The Best AI Image Editors in 2026 (Tested & Reviewed)

Remember the bad ol’ days when you needed a graphic design diploma just to edit a simple image? 

You’d struggle over adjusting the color of the sky. You’d sweat over cropping out your ex from family photos. And the result would be awkward and very obvious.

Fast-forward to 2026, and you don’t need to be a Photoshop wizard to edit your images anymore. 

We tested the most popular AI image editors to find the ones that deliver professional results with just a few clicks. 

So, let the best generator win!

To test the best AI image editors, we focused on a few main factors. I’m no design expert, so they had to be easy to use. 

I’m also always busy, which is why we tested all AI photo editing tools for workflow integration – particularly for marketers and creators. 

For each AI tool, we also looked at price point and whether they offer a truly free option… unlike so many that sting you with a paywall immediately after creating an account.

Here’s what to look for when choosing an AI photo editor:

There’s nothing more annoying than a convoluted program interface. I needed an AI photo editor that felt intuitive enough for me to manage tasks without having to consult Professor YouTube every five minutes.

Right now, I just need an AI photo editor that has basic features like background removal. But later down the track, I might need some more firepower up my sleeve. It really tends to go that way, right?

So I was on the hunt for an AI image editor that has a good range of core features, including an object remover, enhancer, resolution upscaler and colorizer. I’m safeguarding myself against outgrowing a basic program. 

I just want a pricing model that is transparent and doesn’t cost me an arm and a leg. 

I’m not planning on using a bunch of apps for image editing, but you might be, so integration capability might be a must-have quality for you. If you’re like me and just need one app to do a couple of things, then it’s not such a big deal. 

Let’s get into the meat of it! Here, we tested 10 of the most popular AI image editors for creators and marketers. 

Kicking off with our most impressive find, Pikto AI is a powerful AI-driven image editor. Here’s what we love about it:

Superb range of features

Piktochart has an excellent range of features for non-designers like me. Its hands-down coolest feature is the Image Modifier which lets you remove and add features, adjust colors, and alter visual styles, simply by giving the AI an instruction (e.g. ‘change the sky from blue to orange’). 

It also has an Image Upscaler, which improves resolution while preserving fine details, a fantastic and easy-to-use Background Remover. Plus, among the many AI image generators that exist, Piktochart’s is fast and effective.

Very easy to use
Unlike when using many other tools, Pikto AI didn’t have me in tears by the end of it. In fact, I found it super easy to use with a very intuitive interface. For example, you can easily find the AI tool you want in the left-hand sidebar, click on it and wait for the magic to happen. 

The text prompts work remarkably well, certainly the best of all programs tested in this review.

Free and paid tools, modestly priced

Piktochart also has a free version, which comes with 60 free AI credits – more than enough to edit an image or two. Its Pro account is modestly priced at $14 per month when billed annually.

The market leader in designing tools for non-designers, Canva’s Magic Studio has got a lot going for it. 

Great range of features

Top features of Canva’s Magic Studio include Magic Edit, which lets you add or replace elements with a text prompt, Magic Grab, which identifies the main subject of an image and lets you reposition it, and Magic Expand which is handy for extending the borders of an image.

Easy to use

With Canva’s signature user-friendly feel, Magic Studio’s features are easy to use. I’d say they’re about on par with Pikto AI in this regard.

Limited free features

Sadly, none of the cool features mentioned here, like Magic Edit, Expand or Grab, are available on a free account. These are unlocked only with a Pro account, which is priced at $15 per month.

Adobe Firely – known by most non-designers, but traditionally feared for its complicated interface and steep learning curve. Could their AI integration change that? The answer is yes.

Top features

Like most of the AI photo editors mentioned, Adobe Firefly has key features like Generative Fill and Generative Expand, which allow you to add or remove content and extend images with text prompts. 

Pretty easy to use
I know what you’re thinking. You hear the ol’ Photoshop and get horrible flashbacks. But Adobe Firefly is surprisingly easy to use, thanks to its Contextual Task Bar which presents AI tools as you select elements. 

