Which AI Photo Editors Are Worth Your Time in 2026?

Until recently, photo editing felt like flying a spaceship. Hit that button, move the slider, aim your weapon.

That’s fine if you’re exploring deep space. But when you’re just trying to polish a few snaps for your website… it feels really cumbersome.

AI photo editors promise to speed things up. They use a cocktail of cutting-edge algorithms to do the pixel pushing for you — so you feel more like an executive director than a humble editor.

At least, that’s the theory. But do these AI tools really live up to the hype? And if so, which apps are worth your hard-earned moolah?

We decided to investigate and put the best AI photo editors through their paces!

What Can AI Photo Editors Actually Do?

Most AI photo editors are really good at replacing things, adding new content, and automating the boring parts of image editing.

That translates to:

• Removing backgrounds from product photos.
• Erasing unwanted objects for a cleaner final image.
• Replacing boring skies and adjusting lighting to match.
• Learning your editing style, so you can batch-edit photos faster.
• Sharpening up blurry photos that were destined for the trash.
• Upscaling small images without any loss of quality.

This all sounds very convenient. But aren’t you giving up some control by making AI do all the work? Eh…yes and no.

While you’re obviously delegating the manual work, most AI tools are not “click to fix.” You still have decisions to make about how the AI performs the task.

And just as importantly, most AI photo editing apps come with traditional editing tools. If you want to make the final adjustments yourself, you can.

What Are the Best Overall AI Photo Editors in 2026?

You didn’t come for a long read, so let’s cut to the chase. Here are the best AI photo editors in the world right now, based on our tests:

• Luminar Neo for the total AI editing experience.
• Canva for social media content and marketing graphics.
• Photoroom for easy product photo editing on the go.
• Claid for automated product photo editing.
• Remove.bg for quick background removal.
• Imagen AI for batch editing with personalized style.
• Radiant Photo for one-click AI enhancement.
• Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop for pro-grade editing and organization.
• ON1 Photo RAW for an all-in-one advanced AI editing workflow.

Notice that we haven’t ranked them here. That’s because AI photo editors come in a wide range of flavors. What works for someone else might completely mess up your workflow.

So, here’s a quick cheatsheet to help you find the perfect match:

Your Main Need	Best Tools	Why
Better images for my website	Luminar Neo, Canva	Rapid enhancements or custom graphics.
Product photos for my store	Photoroom, Claid, Remove.bg	Clean backgrounds and polished results in seconds.
Social media posts and graphics	Canva	Templates + AI tools.
Quick fixes and batch editing	Imagen AI, Radiant Photo 2	One-click fixes, limited learning curve.
Professional editing on a budget	ON1 Photo RAW, Lightroom	Complete toolkits without headaches or subscriptions.

Of course, this is only the TL;DR version. Up next, we’ll be taking a deep dive into every app.

To make the list easier to navigate, we’ve sorted the reviews by use case. Just scroll until you find the description that matches what you need!

What Are the Best AI Photo Editors for Website Images?

You’re trying to update your website, but it’s taking forever to perfect the visuals. Ugh. Maybe try some of these AI editors instead?

We present to you, in no particular order:

Luminar Neo: Best Purpose-Made AI Editor

Unlike many photo editors, Luminar Neo was built for AI. And you can really feel it.

The app offers 24 AI-powered tools, and they’re surprisingly easy to control. We were particularly impressed by the sky replacer, which switched out clouds for a dramatic sunset. It only took a couple of clicks.

Neo also has a built-in AI assistant. This lets you ask for edits, a bit like prompting ChatGPT. In our tests, it didn’t always understand the creative vision. But it’s a nice option to have, nonetheless.

Neo works on both desktop and mobile devices, plus there’s a Photoshop plugin.

Best AI features:

• One-slider lighting and color enhancement. 
• Easy sky replacement and relighting.
• Automatic skin retouching.

Weaknesses:

• Neo will make your computer sweat, especially if you try to edit batches.

What users say:

“I like how fast I can get stuff done. The AI tools (like Sky Replacement and Relight) are pretty smart. Most edits take just a few clicks and look good right away.” — Marharyta on G2.

Pricing: Perpetual licenses from $119, or $159 for cross-platform (including mobile).

Canva: Best AI Editor for Social Media and Marketing Content

Canva is aimed at people who want to grab a template, insert an image, and post to social media. But it’s actually much more capable than that.

This web-based platform lets you move subjects around your photos and remove anything you don’t want. You can even recompose your shots using text prompts.

If that wasn’t enough, Canva has a huge library of AI “apps” — individual tools, each with a specific purpose. You can turn static images into video avatars, upscale photos, convert sketches into art, and much more.

Sure, the edits aren’t as clean as with professional-grade apps, but that doesn’t matter for many people.

Best AI features:

• Move any subject around the photo.
• Recompose your image using AI text prompts.
• Turn images into art or video.

Weaknesses:

• Most AI features are locked behind a subscription.
• The quality of edits doesn’t match that of pro-grade apps.

What users say:

“The AI tools are also really helpful, especially when I need to expand a background that wasn’t clearly captured in a photo. They’re one of my favorite features.” — Sahil A. on G2.

