10 Best Filters for Photos Free Apps for iPhone and Android

Photo filters help you express your creativity while giving your photos a polished look. With hundreds of aesthetic photo filter options, you can find a filter that elevates your photos and even create a theme for your social media profile.

📣 Explore the best filters for photo

But how do you know which photo filter app works best for you and your snaps? Here, we’ll list out the ten best photo filter apps for iPhone and Android that you can use to edit photos on your phone!

10 Best Photo Filter Apps for iPhone & Android in 2025

The right photo filter app for you can make all the difference to the quality of your photos. Check out these 10 best free photo filter apps for iPhone and Android to edit your snaps:

• 1. YouCam Perfect: Best Free Photo Filter App
• 2. VSCO: Popular Filter App With Presets
• 3. Snapseed: Free Photo Filter App
• 4. Afterlight: Best for Filter Customization
• 5. Instagram: Best Social Filter App
• 6. Prisma: Best Art Filter App
• 7. Retrica: Vintage Photo Filter App
• 8. A Color Story: Best Aesthetic Filter App
• 9. Darkroom: Photo Preset App
• 10. Photo Editor Pro: Stylish Filter App

1. YouCam Perfect: Best Free Photo Filter App

▲ Make standout edits with tons of filter for picture options

Best for: Add trendy and aesthetic filters to your photos to instantly turn them into artistic masterpieces.

Available: Both iOS and Android

Rating: 4.8 and 4.5

YouCam Perfect is the best free photo filter app for iPhone and Android users. It provides all the photo editing & beautifying tools you need - including more than 600 photo filter options to add stylish colors and aesthetic style to photos.

What users say about YouCam Perfect: 

Pros

• Really easy to use and has lots of features like daily tools and photo filters.
• It's a fantastic app for editing photos... even the free features are good enough for amazing edits.
  

Cons

• It could definitely use some new options for the animation feature.
  

📌User reviews taken from App Store & Google Play Store

Hundreds of Photo Filters

▲ Aesthetic filters for photos

YouCam Perfect is the best free photo editing app with hundreds of free photo filter options for improving the look and feel of your photos. The app offers 600+ aesthetic photo filters to suit every mood, which help users create eye-catching images for any occasion, themes, aesthetics, holidays, and more!

Apply Photo Filters

Vintage Filters

▲ Several Vintage Photo Filter Packs

Color Tone Filters for Pictures

▲ Colorful filters for pictures to try

You can also try out the app's different filters for photos, including adjusting the color grading of your photography. It's also easier to express your current mood with color temperatures before posting your snaps on social media!

Apply Photo Filters

AI Cartoon Photo Filters

▲ Cartoon Filters for Photos

The AI Cartoon photo filter turns photos into stylized cartoon images, adding playful and whimsical effects like bold silhouettes, flattened colors, and exaggerated facial features. They are wildly popular on social media platforms.

Trending Photo Filters

▲ Kira Kira Photo Filter & Sparkle Effect

The sparkle aesthetic has been trending on social media for a while, and you can easily add these shimmering sparkles to your photo with YouCam Perfect.

Apply Photo Filters

AI Studio & Artistic Avatar Effects

▲ Turn your photos into art pictures

YouCam Perfect has AI-powered picture filters and effects to customize your selfies and make them look stunning. With the AI tool, you can create Artistic Portrait with a unique effect in seconds. 

Add Filters to Photos for FREE!

YouCam Perfect has tons of free photo filters and effects to help you edit your photos with a few taps. It's easy to use and fun to transform your photos into art. Download the app for free now to start your photo editing journey!

Read More About Filters for Photos:

• AI Filters: Turn Your Photos into Trending Artworks
• Black and White Photo Filters
• Popular Photo Filters & Photo Effects
• Best Instagram Filters & Effects for Posts, Stories

2. VSCO: Popular Photo Filter App With Presets

▲ VSCO app interface

Best for: VSCO works best when you’re looking for moody, atmospheric, edgy filters for your photos.

