Filters are an integral part of photography and photo editing, and they can help you control the mood, tone, and style of your photos. But with so many filters to choose from, how do you pick the right ones?
With help from this blog, you can learn how to use filters to enhance your images without going overboard. We’ll also introduce you to some of our favorite photo filter apps—both free and paid—and show you how to use them!

Table of Contents
Best Apps For Filtering Photos
Top 10 Best Filter Apps to Install
VSCO – Customizable filters
Snapseed – Wonderful set of filters for portraits
A Color Story – Over 100 filters, including 40 motion effects
Darkroom – Advanced filters for Insta pics
Afterlight – Filters created by famous photographers
Photoleap – Advanced filters with the mask tool
Instagram – Standard photo filter app
Retrica – The best camera app with filters
Polarr – The largest number of free filters
Mextures – Beautiful film filters
With these apps, you can enhance your everyday shots for Instagram with colorful filters even if you don’t have a photo editor. Nowadays, there are a number of really decent and free filter apps. To save time on finding the best one, I have put together a list of 10 filter apps that are popular this year. Each of these apps can satisfy both iPhone and Android owners.
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If the variety of filters available in the apps described in this article isn’t sufficient for you, make sure to get in touch with our service. Skilled retouchers will adjust shadows, WB, tones, and perform other corrections so that your images look fantastic. The turnaround time is quick and the prices are reasonable.
- VSCO – Our Choice
Customizable filters
One-tap filters with customizable intensity
Advanced picture editing tools
Integrated camera
Delicate color and B&W presets
None
vsco filter app logo
VSCO
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Verdict: VSCO is one of the most popular filter apps, where you can fine-tune all filters. Instead of the usual “Filters” section, VSCO offers “Presets”. Each collection of free VSCO presets resembles a film effect.
In the Presets section, you will find a wide range of both color and B&W filters organized into separate collections. After applying a filter, VSCO offers a single slider for adjusting the intensity of effects. With its help, you may soften the effect or make it more intense. Moreover, it is possible to make additional adjustments, like setting color, exposure, sharpness, skin tone, film grain, vignette, etc.
The presence of a built-in camera is another advantage. You can snap pictures right in VSCO and immediately continue editing them. The camera has some fine adjustments, in the form of a focus point, ISO and white balance. Besides, you get access to a full range of 130+ VSCO filters as well as additional picture correction tools by signing up for a VSCO membership ($19.99 per year).
vsco filter app interface
- Snapseed
Wonderful set of filters for portraits
Adjustable filters
Portrait enhancement filters
Powerful selective picture editing tools
Non-destructive image editing
May be complicated for a newbie
snapseed filter app logo
Snapseed
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Verdict: Snapseed’s set of filters makes it the best filter app for experienced photographers. Filter categories include black and white, vintage, grunge, grainy film, Retrolux and Glamour Glow. A part of presented filters isn’t as delicate as in similar applications. However, they are adjustable, so you can lower the intensity of effects.
One of the distinctive features is non-destructive picture editing. It means that you may delete or change any individual edit at any time in the future. Once you have made some changes to a shot, tap the “Edit History” icon at the top of the screen. Here you can remove any of the layers.
Snapseed allows adding HDR effects and adjusting curves with a designated control point in your shots. In addition, Snapseed provides a brush mask and healing customization functions, just like professional software. This photo editing app is available for free.
snapseed filter app interface
- A Color Story
Over 100 filters, including 40 motion effects
100 adjustable filters
Possibility to create unique, custom filters
Over 40 motion effects
Selective edits and batch photo processing
Possible crashes
Batch editing slows down the performance
a color story filter app logo
A Color Story
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Verdict: A Color Story is one of the best filter apps that provides more efficient adjustments than Instagram’s integrated filters. It is mainly aimed at correcting colors in images. The filters increase the brightness and saturation of all colors, including white. On the whole, Color Story freshens up the shot, making it more original.
This filter app offers more than 100 filters, including 40 motion effects: lens flare, bokeh, light leakage, glow and texture. You may move, resize, rotate these effects and adjust the transparency. In addition, it is possible to create your own filters and save them for future use.
Aside from filters, Color Story provides 20 additional tools, including brushes, curves, sliders for adjusting shadows, exposure, etc. The batch editing feature lets you apply filters and other changes to multiple shots at once. Though the app is free, you may encounter in-app purchases.
a color story filter app interface
- Darkroom
Advanced filters for Insta pics
Filters are conveniently organized into categories
Advanced image improvement tools
A huge variety of color and B&W filters
You can create your own custom filters
Only 12 free filters
Batch editing may lag
darkroom filter app logo
Darkroom
Verdict: Darkroom is a powerful, feature-rich editor offering a large selection of filters. An interesting feature is that you can apply a filter to a “live photo”. Photo filters range from bright and colorful to faded vintage and monochrome. They are organized into categories, including landscape, portrait and black and white. You may adjust the intensity of a filter with a slider.
