Top 8 Free Photo Editing Software for Windows 10 in 2024
Check these great editing programs to see which one suits your needs
10 min. read
Updated on
Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report sustain the editorial team Read more
Key notes
- Finding good free photo editing apps for Windows 10 isn’t an easy job.
- Most of them usually have free trials as well as free versions for mobile devices.
- The best tools in our list come with a lot of photo filters and enhancement options for your images.
Photo editing has always been one of our favorite activities, but photo editing tools are expensive, and many people don’t want to spend a fortune on them.
Luckily, Microsoft App Store from Windows 10 offers some high-quality photo editing apps for free. And in this article, we’ll present to you the very best members of the free photo editing family.
What should I look for in a good photo editing app?
First, you should know that free photo editing apps can’t be compared to paid ones in terms of features and options.
However, the software options we outlined for you pack a lot of power, considering that you only have to see a couple of ads at best.
Concerning the features, you should pick the app that comes with the tools needed for your current needs.
For instance, if you need to redimension or crop a picture, any of the software from our list can help you, but you will also find some apps that really exceed your expectations with photo filters and effects.
That being said, grab the best free photo editing software tools below, test them, and make a final choice.
Which is the best raw editor?
Usually, people prefer to shoot raw photos because they preserve as much detail as possible and have the highest resolution with natural colors and sharp details.
Thus, raw images are large files it requires a powerful editor tool since these programs are able to edit raw files while maintaining their quality and color accuracy.
There are excellent apps on the market, such as Adobe Express, Adobe Photoshop, or inPixio that can easily let you edit raw photos by adjusting highlights, shadows, and tone.
It can also help you maintain the resolution when you zoom in or out, smooth edges, and many other editing tools.
Software name | Free version | Key features |
Adobe Photoshop Express | ✅ | – Various themes – Fused looks |
PhotoWorks | ✅ | – Enhanced portrait tools – Instant sky replacement tool |
ACDsee Photo Studio | ✅ | – Seamless search pane – AI facial recognition tool – Quick and simple mobile transfer |
inPixio Photo Editor | ✅ | – Masterpiece frames – Creative effects |
Fotor | ✅ | – Object removal & background remover – Photo enhancer – Batch photo editing |
PicsArt Photo Studio | ✅ | – Ai image editing tools – Social media templates |
Phototastic Collages | ✅ | – 1200 themed designs – Fine-tune editing |
KVADPhoto+ | ✅ | – 200+ special effects – Lens boost |
What is the top free photo editing software for Windows 10?
Adobe Photoshop Express – Best for raw images
Adobe Photoshop is probably the most famous image-editing software in the world and the full version costs around $1,000.
But luckily, Adobe created a lighter, free version for users of Windows, Adobe Photoshop Express. It might not offer as many options as its big brother, but it’s still a very useful photo-editing app.
You can make tone adjustments, adjust highlights, and shadows, remove red-eye, resize, crop, and much more.
It has a much easier-to-use interface than its brother, and the best part is that you can make edits both on your PC and mobile.
Take a look at its best features:
- Red-eye removal
- Very light on resources
- Friendly interface
- Available for PC and mobiles
- Free to use
Adobe Photoshop Express
Try out Adobe Photoshop Express for free and see what it is like to edit photos like an expert!PhotoWorks – Strong AI technology
Another great entry in our list of reliable photo editors is PhotoWorks, an easy-to-use tool that is bound to become the best friend of any professional photographer.
We say this because the program is equipped with a powerful and smart AI that will do most of the grunt work for you.
PhotoWorks is perfectly capable of identifying the type of picture all by itself, from portraits to landscape photography, automatically applying different adjustments and enhancements.
There is also an abundance of manual image-perfecting tools for those who prefer to trust their own vision.
Additionally, if you’re into photo restoration, PhotoWorks can do that as well, allowing you to bring old black & white photos into the XXI-st century.
While the program itself isn’t 100% free, you have more than enough time to test out what it can do during the free trial period.
However, chances are you will decide to buy it after you use it for a bit, so definitely give it a try.
Let’s look at some of its most important features:
- Powerful AI technology
- Identifies the type of picture and applies adjustments automatically
- Complete set of image enhancement tools
- Restores old photos back to life
- Free trial period
PhotoWorks
Photo editing has become almost synonymous with expensive software, but PhotoWorks begs to differ.ACDsee Photo Studio – Simple to use
This one comes in different types for different users such as the home user or professional as it is like a full photo studio suite for use in viewing, editing, and creating unique images.
ACDSee Photo Studio 2022 is probably the best digital asset manager on the market, and it supports more than 60 image formats, including GIFs.
In addition, you not only get to view crisp quality images on a super platform, but you also can edit, organize, manage, and even share your digital photos with your loved ones or friends from your desktop.
The app is available in the Microsoft Store is called Light EQ by ACDSee. Get ready to benefit from the features of technology from ACD Systems in this free app. It’s quite impressive how speedily will fix your dark photos.
