If you’re not using the best photo editing software, you aren’t unlocking the true potential of your images. The modern post-processing workflow is an essential component of digital photography - just as the darkroom was back in the film era. With the right software, you can turn an image from promising into stunning - and there are no shortage of programs to help you do it.
Industry-standard powerhouse with AI at the core
Adobe Photoshop has been practically synonymous with photo editing for decades now, to the point where many people casually use ‘photoshopped’ as a generic term for an edited or retouched image. This seems unlikely to catch on. Photoshop is indeed a superb piece of photo editing software. Whether you need to clone out distractions, rescue blown-out highlights, convert an image to monochrome, process RAW files (via the Camera Raw plugin) or perform any of the other myriad tasks that might befall a photo editor, Photoshop will be well equipped.
These days it is impossible to talk about Adobe software without talking about AI, as the firm is going all-in on it. Newer versions of Photoshop have come loaded with powerful generative AI tools such as Generative Fill and Generative Expand, which allow you to radically transform images with generative content. The full version of Photoshop is subscription-only, as it has been for a long time. New subscribers are currently able to get a 50% discount on their monthly subscription of £9.98 instead of £21.98 (at the time of this publication). The popular $9.99 / £9.99 Photography bundle has been discontinued by Adobe and replaced by a Photoshop-Lightroom combo with 1TB storage for $19.99 / £19.97 per month - though be warned that cancellation is a more complex affair than you might think. If you’re subscribed to Photoshop, chances are good that you’ve got Lightroom too, as the most cost-efficient subscription gives access to both.
Lightroom: powerful editing with superior cataloguing
While Adobe’s Photoshop and Lightroom programs share many features, the key appeal of Lightroom lies in its extensive cataloguing and image-management features. These allow you to use keywording and rating to organise your images and single out the keepers. Lightroom is also no slouch when it comes to photo editing. While Photoshop is the more powerful program with a more comprehensive suite of options, Lightroom is still excellent, and many photographers use Lightroom exclusively. Its image-repair and enhancement tools are precise and intuitive, and the highly fine-tunable masking function can be immensely useful.
Solid Photoshop alternatives for a one-time purchase or subscription
Previously known as Zoner Photo Studio X, this Windows-only software is designed to be the complete package for photo editing - so it’s also a raw processor, an image organiser, and even a photobook designer. It offers plenty of Photoshop-like tools, including Layer adjustments, and the interface is well designed. The program includes plenty of camera and lens correction profiles too, with the option to upload more if needed. Zoner Studio doesn’t have Adobe’s ultra-advanced features like Neural Filters, and its corrections aren’t as good as those you’d find in the likes of Photoshop or DxO PhotoLab. However, as a start-to-finish photo editing program, it does a very good job indeed, and is definitely a credible option for those looking for a solid Photoshop alternative.
CaptureOne Pro’s interface combines features similar to Lightroom catalogues for image storage, management, and editing, with the best features of Photoshop, such as adjustment layers, masks, and advanced colour grading tools. You can also create so-called ‘Sessions’: standalone projects streamlined to include only the current batch of photos you are working on, keeping your workflow distraction-free. Providing an excellent RAW processing performance and comprehensive support for USB and wireless tethering (your shots are transported to your computer in real time, where you can apply edits while you shoot), it became a must-have for many professional studio photographers. There is an option to purchase the software with a one-off payment ($349/£336), but with this, you won’t get any regular software updates. Alternatively, you can pay a monthly subscription fee starting from £10.33 (if you commit to a 1-year contract) or $18.00/£16.67 on a rolling monthly basis.
Affordability and subscription considerations
Less than $10/£10 a month for Photoshop and Lightroom may feel like a really good deal, but if you’re planning on using the software for years on end, those monthly fees mount up. For a more detailed round-up, check out our full guide to the best subscription-free photo editing software. While an upfront payment can seem painful on first sight, if you use software for more than a few months to a year, you’re going to make a saving compared to an ongoing subscription (a saving that will only continue to grow as time goes on).
