A usable free mode and a reasonable upgrade price: As long as the features are there, most people will take a free app over a paid one.

The best apps don’t do this, making the case for going pro in subtler ways. Others pepper the editing space with distracting ads.

Few ads and no nagging to upgrade: Some nominally free apps spam you incessantly, trying to get you to upgrade.Support for TIFF, PNG, and other formats is welcome, too. Raw is still a niche concern for mobile-first photographers, but Apple and Google are beginning to make it more accessible for the average person, so it will become more important going forward. Ability to handle multiple formats: Few mobile apps can directly edit raw images, but we prefer those that can.They also allow you to save your edits as a profile so that you can easily apply those edits to other photos in the future. Quality filters and presets: This is subjective, obviously, but the best editing apps provide more attractive filters and presets (and a wider range of them) for those who don’t want to spend a ton of time tweaking each photo.If an editing app retains both the individual edit steps and the slider positions for each adjustment, even after being closed and reopened, all the better. Powerful edit-history functionality: You should be able to make changes without permanently changing the source image, and you should be able to move forward and backward through the edit timeline if you change your mind about edits later on.The best editing apps provide finer granularity without sacrificing usability, make it easier for you to understand the effects of edits with before-and-after comparisons, and maximize your view of the photo without hiding necessary controls. Ease of use: The best photo editing apps have fluid, easy-to-navigate interfaces that make it simple for you to find the settings you’re looking for, adjust the things that need fixing, and send your finished photos where you want them to go.

They should also produce good-looking results and be able to effectively correct problems in your original photos. But just having a lot of adjustments isn’t enough.

Generally speaking, the more options an editing app provides, the more we like it, as long as the interface isn’t too cluttered. The best go further to offer stuff like healing brushes, a histogram, curves, split toning, layers and masks, correction for chromatic aberration, and more. Powerful adjustments and great-looking output: Most photo editing apps offer the basics, such as brightness, contrast, and sharpening.

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