Best free online photo editor or you can also say best free online graphic editor, but they’re actually slightly different, is a handy graphic app available online. Being bookmarked by many users for any photo or graphic editing purpose and in fact their mobile apps version, as must have apps, have been downloaded millions of time in Play Store, App Store & Windows Store as well. Remember here we’re talking about the free online version, for desktop pc for sure. There are many free online graphic editor available to be choose out there, but which one is the best suits for your need? Please bear in mind, most of them require Flash enable browser, so make sure you enable your Flash in your browser.
Don’t be tangled with lots of options available out there, variety always benefits us as consumers, don’t you think so? Check these list of free online photo editor that may suits your regular needs. Whether you’re looking for just a photo editing function or the one with extra functions with text editing as well. Let us be clear first, the different between these two name.
Photo Editor vs Graphic Editor
- Free Online Photo Editor – Basically it’s a free web based app for photo editing purpose – to lighter or darker, resize & crop, transform flip & rotate and to apply some effect ability. Extra functions added consider as bonus. If you just need to edit these kind of functions, Photo Editor is suffice for you. But if you need to do much more such as poster with text info, some decorative elements, etc, then go for next category ↓.
- Free Online Graphic Editor – Sometimes it also called Free Online Design Editor (it’s the same). It may have the basic of Photo Editor functions (but usually not as many as Photo Editor itself), plus adding Text with some free Fonts, vector element such as Shapes (sometimes called stickers), editable Templates or ready made graphic elements – combination of fancy text + border style, florals or other decorations, etc.
We’re not discuss about Graphic Editor, but we’re talking only about Free Online Photo Editor below, with no registration needed to use and to save artwork as the priority.
1. Pixlr
Pixlr has been named one of the best free online photo editor, editors choice app, no.1 free photo editor and many more by many tech and apps related blogs. Most users well known of this free photo editing apps either the online version or mobile app version. Pixlr has the ability of standard paid photo editing software such as Photoshop. Even the user interface (UI) especially the tools, the top menu and the right tool panels seems similar to Photoshop. These similarities make it a good reason that most users feel comfortable to works with it and make it the most popular free photo editing app.
As optional, Pixlr recently provide a new paid version named Pixlr Pro that claimed to be the most advanced web based image editor. Surely will be feature rich tools, freebies, many image format supported including PSD, thousands of free templates, premium royalty stock images, fonts, etc. You can try Pixlr Pro as cheap as $5 per month.
- Registration / Login : Not needed
- Text / Fonts availability : Yes
- Pro : ✔️ Similar to Photoshop interface (Photoshop user’s friendly).
- Con : ❌ The Ads banner at the right side takes up almost 1⁄4 of the screen.
2. Instories AI-Powered Photo Editor & Story Maker
Instories is a free online photo&video editor and content creation tool that combines powerful AI features with beautiful, ready-to-use templates for social media. Designed for creators, influencers, and small businesses, Instories helps you turn ordinary images into professional-looking stories and posts in minutes.
Pros ✔️
- Easy-to-use interface, perfect for quick photo touch-ups.
- Wide variety of modern filters and customizable templates.
- Great all-in-one solution for editing photos and creating social media content.
Cons ❌ (Free Version)
- Some advanced templates and AI tools require a premium plan.
- Free version includes watermarks on certain exports.
3. Ribbet
Ribbet is among the best free online photo editor or we can say free online design editor or free online graphic editor, because it offers not just photo editing, but many basics graphic design tools as well. The quick version doesn’t need you to register or login, but if you choose to register & login you will be provide with up to 5 images upload. Once you start Ribbet, you ‘ll see image loading options; upload from your pc, connect to facebook (facebook photos), connect to Google Photos, connect to Flickr & connect to webcam. These features make it easier for users on mobile as well to access their photos on facebook, for Google Photos cloud users or photographer who use Flickr and webcam as a plus.
- Registration / Login : Not necessary
- Text / Fonts availability : Yes & it support System Fonts (from your pc), it also provide fonts info and its website sources of the font used.
- Pro : ✔️ A comprehensive & feature-rich Free Online Graphic Editor that you can think as Photoshop alternative. Support webcam as well.
- Con : ❌ Some Premium features are seems locked in the editor (it push you to upgrade).
4. Canva
1. Canva Photo Editor
Canva have some separate apps, Photo Editor, Custom Graph, Design for Print. The free online photo editor version without register & login needed – Canva Photo Editor, is a basic free photo editor that provides basics photo adjustment such as crop, transform, brightness & contrast, saturation and some ready made Filters.
- Registration / Login : No need, you can use it freely
- Text / Fonts availability : No
- Pro : ✔️ No Ads..!! (only their own ads to promote paid version) No register & login needed
- Con : ❌ Too basic, besides ready made Filters
2. Canva Design Editor
There is also Canva Design Editor or Graphic Editor with feature rich for image editing, text and many more with ready made templates for design creations. This Canva version you need to register & login as user to use it online freely. Just choose your design purpose with available template sizes and you can start your editing works.
