The best free browser-based photo editors

A browser-based editor runs on a web page instead of an app you install. It works the same on Windows, macOS, Chromebook and Linux, there's nothing to download, and you can start editing within seconds. For most everyday jobs — crop, resize, retouch, adjust colour, add text — a good browser editor is genuinely all you need.

One thing to know up front: "in the browser" can mean two different things. Some editors do all the work on your own device; others upload your photo to a server to process it. Both can be free and capable, but the difference matters when an image is private. A quick way to tell is to load the tool, disconnect from the internet, and see if it still works — if it does, it's editing locally.

Two free editors stand out if you want real editing power in a browser.

Photopea is the closest thing to Photoshop on the web. Its interface feels instantly familiar to anyone who has used Adobe's editor, it does most of its work in your browser, and — unusually — it can open .psd files with their layers intact. If you regularly receive layered PSDs and need to edit them as layers, it's an excellent choice.

EditItAll takes a privacy-first approach. The EditItAll photo editor gives you layers, selections, curves and levels, 15+ filters, clone and retouch tools and a type tool — enough for the large majority of real edits — and every bit of it runs on your device. There's no sign-up, no watermark on your export and no limits, and it keeps working offline once loaded. It opens PNG, JPG and WebP and exports PNG or JPG. It does not open PSD files with layers preserved — you can flatten a PSD to PNG first — and it doesn't do RAW, CMYK or generative AI. For those, a desktop app is still the better fit, and that's a fair trade to name out loud.

Rather than crown one winner, match the tool to what you're doing:

• Best for PSD files with layers: Photopea, which opens them directly.
• Best for privacy and offline work: EditItAll, since nothing is uploaded and it runs with the connection pulled.
• Best for a quick crop or resize: a simple single-purpose cropper, or the EditItAll image tools, which do one job fast.
• Best for a familiar Photoshop layout: Photopea mirrors it closely.
• Best for replacing Photoshop day to day: weigh the options on the Photoshop alternative page.

Most people end up keeping more than one to hand, and that's fine — they're free, so there's no cost to opening a second tab for the job it does best.

One more thing separates a photo editor from a toolkit. With many tools you finish the photo, then go hunting for something else to touch up a graphic or fill in a form. EditItAll folds those jobs into one place: alongside the photo editor there's a vector editor for logos and illustrations, a PDF editor for signing and marking up documents, and a set of quick image tools for converting, compressing and resizing. If your work spills past photos — and it usually does — an integrated set that all runs privately in the browser saves a lot of tab-hopping.