One-time licenses and free alternatives
The basic version of ACDSee Photo Studio 2026 can be picked up for as little as $39.95, with the superior Ultimate version going for $119/£87. The program is designed to be a kind of one-stop shop for photographers, covering the workflow from organisation and cataloguing right the way through to the final edit. There’s no import process, with images from your folders being simply visible in the interface, and there’s also a new AI keywording tool. The latest 2026 version brings incremental, but useful improvements. As far as editing goes, ACDSee Photo Studio offers both destructive and non-destructive editing, giving you plenty of options for fine-tuning your images. In our review, we also found that AI tools like AI Masking and AI Sky Replacement work reasonably well, and in general, you can rely on the Develop module to do everything you’d expect a photo editing program to do. It’s not an exceptional program, and doesn’t really have a solid USP compared to rivals.
This powerful software from DxO is especially potent for processing raw files. DxO’s denoising technologies, DeepPRIME and DeepPRIME XD2s, provide significant benefits by rescuing detail in shots that suffer from a high level of digital noise due to being shot at high ISOs. If you’re using an older camera that gets noisy very quickly when the ISO is turned up, PhotoLab could help extend its lease of life. When we reviewed PhotoLab 9, we were hugely impressed - DxO’s DeepPRIME results show no horrible smoothing effects, or AI artefacts and even restored colour and contrast. LUTs (Colour Lookup tables) are colour filters invaluable for video editors. DxO Photolab includes 32 initial choices and supports third-party LUTs.
Skylum Luminar and free or affordable options
While Skylum Luminar does have a subscription model, it also offers the option of a one-time-only lifetime purchase of the software. Skylum Luminar NEO is the latest iteration of a piece of software that’s been around for some time - originally, the developer was named Macphun, and made products exclusively for Apple operating systems. These days, Skylum Luminar NEO is a program aiming to fulfil the roles of both Photoshop and Lightroom, with a full suite of photo editing and photo organising tools. The latest version features a simple cataloguing tab that lists files on your computer and works without requiring image imports. From an extensive array of Presets, the most fitting ones are recommended for the colours and scenery of the image you’re editing, with further fine-tuning possible with sliders.
Free and novice-friendly options
If the monthly subscriptions and one-time costs are beyond your budget, fear not - there’s lots of excellent free software out there for editing photos. Affinity (by Canva) is probably the best Photoshop alternative for those who want a free package for photo editing and other image work. The program isn’t the most immediately user-friendly for beginners; those new to image editing will undergo a bit of a learning curve at first, with some of the more familiar features seeming a bit hidden, until you’re used to the layout. The GNU Image Manipulation Program, or GIMP as it apparently must be known, is a free and open-source image editor that you can download, install and run in barely the time it would take to read this paragraph - no credit card required. GIMP 3.0 was released at the end of March 2025, eagerly awaited by large segments of the photo community. A sensible update, it doesn’t radically overhaul the interface, but provides general workflow improvements and operability tweaks that make the program more user-friendly than it’s ever been.
Mobile editing and on-the-go apps
Finally, we’re taking a quick look at the best apps for editing photos on the go. Most photographers likely snap plenty of pics on their phone as well as their camera, and there are plenty of apps out there to help you kick your smartphone photography game up a notch. We regard Snapseed as one of the top choices for photo editors on mobile - while there are plenty of competitors out there, truthfully, you’re unlikely to go wrong with Snapseed. It’s great. As well as standard tools like cropping and rotating images, Snapseed also enables Curves adjustments, with a range of presets available to make things easier. It’s perfect both for those who want a streamlined, automated process, and for those who like to dive in deep and get granular with their adjustments.