- Registration / Login : Yes
- Text / Fonts availability : Yes
- Pro : ✔️ No Ads..!! Multi Pages support. Saving to JPEG, PNG (transparent bckgrd), PDF (with high quality)
- Con : ❌ Must register & login to use
5. Adobe Photoshop Express Editor
Adobe Photoshop Express Editor is the free online version that has the ability of basic image editing features. However this Photoshop Express Editor is limited to only support JPG, JPEG & JPE formats, limited functions, even the free font only has 9 list. Though we think its worth to be listed here as one of the popular free online image editor.
- Registration / Login : No need
- Text, Fonts availability : Yes, limited fonts
- Alignment Guide : No
- Pro : ✔️ Its Photoshop !!
- Con : ❌ Only JPEG !! Limited upload source. Limited functions compared to full Photoshop version.
Related post : Free Stock Photo Sites For Designers
6. Crello
Crello provides design creations for many purpose which include graphic designs for advertising, social media posts & cover arts, you name it, it covers it, almost. Crello integrate all in one features to provide state of the art free online graphic editor for any purpose. It have many ready made graphic design templates, graphic element templates, text style templates to choose from, and you can also customise it as single element. Crello image can be upload from your pc or you can choose from their free image library, there are many and impressive design for your inspiration. However, as a non register user, you will need to register & login to save, download & share your artwork.
- Registration / Login : Not necessary when using, but must register & login to Save, Download your artwork.
- Text, Fonts availability : Yes
- Alignment Guide : Yes
- Pro : ✔️ No ads..!! Photo Editor & Graphic Editor in one, just select function by design template. Support keyboard shortcut.
- Con : ❌ Must register & login to Download, Save & Share artwork, even though while using it no need to register & login.
7. iPiccy
1. Photo Editor
iPiccy offer 3 types of free graphic editor, labeled as; Photo Editor, Collage Maker & Graphic Design. The Photo Editor is very impressive, with a lot of tools and elements we can found in the editor. The iPiccy free online Photo Editor we can say is one of the most feature-rich function among the rest for editing photo. It has variety of adjustment tools, has Layers to add extra image – Text, vector Stickers & vector Shapes. So if you cannot find the Text tool, activate (click) Layers tool and you’ll see Text tool.
- Registration / Login : Not necessary, you can use & save without register / login.
- Text, Fonts availability : Yes, but it is ‘hidden in Layer tool’.
- Alignment guide : No
- Pro : ✔️ One of the most extensive photo tools available. Has Vector Mask shapes. Has Before & After effect preview. Support Layers.
- Con : ❌ Very little to mention.
2. Graphic Designer
iPiccy free online Graphic Design Editor seems pretty simple, but you can find most of the basic functions available in Designer. From (Photo) Editor interface you can divert directly to Designer or Collage, via top left orange button. One of the good point we notice in this iPiccy free online Graphic Editor (Designer), if you found out that its free font is not enough for your design, it has function to load your own fonts and preview in real-time fonts from your pc. Overall, the iPiccy Design Editor as we can, is just Layers tool (minors other tools as in Photo Editor) – with add Photo, add Text, vector Sticker & vector Shape, just like Photo Editor’s Layers. Actually, the integration of these 3 apps – Photo Editor, Collage Maker & Design Editor make it a perfect free online graphic editor you must bookmark.
- Registration / Login : Not necessary, can save without register / login.
- Text, Fonts availability : Yes
- Alignment Guide : No
- Pro : ✔️ Support fonts from local pc. Use & Save your artwork without register needed.
- Con : ❌ Its seems too simple with only Layers & Background tools available compared to the Photo Editor app.
8. Befunky
Befunky also have 3 types of free online photo editor, similar to iPiccy, there are Befunky’s Photo Editor, Collage Maker & Designer. The Photo Editor has the ability as other photo editors, plus many extra features like professional editor. Befunky Photo Editor also provide some ready made effects to be apply, but most of them are for Plus (paid) version. Meanwhile, the Designer Editor is not as impressive as the iPiccy Design Editor that we covered above, even though it has a lot of ready made templates and graphic elements, but again, most of them are locked for Plus (paid) version.
- Registration / Login : No need, can save it without register / login.
- Text, Fonts availability : Yes, the text has extra adjustment like pro.
- Alignment Guide : Yes
- Pro : ✔️ Ability to add fonts from local pc. Has History panel for easier undo level. Professional style interface.
- Con : ❌ Many ready made features are locked for paid version.
