The Best Image Editing Apps for iPhone and iPad in 2026

Key Takeaways

• Best overall: Adobe Lightroom. The strongest RAW editor on iPhone, with masking, AI removal and sync to your desktop catalog.

• Best for layers and compositing: Photoshop. One app for iPhone and iPad now, with layers and masks free and the AI tools on a $7.99 a month plan.

• Best on iPad: Pixelmator Pro. Apple's full editor arrived on iPad in 2026, but only through the Apple Creator Studio subscription.

• Best free editor: Snapseed. No subscription, no ads, and RAW editing, masking and healing built in.

• Don't skip the Photos app. Apple's built-in editor now handles quick cleanups well enough that many edits never need another app.

Which kind of editor do you need?

Mobile photo editors have split into three groups. RAW developers like Lightroom and Darkroom adjust light and color without touching pixels, which is what photographers do with most shots. Layer editors like Photoshop and Pixelmator Pro combine images, cut out subjects and paint on masks, which is what designers and compositors need. Then there are quick-fix apps, from Apple Photos to Facetune, that remove a stray object or smooth skin in a tap.

Most creators end up with one from the first group and one from the third. The list below is ordered by how useful each app is to someone who edits photos regularly, with the use case it's best at called out.

How we picked

• Editing depth. RAW support, local adjustments and masks, layers, and how well the AI tools work.

• Free tier. What you can actually do before paying.

• Price and model. Subscription, lifetime or free, and whether the plan locks you into a bigger bundle.

• Device support. Which iPhones and iPads it runs on. We checked each app's App Store listing and pricing on October 8, 2026.

The seven apps at a glance

1. Adobe Lightroom - the best overall

Lightroom is still the most complete photo editor on iPhone. It reads RAW and Apple ProRAW files, and its paid features include selective adjustments with AI masks for subjects, skies and people, Generative Remove for erasing distractions, and Lens Blur for adding depth after the fact. Edits sync to Lightroom on desktop, so you can start on the phone and finish on a computer.

The free version covers presets and basic adjustments, which is enough to judge whether you like the workflow. RAW editing and the AI tools need a subscription. It has a 4.8 rating from more than 300,000 App Store reviews.

Best for: Photographers who shoot RAW and want the same edits on phone and desktop.

Price: Free tier; RAW and AI tools need a subscription, with the full Lightroom plan at $11.99 a month. As of October 2026.

Requires: iOS 18 or later.

Link: adobe.com

2. Adobe Photoshop - layers and compositing in your pocket

Adobe launched Photoshop for iPhone in 2025, and it's now a single app across iPhone and iPad. The free version includes layers, masks and a few free AI generations each day, which already puts it ahead of most mobile editors for compositing.

The Mobile & Web plan adds the Remove tool, Content-Aware Fill, Object Select, PSD export and 100 generative credits a month. Files open in desktop Photoshop with their layers intact.

Best for: Designers who need real layers, selections and PSD files on the go.

Price: Free tier; Mobile & Web is $7.99 a month or $69.99 a year. As of October 2026.

Requires: iOS 18 or later.

Link: App Store

3. Pixelmator Pro for iPad - the best on iPad

Apple bought Pixelmator in 2024, and in 2026 brought Pixelmator Pro to iPad as part of Apple Creator Studio, its subscription bundle of pro creative apps. It's the full editor: layers, RAW support for more than 750 cameras, and generative AI tools, built for a big screen and Apple Pencil.

The catch is the price model. There's no one-time purchase on iPad; you pay for the Creator Studio subscription. It needs a recent iPad with an A16 or M-series chip. The older Pixelmator app for iPhone no longer gets updates.

Best for: iPad owners who want a desktop-class editor and already pay for Apple's creative apps.

Price: Apple Creator Studio, $12.99 a month or $129 a year ($2.99 a month for education). As of October 2026.

Requires: iPadOS 26 on an A16 or M-series iPad.

Link: apple.com

4. Darkroom - RAW editing you can try fully before paying

Darkroom is a polished alternative to Lightroom for iPhone photographers. It edits RAW and ProRAW files, has AI masks for subjects and skies, and works directly on your Photos library without importing. Unusually, you can use every tool for free and only pay when you export.

It doesn't have Lightroom's desktop sync or Photoshop-style layers. A lifetime license is also available, rare among editors at this level.

Best for: iPhone photographers who want pro RAW tools without an Adobe account.

Price: $9.99 a month, $39.99 a year or $99.99 lifetime. As of October 2026.

Requires: iOS 18.4 or later.

Link: darkroom.co

5. Apple Photos - quick fixes you already have

The built-in Photos app handles a surprising share of everyday edits. Clean Up removes distracting objects with a tap, and iOS 27, released in September, added tools to extend and reframe a photo beyond its original edges. Every edit is reversible.

Clean Up requires Apple Intelligence, which means an iPhone 15 Pro or later. There are no layers or RAW-level controls, so it's a first stop rather than a full editor.

Best for: Fast cleanups before you share or move a photo into a pro app.

Price: Free with iOS.

Requires: Clean Up needs an iPhone 15 Pro or later.

Link: apple.com

6. Facetune - portrait and skin retouching

Facetune is built for one job: retouching people. Its tools smooth skin, whiten teeth, reshape features and relight faces, with AI presets for quick results. It has a 4.6 rating from more than 370,000 App Store reviews.

Use a light hand. Its strongest tools are also the easiest to overdo, and the most useful features sit behind a subscription.

Best for: Portrait, beauty and social creators who retouch faces often.

Price: Free to download; most tools need a subscription. As of October 2026.

Requires: iOS 17 or later.

Link: facetuneapp.com

7. Snapseed - the best free editor

Google's Snapseed is completely free, with no subscription, in-app purchases or ads. It had a major redesign in 2025 and still has the tools that made it popular: RAW Develop, brush and selective masking, healing, perspective correction and a large set of film-style looks. A 2026 update added a built-in camera with manual controls.

It doesn't have AI object removal or layers, and Google updates it slowly. For free, nothing else here comes close.

Best for: Anyone who wants a capable editor without paying.

Price: Free.

Requires: iOS 17 or later.

Link: App Store

Also worth a look

• Photomator. Pixelmator's photo-focused editor, sold separately from Creator Studio, with RAW and AI masks for $29.99 a year or $119.99 lifetime.

• Affinity Photo 2 for iPad. Free since Canva took over Affinity, but it hasn't been updated since September 2025.

• VSCO. Best known for its film-style presets; its AI tools are on the $69.99 a year Pro plan.

Which one should you install?

• You shoot RAW and edit on desktop too: Lightroom.

• You need layers and PSDs: Photoshop.

• You work on an iPad and pay for Apple's creative apps: Pixelmator Pro.

• You want pro RAW tools with a lifetime option: Darkroom.

• You just need to remove something quickly: Apple Photos.

• You retouch portraits: Facetune.

• You don't want to pay at all: Snapseed.