You can create your own filters and save them as presets for future use. In addition, a free version of Darkroom provides batch editing mode, so you can apply filters and other adjustments to the whole album of shots at once.
Also, Darkroom has a collection of advanced picture editing tools. Among them are HSL, curves, selective adjustments, shadow settings, exposure, healing brush, and more. Most of the tools Darkroom provides are completely free. But there are only 12 free filters, while the full, premium collection consists of 50 options.
darkroom filter app interface
- Afterlight
Filters created by famous photographers
Filters from professional photographers
A large number of overlays
You can create presets
Filters are conveniently grouped by color
Free functionality is limited
Very rare updates
afterlight filter app logo
Afterlight
Verdict: Afterlight is a filter app that offers plenty of professional filters created by famous photographers. Each filter is designed to convey a certain mood in a shot, not just raise brightness, contrast, etc. They range from cool and fresh to grungy and vintage, giving you great flexibility for different styles.
You may use filters separately or in combination with the manual adjustment tools: edit the tone, saturation and intensity of an effect. Additional special effects include selective coloring, double exposure and dust textures. By the way, many Instagram photographers use this application for photo editing.
Aside from ready-made filters and overlays, you may create your own presets and use them in the future. Also, it is worth mentioning that regular presets in Afterlight are grouped by color. On the top of each filter, you will see a line of a single color – blue, green, red, purple or orange. It indicates that a filter belongs to a certain category. This is made for users’ convenience. You can use free or paid version. Keep in mind that the former also has in-app purchases.
afterlight filter app interface
- Photoleap
Advanced filters with the mask tool
Duo filters
Basic adjustment tools
Possibility to adjust ready-made filters
Mask tool for advanced color correction
Some filters are available by subscription
photoleap filter app logo
Photoleap
Verdict: This filter app appeals to users with a broad range of high-quality, fully customizable filters. Besides, it comes with many powerful tools, so you can give your photos a professional look without resorting to advanced desktop programs. Photoleap can satisfy both skilled artists as well as average users who want to improve their images before outputting them to social networks.
Among the features, you’ll find layers and blending modes, cool effects, filters, brushes, tonal adjustments, and more. Thus, you can embody your creative ideas on the go and share the results with followers. The process is very simple.
For advanced users, it provides the “Mask” tool needed for point correction. For instance, you can use the B&W filter for the sunset (the background of the shot), and for the foreground (the main object in the shot) – a contrasting red color, thereby making the shot expressive, unique. Just like Afterlight, this app is free to download. But most filters and tools, including the Mask, are only available in the paid version, priced at $3.99.
photoleap filter app interface
- Instagram
Standard photo filter app
30+ filters for free
Great for beginners
Advanced camera
You can apply “live masks”
No advanced photo enhancement tools
Requires skills of working with other programs
instagram filter app logo
Instagram
Verdict: Instagram is the most popular social network and a basic photo editor. The application offers more than 30 filters that you can use for free. The most popular are Clarendon, Juno, Ludwig, Lark, Gingham, Lo-fi. But these filters are used by every other person, so there is no uniqueness in the final shot. For this reason, Instagram occupies the seventh place on my list of the best filter apps.
There are sliders to adjust the filter’s intensity. Besides, the application lets you tweak exposure, color, sharpness and fade. Adding tilt-shift or vignette effects is possible as well.
The integrated camera deserves special attention. Here you can find not only photo and video shooting functions but also other modes, such as boomerang, superzoom, hands-free. You may apply a filter, as well as use a variety of “live masks” and overlays for each of these shooting styles.
instagram filter app interface
- Retrica
The best camera app with filters
Easy to master
55 free filters
Out-of-focus blur option
Helpful randomization mode
No way to upload a picture from the gallery
Even the Pro version has paid content
retrica filter app logo
Retrica
Verdict: Retrica is a great filter app with a film-like effect, transforming your smartphone into a retro camera. I’ve had no idea that Retrica provides such a vast variety of filters – 80 in total, 55 in the free version. Besides, the application offers a randomization mode, a timer, interval shooting and a blurring effect. The out-of-focus blur feature is very useful, allowing you to focus only on yourself and blur the background.
