15 online photo editors compared

Tools that let you edit photos in the Web browser have come a long way in the last few years. We wanted to take a moment to do a feature comparison with a grouping of editors--big and small, to see what each one is capable of.

Most of the services on this list take advantage of Adobe's ever-developing Flash platform, which in its latest iteration got a huge boost with support for the large images coming out of today's high-megapixel cameras. On the flip side of that, several of the non-Flash-based editors use AJAX to make the changes happen without reloading the page. The benefit here is that you can run these on machines without the latest versions of Flash installed.

While not an exhaustive list of features, we wanted to focus on some of the ones that really mattered, like how much each service costs to use, how large of a photo you can upload, and what makes each one special. Here are the results:

Service	Flash/HTML	Max. size	Max. resolution	Cost	Layers	Effects	Killer feature
Flauntr	Flash	10MB	2850x1599	Free	No	Yes	Part of a larger suite of editing products. You can take your file to another tool without losing changes.
Fotoflexer	Flash	No limit	4500x4500	Free	Yes	Yes	Handles multiple layers with grace. Includes advanced features like curve tweaks and intelligent lassoing for free.
Lunapic	HTML	4MB	1330x1330	Free	No	Yes	Can run on machines without Flash installed. Really inventive special effects--especially reflective water that ripples.
Phixr	HTML	No limit	1440x1080	Free	No	Yes	Can run on machines without Flash installed. Does not save your photos on its servers for very long, so you can edit sensitive images and nobody will see them.
Phoenix	Flash	No limit	2800x2800	Free	Yes	Yes	Great layer masking, community support, and tutorials. Work from Phoenix can be sent to another editing tool in the Aviary Web suite.
Photoshop.com	Flash	10MB	6000x6000	Free	No	Yes	Editing features get previewed in real time. Also runs on Adobe's latest and greatest Flash technology.
Picnik free	Flash	16MB	4000x4000	Free	Yes	Yes	Default photo editor for Flickr, very slick interface.
Picnik premium	Flash	16MB	4000x4000	$24.95/year	Yes	Yes	Bigger uploads and more effects filters. App also remembers what you were doing the last time you were using it.
Picture2Life	HTML	5MB	1600x1600	Free	Yes	Yes	Can run on machines without Flash installed. Floating windows workspace, similar to desktop apps.
Pixenate	HTML	10MB	1600x1200	Free	No	Yes	Can run on machines without Flash installed. Tooth whitening tool perfects yellow smiles with two clicks.
Pixer.us	Flash	10MB	6000x6000	Free	No	Yes	Remembers the last photo you were working on and has a wide range of filters and effects.
Pixlr	Flash	No limit	2880x2880 (Flash 9 users) 4096x4096 (Flash 10 users)	Free	Yes	Yes	Feels a lot like a desktop application, complete with a workspace which you can rearrange and customize to your liking.
Snipshot	HTML	10MB	5000x5000	Free	No	Yes	Can run on machines without Flash installed. Can import the first page of a PDF file for editing.
Snipshot Pro	HTML	10MB	5000x5000	$7/month	No	Yes	Effects filters, face detection, support for RAW camera files.
Splashup	Flash	~6.25MB	1250x1250	Free	Yes	Yes	Really great handling of layers. Photoshop users will feel right at home with some of the user interface.

Two small caveats about size: In most cases, any difference in the maximum photo resolution is a result of which version of Flash the tool--or the user--is running. In Aviary's case, its Phoenix photo editor uses the Flash 9 spec, thus only supporting images up to 2800x2800 in size. Its next release, due later this year, will nearly double that resolution.

Also, the maximum resolution doesn't necessarily mean if your original photo is bigger, it won't take it. Instead, what many of these services will do is simply scale it down to something that's more manageable both for your machine and its servers. Photos with odd aspect ratios are often constrained within the proportion of pixels any given editing app can render within its available workspace.

So which one is the best?

That's a difficult question. It depends on what you're trying to do. If you want to add glitter graphics to a picture to put on your MySpace profile, you should go with Lunapic. If you're trying to edit the RAW photos you just took on your new SLR, you're only going to be able to do it on Snipshot's paid pro service.

Nearly all of the services have API plug-ins with various photo-hosting services and social networks, so when you're done with a shot you can send it out elsewhere. Those that don't still let you save a local copy to your computer in one of many popular formats--and most importantly, without any kind of branding or watermarking on the original.

Ultimately what should win you over is the feel and needed utility of the site. Two of my personal recommendations are Picnik and Fotoflexer, both of which strike a good balance between serious editing tools and things that tweenagers would go ga-ga for, like zany fonts and heart stamps. You can use either set of tools without feeling like they're in your face.

