8 Free Online Image Editors That You Should Use
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 options to choose from 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
A web-based 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 web-based 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.
3. Pheonix – Aviary Suite
Also a web-based photo 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. In addition to the basic tools like image cropping, resizing, exposure correction and sharpening; it has a library of predefined effects.
PicMonkey is an insanely strong online editor which I’ve had my eyes on for a while, and yet never really tried before. I’m glad I did, because this fun little editor is everything you could wish from an online editor, and much more. So what can you do with PicMonkey? Pretty much everything. This nifty photo editor comes with very basic edits such as crop, rotate and resize, and goes all the way to filters and effects, touch ups such as blemish fixes, wrinkle removers and spray tan, text layers, frames, textures, and even themes you can paint on. And to top it all off, it’s super easy to use. Seriously, you really don’t have to know anything about editing pictures, and you’ll still come up with awesome results.
8. Ribbet
Pixlr too serious for you? Ribbet is just the opposite. Built around the idea of photo-editing for everyone, Ribbet is a free online editor that’s just plain fun. You can use Ribbet to edit a single photo from your computer, or create collages in various layouts. The things that immediately stands out about Ribbet is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously – editing a photo feels almost like a game. Ribbet comes with basic tools such as crop, resize and rotate, and goes on to effects, text layers, stickers, touch-up, and frames. There’s also an “Advanced” tab, which offers more advanced options such as clone, curves, and levels.
Bonus: Google+
I’ve known for a while that Google has implemented some editing tools into Google+, but imagine my surprise when I finally tried it, only to find out it’s actually the aforementioned Ribbet in Google clothing. If you open an image in your Google+ account and click on “Edit Photo”, you’ll find yourself on a page very similar to Ribbet, complete with those little frog thumbnails. Google+ doesn’t include all of Ribbet’s features, only some basic edits, some effects, fun decorations such as face paint, doodle, beards and masks, and the ability to add text. Unlike Ribbet, though, there are no premium features – you can use every feature you see – and there are even some Google+ exclusives.
If your photos are already on Google+, this online editor will be the most accessible of the lot, and will let you easily edit full albums, one photo after the other, without having to upload, save and download each one in turn. It includes some useful basic effects, and if you only need to touch-up your photos, it will do nicely.
Pros: Accessible if you’re a Google+ user; friendly interface.
Cons: Includes only very basic features.
Verdict: For Google+ users, this is great. I wouldn’t upload my images just to use this editor.
I’ll stop right here because I believe a list of 6 is pretty optimal. If you have any app
suggestions, feel free to voice them out in the comments.