9. Fotor
Fotor is another good and must try Free Online Photo Editor, Collage & Design Editor if you’re looking the good one. As free online Photo Editor, it offers plenty of useful features for free, using and also saving to your pc freely without need to register & login. But bear in mind that when you choose to register & login, you will get extra option such as load & save to cloud and many more.. and also the Premium (upgrade) version offers much more freatures will be unlock.
- Registration / Login : No need, can save the artwork without register / login.
- Text, Fonts availability : Yes
- Alignment Guide : Yes
- Pro : ✔️ Lot of features available to make the adjustment and many elements as well. It offers Affiliate program with 35% for first timer and 25% for every renewal subscription.
- Con : ❌ About half of the features & elements are for Upgrade version, you may use it but ‘fotor’ watermark will appear. To Save or Share your artwork, need to register & login.
10. piZap
PiZap is one of the must try free web based graphic editor, it offers a few different graphic purposes, besides Photo Editor, Collage maker & Design editor, it also provide graphic editor for specific Photo Touch Up, Emoji Maker, Facebook Cover, Twitter Cover & YouTube Cover. These are great for users looking for various purposes. The Photo Editor also has few additional creative tools, such as Touch Up – for photo fine tune, while Cut Out Tool – to crop image by shape (similar to Photoshop Extract), the Meme – to generate meme image, and the Paint & Graffity – just basic and not impressive. After trying some adjustment, texting, stickers, unfortunately we cannot find undo function, instead we have to delete one by one elements on the artwork. This can be annoying to most of the user.
The Design Editor at the other hand, you can try the new (beta) HTML5 based engine of the classic Flash based editor. The interface seems same as the Photo Editor and even most of the function looks similar. What makes it differ is when you start the Design Editor, you need to choose the template size for specific task.
- Registration / Login : No need, can save without register / login.
- Text, Fonts availability : Yes
- Alignment Guide : No
- Pro : ✔️ Plenty of photo adjustment tools. Offers 20% Affiliate Program on every subscribe for paid version.
- Con : ❌ Ads banner area surrounding the editor makes the canvas size only 1⁄4 of your screen. Text available but the fonts are too fancy and cannot add more from your own pc. No undo.
Related post : Free Designer Tools Online – Website Builder
11. Fotoramio
Fotoram!o or Fotoramio also offers 3 types of editor named Edit (Photo Editor), Collage & Art Style. At first I guess the Edit is the design editor and the Art Style I guess is the photo editor, but it’s not, the Art Style is more to just for ‘playing with ready made effect’, unfortunately I cannot find the undo for the effect applied. Anyway, the free Photo Editor interface seems clean and easy to use, with adjustment tools docked at the bottom of the screen. It offers many standard image adjustments, text, effects and cliparts as well.
- Registration / Login : No need, can save without register / login.
- Text, Fonts availability : Yes
- Alignment Guide : No
- Pro : ✔️ Easy to use photo adjustment tools. All tools & features are free, no locked elements.
- Con : ❌ Besides ready made effects & cliparts, the image adjustment are too basics, no advance features.
12. PhotoMania
PhotoMania offers simple free online photo editing with 3 main category for editing your image. You will find at the left side tool there are Artistic, Fun & E-Card creation. Artistic tool are list of ready made filters in variety of subcategories, while Fun tool provide ready to use creative templates on how your image will be applied to it. The E-Card tool is a set of celebration type of ready templates that you can use for your image, just choose from the list and see, no extra adjustment required. Besides the image creation can be save or download to your pc, the disadvantage of using PhotoMania are, there is no undo while editing your image and you will get the PhotoMania logo watermark or labeled at the bottom right of your image.
- Registration / Login : No need, can use & save it without register / login.
- Text, Fonts availability : No
- Alignment Guide : No
- Pro : ✔️ Easy to use photo adjustment tools.
- Con : ❌ Not for serious project. No undo. Once use it, their Logo will be marked on artwork.
13. PicMonkey (7 days Trial)
When we tried PicMonkey Photo Editor for the first time, without register & login, we feel that the interface looks pleasing, easy to use graphic & adjustment tools even for newbies or for non graphic users. While we keep on trying most of the intuitive functions it offers, we found out that using PicMonkey Photo Editor is not really free. Yes we notice the yellow button with Free Trial label on the top right of the editor screen, but we think that’s optional package for upgrade or premier version, like Pixlr Pro and Ribbet Premium upgrade as we discussed earlier. We’re wrong to assume that we may save the artwork without register.
Anyway, you have given 7 days trial to use it for free and can save, share & export your masterpiece, before you need to decide whether to upgrade as paid user of not. For that reason, we suggest you to try the 7 days trial to test drive it.
- Registration / Login : No need when using, but.. must register & login (upgrade) when you need to save your artwork, (use free 7 days trial)
- Text, Fonts availability : Yes, comprehensive text adjustment features.
- Alignment Guide : Yes, but the Alignment Grid is off as default, you need to activate it.