Available: Both iOS and Android

Rating: 4.7 and 3.4

With over 200 photo filters and advanced editing tools, including vintage filters, VSCO has 10 presets to make editing even easier. You can add filters to and layer videos and photos to create unique collages to share. The app’s community feature offers challenges, and you can get inspiration from others with the Discover feature.

What users say about VSCO:

Pros

• Has a large selection of filters and editing feautres to make great photo
• Love the filters and tutorial tips

Cons

• Used to be a great go-to app, but now most of the good features are behind a pay wall

📌User reviews taken from App Store & Google Play Store

3. Snapseed: Free Photo Filter App

▲ Snapseed app interface

Best for: Trying professional photo editing tools and filters with precision.

Available: Both iOS and Android

Rating: 3.5 and 4.3

Snapseed is a photo editing app that comes with free filters in its "Look" feature. Some of its key features include tools and filters to help you edit your photos on the go.

With its intuitive UI, you can add filter effects to your photos with just a few taps. Additionally, you can adjust filter intensity and make other edits like cropping, straightening, and adding frames.

What users say about Snapseed:

Pros

• Easy to use for people to know some picture editing basics
• Great photo filters that are not pinky or heart-shaped
  

Cons

• Lacking AI features like auto fill, photo blur, and collage photo options
• Little control over the fonts

📌User reviews taken from App Store & Google Play Store

4. Afterlight: Best Photo Filter App for Customization

▲ Afterlight app interface

Best for: If you want a lot of control over your photo filters, Afterlight is a good option.

Available: Both iOS and Android

Rating: 4.7 for iOS

With Afterlight, you can not only apply filters but also adjust the intensity of the filter, as well as other aspects of the photo, like brightness and contrast. There is a wide range of filters to choose from, so you’re sure to find something you like.

What users say about Afterlight:

Pros

• Great to create photo preset filters
• UI is simple and easy to navigate

Cons

• The picture I'm editing sometimes turns black or disappear

📌User reviews taken from App Store & Google Play Store

5. Instagram: Best Social Photo Filter App

▲ Instagram app interface

Best for: Instagram is great for sharing and curating an aesthetic and keeping up with photo trends.

Available: Both iOS and Android

Rating: 4.7 and 4

As one of the most popular free image-sharing apps, Instagram lets you edit photos to share with friends and followers. You can post edited images to your Feed or Story and connect with other creators with similar interests to inspire you.

Easily curate an aesthetic for your feed with Instagram’s many filter choices, including:

• Gingham
• Lark
• Juno
• Perpetua

You can apply filters to stories and give yourself cute accessories like animated sparkles and cat ears, or smooth your skin before you post.

What users say about Instagram:

Pros

• A very useful and entertaining app with great photo filters
• Love the variety of features

Cons

• Has trouble loading older photos (they would just greyed out)

📌User reviews taken from App Store & Google Play Store

👉 How to Edit Instagram Photos Like Influencers: Follow 7 Tips

6. Prisma: Best Art Photo Filter App

▲ Prisma app interface

Best for: Turning photos into art using filters, effects, and creative presets

Available: iOS and Android

Rating: 4.7 and 4.5

Prisma is a photo editing app that helps you turn your favorite pics into stunning digital art. With hundreds of creative filters to choose from, Prisma lets you adjust the filter’s settings to match your aesthetic and personal look. This app has tons of creative filters but lacks many cool features of other photo editing apps like YouCam Perfect.

What users say about Prisma:

Pros

• Great photo filter app that brings out my artistic side
• Many free options to make pictures look like art

Cons

• Photo filters can sometimes be buggy and don't always load

📌User reviews taken from App Store & Google Play Store

7. Retrica: Vintage Photo Filter App

▲ Retrica app interface

Best for: Retrica is great for capturing a vintage vibe with old-school filters and effects.

Available: iOS and Android

Rating: 4.7 and 4.4

Retrica’s filters give your photos the ideal vintage look. It’s great for when you want to create effects for nature or landscape photos as well as selfies. The only downside is that you need to pay for the premium version to get an ad-free experience.

