Best Free Online Image Editors That Work in Your Browser

The best free online image editor for serious work is Photopea, which opens and saves Photoshop PSD files in your browser and does not upload your images. For quick edits, Pixlr and BeFunky are the easiest free picks, and for one-click background removal, remove.bg does the job in seconds.

We narrowed an old list of 15 down to the 8 below, the ones whose features we could confirm on the editor's own website in November 2026. Each one runs in a browser, so there is nothing to install.

Which free online image editor should you pick?

• Photoshop-style editing: Photopea, or Pixlr Editor if you want layers plus AI tools.
• Quick fixes without learning anything: Pixlr Express, BeFunky or Fotor.
• Social posts and templates: Adobe Express.
• Cutting out a background: remove.bg.
• Effects, GIFs and fun montages: LunaPic or PhotoFunia.

1. Photopea: best free Photoshop alternative

Photopea is an advanced editor for both raster and vector graphics that works in your browser. Its site says it "fully supports" the PSD format, for both opening and saving, and it also opens PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, WEBP, SVG, PDF and AI files, plus camera RAW formats such as DNG, CR2, CR3, NEF and ARW.

The detail that sets it apart is privacy. Photopea's own documentation says it "runs completely in your device" and "does not upload any of your files to the internet." That makes it a good choice for client work or personal photos.

Best for: anyone who knows Photoshop, needs to open a PSD someone sent them, or wants a full raster and vector editor without paying.

2. Pixlr: best for both beginners and advanced users

Pixlr offers two browser editors. Pixlr Editor is the advanced one, with layers, masks and AI tools such as generative fill, generative expand, super scale and noise removal. Pixlr Express is the simpler "AI powered photo editor" for quick fixes, including a one-tap background remover and Super Sharp for blurry photos.

Both are free to use, with paid plans for more. Pixlr's pricing page lists Plus at $1.99 a month billed yearly ($2.49 monthly) and Premium at $7.99 a month billed yearly ($9.99 monthly). One thing to know: Pixlr Editor keeps your history only in the browser cache, so save your work as a .PXZ file if you want to come back to it.

Best for: people who want one site that covers both quick fixes and layer-based editing.

3. Adobe Express: best for social media graphics

Adobe Express is Adobe's browser-based design and photo tool. The free plan is "Free to use. No credit card required" and includes basic content creation tools with limited generative AI credits. Its quick actions include Remove Background, Resize Image and Crop Image. Premium costs US$9.99 a month, billed monthly.

Best for: turning a photo into a post, story or flyer with a template, especially if you already use other Adobe apps.

4. Fotor: best for AI touch-ups

Fotor leans heavily on AI: an AI Photo Enhancer that fixes lighting and sharpens blurry shots, an AI Background Remover, an AI Object Remover for unwanted people or text, AI Expand, and photo-to-cartoon effects. Fotor says its free plan lets anyone "edit as many images as they want" and export without watermarks. More advanced features need Fotor Pro.

Best for: fixing a dull or blurry photo in a click, or removing something that should not be in the shot.

5. BeFunky: best for editing without an account

BeFunky combines three tools: a Photo Editor, a Collage Maker and a Graphic Designer with templates for banners, flyers and cards. Its FAQ says "You can use BeFunky for free with no account required." A free account lets you save work across devices, and paid Plus and Pro plans add premium tools. BeFunky's FAQ says Plus includes 1,000 AI credits a month for its AI Image Generator.

Best for: quick edits and collages when you do not want to sign up for anything.

6. remove.bg: best for background removal

remove.bg does one thing: it removes the background from a photo "100% automatically", leaving a transparent PNG or a plain white background for product shots and headshots. The free preview is small: remove.bg's help centre says preview images go up to 0.25 megapixels (for example 625 by 400 pixels), while full-resolution output goes up to 50 megapixels.

Best for: product photos, profile pictures and anything you want to drop onto a new background.

7. LunaPic: best for effects and GIF animation

LunaPic is a "Free Online Photo Editor" with menus for adjusting, drawing, borders, filters, art effects and animation. You can add animation to a photo or edit an existing GIF, and it now has an automatic background removal tool too.

Best for: playing with effects and making or editing simple GIFs.

8. PhotoFunia: best for fun photo montages

PhotoFunia puts your photo into ready-made scenes and filters. When we checked, its "All effects" category listed 642 effects. You upload a photo, pick an effect, and download the result for free.

Best for: fun images for social media, cards and jokes, not precise editing.

What happened to the other editors on the old list?

What we checked: on 6 November 2026 we tried to load all 15 editors from the earlier version of this page. 14 sites still load. SumoPaint (sumopaint.com) did not respond, so we removed it. We also removed editors whose current features and limits we could not confirm on their own websites. If one of them was your favourite, it may still work; we just could not verify it.

If you like Pixlr but want to compare options, see our Pixlr alternatives. For design tools similar to Canva, see our Canva alternatives.

Tips for editing photos online

• Keep the original. Edit a copy, so you can always start again.
• Check where your photo goes. Unless an editor says otherwise, assume your image is uploaded to its servers. Photopea says it keeps files on your device.
• Pick the right export format. PNG keeps transparency, JPG is smaller for photos.
• Save project files. If you will come back to an edit, save the editor's own project format (PSD in Photopea, PXZ in Pixlr) so layers are kept.

FAQ

What is the best free online alternative to Photoshop?

Photopea. It opens and saves PSD files, edits both photos and vector graphics, and runs in your browser without uploading your files.

Which free online editor removes backgrounds?

remove.bg is built for it. Pixlr, Fotor, Adobe Express, BeFunky and LunaPic also have background removal tools.

Do I need an account to use these editors?

Not always. BeFunky says it works with no account. Photopea says you can "just open your browser and start editing." Check each site's sign-in rules if you want to save work across devices.

Are free online image editors safe for private photos?

Treat any upload as leaving your device. For private or client images, Photopea is the safest pick here because, according to its documentation, files stay on your device.