Pricing: Free to try, but AI features in paid plans starting at $12.99 per month.

What Are the Best AI Editors for Product Photos?

If you want people to buy from your online store, you need to show the goods, but creating great product photos can be a hassle.

These AI photo editors can help to speed things up:

Photoroom: Best for Polishing Product Photos on Mobile

Product photography feels surprisingly easy when you use Photoroom.

With this mobile-first app, you can snap a quick photo and replace the background in seconds. The AI technology generally does a good job of selecting the main subject, leaving you with a really clean result.

To take things a step further, Photoroom can place your product in realistic environments using generative AI — placing a handbag on the shoulder of a model, for example. You can also change the color of the product if you want (useful for product variants), and add a drop shadow.

Is it perfect? No. The AI doesn’t always get it right, but you can’t knock the convenience.

Best AI features:

• Automatically remove and replace backgrounds.
• AI-powered staging for lifestyle images.
• Change the product to any color.

Weaknesses:

• Lacks the full suite of traditional editing tools.
• Doesn’t always get the background cut-out right.

What users say:

“I have been using Photoroom for the past two years, mainly for background removal, and it gives extraordinary results for me. It saves a lot of time compared to manual image cutouts.” — Sanjith T. on G2.

Pricing: Free with limited credits; paid plans start at $7.50 per month.

Claid: Best for Automated Product Photo Enhancement

For the price of mild inconvenience, Claid delivers a great AI editing experience for product photos.

This app is web-based and optimized for desktop devices, so you’ll need to upload photos to your computer. However, it’s worth the effort.

Claid lets you generate beautiful lifestyle photos from a simple product shot, including flatlays and fashion shoots.

You can choose from a range of different environments, models, and poses, and use text prompts to explain what you need. Our test results were really good.

The background remover is similarly powerful, and we like the automatic enhancer feature — it adjusts lighting and color to add visual punch.

The best part? The Claid API lets you add these features directly to your store content management system (CMS).

Best AI features:

• Powerful AI staging including fashion and lifestyle templates.
• Remove backgrounds, objects, and people.
• Connect to other platforms via API.

Weaknesses:

• Not cheap.
• Not easy to fix cut-outs if the AI gets it wrong.

What users say:

“What used to take me a week now takes a day. I can clean up images, generate beautiful product shots, and get my marketing messages out the door so much faster now.” — Jen O’Farrell on Trustpilot

Pricing: Free for 50 credits; paid plans from $9 per month.

Remove.bg: Best for Easy Background Removal

Is Remove.bg a one-trick pony? Hmm, maybe. A one-trick thoroughbred, perhaps?

This platform does just one thing: removes backgrounds. It’s quick, cheap, and easy.

The underlying machine learning tech does a pretty good job in most cases. And you can tweak the selection, if you need.

After that… well, you can add a new background. Plus, you get a few simple editing options, powered by Canva.

Overall, there’s not much to dislike here. Remove.bg stays in its lane and gets the job done.

Best AI features:

• Remove backgrounds (duh).
• Replace backgrounds.
• It just does backgrounds, okay?!

Weaknesses:

• Only removes or replaces backgrounds (apart from basic editing tools).

What users say:

“Remove.bg has been a lifesaver for my design work. It removes backgrounds from images within seconds and does a surprisingly clean job, even with complex edges.” — Friedrich on Trustpilot.

Pricing: You get one free credit to try; then PAYG or subscriptions from $8.10 per month.

What Are the Best AI Photo Editors for Fast Fixes?

Quality isn’t always the most important thing. Sometimes, you just need to spruce up a heap of images in the shortest time possible.

Here are the best AI tools for the job:

Imagen AI: Best for Personalized Batch Editing

According to the folks behind Imagen, this batch photo editor can enhance any image in 0.5 seconds. All we know is, this app is muy rapido.

The standout feature is the AI profile tool. This lets you train Imagen to edit in your personal editing style. Or if you prefer, you can copy and remix the styles of experienced pros.

The results are solid. Rarely perfect, but you wouldn’t be embarrassed to publish them. You might just want to make a few tweaks using the additional AI tools, which include cropping, de-noising, and skin smoothing.

Best AI features:

• Apply batch edits in your chosen style.
• AI culling to help you sort through large batches.
• Additional AI tools for fine tuning.

Weaknesses:

• You have to pay for every AI action, or sign up for an expensive subscription.

What users say:

“I used it on a wedding I shot and used John Branch’s Natural feels and it was awesome! 2000 images edited all consistent in like 20 min! I did have to go back and crop out distractions but I didn’t mind cause the I saved sooooooooo much time on the editing.” Rjs-images81 on Reddit.

Pricing: PAYG starts at $0.05 per image, with additional micro charges for AI tools; monthly subscriptions start at $67.50 per month.

Radiant Photo 2: Best Low-Effort AI Editor

Radiant Photo is an editor for people who don’t really like editing.

When you load an image, the app uses AI to identify the key subjects. It then applies selective enhancements, according to what look you want.

