In a world dominated by social media, a perfect selfie or a stunning portrait can make all the difference. But what if your favorite photos are slightly blurry, poorly lit, or just need a little extra magic? That’s where the **best AI photo editing apps** come in, transforming your phone into a professional retouching studio.
But with hundreds of apps all promising a one-tap solution, finding the right one is a challenge. Some are filled with ads, while others lock their best features behind expensive subscriptions. To cut through the noise, we’ve done the hard work for you. We tested dozens of applications to identify the true champions in AI-powered photo enhancement.
How We Rank the Best AI Photo Editors
Our goal is to provide recommendations you can trust. We didn’t just look at download counts; we evaluated each app based on a core set of principles designed to measure their real-world performance for editing selfies and portraits.
- Core AI Enhancements: How effective are the primary AI tools? We rigorously tested features like one-tap enhancement, blemish removal, background blur (bokeh), photo unblurring, and AI avatars.
- User Interface (UI): Is the app intuitive for a beginner? Can you find the tools you need quickly without getting lost in menus?
- Artistic Control: Does the app offer manual controls for when you want to go beyond the AI’s suggestions?
- Pricing & Free Version: How useful is the app without paying? Is the subscription good value for the features it unlocks?
The 12 Best AI Photo Editing Apps for Android in 2024
1. Remini
Remini has become legendary for one reason: its incredible ability to rescue blurry, low-resolution photos and turn them into sharp, high-definition portraits. Its AI model is laser-focused on facial details, making it an essential tool for anyone wanting to enhance their photos.
- Best For: Enhancing blurry photos, restoring old pictures, and improving overall facial clarity.
- Key AI Features: Face Enhance, Background Enhance, AI Photo Restoration, AI Avatars.
- Our Take: In our tests, Remini’s “Enhance” feature is simply magical. It can recover details you thought were lost forever. While it can sometimes create a slightly “airbrushed” look, the results are undeniably impressive. The free version is limited, but it’s perfect for quickly fixing your most important shots.
- Pricing: Free version lets you enhance a few photos per day (with ads). A subscription provides unlimited use and access to more tools.
2. Lensa AI
Lensa AI went viral for its “Magic Avatars,” but underneath that trend is a very powerful and easy-to-use portrait editor. Its “Magic Retouch” tool is one of the best one-tap solutions for instantly improving selfies.
- Best For: Creating stylish AI avatars and quick, one-tap selfie improvements.
- Key AI Features: Magic Avatars, Magic Retouch, Sky Replacement, Eye & Skin Correction.
- Our Take: While the avatar trend has cooled, Lensa remains a top-tier selfie editor. The Magic Retouch feature intelligently applies a collection of edits—from skin smoothing to background blur—to create a flattering portrait in seconds. It’s an excellent app for fast, reliable results.
- Pricing: The avatar generator is a paid, per-use feature. The editing tools require a subscription for unlimited use.
3. PicsArt
PicsArt is a creative powerhouse. It goes far beyond simple retouching, offering a complete suite of AI-powered tools for everything from removing objects to creating complex digital art. It’s the swiss army knife of photo editing.
- Best For: All-in-one creative editing, removing objects, and applying artistic effects.
- Key AI Features: AI Object Removal, Background Changer, AI Enhance, huge library of AI filters and styles.
- Our Take: PicsArt’s greatest strength is its versatility. The AI object removal tool is impressively accurate, making it easy to clean up distracting elements in your photos. While some of its best tools are locked behind a “Gold” subscription, the sheer number of features in the free version is remarkable.
- Pricing: Generous free version with ads. A “Gold” subscription unlocks all advanced tools and removes ads.
4. Snapseed
Developed by Google, Snapseed is a completely free, professional-grade photo editor with zero ads. While its AI is more subtle, its manual editing tools are second to none, giving you absolute control over your images.
- Best For: Professional manual editing, selective adjustments, and anyone who wants powerful tools for free.
- Key AI Features: Its AI assists with tools like the Healing brush (for object removal), automatic face enhancement, and smart perspective correction.
- Our Take: Snapseed is a must-have app for every mobile photographer. Its Healing tool is incredibly effective for a free app. The real magic is in its “Selective” tool and “Brush” tools, which let you apply edits to specific parts of your image with precision. We explain why you don’t need a modded version in our Snapseed safety guide.
- Pricing: 100% free. No ads, no subscriptions.
5. YouCam Perfect
YouCam Perfect is a long-standing favorite in the world of selfie editing. It offers a massive suite of AI-powered beauty and retouching tools designed to make you look your best.
- Best For: Real-time selfie retouching, beauty enhancements, and body shaping.
- Key AI Features: AI Blemish Removal, Face & Body Reshaping, Makeup Filters, AI Object Removal.
- Our Take: If your primary goal is selfie perfection, YouCam Perfect is a top contender. Its AI is excellent at identifying facial features, allowing for precise and realistic adjustments. The tools are intuitive and deliver great results, though some may find the body-shaping features controversial.
- Pricing: Free version with ads and limited features. A premium subscription is needed for the best tools.
Read Our Full YouCam Perfect Review
6. Adobe Lightroom Mobile
For those who are serious about photography, Lightroom Mobile is the industry standard. It brings Adobe’s powerful desktop editing engine to your phone, focusing on professional-grade color and light adjustments.
