These are my favorite mobile apps that offer creative photo effects.

Sometimes, a simple photo just isn’t enough to capture the mood you’re trying to create. Whether you want to add a dreamy filter, create a surreal double exposure, or turn your snapshot into a digital masterpiece, the right app can open up a world of possibilities.

After trying countless options, I’ve found some great mobile apps that make it easy to add unique and artistic effects to your photos. Here are my favorite apps that take photo editing to the next level. Check out some of the photo editing effects I’ve stopped using, and why?

1. Picsart — Has the most features and effects

First up, the app to kick off my list is Picsart, an app that goes beyond your typical photo editing. Picsart is my go-to for everything from AI art to drawing and graphic design. With a wide range of AI photo tools and drawing features and a huge library of creative elements like stickers, drawing filters, frames, and shape masks, Picsart offers endless possibilities to transform your photos into something truly unique.

Let's turn this ordinary photo of my cat into something a little more creative. I'll skip the AI ​​features to highlight Picsart's other artistic features.

My favorite place to hang out in Picsart is the Art and Magic sections, found under Effects. There are dozens of unique filter effects that can completely transform an image. Below, I used Oil Painting, Mirror, Halftone Dots, and Spirit. These effects aren’t typically found in standard photo editing apps, as you have to create them manually or have an AI generator create them, neither of which guarantees you’ll get what you’re looking for.

Let’s move on to my second favorite part of the app, the stickers. Here, you can search for and overlay anything you want on your photo, from icons, gradient overlays, lenticular flares, illustrations, graphic elements, animations, and even real photos of other cats. There are said to be over 60 million stickers in the library. Even when you discount the paid stickers, that’s still a huge collection.

The drawing section is what sets Picsart apart from other photo editors, in my opinion. It’s not just a pen tool with a few colors; you can choose from a wide variety of brushes and colors, and adjust the parameters for each one. There’s also a useful fill tool. It’s an easy way to get started with digital drawing. If you’re a real artist, unlike me, you can probably create some amazing drawings in this section.

Finally, I can’t ignore the brushes and frames sections. They’re a super easy way to add a little flair to your photo, and there are a ton of options to choose from. And if you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for, you’ll find it in the Stickers app — just use the erase/restore functions to use a layer like a brush.

Download: Picsart for iOS | Android (Free, in-app purchases available)

2. Canva — Offers the best free features

Canva is primarily a design app, but I use it as a photo editor most of the time, and I don’t have a subscription because the free features are plentiful. Since it’s specialized in graphic design, you have a lot of creative elements to work with. There’s also a “draw” section, but it’s not as robust as Picsart’s, so I rarely use it.

You’ll find most of what you’re looking for in the “Elements” section. Here you’ll find graphics, stickers, shapes, photos, templates, and even videos if you want to make a video with Canva — it’s great to have it all in one section. And because I love my cat, I went a little overboard with the hearts, adding a love symbol from almost every one of these sections. Check out Discover the best free features in Canva that I really love.

My image looks a bit silly at this point, but Canva’s interface makes it easy to arrange, edit, and delete elements, including text. Just click on something, and you can move, resize, delete, or edit it using the options in the bottom panel. Now my image looks much better.

Canva is perhaps best known for its huge library of templates, which are also accessible on the mobile app via the “Design” tab. Some are paid, and most look professional, but there are also plenty of free, artistic templates out there, just look for them.

Finally, Canva also offers a decent number of effects and filters—I actually like them better than my iPhone’s Photos app. Whenever you tap on your photo, open the effects or filters in the bottom panel, and tap to apply something you like. These also come with editing options.

Download: Canva for iOS | Android (Free, in-app purchases available)

3. InShot — The Simplest App for Creative Photo Editing

I use InShot primarily for video editing, but it has a pretty good photo editor with a great range of creative options. It has a number of filters and effects similar to Picsart, and there’s also a doodle and sticker section. The doodle section lets you draw with a small selection of brushes, and the stickers aren’t as extensive as Picsart, but there’s still enough to give your photos a unique look.

InShot has a ton of vintage and film filters, which I’m a huge fan of, making it my go-to app for this aesthetic. The effects section has more modern styles, like glitch and neon. You can create almost any look, from historical to futuristic or otherworldly.

Since InShot, like Picsart and Canva, also works with layers, it allows you to overlay your own images via a PIP (picture-in-picture) tool. You can then further tweak that image to make it fit in nicely with whatever’s in the background or create a cool double exposure. Check out the best mobile video editing apps that harness the power of AI.

InShot has some AI features, but I never bother using them because there are better generative AI options out there. InShot's standard tools are all I need.

Download: InShot for iOS | Android (Free, in-app purchases available)

All of these apps have free versions that give you plenty to work with, but getting a subscription will unlock all of their tools and features. I recommend trying out the apps first to see if they’re worth the investment. If you find yourself craving more creative freedom, it might be worth upgrading. Either way, these apps are sure to add a creative touch to your footage. Check out Create Amazing Videos From Your Photos: The Best Apps for Smartphones.