The results are generally satisfying and authentic; Radiant doesn’t use generative AI.

Again, the controls are really simple. You can apply sweeping changes with one slider. It also comes with loads of one-click presets, covering a wide range of photo styles.

Best AI features:

• Intelligent subject detection, covering many genres.
• Automatic enhancement with manual control.
• Subject-specific workflows, like pet and portrait photography.

Weaknesses:

• Not the strongest set of tools for manual adjustments.
• You have to buy the workflows individually. 

What users say:

“It analyzes the image, figures out the content and the mood, and proposes presets to create the ideal version. This sounds megalomaniacal, but the results it offers are pleasing to the eye.” garbidz on DP Review

Pricing: Base software is $159 (one-time purchase). Workflows are priced at $79, or you can unlock everything for $349.

What Are the Best Advanced AI Photo Editors?

While AI makes it much easier to edit photos, the best results still require some skill.

If you’re happy to get a little technical, these advanced AI-fueled editors can help you achieve optimum image quality:

Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop: Best Pro-Grade AI Editors

Everyone knows Adobe’s Creative Cloud. But have you heard about the latest AI features?

Lightroom uses AI to pick the best frames from a batch, automatically mask subjects, remove unwanted distractions, reduce noise, and create realistic lens blur.

In Photoshop, the star attraction is the generative fill. Don’t like the background? AI can replace it. Loads of distractions? You can paint over them with shiny new AI-generated pixels. Photoshop even uses AI to expand your photo beyond the frame.

It’s fast, effective, and just a little mind-blowing. If you can stomach the subscription, it’s a compelling package.

Best AI features:

• Lightroom: AI sorting to find the best frames.
• Lightroom: powerful AI noise reduction.
• Photoshop: Generative Fill and Expand for adding new content.

Weaknesses:

• Creative Cloud subscriptions are not cheap.

What users say:

“I’ve also been playing around with studio images that I shot, and putting the subject in a variety of locations…. I’m pretty proficient with Photoshop, so I could have done this before. But not in less than five minutes, all the while matching the light and shadows.” Obi-Wayne on Reddit

Pricing: Bundled together for $19.99 per month (annual subscription).

ON1 Photo RAW: Best All-in-One AI Editing Workflow

While Lightroom and Photoshop work as a tag team, ON1 Photo RAW combines organization and editing in one seamless workflow. And it works nicely.

ON1 offers intelligent masking, generative fill to replace unwanted objects, noise reduction, AI-enhanced sharpening, and powerful upscaling. Nothing unique, just useful stuff.

The most notable feature is the adaptive AI presets, which change to match the content in your images. In our tests, these one-click edits produced very tasteful results.

Aside from editing, ON1 uses AI to add keywords to all your photos automatically. If you’re a prolific editor, this could be a huge time saver.

Best AI features:

• AI presets that adapt to the content of your images.
• Selection of AI-enhanced manual editing tools.
• AI-powered keyword tagging for easier organization.

Weaknesses:

• Packing so many features into one app comes at the cost of speed.
• It also makes the interface cluttered; it feels like flying a spaceship.

What users say:

“I use On1 Photo RAW and I can recommend it; it’s more affordable than Adobe and has features from both Photoshop and Lightroom… The AI denoise and removal work well, and the masking brushes can do some amazing stuff.” — Icanhazplasmaz on Reddit.

Pricing: You can buy a perpetual license for $99.99, or subscribe for $99.99 annually to get the latest version with cloud storage and a plugin option.

How Do You Choose the Right AI Photo Editor?

It’s ultimately down to what you want to achieve, your level of editing experience, and your budget.

• Want to make great content for your website or social media? Try Luminar Neo or Canva.
• Editing product photos for your online store? Use Photoroom or Claid.
• In a hurry? Imagen AI and Radiant Photo 2 can help.
• Know what you’re doing, but want more power? Look to Lightroom, Photoshop, and ON1 Photo RAW.
• On a tight budget? Use Remove.bg or Photoroom on the free plan.

Remember, many of these apps have free trials. Take them for a test drive yourself!

FAQs on AI Photo Editors

Still thirsty for more knowledge? We’re happy to quench your curiosity — here are some more answers!

Do you need an AI photo editor or an AI image generator?

AI photo editors are mainly for making changes to existing images. In contrast, AI image generators (such as Midjourney and Adobe Firefly) are designed to create visual content from scratch.

What is the best free AI photo editor?

There are few truly free AI photo editors. Photoroom offers a free plan. Pixlr lets you save up to three images per day. And Remove.bg lets you remove backgrounds for free.

Will AI replace human editors?

Not for some time! While AI can speed up certain tasks, it’s not yet capable of editing an image perfectly from start to finish.

Is it safe to edit my photos with AI?

Generally, yes. But be cautious about uploading highly personal images; AI companies may use them for training data.

Should I reveal that my pictures were edited with AI?

It depends. If you’re just removing a few stray hairs from a portrait, probably not. But if you make radical changes to your image, you probably should disclose it.

Many social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, YouTube) require you to label content that has been “significantly altered” by AI. And in certain jurisdictions, like the EU and China, the law now demands it.