Free Apps for Editing Your E-Commerce Photos

Eye-catching product photos and visually arresting social media images that stop the scroll are basic requirements for a successful e-commerce website. While there are plenty of apps to help you format photos for each platform, it can be hard to sort through your options. Here is a list of apps you can use for free while you decide what works for your business.

Why product photo quality directly affects your e-commerce conversion rate

Before we dive into the free apps for editing your photos, it’s important to know why editing your photos has become a business imperative. A survey of customers on Etsy found that 90% said the quality of the photos were “extremely important” or “very important” to a purchase decision. “In fact, it’s their most important factor in deciding to buy, even more important than the shipping cost, customer reviews, or even the price of the item itself,” wrote Etsy. 

E-commerce shoppers can’t handle a product in-person before they buy. As a result, photos on your website or social media pages have to do the heavy lifting to convince someone to click buy. The right product photos can deliver higher conversion rates, fewer returns, and increase brand visibility. 

“Strong product imagery helps brands stand out when products or pricing are similar across retailers,” wrote Adobe. 

High-quality photos can be used not only on your e-commerce site but also in shoppable social media posts, email campaigns, partner channels, affiliate marketing, and other marketplaces. It’s worth investing in the tools to ensure your products are shown in the best light no matter where customers shop. 

Best free e-commerce photo editing apps

Snapseed

Recommended for serious photographers and beginners alike, Google’s Snapseed is a powerful photo editor for iOS and Android. The app is free to download, has no ads, and includes helpful tutorials.

Snapseed offers a wide range of filters and the option to save edits and apply them to other images.

Tools include text, frames, double exposure, and a powerful healing brush that removes unwanted objects with the touch of your finger. Users note in reviews that a recent update makes it difficult to save images, but you are able to do so without a watermark. 

Photoshop Express

Adobe describes its Photoshop Express app as “Your one-touch photo editor.” It offers multiple lens options and a wide array of presets to size photos for social media. Creating collages is straightforward and includes the ability to transfer styles between images.

Features include spot healing and watermark resizing. PSD files can be sent from the app to your desktop for more advanced Photoshop editing.

VSCO

VSCO bills itself as a creative community aimed at helping photographers reach their full potential. The free version of VSCO is a straightforward photo editor, with basic presets and standard editing tools.

You can purchase a VSCO membership for $2.50 per month and unlock advanced photo and video editing tools. The free seven-day trial membership will make it easy to decide if the upgrade satisfies your specific needs.

iPiccy

If you’re after straightforward photo editing, the iPiccy app will get the job done quickly and intuitively. Preset crop sizes and artistic filters make enhancement effortless. Standard editing tools like saturation, contrast and exposure are all easy to find and use.

If you’re searching for more functionality than the mobile version offers, there is a desktop version, as well.

Pixlr

The mobile offering from Pixlr is among the most intuitive photo editors around, making it a great starting point. With templates, standard tools, filters, borders, and text capabilities, perfecting your photos is quick and painless. Pixlr has also added AI features to make editing even faster. 

A $2.49-per-month subscription will not only turn off the ads that pop up in the free version but will also allow access to premium stickers, borders, and fonts. 

VistaCreate

If you are looking to add life to your social media posts, VistaCreate (formerly Crello) will help you animate like a pro. With templates for Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and more, VistaCreate is particularly useful if you need to create a lot of content quickly.

The free version of VistaCreate offers tons of graphics and animated templates and lets you upload your own fonts. VistaCreate Pro offers additional templates, more images, and AI editing tools, as well as HD downloads. You can try it free for 10 days before signing up for the $10-per-month upgrade.

[Read more: 5 Video Marketing Tools for Small Businesses]

BeFunky

Whether your vibe is funky, traditional, or something in between, BeFunky’s graphic design feature offers simple-to-add design elements to create your own marketing campaigns. Partnerships with Pixabay and Pexels allow you to access free stock images right in the app.

The free version’s collage maker includes a Pinterest pin maker. While the mobile app has all the tools necessary to produce excellent product photos and social media posts, an upgraded version—BeFunky Plus—offers extra features for $10 per month.

Canva

If your work sourcing or creating quality products leaves you short on social media marketing time, Canva may be the answer. The app includes templates for everything from a “happy birthday” tweet to an infographic fit for an Instagram story, ready to be customized to suit your specific brand.

Tools such as text, speech bubbles, frames, and stickers allow you to easily create and save your own designs. A collaboration tool allows you to share work in progress with your team. While the basic app is free, an upgraded version, which includes a 60-million-image library and a one-tap resizing tool, is available for $18 per month.

[Read more: How to Promote Your Business on Instagram During a Crisis]

Fotor

Fotor is another user-friendly tool that claims to be simple and straightforward. The platform includes AI features—and even generative AI, if you don’t have a product prototype available. Fotor offers many of the same editing tools as Photoshop, but without the learning curve. A chat-to-edit feature lets you request changes to an AI editor until you get what you need. 

An upgrade to Fotor Pro is available for $47.99 for a one-year subscription or $3.99 monthly.

When it's time to upgrade to a paid tool or hire a photographer

AI is making photo editing tools more powerful than ever before. And in some instances, it does make sense to rely on a photo editing tool, especially if you’re paying for the professional version. 

Free photo editing tools are ideal for making small changes to existing images. Resizing, color corrections, and text overlays are all examples of edits that can be made simply using a free tool. Many free tools also limit the number of photos you’re allowed to edit; Fotor, for instance, offers limited free credits. Its Pro plan allows up to 1200 credits/year. Collaboration is often limited, and you may contend with pesky ads on certain free platforms. 

Consider upgrading to a paid tool when you’re editing photos at scale. Some paid tools allow you to save settings and apply them across all images. “When listing hundreds or thousands of products online, consistency is key,” wrote Adobe. “Establishing clear standards for photography ensures that all images maintain a professional, cohesive look across your site.” 

Hire a photographer (or create your own setup) to take the original product photos. The better the image from the get-go, the less time you’ll spend editing. A pro will bring out the best angles, know how to stage your product, and understand your brand far better than an AI tool. You’ll also avoid AI “hallucinations” and make sure your product is accurately represented to shoppers, avoiding potential customer service headaches. 

Whether you’re looking to simplify product photography, get more out of your social media posts or launch a complete marketing campaign, the right photo editor can be a game changer without breaking your budget. 

Joyce Walsack contributed to this article.

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