PhotoScape X (Free) A relatively new photo editing app, PhotoScape X has been gaining popularity with many Mac and PC users since its release in 2008. Its interface is simple but unconventional, with a number of tabs running along the top of the window. Each is responsible for a specific stage of editing. Talking of editing, let’s look at some of the crop maneuvers you can do with this free photo editing app for mac. How to Crop a Photo As a Rectangle on Your Mac Cropping your photos using the Photos App for Mac is quite easy. Just double click on the photo you want to edit and click on Edit on the upper right corner of the app’s window. Level up your # photo viewing experience on # Windows 10 by learning about the seven best # Photo viewer # apps for # Windows 10. A Complete Guide to Customizing Dock on Mac A Dock is a center of. Dubbed by BBC as the lite Photoshop, Fotor is the best free photo editing software for mac! Ranking top in Mac Store in over 80 countries, Fotor is the only image editor you need on Mac! Take your photos where no photos have gone before. Version: 4.1.2 (Support Mac OS X 10.7 or later) User Guide.
A good Mac photo editor can help you get the most out of your images. Whether you’re a professional or an amateur photographer, you need powerful digital editing software to make your photos stand out in the most creative light.
There are all kinds of photo editing software for Mac computers. Some have comprehensive features and functionality, but they cost an arm and a leg. If you want a budget-friendly option, you can always use free photo editors.
Today, we’ll take a closer look at three amazing Mac photo editors.
Check our coverage, if you are looking for a free photo editor for windows.
Top 9 Photo Editor Software for Mac
We’re sharing some of the best Mac photo editing software that can help you adjust and enhance images.
Launchberg editors pick and review products independently. We may earn affiliate commissions when you purchase an item via our links—it helps support our testing.
1. Adobe Photoshop Elements
Even today, Adobe is still the gold standard of photo editing software. Although it offers quite an extensive set of features, it is simple and easy to use. It can automate photo editing for you so you can spend more time on other creative endeavors.
Thanks to Adobe Sensei AI, you can make collages, wall art, mugs, phone cases, and more with a few taps of your finger.
Not to mention, Adobe Photoshop Elements comes with 53 Guided Edits, which you can use as a guide for creating anything from fun memes to multi-photo texts.
All of Adobe Photoshop Elements’ editing features don’t come cheap. It has a one-time fee of $99.99. If you upgrade your software to the student and teacher edition, it will cost $149.99
✅ PROS:
- Built-in photo organizing system
- Automated slideshows and collages
- Guided edits
⛔️ CONS:
- Very expensive
- Requires large disk space
2. Affinity Photo
The best photo editor for Mac for photographers on a budget is Affinity Photo. Equipped with a huge toolset, Affinity Photo is designed to meet the needs of professional creative artists.
It has a complete kit for retouching photos, as well as an extensive collection of non-destructive adjustments. Since it can support countless layers, you can leverage their entire library of filters, effects, and adjustments to create complex photo compositions.
Affinity Photo has pro-level editing tools and charges only half of what Adobe charges. It has a 10-day free trial period. Make the most of it so you can decide whether or not Affinity Photo is the right one for you.
✅ PROS:
- Budget-friendly
- Supports a wide array of image files
- Extensive, varied library of brushes, filters, adjustments, etc.
⛔️ CONS:
- Short trial period
- Lacks a photo organizing system
- Lacks printing project resources
3. Gimp
Gimp is the best free photo editor for Mac. It is an open-source program with an extensive set of beginner-friendly and advanced tools. Not only that, it is expandable through third-party plug-ins, including ones designed for Adobe Photoshop.
Gimp’s interface for Mac devices isn’t the most user-friendly. It might take you a while to get to know your tools and be comfortable with them. Still, the program should be worth it especially if you’re on a budget.
If you need a powerful editing tool but don’t have the budget for a premium one, you should consider Gimp.
✅ PROS:
- Simple interface
- Extensive, varied library of brushes, filters, adjustments, etc.