Sometimes photo viewers can be slowed down but this one, even with all its features, is fast in terms of opening and scrolling through directories of your images.
It offers some basic options, like cropping, rotating, flipping, red-eye removing, and adjustments of brightness, exposure, or shadows.
Even more, it has some great photo filters which will give a new dimension to your photos and controls for clarity, contrast, vibrancy, etc.
So basically, although it’s not as powerful as the full version of Adobe Photoshop, this is still one of the best photo-editing apps that could be found for free in the Microsoft App Store.
Let’s go through some of the most important features:
- Great photo filters
- Red-eye removal
- Full list of basic tools
- Free to use
- Supports more than 60 image formats
ACDSee Photo Studio
Enhance, colorize, and do whatever else you want with your photos by using this amazing editing tool!inPixio Photo Editor – Intuitive interface
Our first spot is taken by an amazing photo editor, this time one created by inPixio. The software is easily downloadable from their official website, and the installation process is made to be as fast as possible.
What’s great about inPixio Photo Editor is that it’s incredibly lightweight, and offers a wide range of filters and stamps that can be added. Though a large part of the features can only be accessed after purchasing a pocket-friendly subscription.
The number of features is quite impressive, with the filters alone being more than 90, and they include detailed image adjustments, cropping, and more.
Once you’re done with it, showing it off to your friends and family is made easier with the direct social media integration options.
Take a look at its best features:
- Over 90 image filters
- Social media sharing options
- Intuitive interface
- Detailed image adjustments
inPixio Photo Editor
Photo editors don’t have to be expensive. In fact, they don’t have to cost you a dime. Try inPixio Photo Editor today!Fotor – Excellent visual effects
Fotor is probably the app that blends in the Windows 10 environment the best.
Its metro design provides a user experience similar to the operating system you’re using. But its nice design isn’t the only good thing about this app.
Fotor is a very powerful all-in-one photo editor for Windows 10. It offers a high variety of options, from basic editing tools to great visual effects, enchanters, collages, sizing options, and more. Besides that, it has quite a nice range of filters and effects, photo frames, stickers, and tilt-shift tools.
It also has a free online version so you can definitely use it for quick editing and basic enhancement of your images right now.
Let’s see some of its key features:
- Great set of filters
- Excellent visual effects and enhancement features
- Advanced set of elements to add to photos
- Intuitive interface
- Crop and resize images quickly
Fotor
Enhance your editing activity by using Fotor’s high-quality set of features.PicsArt – Photo Studio – Unwanted objects removal
PicsArt is probably the most popular photo editing tool for portable devices and smartphones, and Microsoft now made it available for free in Microsoft App Store.
PicsArt is a three-in-one tool, as it could be used as a photo editor, drawing tool, and collage maker. Like a photo editor, PicsArt offers a huge variety of photo filters, various customizations, and photo manipulation options.
You can also create various photo collages for background or social media. And with the drawing tool, you’re able to design forms of digital art with brushes and layer options.
So basically, PicsArt is the best app for you to express yourself creatively.
Let’s review some of its most important features:
- Top trending filters and popular photo effects
- Erase and replace backgrounds
- Clean up pictures and remove unwanted objects
- Add text to photos with 200+ designer fonts
- Flip and crop photos quickly
PicsArt
Take advantage of your creativity and edit with this amazing photo editing tool.Phototastic Collages – Built-in action camera
Phototastic is the best and the most popular Windows app for creating beautiful collages of your existing photos.
It offers more than a hundred collage templates of various shapes and styles. You can also add some text to your collages with the built-in text and stickers feature.
Photostatic also has a built-in action camera, so you can take pictures for your collage right on the spot.
So, if you’re looking for an app that will make stunning collages of your photos, Phototastic is probably the best choice.
Note that you download it for free in Microsoft App Store, but there’s also a Pro version available, with even more templates and options.
Let’s see a couple of its best features below:
- Friendly, simple design
- Great tool set of basic features
- Quick editing and enhancing options
- Can be downloaded for free
- The Pro version comes with additional templates and features
KVADPhoto + – Pen and ink support
If you’re looking for a powerful photo filter app, KVADPhoto + would probably be a great choice.
The specialty of this app is adding various special effects to your photos. It has the biggest base of photo filters of all apps in the Microsoft Store, offering more than 150 unique photo filters.
And these filters are divided into categories, so you can easily find the filter you want to use.
It features Sketch artistic filter, transforming your regular photo into a beautiful sketch artwork.
Although this app offers a bunch of options, you can have even more if you buy the Pro version of KVADPhoto +, but even with the regular one, you can do wonders with your images.
Take a look at its most important features:
- More than 150 photo filters
- Powerful all-in-one image processing application
- Picture-in-picture effects and Clip Art stickers
- Pen and Ink support
- Built-in clip art editor
These are some of the best free photo editing apps for Windows 10, and we hope that you’ve found the right one for you.
For other great tools, you should also check out these layered image editors that can also help you enhance your photos.
If you have any more suggestions or questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section below, and we’ll be sure to check them out.