Another office favorite is Photoshop online. It certainly has its faults, but for newbies who don't want to shell out for Adobe's pricey Lightroom or Photoshop software, it's incredibly simple to use, and renders editing previews with amazing speed.

Did we miss one? Let us know, or leave your personal favorites in the TalkBack.

Images: Zooming in on photo editing tools

[TheWebMix]

I think that FotoFlexer is a good solution and I'd recommend that one. I played around with it a lot of a review segment I did for the New Media Photographer Podcast http://www.newmediaphotographer.com/2009/02/new-media-photographer-podcast-34/

It's provides all the tools you need in an easy to use interface.

[ElNumeroUno]

Pixlr would be my recomendation, just because its very reliable, and a familiar photoshop interface.

Alot of these other ones slow down a lot, and just arent as smooth as I would like.

[tcserm]

How about a comparison on offline photo editors?

[DADSGETNDOWN]

They already heave some. You need to go to the link at the top and click Reviews. Then look on the left side.
You could go to the Downloads link above then use the categories and filters there. ( I do)
OR.
(Graphic Software Reviews Home)
http://reviews.cnet.com/graphics-software/?tag=leftColumnArea1.0

(Graphics and Editing)
http://reviews.cnet.com/graphics-software/?filter=500343_48666_&tag=mncol;dir3

[mattkruse]

Pixlr has a Firefox add-on that lets you right-click on an image and directly edit it using pixlr.com.
That is the killer feature for me.

[shefflerm]

I can recommend Sumopaint.com, not on the list. It's a fairly new one on the market (January of 2009), but so far it looks pretty good. It's free, flash based, with effects and layers. It works great on my netbook when I'm on the go.

[jedmmj11]

i have it bookmarked :)

[MattSF]

Nice post! My laptop is so sluggish (booo Vista) and I rarely use Photoshop that it just eats up space on my hard drive. Can't wait to try these out on vacation pictures next month!!

-Matt

[twriter]

How can this list be considered even remotely complete without the inclusion of Aviary?

[regulator1956]

"Did we miss one? Let us know, or leave your personal favorites in the TalkBack."

[filby]

@twriter: Phoenix is listed, and it's from Aviary.

[chester_ayanjep_jan]

hi!

[Jim Dodds]

None of these online editors seem to accept PSD files, so they wouldn't help anyone who does any of their work in PhotoShop. Otherwise, very interesting.

[RustySly]

A very useful article.

[darkstar0061]

I personally use http://www.pixlr.com/editor its just so darn fast and flexible. They added a Firefox plugin to grab a screen and edit immediately in Pixlr. Take 5 seconds and see. Functionality is well above what you would think is possible.

[rickjiii]

What about PICASA ????? I think its great

[photocards4all]

I agree, despite one or two hassles, Picasa is an excellent FREE ptogram that does lots of edits, including re-touch (in version3) + soft focus, Focal black and white, straighten up etc etc. I find it very useful for simple edits and use PhotoImpact for more sophisticated edits.
Thumbs up for Picasa especially for beginners or folks who want to get things done quick. Beeware however of over editing as final outcome printed may suufer... each manipulation will affect the final image.
check some of mine at http://photocards4all.com

[ktb57]

Does anyone happen to know which of these is the best for batch editing? I take hundreds of pictures at youth sports and want to be able to correct for contrast, color and sharpening all at once.

[flashimageeditor]

Hello everyone,

If you're interested in the image editors listed here I thought you might be interested in a Flash Image Editing application we have been working on. It can access your webcam, use preset styles, layers and a lot more. It's not as sophisticated as some of the others I've seen but it's got a lot of good features for doing the basic stuff that most people will want to do. You can create nice flyers, business cards, use templates and load photos from any url on the web. We have plans to add a lot more feature too. You can see a demo at www.flashimageeditor.com. I hope you like it!

[Gabriela1990]

I prefer Phixr, because it's simple and has some really neat effects. And BTW, it stores the photos for ever, if you keep working with them.

[deardorffV10]

You left out kodakgallery.com in your review. Kodak has remedial edit features but has great photo sharing and very good printing capabilities. Your review does not even mention printing. Is printing so out of fashion that its not worth mentioning? How many of these sites take your photo's seriously? Can you expect to keep your images online as a permanent backup? Would you expect to still have your images on any of these sites 10 years from now? If we no longer make prints and rely on money losing Dot Coms to store our images we are heading for a generation of lost memories.