What users say about Retrica:

Pros

• Comes with tons of beautiful camera filters (Suji and Azra)
• Has a variety of colors and lighting options to take your pictures right

Cons

• When taking a photo with filters, the picture doesn't display the filter on it.
  

📌User reviews taken from App Store & Google Play Store

👉 Read more: How to Add Old Film Filters to Photos

8. A Color Story: Best Aesthetic Photo Filter App

▲ A Color Story app interface

Best for: A Color Story is best for using multiple filters and effects in one photo

Available: Both iOS and Android

Rating: 4.8 and 3.9

A Color Story lets you edit and add effects to your photos instantly. With over 500 filters, you can stack different filters to create genuinely unique compositions and looks. Play with various tools to develop aesthetic filters that match your style. While there’s a mobile app, A Color Story was initially designed to be used on an iPad.

What users say about A Color Story:

Pros

• Goes hand in hand with Instagram as a photo editing app
  
• Aesthetic filter packs collaborated with artists
  

Cons

• The app has become quite buggy and lagging after the big update

📌User reviews taken from App Store & Google Play Store

👉 Read more: 16 Best Instagram Filters & Effects for Your Photos

9. Darkroom: Photo Filter Preset App

▲ Darkroom app interface

Best for: People who often use photo presets while editing photography across Apple devices.

Available: iOS, Android, and Mac

Rating: 4.7 & 4.2

Darkroom is a great option for customizing photo presets. For users who live in the Apple ecosystem, you can easily access previous editing history among iPhone, iPad, and Mac OS devices. Users can easily find new preset ideas while pressing the "Discover" button on the left corner for trend filters to enhance their daily shots!

What users say about Darkroom:

Pros

• Come with nice filters and enough free options to test them out
• Serve to be a good working app (great for editing event photo)

Cons

• The filters do take some time to load, so need to be patient with this app

📌User reviews taken from App Store & Google Play Store

10. Photo Editor Pro: Stylish Photo Filter App

▲ Photo Editor Pro app interface

Best for: Photo Editor Pro works best when you need simple and modest photo filters for quick and convenient edits that look professional.

Available: iOS and Android

Rating: 4.6 and 4.9

Photo Editor Pro was designed with everyone in mind. With lots of editing features, you can create works of art with professional-level edits and minimal effort.

Its auto-enhance feature improves the look of your photos in a single tap with technology that identifies low-quality areas and beautifies them instantly. You can even add text to your photos once you’re done making them pretty with your chosen filters.

What users say about Photo Editor Pro:

Pros

• Multiple different filters to play with and cool AI features
• Can watch a video to unlock certain photo filters

Cons

• The text keeps disappearing during edit
• The unblur feature only makes the image lighter so does not really "unblur" anything

📌User reviews taken from Google Play Store

Best Free Filter App Comparison

How to Add a Filter to a Photo [iPhone, Android]

Ready to transform your photos into works of art? Here’s how to add photo filters to your favorite images using the YouCam Perfect app.

• Step 1. Download the Photo Filter App
• Step 2. Add a Filter to the Photo
• Step 3. Save Your Photo with Filter!

Step 1. Download the Photo Filter App

The first step is the easiest. Download YouCam Perfect available on the App Store for iOS and Google Play Store for Android.

Step 2. Add a Filter to the Photo

Once you’ve downloaded YouCam Perfect, open the app. Tap Photo Edit and choose the photo you want to edit. Or snap an image using the live camera feature in the app.

Then locate the app's Effects feature for free filters to photos. Click on a filter you’d like to try first. Adjust the intensity of the filter using the adjustment bar.

Step 3. Save Your Photo with Filter!

Once you’re happy with your filter selection, tap the green arrow on the bottom right corner to save your edits. Continue playing with the different effects, filters, and beautifying tools in YouCam Perfect until you’re happy with the results. Save your edits and share them directly on Instagram and your favorite social media platforms.

Indeed, after editing and preparing your photos for posting on social media, what better than a powerful AI-enhanced search application to help you find your way? You can also use FindMySnap to identify your best photos that perfectly fit your Instagram feed, and then refine them in your favorite editing app. With just a simple description, find the photos you need in seconds, or let yourself be surprised by automatically generated prompts for you.