- FREE
⛔️ CONS:
- Lacks tutorials or guides
- Lacks intuitive workflows
- Steep learning curve
4. Fotor Photo Editor
Fotor is an online photo editing app with over 450 million users. It’s a comprehensive program with a wealth of basic and premium features, such as adding text, rotating a photo, creating a collage, and removing a background. It enables its users to manipulate photos with relative ease.
It also has a wide range of editable templates that let users design their own Facebook covers, posters, and photo cards, among other categories. Fotor provides a lot of room for creativity. With it, you can add filters, choose from hundreds of fonts, retouch a photo, and more.
Fotor Basic is free and lets you edit photos, albeit with limited features. Meanwhile, Fotor Pro can be used for $8.99 per month and is ideal for small businesses, freelancers, and designers. There’s also Fotor Pro+, which costs $19.99 per month, and gives users access to all its advanced editing tools and to a regularly updated roster of stock photos. It’s a great choice for startups, agencies, and corporate marketing.
Fotor is compatible with Mac and Windows and smartphones as well and is available on Google Play and the Apple App Store.
✅ PROS:
- Vast resource of tutorials and guides
- User-friendly interface
- Great for beginners and pros alike
⛔️ CONS:
- Limited design resources for the basic version
- Basic version has ads
5. Lightroom
Lightroom is an online photo editing softwarefrom Adobe that’s a cross between Photoshop and a dedicated photo editing app. It gives users access to a wide range of photo manipulation tools and allows them to import, organize, and manage their images.
One of Lightroom’s best features is its auto-save function. All edits done are automatically saved in a catalog, which doubles as a database for your edit history. Other features include white balance, exposure adjustment, spot removal, noise reduction, and lens profile corrections.
For photographers who work with raw photos, it’s a great photo editing softwareto have on your device, whether you’re using a PC, laptop, smartphone, or tablet.
There are three plans available for Lightroom, all with varying features: the Lightroom plan, which costs $9.99 per month and provides 1TB of Cloud photo storage, the 20GB Photography plan, which costs $9.99 a month and comes with Adobe Photoshop, and the 1TB Photography plan, costing $19.99 per month and also with Photoshop access.
For those who want to try it out first, a free trial is available.
✅ PROS:
- Easier to use than Photoshop
- Clean interface
- Comprehensive editing capabilities
⛔️ CONS:
- Only available through a subscription
- Unlike Photoshop, it doesn’t let you add layers
6. Pixelmator Pro
A dedicated Mac photo editing software, Pixelmator Pro is a powerful and nondestructive Mac photo editorthat enables user to edit RAW photos. Its photo adjustment features include levels, curves, lightness, selective color, and replace color.
It also comes with a full set of vector tools that let you illustrate designs, allowing you to create resolution-independent designs.
For designers, this photo editing appenables you to do layer-based editing. It also has smart guides that help make designing more convenient. With its Pro 2.0 version, this photo editor for Macis compatible with the all-new M1 chip and macOS Big Sur. It has a one-time fee of $39.99.
✅ PROS:
- With support for graphics tablets
- Advanced alignment tools
- Fast performance
⛔️ CONS:
- Navigating the software may be tricky
- Can be a bit difficult to control
7. Luminar 4
What makes Luminar 4 unique among other photo editing softwareis its functionality. It can be used as a standalone photo editor and browser or as a plugin for Adobe and Apple products. It has a unique AI Structure slider tha
Luminar 4 makes great use of AI, giving users access to features, such as the AI Accent and AI Sky Enhancer, that make editing a breeze. It’s free to download for Mac and PC users.
A Luminar membership, however, will give you access to Luminar and photography tutorials and to exclusive templates and sky textures, among other added features.
Membership costs $99 and is billed annually.
✅ PROS:
- Improved Erase Technology
- Enables you to browse photos without importing them
- With integrated camera catalog
⛔️ CONS:
- No option for smartphones
- No option for exporting photos
8. Preview
While not exactly the best free photo editing app, Preview is perhaps the best free photo editor for Mac. With Preview, you can apply basic changes to your photos, such as rotating, cropping, or adjusting the exposure and color of images, using your Mac device. This Mac editing softwarealso lets you edit videos and Live Photos.
