If you're looking for the best photo editing software of 2020, you've come to the right place. Photo editors have become more and more common, especially on mobile devices for basic photo editing. However, if you are a design professional, you will need the best photo editing software, which means something much more advanced than what most normal users normally use. There are several professional photo editing suites available, and Photoshop has long been considered the market leader. However, while Photoshop offers a complete set of photo manipulation tools, it doesn't offer other features like cataloging your image library to fuel your creative ideas that other packages may offer. . In addition, Photoshop is no longer so much a standalone toolset, but part of a broader creative cloud offering, which is also included with other Adobe products. Meanwhile, competitors have created alternatives that may provide better tools, better organization, better inspiration, or simply better value. Our list of the best photo editors is in no particular order as each program has its own strengths so be sure to continue to the bottom of the list as there is something for everyone. However, we do not think that you will end up with the best photo editors, but you will also need other software and hardware tools to help you. You can also check out the following guides: In the meantime, here are the best photo editors currently available.
The best photo editors 2020 - at a glance
1. Adobe Photoshop CC
It's the most powerful photo editing app in the world and there may be times when nothing else will do.Platform: Mac and PC | Image editing: Yes | Cataloging: No | Gross conversion: Yes | Preset Effects: No | Image Layers: Yes | Plugin version: No Complex layer-based editing Powerful pro features Extensive tutorials Lightroom option No listing Subscription required Photoshop remains the go-to image editing tool for artists, illustrators, and designers. Photoshop's layering, masking, and retouching tools remain the standard by which all others are judged, but they're designed for painstaking work on individual images or composites of multiple layers, rather than quick, daily editing. However, instead of a standalone platform, it's available today through Adobe's Cloud Photography Plan, which offers Lightroom as an add-on option. The two work well together, with Photoshop handling complex layer-based image manipulation, while Lightroom takes care of organizing and enhancing your photos. Adobe's photography plan offers great tools at a good value for money and takes some time. For many, however, the idea of paying a subscription to use the software is too hard to swallow, so we'll move on to the rest of our list quickly.
2. Capture One Pro
Expensive but beautiful, Capture One is a direct rival to Lightroom and is firmly aimed at professionals.Platform: Mac and PC | Image editing: Yes | Cataloging: Yes | Gross conversion: Yes | Preset Effects: Yes | Image Layers: No | Plugin version: No Hassle-free raw processing Pro-level anchoring Expensive Capture One Pro covers almost exactly the same territory as Adobe Lightroom Classic, offering cataloging tools, transparent raw processing, manual image enhancement tools, as well as preset effects and a non-destructive workflow that you can use. allows you to review your settings at any time. Its raw conversions are sharper and quieter than Adobe's, but it doesn't support as wide a range of raw camera formats or as many lens correction profiles. It also doesn't have Adobe's mobile apps or online sync options, but it does offer professional-grade 'connect' tools for studio photographers shooting images via a computer. Capture One Pro also has a better system for applying local adjustments, using adjustment layers and masks. It's expensive, but very, very good.
3. Affinity photo
If you want Photoshop but not Adobe's subscription plan, here's the answer!Platform: Mac and PC | Image editing: Yes | Cataloging: No | Gross conversion: Yes | Preset Effects: No | Image Layers: Yes | Plugin version: No Rival Photoshop at full power Excellent HDR tone mapping No instant preset effect No cataloging Serif has built its reputation on low-cost Windows versions of professional graphics tools, but with its new Affinity line it's definitely shaking up its budget past . Affinity Photo may be affordable, but it's a full-powered rival to Photoshop for professionals, which can even teach its Adobe counterpart a trick or two. Its layering, masking, and retouching tools are as powerful as Photoshop's, its filter effects can be applied “live,” and its HDR tone mapping and workspace tools are excellent. However, like Photoshop, it focuses solely on in-depth and technical image manipulation. It doesn't have its own browsing and cataloging tools, and it doesn't do instant preset effects. Affinity Photo will bring the tools, but you have to bring the vision.
4. Exposure X5
Trying to rediscover the romance of analog images? Exposure X3 combines a retro look and a regular fitPlatform: Mac and PC | Image editing: Yes | Cataloging: Yes | Gross conversion: Yes | Preset Effects: Yes | Image Layers: No | Plugin version: yes Wide range of effects. Good image adjustment controls Can't blend images No thumbnail preview import Exposure X5 offers combinations of old analog looks with contemporary photo editing tools. It has a vast catalog of vintage and modern film effects that simulate fading, cross-processing, grain, light leaks, vignettes, edges, and a wide range of traditional film and processing techniques. All of these are built with tools that can also be used for regular image enhancements, including curves, color adjustments, and more. But while it offers adjustment layers for "stacking" and blending corrections, it can't blend images. What you get, however, is a fast and efficient folder navigation system to organize your photos with all the power of filtering and keyword searches without having to import them into a catalog.
5. Luminaire 4
Now with libraries to organize images, Luminar is growing rapidlyPlatform: Mac and PC | Image editing: Yes | Cataloging: Yes | Gross conversion: Yes | Preset Effects: Yes | Image Layers: Yes | Plugin version: Yes Fast instant 'Looks' Custom workspaces Now with libraries Raw processing could be better Luminar takes an interesting approach to photo editing, offering a collection of preset effects organized into categories for those who just want to apply an instant 'look'. These are created using a collection of filters that you can combine at will to create your own presets. It also introduces the idea of custom workspaces that you can set up for specific types of images, like black and white or portraits. The raw conversions don't match the quality of the big three - Adobe Capture One, DxO - but they get the job done and are backed by great editing tools. Luminar supports both adjustment layers and image layers, allowing you to create Photoshop-style composite images. The great news is that Luminar offers image cataloging tools via libraries and fully non-destructive editing so you can go back and edit any changes, at any time.
6.ON1 RAW photo
An all-in-one tool that does almost everything. Like Luminar and Exposure X3, it has come a long way, really fastPlatform: Mac and PC | Image editing: Yes | Cataloging: Yes | Gross conversion: Yes | Preset Effects: Yes | Image Layers: Yes | Plugin version: Yes Neat all-in-one solution Great value Built-in image layers Raw processing could be better ON1 Photo RAW started out as ON1 Perfect Suite and quickly became a more modern built-in program rather than a collection of plugins. It can still function as a plug-in for Lightroom and Photoshop, where you can explore the huge library of preset effects and manually adjusted filters to create ``looks'' that host programs can't, but ON1 Photo RAW also runs a standalone, complete program with its own image browsing / cataloging tools. In fact, this might be the only photo-editing tool you'll ever need, though the interface text is quite small and the raw conversions don't match the quality you get from Capture One and DxO. Photography laboratory. When it comes to power, value, and spectacle, though, ON1 Photo RAW is formidable, and recent versions have added AI-powered image masking and cropping.