photo editor that focuses on usability. It has a clean, easy-to-understand interface with photo editing tools that encourage experimentation and having fun with creative projects. 

You can use simple sliders to enhance your images, play around with contrast, tweak an image’s composition, crop, tint, and change clarity. Ready-made filters are available to change everything from color selections to grain levels. 

I find Luminar enjoyable to use, but it should be considered a compromise between basic photo editing tools and professional suites. It lacks some of the more intricate features used in professional editing, but that’s not an issue, as the software shines for creative projects, quick editing, or beginning photographers. 

Users like how easy Luminar NEO is to learn and use as one of the few AI-first photo editing solutions on the market. It is not considered anything close to an Adobe alternative, and workflow management can be slow. 

As of publication, Luminar NEO is currently on sale. We like that you can choose between an ongoing subscription or a one-off payment for a perpetual license. A one-year subscription costs $69 and comes with a license for the software,100 add-ons, and a starter course. Alternatively, choose a lifetime license for $119. A 14-day trial and 30-day money-back guarantee is available.

Skylum Luminar NEO specs: Platforms: Windows, macOS | Mobile? Yes | Cloud backup? Manual only | RAW support? Yes | Price: Subscription or one-off payment, trial

First published in 2018, Gimp is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It’s free, open source, powerful, and customizable — from the plugins you can implement to the user interface. It’s available for download for Windows, MacOS, Android, and Linux operating systems. 

If you’re looking for a flexible option, Gimp could be the right choice. You will need to learn how to edit photos properly, but the team behind this software provides a set of how-to guides and tutorials. 

You can perform various editing tasks such as retouching and photo enhancement. Gimp supports a variety of file formats, including JPEG, TIFF, PSD, and BMP. If you want to work with raw image format (RAW), you’ll likely want to use a standalone editor or converter before opening the file in Gimp. The hardware support also includes USB and MIDI controllers — giving you more control over your workflow. 

Users say that this solution is powerful and fast but lags behind many paid options in terms of its user interface. You may need to demonstrate some patience while you learn how to use the software effectively. 

Its latest release, Gimp 3.0, includes new file format exports, text editing improvements, improved layer management and creation, and enhanced color management. 

GIMP specs: Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android | Mobile? Android | Cloud backup? Yes | RAW support? Minimal, plugin | Price: Free

Procreate is image editing software for those who want to add artistic flair to their photographs rather than more traditional edits. The software includes hundreds of brushes, numerous effects, and is suitable for use with a stylus and an iPad. 

If you are looking for a solution that combines photo editing and art, Procreate is a fantastic, affordable option available with a lifetime license. While it doesn’t natively support RAW, it does handle file types, including PSD, JPEG, PNG, and PDF.

Customers like Procreate as a polished, flexible, fast, and intuitive art and image editing app, especially for the iPad. I find the range of tools, brushes, and actions a lot of fun to work with. Plenty of users wish there were a fair Android alternative, but there doesn’t seem to be on the market at the moment. 

A benefit of this software is how cheap it is — a $13 one-off payment for the app. It’s a pity that Procreate is limited to the Apple ecosystem, though.

Procreate features: Platforms: macOS, iOS | Mobile? iOS only | Cloud backup? Yes | RAW support? No (major file types) | Price: One-off payment, $13