Unlike other photo editors, Preview keeps the first version of the image, so you can quickly revert to the original photo. It also lets you duplicate a photo, whether a still or a Live one, so you can work on the duplicate instead of on the original.
You can also compare your photos or videos before and after editing them. Aside from letting you view images, you can also view PDFs on Preview.
✅ PROS:
- Easy to use
- Completely free
- Let you copy and paste any adjustments
⛔️ CONS:
- Limited photo editing functionality
- No tools for drawing or illustrating vector images
9. Google Photos
Google Photos is an online photo editor that automatically organizes your photos and makes it easier for you to share them online. With it, you can also create thematic videos, animations, or collages. With Google acquiring the photo editor Picknik, you get a range of photo editing and enhancement tools, such as light and color adjustments and a vignette editor.
If you’re not too keen on making several adjustments, it has the Auto button, which automatically adjusts your photo’s lighting and color. You’ll also have access to a number of photo filters and basic functions, such as Crop and Rotate.
Another fun and functional feature is its Assistant Lab, which automatically enhances photos, organizes your pictures, and lets you create thematic videos such as a “Selfie Movie” or a “Doggie Movie”.
It has 15GB of storage that comes free with your existing Google account. If you need more space for your photos, you can get an additional 100GB of storage for $1.99 per month, 200GB for $2,99 a month, or 2TB for $99.99 annually.
Google Photos is downloadable from Google Play or the App Store. You can use it to back up your photos on your phone.
✅ PROS:
- Simple and clean interface
- Facial detection feature
- Photos are synced across all your Google-enrolled devices
⛔️ CONS:
- No blemish and red-eye removal features
- Free unlimited storage is only until June 1, 2021
With the advent of Photoshop, which was released almost 30 years ago, and other photo editing software, people can now digitally manipulate photos using their laptops, PCs, and even smartphones.
Choosing a mac photo editor that works for you, among so many editing tools, can be quite exhausting. It’s a big decision, especially since premium software isn’t cheap.
If you only need basic tools, you ought to consider alternatives such as free image resizer apps or filter apps. Our picks of the best online photo editor are here for you as well.
Pair the right editing software with the best free project management software for mac, and you can complete all your content creation endeavors without a hitch.
Also read our article about how to remove background from picture—the easy way.
Related Articles:
The Optimized Storage features of your Mac help you save storage space by storing your content in iCloud and making it available on demand:
- When storage space is needed, files, photos, movies, email attachments, and other files that you seldom use are stored in iCloud automatically.
- Each file stays right where you last saved it, and downloads when you open it.
- Files that you’ve used recently remain on your Mac, along with optimized versions of your photos.
If you haven't yet upgraded to macOS Sierra or later, learn about other ways to free up storage space.
Find out how much storage is available on your Mac
Choose Apple menu > About This Mac, then click Storage. Each segment of the bar is an estimate of the storage space used by a category of files. Move your pointer over each segment for more detail.
Click the Manage button to open the Storage Management window, pictured below.
Manage storage on your Mac
The Storage Management window offers recommendations for optimizing your storage. If some recommendations are already turned on, you will see fewer recommendations.
Store in iCloud
Mac Photo Viewer Free
Click the Store in iCloud button, then choose from these options:
- Desktop and Documents. Store all files from these two locations in iCloud Drive. When storage space is needed, only the files you recently opened are kept on your Mac, so that you can easily work offline. Files stored only in iCloud show a download icon , which you can double-click to download the original file. Learn more about this feature.
- Photos. Store all original, full-resolution photos and videos in iCloud Photos. When storage space is needed, only space-saving (optimized) versions of photos are kept on your Mac. To download the original photo or video, just open it.
- Messages. Store all messages and attachments in iCloud. When storage space is needed, only the messages and attachments you recently opened are kept on your Mac. Learn more about Messages in iCloud.
Storing files in iCloud uses the storage space in your iCloud storage plan. If you reach or exceed your iCloud storage limit, you can either buy more iCloud storage or make more iCloud storage available. iCloud storage starts at 50GB for $0.99 (USD) a month, and you can purchase additional storage directly from your Apple device. Learn more about prices in your region.
