Visual media has never been more core to digital content. In fact, a recent report by Hubspot found image editor usage amongst bloggers has grown by 29% year-over-year. Why? Simply put: images drive engagement.
According to statistics from Wordstream, content containing images gets a staggering 94% more views than content without. Additionally, posts with optimized graphics attract up to 80% more clicks on social media.
Clearly, incorporating high quality, professionally edited images needs to be a priority for bloggers focused on attracting readers in 2023.
But with so many options on the market for image editing tools ranging from simple mobile apps to advanced graphic design suites—where should you start?
Not to worry. In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll compare the most popular web-based solutions tailor-made for bloggers and content creators.
Let‘s explore key factors like:
- Core features and capabilities
- User-friendliness and interface
- Design flexibility and media library assets
- Template designs and customizations
- Export file types, sizing, and optimization
- Accessibility across devices and apps
- Notable standout functionalities
- Pricing and subscription models
By the end, you‘ll have clarity on the best image editor for your unique blogging needs.
Why Every Blogger Needs an Image Editing Tool
Before diving into the solutions, it‘s worthwhile highlighting why image editing capabilities are essential elements in every blogger‘s toolkit—not nice-to-haves.
Reason 1: Increased Audience Engagement
As highlighted earlier, content paired with images receives dramatically higher engagement metrics. A tool allowing you to easily crop, resize, filter, and refine images to perfection helps captivate readers and elevate messaging.
Reason 2: Brand Consistency
An effective brand has visual continuity across channels. With a centralized image editor, you can build a library of on-brand assets like logos, graphics, color palettes, fonts, and more to develop recognition.
Reason 3: Enhanced Social Sharing
Adding engaging elements into graphics such as quotes or calls to action gives followers more incentive to share your content across channels—which equates to greater visibility.
Reason 4: Saves Time and Resources
Taking the effort to professionally edit images pays dividends across your content library. But trying to outsource each project or reinvent the wheel is tedious and cost-prohibitive. An all-in-one editing toolkit solves this barrier.
Now that we‘ve covered why every blogger needs to be editing their visual assets, let‘s explore the top contenders on the market in 2023.
Comparing the 7 Best Image Editors for Bloggers
Based on user popularity, tool capabilities, and value—the following solutions lead the pack when it comes to empowering bloggers to enhance visuals with ease:
| Tool | Best For | Key Features | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canva | Beginners | Massive media library, Bold graphics, Collaboration options | Free – $12.99/month |
| Visme | Data visualizations | Infographics, Charts/graphs, Animation | Free – $19/month |
| Adobe Photoshop | Design professionals | Advanced editing, Masking, Layers | $20.99/month |
| PicMonkey | Touch-ups | Beauty effects, Blemish removal, Teeth whitening | Free – $8.99/month |
| Pixlr | Photoshop alternative | Layers support, Advanced selections, Layer masks | Free – $7.99/month |
| BeFunky | Creative effects | Filters, Overlays, Collage capabilities | Free – $9/month |
| Fotor | Batch editing | AI scene enhancement, HDR filters, Bulk actions | Free – $3.99/month |
Below, we‘ll break down the details on each solution so you can select the best match.
1. Canva – Best for Beginners
Canva has swiftly become the world‘s most popular graphic design platform—with over 60 million monthly users worldwide thanks to an incredibly beginner-friendly drag-and-drop editor.
We‘re talking over 100 million stock media elements like photos, graphics, illustrations, icons, fonts, and more at your fingertips for one-click design creation. Or you can upload your own visuals if preferred.
Extensive templates optimized for blogs, social graphics, presentations, documents and beyond form the foundation for on-brand designs in minutes. Dynamic adjustable grid overlays help perfectly size and align elements.
While the tools cater towards simplicity, the results are bold and beautiful. Recent upgrades include the game changing Canva Print service, syncing Canva with Google Workplace, white labeling options for agencies, and a desktop version unlocking enhanced batch editing and style duplication efficiencies.
For bloggers embracing visual storytelling without big budgets or deep design skills, Canva removes all friction. Sign up for free and upgrade to their Pro plan if additional features become needed. There‘s no better place to start boosting your graphic output today.
Image: Canva offers professionally designed templates for nearly any visual need.
2. Visme – Best for Data Visualizations
If your content leans heavily into market research, industry analysis, informational guides—then Visme deserves your attention. Their data visualization capabilities are unmatched.
Visme empowers anyone to translate statistics, numbers, concepts, and editorial insight into stunning infographics, charts, graphs, and interactive reports. This visual communication gets messages across clearly and concisely thanks to eye catching data depictions.
Like Canva, it uses an intuitive drag-and drop interface so building visual assets feels simple. But the deep integrations optimizing data inputs combined with animation and video effects to highlight key insights make Visme really standout.
Easily create comparison graphs, flow charts demonstrating concepts or systems, statistical maps tied to geolocations—even interactive quizzes or assessments. Drop in images, graphs, icons and text from their massive library onto sleek, contemporary templates or fully customizable layouts.
Visme dashboards help you track visitor engagement with your designs when shared or embedded on sites. So it doubles as a presentation analytics tool.
The forever free Starter plan delivers impressive functionality. Then paid subscriptions add capabilities like embedding designs on your blog or exporting complete slide decks to PDF starting at only $10 per month. It‘s a compelling offer if leveraging data visualizations across articles.
3. Adobe Photoshop – Best for Design Professionals
No list of best image editing solutions is complete without the industry titan Adobe Photoshop. For over 30 years, Photoshop has set the standard for professional photographers, graphic artists, web designers and more—so it clearly meets the demands of avid bloggers.