- Best For: Professional color grading, managing large photo libraries, and creating a consistent aesthetic.
- Key AI Features: AI-powered masking to select subjects, skies, and backgrounds automatically; AI Denoise to fix grainy photos.
- Our Take: Lightroom’s AI tools are less about “beauty” and more about “precision.” The AI-powered masking is a game-changer, saving tons of time on selective edits. It has a steeper learning curve than other apps on this list, but for professional results, it’s unparalleled.
- Pricing: Excellent free version. A subscription unlocks premium features like AI masking, healing, and cloud sync.
Read Our Full Lightroom Mobile Review
7. FaceApp
FaceApp is famous for its viral filters that can age you, change your gender, or put a smile on your face. It’s a fun and surprisingly powerful AI editor built for entertainment.
- Best For: Fun, viral transformations and applying realistic AI-powered filters.
- Key AI Features: Age & Gender filters, Impression (beauty) filters, Face Swap, Background replacement.
- Our Take: While often seen as a novelty app, FaceApp’s underlying AI is incredibly sophisticated. Its filters blend seamlessly with your existing photo to create results that are often shockingly realistic. It’s a great tool for creating fun social media content.
- Pricing: Free version with a limited set of filters. A Pro subscription unlocks everything.
8. Meitu
A hugely popular app across Asia, Meitu excels at creating a soft, porcelain “beauty” aesthetic. It offers a vast range of artistic, anime, and beautifying filters powered by AI.
- Best For: Achieving an “Asian beauty” aesthetic, artistic filters, and comprehensive beautification.
- Key AI Features: AI Retouching, Anime and Art Filters, Makeup application, Body Reshaping.
- Our Take: Meitu’s AI is finely tuned for portrait beautification. It offers an incredible amount of control over every facial feature. Its artistic and anime filters are also unique and high-quality, allowing you to create some truly stunning visuals.
- Pricing: Free version is very generous. A VIP subscription unlocks the most advanced features and removes ads.
9. Prequel
Prequel is the king of aesthetic, trendy filters. If you want your photos and videos to have a cool, retro, or cinematic vibe, Prequel’s library of effects is unmatched.
- Best For: Applying aesthetic and trendy filters (like film, disco, vintage), and creating a consistent Instagram feed.
- Key AI Features: Its AI is used to intelligently apply complex filter layers and effects that adapt to your photo’s content. It also has a powerful AI avatar feature.
- Our Take: Prequel is less about retouching and more about “vibe.” Its filters are high-quality and can instantly transform a boring photo into something cool. It’s a favorite among influencers and Gen Z for creating a specific visual mood.
- Pricing: A limited selection of filters is free. A “Gold” subscription is needed for full access.
10. EPIK
From the creators of SNOW and B612, EPIK is an excellent all-in-one editor that combines powerful retouching tools with creative filters and effects.
- Best For: All-in-one editing, from subtle retouching to creative decoration.
- Key AI Features: AI Skin smoothing, Face Reshaping, AI Filters, and a very effective Object Remover.
- Our Take: EPIK feels like a polished and mature editor that has learned from the best. It’s stable, fast, and its tools deliver consistent results. It’s a very strong competitor to YouCam Perfect and PicsArt.
- Pricing: Good free version. A subscription unlocks premium features.
11. Fotor
Fotor is a long-standing photo editor that has successfully integrated a suite of solid AI tools. It offers a good balance of classic editing features and new AI-powered enhancements.
- Best For: General-purpose photo editing with reliable AI tools.
- Key AI Features: 1-Tap Enhance, AI Skin Retouch, AI Photo Effects, Background Remover.
- Our Take: Fotor is a solid, dependable choice. It may not have the single “best” feature, but it does everything well. Its 1-Tap Enhance tool does a great job of quickly balancing exposure and color. It’s a great option if you don’t need the complexity of Lightroom or the social features of PicsArt.
- Pricing: Free version with ads. Pro subscription unlocks all features.
12. VSCO
VSCO is a name synonymous with professional-grade, film-like filters. While its AI is subtle, it’s a favorite among photographers who prefer a more artistic and less “airbrushed” look.
- Best For: Applying high-quality, artistic, film-emulation filters.
- Key AI Features: Its AI is part of its “For This Photo” feature, which recommends the best filters for your specific image.
- Our Take: If you hate the overly-edited look, VSCO is for you. Its presets (filters) are beautiful and understated. It also includes professional tools like HSL and Tone Split to fine-tune your colors. It’s less of an “AI editor” and more of a “professional editor with smart suggestions.”
- Pricing: A small selection of presets is free. A membership is required to access the full library of 200+ presets.
Final Verdict: Our Top Recommendations
The **best AI photo editing app** truly depends on your goal. After our comprehensive testing, here are our final recommendations:
- For the Best Overall Enhancement: **Remini** is unmatched for turning blurry photos into sharp masterpieces.
- For the Best All-in-One Creative Suite: **PicsArt** offers the widest range of tools, from retouching to graphic design.
- For the Best Professional Control (for free): **Snapseed** is a must-have for anyone who wants powerful, manual editing tools without paying a rupee.
- For the Most Powerful Color Grading: **Adobe Lightroom Mobile** is the undisputed champion for photographers who are serious about color.
Start by identifying your main need, and you’ll find the perfect app on this list to take your photos to the next level.