Optimize Storage
Click the Optimize button to save space by automatically removing watched movies and TV shows. When storage space is needed, movies or TV shows that you purchased from Apple and already watched are removed from your Mac. Click the download icon next to a movie or TV show to download it again.
Your Mac will also save space by keeping only recent email attachments on this Mac when storage space is needed. You can manually download any attachments at any time by opening the email or attachment, or saving the attachment to your Mac.
Optimizing storage for movies, TV shows, and email attachments doesn't require iCloud storage space.
Empty Trash Automatically
Empty Trash Automatically permanently deletes files that have been in the Trash for more than 30 days.
Reduce Clutter
Reduce Clutter helps you identify large files and files you might no longer need. Click the Review Files button, then choose any of the file categories in the sidebar, such as Applications, Documents, Music Creation, or Trash.
You can delete the files in some categories directly from this window. Other categories show the total storage space used by the files in each app. You can then open the app and decide whether to delete files from within it.
Learn how to redownload apps, music, movies, TV shows, and books.
Where to find the settings for each feature
The button for each recommendation in the Storage Management window affects one or more settings in other apps. You can also control those settings directly within each app.
- If you're using macOS Catalina or later, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Apple ID, then select iCloud in the sidebar: Store in iCloud turns on the Optimize Mac Storage setting on the right. To turn off iCloud Drive entirely, deselect iCloud Drive.
- If you're using macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click iCloud, then click Options next to iCloud Drive. Store in iCloud turns on the Desktop & Documents Folders and Optimize Mac Storage settings.
- In Photos, choose Photos > Preferences, then click iCloud. Store in iCloud selects iCloud Photos and Optimize Mac Storage.
- In Messages, choose Messages > Preferences, then click iMessage. Store in iCloud selects Enable Messages in iCloud.
- If you're using macOS Catalina or later, open the Apple TV app, choose TV > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Files. Optimize Storage selects “Automatically delete watched movies and TV shows.”
- In you're using macOS Mojave or earlier, open iTunes, choose iTunes > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Advanced. Optimize Storage selects “Automatically delete watched movies and TV shows.”
- In Mail, choose Mail > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Accounts. In the Account Information section on the right, Optimize Storage sets the Download Attachments menu to either Recent or None.
Empty Trash Automatically: From the Finder, choose Finder > Preferences, then click Advanced. Empty Trash Automatically selects “Remove items from the Trash after 30 days.”
Other ways that macOS helps automatically save space
With macOS Sierra or later, your Mac automatically takes these additional steps to save storage space:
Mac Photo Freeware
- Detects duplicate downloads in Safari, keeping only the most recent version of the download
- Reminds you to delete used app installers
- Removes old fonts, languages, and dictionaries that aren't being used
- Clears caches, logs, and other unnecessary data when storage space is needed
How to free up storage space manually
Even without using the Optimized Storage features described in this article, you can take other steps to make more storage space available:
- Music, movies, and other media can use a lot of storage space. Learn how to delete music, movies, and TV shows from your device.
- Delete other files that you no longer need by moving them to the Trash, then emptying the Trash. The Downloads folder is good place to look for files that you might no longer need.
- Move files to an external storage device.
- Compress files.
- Delete unneeded email: In the Mail app, choose Mailbox > Erase Junk Mail. If you no longer need the email in your Trash mailbox, choose Mailbox > Erase Deleted Items.
Learn more
- The Storage pane of About This Mac is the best way to determine the amount of storage space available on your Mac. Disk Utility and other apps might show storage categories such as Not Mounted, VM, Recovery, Other Volumes, Other, Free, or Purgeable. Don't rely on these categories to understand how to free up storage space or how much storage space is available for your data.
- When you duplicate a file on an APFS-formatted volume, that file doesn't use additional storage space on the volume. Deleting a duplicate file frees up only the space required by any data you might have added to the duplicate. If you no longer need any copies of the file, you can recover all of the storage space by deleting both the duplicate and the original file.
- If you're using a pro app and Optimize Mac Storage, learn how to make sure that your projects are always on your Mac and able to access their files.