In the era of AI-powered everything, photo editing has transformed into a quick and enjoyable process. In this post, we got you covered with 7 best AI photo editors of 2024, each offering unique features to cater to different needs and skill levels.
What Are Some Popular Use Cases for AI Photo Editors?
Remove background: traditionally, you need to use selection tool or pen tool to separate the subject from its background, which takes some time and effort. Now with AI photo editors, you can remove background in a click.
Remove unwanted objects in the image: for instance, there may be unsightly wires and distracting objects in the image. AI utilities can remove them and fill in the matched content.
Enhance photo quality: sharpen, deblur, denoise, upscale to a higher resolution, brighten, auto color grading, etc.
AI outpainting and resizing for social media: for instance, when you want to repurpose a vertical photo to a landscape banner for Facebook, the outpainting features can greatly enhance your workflow.
Speed up the workflow: features such as auto masking, auto coloring, generative fill and more can reduce steps in photo editing and save time.
1. Adobe Photoshop
Pricing: $22.99/month
Platform: Windows, Mac
Adobe Photoshop remains unmatched as the ultimate full-featured AI photo editor and design app, available across Windows, macOS, iPad, and the web. Despite being around the market for more than 60 years, Photoshop continues to innovate with cutting-edge AI features, such as the powerful Remove Tool, Generative Fill using Adobe's Firefly AI model, advanced Neural Filters, and automatic adjustments.
Remove Tool can help users quickly remove unwanted objects from an image. The blank spaces where the objects were removed will be automatically filled in with AI. If you want to add the desired object to a specific place in the background, you can use Generative Fill to select the area and enter a text prompt to fill the object.
Having used Photoshop extensively in my role as a blogger, I was impressed by how natural the replacements looked, even with complex scenes. It can seamlessly replace backgrounds and elements in images with stunning accuracy.
Pros:
Enhance image editing with AI trained on extensive stock photos.
Powerful inpainting (generative fill), outpainting (generative expand), 3D layer, and more AI tools.
Cons:
Steep learning curve; mastering its extensive features requires dedication.
2. Luminar Neo
Pricing: $139 lifetime license, or $79/year
Platform: Windows, Mac
Luminar Neo is a top-tier AI photo editor for photographers seeking to elevate their images. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to streamline and enhance the editing process. From the moment you open the software, you'll notice its intuitive interface and powerful AI capabilities.
Features like automated tone adjustments and AI sky replacement save precious time while delivering stunning results. Moreover, Luminar Neo's precise object removal tool, GenErase, empowers users to eliminate unwanted elements from their photos with ease. Its AI-driven crop function intelligently suggests optimal compositions, preserving the essence of your photo.
During my evaluation of Luminar Neo, I was particularly impressed by the precision and effectiveness of its facial and skin adjustment tools. These features excelled at smoothing skin texture, reducing imperfections, enhancing facial features, and creating a natural, polished look without sacrificing image quality.
Pros:
Provides photographers with extensive control over effects and adjustments powered by AI.
With a user-friendly interface, both novice and experienced photographers can easily navigate the software and achieve desired results.
Cons:
Excessive reliance on AI can hinder creative freedom for users who prefer manual control.
Luminar AI's premium pricing may be prohibitive for budget-conscious users.
3. VideoProc Converter AI
Pricing: You can upscale 5 images per batch at no cost, and there's no cap on the number of batches. Other features come with a free trial.
Platform: Windows, Mac
Note: The Windows version now supports AI-powered Super Resolution, Frame Interpolation, and Stabilization to enhance video and image quality. These AI features are not yet available in the Mac version but will be coming soon.
If you are looking for an AI photo editor to upscale and enhance image quality, VideoProc Converter AI is the no-brainer choice. It offers an easy and automatic way to deblur, denoise, and restore low quality images, and AI upscale them to 4K/8K/16K and higher.
You can simply dump a batch of images into the Super Resolution module in VideoProc Converter AI, and choose a corresponding AI model: Gen-Detail, Real Smooth, Anime, and more. VideoProc will auto-infer flaws in images and go through the process to enhance its quality.
For instance, the Gen-Detail model can upscale photos while adding realistic details for skin, fabric, hair, and fur in wildlife photography, and textures for various surfaces. Trained with a large dataset of stock photos, the AI-generated details can perfectly fit the picture at a higher resolution.
Click the buttons below to download VideoProc Converter AI to enhance your photo quality.
Note: The Windows version now supports AI-powered Super Resolution, Frame Interpolation, and Stabilization to enhance video and image quality. These AI features are not yet available in the Mac version but will be coming soon.
Watch VideoProc Converter AI in action:
Pros:
AI-powered models to upscale images with realistic details and textures.
Upscale images to 8K and higher for 300DPI printing and UHD display.
