Here are the five best photo editing software you can buy in 2023 based on performance, cost, and use case. Each of my picks has been thoroughly tested, compared, and all five succeeded in standing out from the crowd. Jump to Conclusion.
Best Photo Editing Software – Contents
- Best Photo Editing Software for Free – Fotor
- Best Photo Editing Software for the Money – ACDSee Professional 2023
- Best Photo Editing Software for editing Raw files – DxO PhotoLab 6 Elite
- Best Photo Editing Software for Beginners – Luminar Neo
- Best Photo Editing Software Outright
- Special mentions
- Conclusion
Best Photo Editing Software for Free – Fotor
Fotor is the best photo editing software for free because, unlike some other ‘free’ photo editing software, Fotor does not exist to grind you down into buying a premium version.
Furthermore, Fotor is pretty good. For instance, you can use it to edit raw files and JPEGs. And, as you might expect, it features all the usual tools, such as Brightness, Contrast, and Saturation. Alternatively, you can rely on Fotor’s range of Scenes and Effects for instant one-click results.
However, there may come a day when you begin to run into Fotor’s limitations. For instance, you can’t apply noise reduction or tweak tone curves. Nor do you have access to modern luxuries such as Sky Replacement and Layer-based photo editing.
Fortunately, there are other free photo editing software applications with more advanced feature sets, such as GIMP and Darktable. However, I’ve never been a massive fan of either, especially since just a little bit of money can, can by ACDSee Photo Studio Professional.
Best Photo Editing Software for the Money – ACDSee Professional 2023
ACDSee Photo Studio Professional 2023 is, by some margin, the best photo editing application for the money.
For less than $100, you get a Face Recognition Powered Photo Management system and a photo editing tool that is at least as good as Lightroom. Furthermore, ACDSee Profession is fast, responsive, and straightforward to use.
The only problem with ACDSee Photo Studio Professional is its more advanced and expensive stablemate. For a little extra money, ACDSee Ultimate 2023 has everything Professional does, plus a stunning portrait enhancement tool, AI-powered auto-masking, and layer-based photo editing. Read ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2023 Review.
Nevertheless, ACDSee Professional aces the essentials and then some. And for $100, you can’t go wrong. Read ACDSee Photo Studio Professional 2023 Review.
Best Photo Editing Software for editing Raw files – DxO PhotoLab 6 Elite
DxO PhotoLab 6 Elite is the best photo editing software for editing raw files for two reasons.
First, PhotoLab 6 uses bespoke optical modules based on your specific camera and lens combination, meaning your raw files will automatically be enhanced and rid of distortion, moiré, vignetting, and chromatic aberration. In other words, PhotoLab 6 significantly improves your raw file before you’ve even lifted a finger.
The second reason to buy DxO PhotoLab 6 Elite is its World-class AI-powered DeepPrime noise reduction, one of the best Noise Reduction Software applications I have ever used. However, you can buy DeepPrime noise reduction separately in the form of DxO PureRaw 3. Read DxO PureRaw 3 Review.
Thanks to these two killer features, DxO PhotoLab 6 Elite is an excellent choice if you’re always shooting Raw or taking photos at higher noisier ISOs. Beyond these two distinctive features, DxO PhotoLab 6 Elite is capable, responsive, and delightful but not necessarily better than cheaper alternatives such as ACDSee Photo Studio Professional 2023. Read DxO PhotoLab 6 Elite Review
Best Photo Editing Software for Beginners – Luminar Neo
The best photo editing software for beginners is Luminar Neo.
Luminar Neo is an Effects-Orientated photo editing application. This means Luminar Neo has adjustments such as Sky Enhance, Golden Hour Glow, and Folliage Enhanceer. As a result, you don’t need to know much about photo editing to edit photos with Luminar Neo.
But if nudging an effects slider still seems like too much hard work, Luminar Neo’s vast selection of AI-assisted presets enables you to get great results without editing.
Yet none of this is to say that Luminar Neo is some dumbed-down photo editing tool. On the contrary, Neo is extremely capable – particularly when considering its range of one-click super-tricks, such as Portrait Bokeh AI and Sky Replacement AI.
The main downside of Luminar Neo is speed. On the one hand, applying a Preset or a compound adjustment takes only seconds. But if you’re looking to spend time on a photo, making dozens of manual adjustments, Luminar Neo can begin to creak under its own weight.
Therefore, Luminar Neo is at its best when you leave it to do most of the work and, thus, an ideal choice for beginners or those of you who want the result, not the journey. Read Luminar Neo Review.
Best Photo Editing Software Outright
Lightroom is the best photo editing software outright. However, Lightroom is not for everyone for two reasons.