Tasks like extending the background of a photo are difficult to do manually in Firefly, but the AI tools change this entirely. 

Pricey compared to other tools

Photoshop is pricier than Piktochart and Canva, costing $22.99 per month. If you’re a non-designer who’s just looking for quick AI photo editing, we’d suggest a cheaper program like Pikto AI which gives you all the same tools.

The younger sibling of Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom is a tool that specialises in photography editing, rather than images in general. Its AI capabilities are similar to Photoshop’s. 

Top features

For non-designers, Lightroom AI can basically do all the same things as Photoshop AI: change element colors, extend the background, remove elements. 

Lightroom also features the super cool Adaptive Presets that automatically apply effects to specific areas of a photo, such as eyes or clothing.

Possibly the most sought-after feature in Lightroom AI is Generative Remove. This nifty little guy removes unwanted objects from photos by analyzing the surrounding area and generating a new, blended background to fill the void.

Good workflow, but no text prompts

Lightroom AI is easy to use if you’re a design noob like me. The workflow is pretty intuitive, and it’s easy enough to get your head around.

But the big drawback for me is the lack of text prompt ability. You can’t just say, “hey – turn my head into a Granny Smith apple.” 

Massive dealbreaker for me.

Price is good if you just want photos edited with AI

Lightroom only really does photos, lacking layer editing and vector tools. So at $12 per month, we’d suggest spending a couple bucks more and going for something like Pikto AI which gives you a full suite of AI image editing tools.

I’d heard a lot about Luminar Neo, and had seen slick ads for its self-described ‘seamless’ editing. But to be honest, Luminar Neo’s AI was a little disappointing. Here’s why:

Features
Luminar Neo is often billed as a Lightroom competitor, considering it specialises in photo editing (and isn’t super useful for other graphics). 

Among the standard AI editing features like sky editing and object removal, it also has Portrait Bokeh AI for creating a professional-looking depth-of-field effect and Powerline Removal AI to automatically clean up landscapes.

A bit clunky to use
Easy enough to change the color of the sky – but difficult to change it to one that’s realistic, or one you actually like. Luminar Neo’s AI tools seem to ‘overcook’ the photo editing, making colors unrealistically bright and giving your edits a harsh, cheap-looking effect.

Deceptive pricing

You can buy a lifetime licence for Luminar Neo for $199. Pretty reasonable to me. But what I don’t find reasonable is the constant updating of the program which pushes you towards a subscription model ($99 per year) if you want the latest features. 

Considering AI tools are rapidly changing, this doesn’t make sense for anyone who wants AI photo editing – as you’ll be stuck in the past, pretty quickly. 

A relative newcomer to the field, Fotor is a budget photo editing platform that now comes with some cool AI tools, but it’s not without its problems. 

Features

Fotor comes with a few neat AI features, including background removal, generative expand and image enhancer. They work fine, but the quality just isn’t as high as some of the other programs mentioned here. 

You know when you can just tell that an image has been AI-modified? Fotor kind of has that feel to it.

Poor interface

In terms of usability, I found Fotor’s interface less intuitive than some of the other programs. The Background Removal tool, for example, isn’t grouped in with the other AI features in the Photo Editor – it’s weirdly located in the Home menu instead.

Another minor gripe was that I couldn’t switch to another editing space for further work – instead, I had to save a new file and reopen it. 

Cheap price

At $8.99 a month, Fotor is cheap, there’s no denying that. I think for a lot of these programs, you pay for what you get. Paying slightly more will grant you a more user-friendly experience such as Pikto AI. 

Picsart is an AI image editor that does more or less the same thing as the others, with a focus on social media content. Having not heard of Picsart but reading recommendations, I was keen to test out their tools and compare them to some of the better-known programs.

Features

Like Pikto AI and Canva, Picsart has the features of background removal, AI enhancement and object removal. I gave the enhancer a try, but it was a little lackluster compared to some of the other tools I’ve used. The difference in image quality before and after wasn’t immediately noticeable. 

User-friendly 

Picsart has a pretty decent interface that makes for an easy workflow. It’s more user-friendly than Fotor, for example, but less so than Pikto AI or Canva.