Toolkit for media processing: convert, download, record, and upscale videos.
Cons:
It is designed as the must have media toolkit for daily video and image processing tasks, not a dedicated photo editor. Still, it works nicely than other photo editor in terms of denoising, deblur, sharpening and upscaling for natural results.
4. Canva
Pricing: $120/year for one person
Platform: Online
Canva is the leading online design app equipped with powerful AI-driven photo editing capabilities, accessible via web, iOS, and Android platforms.
It is widely loved by content creators with features like Magic Design for template creation and Magic Media for text-to-image generation. Tools such as Magic Eraser and Magic Edit further streamline design refinement, offering a harmonious balance of simplicity and functionality.
As a frequent user of Canva for creating social media graphics and promotional materials, I've appreciated its Magic Design feature. During testing, I used simple prompts to generate professional-looking designs quickly.
Pros:
The template-based design allows users to quickly develop their ideas.
It is easy to produce professional-looking posters and banners without the advanced skills required for Photoshop.
Cons:
Canva's image editing tools may not match those of dedicated photo editing software.
The free account doesn't allow you to change canvas size and aspect ratio flexibly.
5. Krea.ai
Pricing: Basic $10/month, Pro $35/month, Max $60/month
Platform: Online
Krea.ai emerges as a promising design tool enriched with integrated AI capabilities, designed to facilitate creative projects with intuitive automation. It is composed of an AI image generator, a creative upscaler, and an enhancer.
During testing, I loved its creative upscaler, which can edit and transform my photos into other styles, such as oil painting and digital art. It offers quick presets for style transfer: flat sharp, reinterpretation, digital art, etc.
The scene transfer feature is fun to play with. You can change the lighting and background of an image easily. In traditional photo editors, you may need to learn about masking, rotoscoping, the pen tool, blend modes, and many more techniques to achieve similar results. With Krea.ai, all the hard tasks are handled by intelligent models. You can restore old photos and recolor them for a modern look.
Pros:
The creative upscaling feature is free to use and works nicely for many types of photos.
Cons:
The free account only delivers output at 2K resolution.
It lacks dedicated editing tools like those offered in Photoshop.
6. Fotor
Pricing: 3.33/month (billed annually), 8.99/month
Platform: Online
Fotor stands out as the most beginner-friendly AI photo editor available online. From creating captivating collages to applying artistic effects, Fotor helps users bring their creative visions to life with just a few clicks.
The AI tools in Fotor make it easy to enhance portraits, adjust light and color, and create professional social media images. The AI Photo Enhancer, in particular, is a powerful tool that can transform blurry and low-quality photos into high-resolution masterpieces, complete with noise reduction and color enhancement.
Personally, I love the AI Background Remover and Photo to Art features the most. Together with the AI image enhancer tool and collage maker, they help streamline the process of creating banners, logos, ad assets, and social media posts.
Pros:
Easy-to-use AI photo editor with no need for downloads or installations.
Abundant templates and filters available at the click of a button.
Cons:
While Fotor is great for simple edits, it lacks the advanced tools and customization options necessary for professional-level photo manipulation.
7. PicsArt
Pricing: $5/month
Platform: iOS, iPadOS, Android, Web
PicsArt is one of the best AI photo editors available for iPhone, iPad, Android, and the web. Whether you're a seasoned graphic designer or a casual photo enthusiast, PicsArt caters to all skill levels. You can use its magic tools to edit photos easily, including features like face retouch, free crop, shape crop, perspective, stretch, clone, motion, tilt shift, resize, and more.
It saves you time and effort by allowing you to replace objects with text descriptions, remove backgrounds automatically, and create art based on text prompts. The AI expand tool, AI avatars, and trendy filters make it easy to edit photos for IG stories, reels, and blog posts in various aspect ratios.
I've personally found PicsArt to be an indispensable tool for my social media content creation. The AI-powered image enhancement features have saved me countless hours of manual editing. Additionally, the ability to generate custom graphics and advertisements with a simple text prompt is a game-changer.
Pros:
Offers a wide range of tools for photo editing, video creation, graphic design, and collage making.
Suitable for both casual users and professionals.
Cons:
Some advanced features and content require a subscription or in-app purchases.
The app can struggle with excessive layering of elements.
Conclusion
Each of these photo editors and design tools offers a unique blend of capabilities and strengths, catering to a diverse range of creative needs.
For AI-powered photo editing, graphic design and digital painting, go with Photoshop.
For quick skin retouching, background removal, and color grading, use Luminar Neo.
For batch upscaling with details, use the Super Resolution tool in VideoProc Converter AI.
For social media posts with templates, use Canva online or PicsArt on mobile devices.
Whether you prioritize advanced AI functionalities, intuitive design tools, or specialized artistic capabilities, these software options offer robust solutions to elevate your creative projects to new heights.