Of course, that unmatched versatility comes with a learning curve. Photoshop’s array of advanced capabilities like exposure adjustments, color correction, flawless compositing, cosmetic touch ups, applying masks, 3D modeling, painting custom brushes, animating frames…it stretches on nearly endlessly.
Frankly, most casual users struggle to leverage even a fraction of its potential. But for power users willing to master facets over time, Photoshop delivers. Seamless integrations with apps like Lightroom or Illustrator that are also included Creative Cloud subscriptions make working across Adobe‘s suite streamlined.
While free trials are offered, monthly subscriptions start at $20.99/month for Photoshop or $52.99/mo for the full Creative Cloud. So it not necessarily budget friendly for all. Still, for bloggers focused intently on next level visual content with a willingness to dedicate energy towards learning this iconic software, Photoshop remains the gold standard after 30+ years for good reason.
4. PicMonkey – Best For Touch Ups and Editing
Beyond just building designs, PicMonkey packs unique advantages when editing existing photos is the core need thanks to precision touch up capabilities. We‘re talking blemish removal, teeth whitening, skin smoothing tools combining the latest in AI with intuitive controls.
Like Canva, its drag and drop format makes layering graphics, icons, text remarkably intuitive. Graph overlays help perfectly position elements. Beautifully modern templates serve as starting points across social, blogs, ads and more.
Fun bonuses like customizable frames, textures, and backgrounds elevate images towards art. But PicMonkey truly soars for taking lackluster photos and magically enhancing them to perfection. Red eye removal, acne fix, wrinkle reduction, brightness controls—you name it.
Storage integrations, batch resizing abilities, and a collage maker round out the features. While the free plan captures the basics, unlocking the full suite of touch up tools and 700+ design templates makes the PRO subscription at $8.99/mo worthwhile for bloggers focused on photography. It‘s the ultimate digital darkroom.
Image: PicMonkey packs advanced touch up and enhancement capabilities
5. Pixlr – Best Photoshop Alternative
Sometimes you need sophistication without the premium price tag or software hassles. For those moments, Pixlr provides a shockingly robust Photoshop-alternative 100% in browser.
We‘re talking layers, blend modes, selections tools, brush capabilities—all the signature elements. And usability stays streamlined thanks to AI powering one click optimizations like removing image backgrounds or instantly enhancing lackluster photos.
The range of effects, overlays, filters and adjustments combine into seemingly endless options for graphic creation. No matter your skill level, Pixlr removes friction so crafting pro-quality visuals finally feels possible.
Occasional ads feel like acceptable tradeoffs to access Pixlr free. However, upgrading to Pixlr Premium for only $7.99/month pure CSS transitions delivers an ad-free interface plus unlimited storage, making it arguably the best value for money photo editor currently available.
6. BeFunky – Best Creative Effects
If your visual content leans playful, vibrant and engaging—BeFunky offers a toolkit packed with artistic options spanning filters, graphics, stickers and more. Collage capabilities are especially amazing for Pinterest and social posts.
The slick interface keeps key adjustments centralized for efficient edits. Handy presets allow optimizing batches of photos in seconds. Plus the Graphic Designer feature constructs custom logos, social posts, banners, thumbnails, invitations and so on.
For bloggers craving lots of pizzazz without much effort, a BeFunky subscription unlocks extra embellishments like textures, frames and backgrounds for only $7/month. But occasional ads are fairly unobtrusive if opting to stick with the generous free plan instead and tolerable given the quality included.
7. Fotor – Best For Batch Editing
Finally, Fotor earns a nod thanks to efficiency advantages that are indispensable when dealing with high volumes of photo content requiring editing across devices.
One tap batch editing actions paired with Scene Enhance AI automatically tuning image qualities prove invaluable for streamlining workflows. Meanwhile collage generation, HDR filters, tilt shift options and more supply creatives plenty to explore when customization is preferred.
The mobile experience remains silky smooth. Yet, the tool stretches seamlessly across desktop without compromising power or features. For bloggers needing to edit images frequently from wherever inspiration strikes, Fotor solves pain points gracefully.
A free Basic plan meets many needs but upgrading to Fotor Pro for $3.99/month adds perks like increased cloud storage for team collaboration and extra design capabilities. Well priced given the utility supplied optimizing and expanding visual efforts.
Key Takeaways – Choosing the Right Image Editor
By this point, the use cases and advantages of each leading image editing tool should feel clearer. So let‘s recap key pointers to guide your purchasing decision:
Consider Your Current Skill Level
Solutions like Canva, PicMonkey and Pixlr offer the best starting points for total beginners thanks to intuitive interfaces. While more advanced options like Photoshop expect proficiency unlocking their full potential.
Determine Central Focus Areas
Do you need to construct infographics? Embed interactive charts into articles? Vastly improve existing photos? Remove photo backgrounds? Knowing primary applications steers your tool selection.
Compare Integrations Required
Factor if you‘ll want media storage connections to platforms like Dropbox or Google Drive for accessing asset libraries across apps and locations.
Price Shop Subscriptions
Paid plans unlock more capabilities and assets. But excellent free tiers means getting started without investment until value is proven for your needs.
Seek Out Inspiring Templates
Even basic editing skills become impactful when built atop professionally designed templates handling the heavy lifting for you—so leverage them fully!
Equipped with these key considerations and the product breakdowns above, selecting your ideal image editing solution feels far less intimidating.
The remaining step becomes simply signing up for a free trial account and slowly working new visual creation skills into your normal blogging process.
Rome wasn‘t built overnight. But with the right tools now in your toolbox, steadily enhancing design and media assets finally feels doable even for non-designers!
Have any lingering questions on where to start? Or want to share your own favorite editing tools? Let me know in comments!