Low price, but deceiving ‘free’ account
The price for Picsart Pro is $13 per month, and they do offer a free account. But all the cool AI tools you want are locked behind a paywall – the enhancer and background remover are limited to the Pro account. 

Pixlr is another AI image editor that has a few things going for it. It’s good for both photos and other images, and has a few cool AI tools. 

Features

Like most of the AI image editors mentioned here, Pixlr has AI tools like generative expand, background removal, object removal and generative fill – some of which use text prompts to get you there. 

I gave the object removal tool a whirl, and was a little disappointed. It turned a car in the background of a photo into a grey smudge… which I wouldn’t classify as ‘removing’ so much as ‘blurring’.

User-friendly

For a program I hadn’t heard of before using, Pixlr was surprisingly user-friendly and had a good workflow. What’s annoying about Pixlr is the ads that pop up all the time when you only have a free account. 

Low price and decent free options

Pixlr has a low price of $8.99 per month. But given my experience with it, I’m not sure it hits the mark. Again, I’d rather spend a little extra on a more reputable tool. 

Topaz Photo AI specializes in photo enhancement using AI tools. I was impressed with what I saw: actually, I was overwhelmed by how professional it was. Topaz is more on the side of professional photo editing which, personally, surpasses my needs. 

Features

Again, you can expect the standard photo editing tools with Topaz – ‘Sharpen’ for correcting blur, ‘Gigapixel’ for upscaling images and a functional object removal tool. 

One trick up their sleeve, however, is the ‘Super Focus’ tool which lets you correct specific areas of your photos that are out of focus. Helpful if you’re really into photography. 

User-friendly

Like most other AI photo editors mentioned here, Topaz is easy to use. Its interface is clean and straightforward, with most of the work being done automatically by the Autopilot feature. You simply import your photos, and the software recommends the enhancements. 

Price point – a little high

What I like about Topaz is the one-time purchase model, costing $199 currently. It’s fair if you’re a photography buff but, for me, it’s a little too advanced and too pricey. Other tools are more suited and more affordable for non-designers. 

And finally, we have Cyberlink PhotoDirector – a solid AI photo editing software that has nice features but a couple of drawbacks.

PhotoDirector has all the features I look for in an AI photo editor – sky replacement, background remover, object remover/replacer, and image extender. 

PhotoDirector’s interface isn’t as straightforward as some of the other tools, but I’ve read that this initial confusion fades pretty quickly. 

For me personally, I’m looking for a quick-easy fix. For others, however, PhotoDirector might come more naturally.

So, for the non-subscription version of PhotoDirector, you’re looking at $99.99 – a fair price, but that doesn’t include all the AI features we want. Disappointing! The subscription version is $59.99 which comes with the full suite of AI tools.

Simply put? Yes. I definitely think AI photo editors can and, to some extent, already have replaced manual photo editing. 

For the vast majority of business and marketing tasks, AI photo editing is far better and more efficient than laboring over manual editing in Photoshop.

Sure, for highly artistic or complex technical photo manipulation, professional photographers will still rely on manual control. But most of us, myself included, are not skilled in that area. AI photo editors give us a quick, easy option to create what we need. 

Choosing the best AI photo editing app for beginners often comes down to simplicity and a gentle learning curve. I found Pikto AI an excellent choice thanks to its intuitive, prompt-based controls. 

It avoids complex menus and instead lets you simply describe the changes you want to make. This “no technical knowledge required” approach is perfect for those like me: zero design skills. 

With features like intelligent object removal and a complete style transformation from text, Pikto AI lets beginners get professional results effortlessly, making it my top pick if you’re looking for an easy-to-use AI photo editor.

There are many AI photo editors that offer a free tier without a watermark. Most of them have usage limitations, as is the case with Pikto AI.

It provides a generous number of free AI credits each month that can be used for various tasks like text-to-image generation or background removal.

This credit system lets you use the software’s powerful features and download your creations without any watermarks. When you need more credits for higher usage, you can then upgrade to a paid plan.