Group test: what's the best photo-editing software?

5. Zoner Photo Studio Free 14

• Reviewed on: 1 March 12
• RRP: FREE
• Rating:

All in all, Zoner Studio Free is probably the best free photo editing software to be had. Unless you're a pro who needs dual-monitor support, HDR, batch operation, and advanced photo correction filters provided by the pay version, the free version is probably all you need. Now if Zoner would just let me get rid of that darn delete confirmation dialog.

4. FotoSketcher 1.12

• Reviewed on: 27 March 12
• RRP: FREE
• Rating:

FotoSketcher is very easy to use and produces very elegant effects. It's a great free program to experiment with turning photographs into fine art.

3. Serif PhotoPlus X5

• Reviewed on: 14 March 12
• RRP: £71 inc. VAT
• Rating:

The Starter Edition of PhotoPlus is free, although you do have to register and open an account with Serif. There are frequent popups to upgrade, and just like Serif's DrawPlus X5, the Starter Edition is really a demo and locks you out of many of the best features. However, if you're interested in a Photoshop-like feel without the pricetag, PhotoPlus may be just what you're looking for.

2. Adobe Photoshop Elements 10

• Reviewed on: 21 September 11
• RRP: £79 inc. VAT
• Rating:

I appreciate that Photoshop Elements 10's editor has much of the power of and a similar interface to Photoshop CS 5.1 - and I like using the editor. But the organizer, which has so many potentially useful tools, continues to suffer from major performance issues, and its integration with the editor remains poor, despite Adobe's latest efforts. Compared to Google Picasa 3.8, which offers many of the same nifty features - including face tagging and duplicates finding - but in a better-performing, more-flexible, free package - Elements 10's organizer isn't competitive. If Adobe wants its organizer to succeed, the company needs to boost the tool's performance and flexibility so that it outperforms what you can get for free.

1. Adobe Lightroom 4.1

• Reviewed on: 8 May 12
• RRP: TBC
• Rating:

Lightroom 4.1 provides almost pitch-perfect digital image workflow and editing for pros and enthusiasts, and it does so at a new, lower price that makes it a bargain.