Practical considerations before choosing
First of all, consider your needs and make a list of what are the most essential features you want to get from your editing software, this will help you narrow down your options. Most of the providers offer either a one-time purchase or a monthly or yearly subscription. With purchasing a one-off license, you own the program forever, and will pay less if you break down your cost per month, as the longer you use it essentially the cheaper it gets. You will need sufficient horsepower to run the latest editing software, so if your computer is somewhat outdated, this can be an issue. Consider whether you have enough hard disk space to run it. Another important aspect is how often the provider releases software updates. If you use a MacBook or laptop on the go as well as a PC or iMac at home, you want to check if your chosen software offers what’s called cross-platform licensing. This allows you to use the same software on your Mac and PC without purchasing a new license. Would you like to edit as well as catalogue your images? Most software offers comprehensive cataloguing and rating features to help manage your image files. All of the editors listed here will include the essential editing tools, but depending on the style and genre you are shooting and editing, your ideal editor will differ greatly. Or maybe you want to work on different layers to composite multiple images together. For macro or product photography, software that’s capable of compiling focus-stacked photos will be essential, but for someone who shoots wildlife, effective noise reduction will be a lifesaver.
Photo restoration: bringing memories back to life
Want to revive your family archive? Save those faded, ripped, and stained photographs? Fix them all with PhotoGlory, an easy but efficient program for restoring old photos. Whether you are new to photo restoration or a pro in the field, you will enjoy the software’s AI-assisted and semi-automatic workflow, as well as the stunning results you can accomplish with it. Turn a bleak old photo of your grandma in her twenties into a vibrant colorful portrait! Open your picture with PhotoGlory and click the Colorize button. The software will automatically color your picture. Want to take part in the process? Then modify the colors manually to set your own accents. Want to save a well-thumbed and worn-out picture of your grandparents’ wedding? First, digitize it, then use PhotoGlory to get rid of all unsightly scratches, stains, creases, and other defects. You think that image restoration is a difficult process? Not with PhotoGlory. This photo editing software for old photos comes with a wide range of automatic tools that can fix your pictures in a click. Cut away torn corners. Bring out the faded colors of your photo. Stylize your picture with a beautiful effect to recreate the feel of the era. There are more issues that can ruin old photos apart from scratches and dull colors. But whatever the problem is, PhotoGlory will take care of it. With this picture editor, you can easily convert negatives to positives, restore pictures ripped in half, or fix faded photos. PhotoGlory will be easy to master even for a complete newbie. Thanks to the content-aware neural network, all edits will be precise, delicate, and natural looking. Whether with automatic effects or with manual control, you will be able to give your old photos a new life. Save those fragile and precious pictures and introduce them to the digital age. I use this program almost every day as a restored old photograph/coloured image shows so much more and adds depth to the image than the original. It is easy to use. PhotoGlory is an excellent photo restoration program with an incredibly user-friendly workflow. It does an outstanding job of reviving old or damaged photos. I am in the process of digitizing 100 years of family photos, slides and film. Using Photoglory has been a great addition to my collection of photo management and editing software. I am relatively new to professional photography and in my search for a software program to edit and restore my old photos for my special project, I discovered Photoglory. I am very impressed with this software as it is incredibly powerful yet intuitive to use, making editing and restoring my photos a breeze. The range of tools and filters is extensive, allowing me to enhance and perfect my photos with precision. What sets Photoglory apart is its seamless integration with my workflow, saving me both time and effort. I have many old family photos dating back to the 1920's. Most are B&W and it's very pleasing to see my relatives in colour. Some photos are in poor condition but this program restores them to a very respectable level. It is very easy to use and now I have had requests from others, who have seen the results, to help restore some of their's.
There are manual tools as well so you can tweak the images yourself if needed. PhotoGlory features AI-powered tools, too. There are more issues that can ruin old photos apart from scratches and dull colors. But whatever the problem is, PhotoGlory will take care of it. In photo restoration, smart algorithms spot the damage type and fix it naturally. AI can also be integrated in the colorization feature. It analyzes the patterns and context of an image based on which realistic colors are applied.
Practical demonstrations and additional resources
If you’re interested in a broader discussion, see our guide to choosing between subscription-based versus lifetime licenses and our notes on cross-platform licensing, RAW versus JPEG workflows, and evaluating cataloguing tools to manage large archives.