The same as Instagram, this camera app for iPhone offers plenty of options for creating shots, videos, gifs and even collages. Aside from a large selection of real-time effects and filters, Retrica offers stamps, stickers, drawings, cutting options and texts for decoration.
However, I don’t like the fact that you have to make an extra in-app purchase in both pro and free versions to save pictures exported from the library.
retrica filter app interface
- Polarr
The largest number of free filters
A huge number of free filters
Top-quality weather effects
Multi-platform app
Allows adding watermarks
Pro version involves monthly expenses
Interface and tools arrangement aren’t very convenient
polarr filter app logo
Polarr
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Verdict: Polarr offers an impressive number of filters for photos (including more than 150 paid ones) to edit Instagram photos. All of the filters are organized into different artistic categories, which greatly simplifies the work. Similar to other filtering apps, it allows adjusting the intensity of an effect using a slider.
Unlike in most free filter apps, here you can not only create your own filters for future use but also share them with other users. Another benefit of the application is the ability to add weather effects to the shots. You can add subtle light flare, snow and clouds at the touch of a button, create stunning sunsets or raindrops to convey a melancholic mood. Polarr can also serve as a reliable photo collage app, so don’t hesitate to test its capabilities.
When you buy Polarr Pro for $2.49/month or $23.99/year, you have an option to work closely with the desktop version. You can apply a couple of filters and overlays using your smartphone, and send a photo to the desktop to see the finished result on a big screen.
polarr filter app interface
- Mextures
Beautiful film filters
Clear interface
Remarkable film filters
Unlimited number of layers
Huge collection of textures
Frequent freezes
No support for RAW
No batch editing mode
mextures filter app logo
Mextures
Verdict: Mextures provides a variety of remarkable film-style filters and the possibility to turn photos into B&W. You may add and mix an unlimited number of effect layers to create unique images. After applying a filter, use available photo editing tools to adjust the color, exposure and sharpness.
Another interesting feature of the application is a huge collection of structures, film grain effects, light leaks and colorful gradients. They add a wonderful mood and artistic edge to the shots.
All changes made to a filter/texture can be saved as a separate preset and used in the future. In addition, you may find ready-made presets created by other users in the personal store. Mextures is a paid app, costing $1.99. Make an in-app purchase and get more collections of filters to experiment with.
best filter app for selfies
Best Free Face Editing Apps for iPhone and Android in 2022
YouCam Makeup
Face App
AirBrush
FaceTune2
Beauty Plus
YouCam Perfect
Peachy
VSCO
Banuba
But once you’ve captured that selfie, getting it ready for sharing takes an extra step. That’s where selfie apps come in. A great selfie app comes equipped with attractive and useful beautifying filters, effects, and face shaping tools that can all help you outfit your images however you’d like.
The ideal selfie app also has options and features to help edit and retouch a face, remove blemishes easily, and perfect a look exactly how you’d like. If a selfie app can apply features and edits both in live mode and on photos, it’s a winner in our books.
That’s why we’ve compiled this list of the best free selfie editing apps to help you start enhancing your photos this year. Let’s get started.
- YouCam Makeup – Best Face Editing App For Photo Retouch
Best Face Editing App: YouCam Makeup
Rating: 4.8
If you wanted to slim down your face in a group photo, or the selfie was missing a daring lip color or voluminous eyelashes, YouCam Makeup is here to save the day.
YouCam Makeup is the best photo app to edit your selfies, from applying makeup filters, edit face shape, remove blemishes and all other face editing features.
The free selfie app has packed with the best face shaping tools on the market to help you retouch and edit your looks, both in live cam and photo edit. Users can easily edit their face shape (on either side — the app detects both left and right angles), chin shape, cheekbones, jawline, and forehead naturally with this powerful face editing app.
Plus, YouCam Makeup is famous for having top auto skin retouching tools to cover up blemishes, dark circles, uneven skin tone, redness easily and automatically, with a couple of taps away.
Users can adjust smile, remove blemishes on face, adjust overall face shape with the YouCam Makeup app.
But the app doesn’t stop there. It’s also the best virtual makeup selfie app that has hundreds of makeup filter options you can apply in real-time, or onto a photo. Don’t have time for a makeover? No worries! Thousands of makeup filters in the YouCam Makeup app can save the day, and even elevate your look to the next level.
YouCam Makeup is the best selfie app for face filters, which got over thousands of beauty filter options for users to glam their photos.
Last but not least, take the next creative step with YouCam Makeup’s popular hair color feature, which can detect your hair precisely and change it with a rainbow of 150 different colors, also dozens of styles including ombre, two-tone, and even hair highlights.