First, Lightroom is subscription-only, and, as a result, you’ll never own it and never stop paying for it. Secondly, in many ways, one of the best alternatives to Lightroom, ACDSee Photo Studio Professional 2023, is just as good and, in some cases, better than Lightroom. Yet, you can own ACDSee Professional 2023 forever for less than US$100.
But, for you, Lightroom may prove to be a stone-cold bargain. For US$9.95 a month, you get Lightroom and 1TB worth of Cloud Storage. Now consider that the market value for 1TB of cloud storage is about $5. Thus, you get an ever-updated, first-rate, feature-rich photo editor guaranteed to work with the latest cameras for just $4.99 a month. Not bad, and not all.
Thanks to its Cloud integration, Lightroom automatically backs up your photo collection – saving you time and money spent on hard drives. Secondly, your photo collection becomes untethered from your PC and local drives, enabling you to view or edit your photos using anything with a web browser or app. Furthermore, you can use this same technology to share photos and albums with friends and family and as a way to distribute your images to clients.
What’s more impressive is just how well it all works. I found the experience of editing my photos through my Chrome browser comparable to using the actual Lightroom client. And sharing images is a breeze.
But Lightroom only makes sense if you care about what it does. If you don’t care about continued updates, automated backups, and being able to access and share your images anywhere – $9.99 a month begins to look a little expensive. Thus, you may be better off buying and owning an equally effective photo editing and management suite, such as ACDSee Professional 2023.
Yet, judged on its merits, Lightroom is highly effective, high-value, and affordable. But only if you want what it has to offer.
Special mentions
ON1 Photo Raw 2023
ON1 Photo Raw 2023 is the best photography software for features. With AI Noise reduction and upscaling, AI-assisted presets, effects layers, and much more, nothing comes close.
However, ON1 Photo Raw 2023’s interface is somewhat weighed down by its colossal feature set, making it a little clunky to use at times. Read ON1 Photo Raw 2023 Review
Capture One Pro
I really like Capture One Pro. Once you get used to it, it’s fast, responsive, and reasonably straightforward. However, Capture One Pro is strangely expensive and by no means better than alternatives such as ACDSee Professional and Lightroom.
Affinity Photo
I used Affinity Photo for a time before switching to ACDSee Ultimate. Overall, Affinity Photo is a competent-enough photo editing tool with excellent photo stacking capabilities for Astro Photography and HDR. I was never too fond of Affinity Photo’s workflow, but such is subjective, and you might love it.
ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2023 Review
ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2023 may be superior to ACDSee Professional, but it’s also more expensive. Whether you buy ACDSee Ultimate depends on your desire for its AI Masking, outstanding Portrait enhancement, or layer-based photo editor.
But one thing is sure: ACDSee Ultimate’s best features can also be found in ACDSee Professional. Nevertheless, ACDSee Ultimate has been my daily-driver photo editing studio in recent years. Read ACDSee Ultimate 2023 Review.
Photoshop
Photoshop is easily the most capable photo editing application in the World. However, being capable doesn’t make Photoshop the best. For instance, Photoshop comes with a steep price and an even steeper learning curve – and you don’t need to tolerate either when it comes to many routine photo editing tasks.
But, if you’re looking for the most advanced feature set, regardless of cost or learning curve, Adobe Photoshop is the way to go.
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Conclusion
Photo editors have come a long way in the last few years. What were once premium features can be had for free. And thanks to AI-powered photo editing – traditionally complex photo editing techniques have been dissolved into single clicks.
Luminar Neo’s vast suite of Presets and effects-orientated adjustments offer the fastest, most effortless route toward a well-processed photo. For this reason, Luminar Neo is the best photo editing software for beginners or anyone looking for effortless results.
But, if you have a large photo collection to tame and prefer to get hands-on with your photo editing, ACDSee Photo Studio Professional combines outstanding photo management and editing for just $99. And at this price, ACDSee Professional cannot be beaten.
But in this modern World, there’s no need to contain your photo collection on your PC. For $9.99 per month, you can buy an ever-updated version of Lightroom and 1TB worth of Cloud storage and view, edit, and distribute your images to any computer, tablet, or smartphone with an internet connection.
Finally, there’s DxO PhotoLab 6 Elite. Measured purely as a photo editing application, it’s good but unremarkable. However, PhotoLab 6 Elite’s custom raw processing and DeepPrime AI noise reduction are as good as it gets, which is to say spectacular. Thus, if you work primarily with raw files or take a lot of noisy images – DxO PhotoLab 6 can hit heights other photo editors cannot.
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Read more about Software
DxO PureRAW Review – PureRaw 3 Tested and Compared
Creative Journey Pass in Luminar Neo – 6 New Features Explained
Topaz Photo AI Review – Topaz Photo AI 2 Tested
ACDSee Photo Studio Home 2023 Review – Not for Photo Editing
ON1 Photo Raw 2023 Review – 2023.5 Tested