Download YouCam Perfect: The Best Free Photo Filter App

YouCam Perfect is the easiest, most convenient photo filter app for adding filters to your photos.

The app currently supports 600+ picture filter styles under Effects, 38+ AI filters under AI Selfie for portrait photos, and 30 AI filters to transform your outdoor & indoor pictures into aesthetic shots under the AI Scene/AI Room feature. 

Beautify your selfies and apply the perfect filter in just one tap. Download YouCam Perfect for iOS or Android to explore tons of filters that will make your photos pop!

Related Filter Posts:

• A Complete Guide To Photo Filters & Effects
• How to Make Indie Kid Aesthetic Pictures
• Movie Effects: How to Make Photos Look Cinematic
• Neon Effects: How to Add Neon Effect to Photos
• Rainbow Filters: How To Add Rainbow Effects
• Sparkle Effects: How to Add Sparkle Effect to Photos
• Vintage Filters: How to Get the Retro Look

Photo Filter App FAQs

What is the Best Photo Filter App to Use?

To answer this question, we list out our picks for the best photo filter apps by device.

iPhone photo filter apps:

• YouCam Perfect
• VSCO
• Afterlight
• Instagram
• Prisma

Android photo filter apps:

• Snapseed
• Prisma
• Retrica
• YouCam Perfect
• Darkroom

Our top picks all have tons of filters that suit any photos for users of iPhones and Android devices. With YouCam Perfect’s extensive selection of cool aesthetic filters, you have significantly more options to enhance your snaps than any other photo filter app.

We do hope you find the best Android and iPhone photo filters that work great on your pictures.

What Filter App Is Everyone Using?

Aside from using popular social media filter apps for real-time effects & photo filters, you can also utilize the 10 best free photo filter apps we've tested to create appealing snaps on socials, including:

• 1. YouCam Perfect: Best Free Photo Filter App
• 2. VSCO: Popular Filter App With Presets
• 3. Snapseed: Free Filter App
• 4. Afterlight: Best for Filter Customization
• 5. Instagram: Best Social Filter App
• 6. Prisma: Best Art Filter App
• 7. Retrica: Vintage Photo Filter App
• 8. A Color Story: Best Aesthetic Filter App
• 9. Darkroom: Photo Preset App
• 10. Photo Editor Pro: Stylish Filter App

If you're not sure which app to start from, we recommend using YouCam Perfect as it has been downloaded over 600 million times. It’s best for iPhone and Android users, which allows you to edit your photos on any mobile device on the go!

Is There a Free Photo Filter?

Yes, there are many free photo filters available in apps that offer them. For instance, in YouCam Perfect, you can find free filters for Food, Portrait, Retro, Kira Kira effect, Art, and more.

It's easy to find a free filter that suits your style. However, some cute filters are only accessible with a paid subscription. With YouCam Perfect, you can still preview these filters on your photos before committing to a purchase.

You won't need to pay anything until you decide to download the picture with the filter applied.

How Do I Get Filters on My Photos?

Use YouCam Perfect's free filters to add stylish color to your photos. The app is free to download for iOS or Android and free to use. To find free filters for your pictures, simply follow the 4 steps:

• Step 1: Tap "Photo Edit" once you launched the photo filter app
• Step 2: Upload a photo to apply free filters
• Step 3: Locate "Effects" on the menu bar
• Step 4: Scroll through the filter category you prefer and try on different effects

How Do You Add a Filter to a Photo?

There are many photo editing apps out there that will help you add a filter to your photo, including YouCam Perfect, VSCO, Retrica, and others. YouCam Perfect has a large selection of photo filters to suit every mood and aesthetic.

1. Downloading YouCam Perfect
2. Go to Photo Edit and choose Effects.
3. Scroll through the options to experiment until you find the one you like best.
4. Then, simply tap to apply!

Get FREE Filters for Photos Today!

Follow us on Instagram to get more creative editing ideas and awesome selfie tips!