YouCam Makeup app is the best selfie app that offers hair color changing tools with over 130 colors options and dozens of hairstyles.
Download the app for iOS / Android
YouCam Makeup is the best photo app to edit your selfies, from applying makeup filters, edit face shape, remove blemishes and all other face editing features.
- Face App: Best Photo App for AI Selfie Effects
Best Face Editing App: Face App
Rating: 4.7
Face app is one of the most popular AI face photo editor apps in recent years. From the celebrity-approved face aging feature to face swapping, the Face app is famous for utilizing advanced AI technology to create impressive selfie editing effects. With its Impression feature, users can also select different beauty filters to try on their selfies. The Face app engine will not only add cosmetics effects on the photo but also natural face reshapes like lip plumping and face slimming for an overall beautifying edit.
Download the app for iOS / Android
- AirBrush – Best Photo App for Natural Skin Smoothing
Best Face Editing App: AirBrush
Rating: 4.8
Airbrush is a beloved photo app that’s providing easy-to-use face editing tools to selfie lovers from beginners to professionals. It’s equipped with skin smoothing and face shape editing features for a natural effect. What’s notable is that most of the retouch tools in the Airbrush app are designed to be used manually, which is more suitable for users that like to do photo retouches with finger swipes instead of auto-detection.
Download the app for iOS / Android
- Facetune2 – Best Selfie Editor for Easy Face Editing
Best Face Editing App: FaceTune
Rating: 4.9
Facetune, and Facetune2 selfie editor, are filled with helpful face reshaping tools. Face reshaping, skin editing, tone, and contouring options let you edit your look live. Add in makeup and glitter for an enhanced glow, and highlight your best features with a little extra oomph. The app’s added filters and effects, from backdrops to relight, can enhance and boost the look of your selfies.
Download the app for iOS / Android
- Beauty Plus – Best Camera App for Beautifying Face Filters
Best Face Editing App: BeautyPlus
Rating: 4.8
Beauty Plus is a fun selfie camera app that provides a wide range of cute face filters. By using its AR Effects, users can transform their selfies with fun animated face filters, including graphic accessories, makeup, or eyes or face being dramatically enlarged. Users can play with seasonally-themed face filters or other trendy aesthetic styles that are refreshed regularly.
Download the app for iOS / Android
- YouCam Perfect: Best Photo Camera for Glam Filters
Best Face Editing App: YouCam Perfect
Rating: 4.8
Another member of the YouCam family of apps, YouCam Perfect gives you even more options when it comes to editing your images. With animated effects — think glittering stars, romantic hearts, beautiful bokeh, and more — and auto beauty options, you can have your selfie edited in seconds. If you wish to custom edit each spec, that’s always an available option. Added features like auto detect cutout (which lets you detect a person, and cut them out of an image) and stickers, collages, frames, and more, make it an ideal companion to YouCam Makeup.
Download the app for iOS / Android
- Peachy – Best Selfie Camera for Beginners
Best Face Editing App for iOS: Peachy
Rating: 4.9
Peachy, a photo editing app under the famous video editing app InShot, is an easy-to-use selfie editor for everyday selfie retouch. With clear surface and handy face shape editing tools, users can beautify skin, adjust brow shape, try nose and mouth reshape all with a few taps.
Download the app for iOS
- VSCO – Best Filter App for Aesthetic Photo Filters
Best Face Editing App for iOS and Android: VSCO
Rating: 4.7
The VSCO girl aesthetic took the social media world by storm, and the app best known for creative filters is also a good option for selfie editing. With a wide range of filters to fit any style and even automatic recommendations, you can create your own looks and unique filters for easy plug-and-go options. Preset features make editing any image even easier, with uniform settings you can drop on any image, and have it ready for sharing in seconds.
Download the app for iOS / Android
- Banuba – Best Camera App for Fun AR Face Filters
Best Face Editing App for iOS and Android: Banuba
Rating: 4.1
Add silliness to your selfie with the Banuba app. Featuring funny photo and video effects and face filters, you’ll be able to transform yourself into your spirit animal, mask your face with a creature, or top your look with a pastry, you can do it all. These 3D face filters will bring uniqueness and hilarity, no doubt, to your photos.
Download the app for Android
Download YouCam Makeup: Best Free Selfie Editor For Face Editing
Ready to take your selfies up a notch? Download the free YouCam Makeup app to upgrade your selfies with rainbow hair colors, stunning makeup looks, natural face reshape, flawless skin retouch, all in one app.
Conclusion
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