- Pro : ✔️ Professional Photo Editing function with lot of features. Layers control available. It also offers Affiliate program with 50% for initial purchase and 25% for renewal & additional purchase.
- Con : ❌ No free version (besides the trial)
14. Polarr
Polarr offers 2 types of free online photo editors, which, 1 is for newbie or non-experience graphic users named Express, another 1 is for experience users who have been familiar with common graphic apps or for designers, named Pro. Polarr Express has basic features while the Polarr Pro provide professional style of free online photo editor with detail adjustment you can find for every Filters available. Polarr Pro interface is seems clean with Filters, Text & Shape, Retouch, Crop (+ Rotate & Flips) & Overlays tool at the left side. While at the right side you’ll see the Adjustments tool and Selective Adjustments to modify your image’s color & tone settings.
There are so many adjustments you may see and to choose from based on your creativity and how you going to works on it. These very detail adjustments that need professional skill to get your image as perfect as you intended. You may probably think that this free app is much harder than Photoshop. However, the app provides on the screen animated helps on How To Do It for you, for most of the tools you going to use, good point.
Extra Features
The Text tool has what a design editor has for editing the text attribute, not too basic as what offered with other apps. Aside from that Polarr Pro also has Preset under the Text tool, to create ready made ‘template with text’, but there are just a few in this free version. There is also a History tool with number marked at it showing that how many steps you have done, for selective undo. Below it, there is a normal Undo tool, or you can just use keyboard shortcut as well.
- Registration / Login : No need, can use & save without register / login.. as long as you don’t use Premium features in it (when to save)..!!
- Text, Fonts availability : Yes, comprehensive text adjustment features, the fonts are not so many to choose from.
- Alignment Guide : We cannot find it.
- Pro : ✔️ Professional Photo Editing function with lot of adjustment features for serious photo editing. Saving format are JPG, PNG & TIFF. No Ads.. yeay..!!
- Con : ❌ The ability to Try Premium features makes your artwork cannot be Save as free version. While you enjoy trying most of the features, you don’t realize that you have used some of the Premium features as well, because you cannot really see the ‘lock-for-premium’ label at the features you use, therefore you cannot Save your artwork, unless you choose to upgrade. Or you can choose ‘Remove all Active Pro Tools’, and it delete back all the premium features.
15. Lunapic
Lunapic interface looks like it was made from web 1.0 or the 90’s style of website, but it worth to try though. The tools at the left side looks like Photoshop tool icons, but the light grey background interface make it looks like Ms. Paint icons. After we make some editing test, we found out that the operation also seems the old-school way. For example, when you need to make some adjustment, it will open the adjustment value settings in ‘Windows 95 fill in the form’ style and a button to apply the adjustment. Then the screen will refresh every time it make changes. Actually Lunapic doesn’t need you to have Flash to run this free online photo editor in your browser.
Even though the interface and the operation runs in classic way, it does have a lot of features. Besides standard image adjustments & transforms you can find in the left tools or top menu, it provide a lot of extra features, from Draw, Borders, Filters, Effects, Art even gif Animation features you can find in this classic photo editor. If you use high spec machine, try those top 13 lists, however for those who runs on old machine, can consider this free online photo editor.
- Registration / Login : No need, you can use it & save it without register / login.
- Text, Fonts availability : Yes, quite good in old-school style.
- Alignment Guide : No.
- Pro : ✔️ A lot of ready made effects to try. Support Web Cam & Gif Animation. Support open & post image from top social medias.
- Con : ❌ The looks and the way it process command seems too old for today tech. Refreshing screen for every adjustment made sometimes annoying.
16. FreeOnlinePhotoEditor.com
As the name given, FreeOnlinePhotoEditor provide free online photo editor in basic & simple interface. You can see all the tools at the top of the canvas. It looks simple and straight forward and not much we can say, the tools are just standard image editing tools plus Borders, Filters & Effects you can apply. Even though the interface of the app seems 1 or 2 level better than Lunapic, but it lacks in variety of features that offered by Lunatic that has more ready made features.
- Registration / Login : No need, you can use & save without register / login.
- Text, Fonts availability : Yes, standard text editing.
- Alignment Guide : No.
- Pro : ✔️ Basic & Simple. Good for newbie or first timer graphic users. The straight forward name & the domain is exactly what it does.
- Con : ❌ Too basic and feels outdated editor that need to be update to compete.
Hope these list are enough for you to choose from, but before you try any of these, make sure your pc have and will allow Adobe Flash Player or Shockwave Flash in order to run these web-based apps. Otherwise, you will need to download the Flash first. Tell us your opinion on which free online photo editor is your choice and why. If you know any better free online graphic editor that we missed, please let us know as well in the comment below 👌
Credit: National Geographic Animal Gallery
