Organizing and managing photos can be daunting, especially if you have years of images stored on your computer. The good news is that various paid and free photo management software programs can help you organize your photos and make it easier to find the image you’re looking for.
Photo management software spans the gamut between extremely affordable systems (open-source and free) and expensive, proprietary systems (designed for large-scale commercial use).
What is Photo Management Software?
Photo management software is a computer program that helps you organize, edit, and share digital photos.
Many photo management programs also offer basic photo editing tools, although more advanced photo editing features are usually found in separate photo editing software programs.
So, for instance, Adobe Photoshop isn’t “photo management”; it’s photo editing. Adobe Lightroom, however, is photo management.
You’re probably most familiar with the photo management software on your phone. If you use an Android phone, your photo management is completed through Google Drive and Google Photos.
If you use an iOS phone, your photo management is completed through Apple’s iCloud service.
The Best Photo Management Software Solutions
A photo management system should make it easy to find and sync your photos. Ideally, you should never lose one of your photos again. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular options.
1. Google Photos
If you’re using an Android phone, then your photo management is automatically handled by Google Photos. The free version of this app offers limited storage, making upgrading it an obvious choice. If you want to store original, full-resolution photos and videos, you’ll have to pay for Google’s storage plans, which start at $1.99/month for 100GB.
Google uses its AI photo manager to sort through your photos and identify them, classifying them by subject and person. All your photos will be available through any browser and Android device.
While Google doesn’t have any advanced editing tools, it still does let you manage images with basic photo editing features in just a few clicks: cropping, adjusting the colors and adjusting the brightness.
Google photos also offer fun creative tools like turning a burst of photos into an animation or making a photobook. Digital assets you purchase through Google will also be available in your library.
Google Photos might be worth a test drive if you want the best photo organizing software.
2. Apple iCloud
If you’re using an iPhone, your photo organizing software is Apple iCloud. Using a Mac computer, you can also access iCloud through the Finder. iCloud offers 5GB of storage for free, but if you need more space, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid plan.
All your photos are automatically synced unless you turn it off.
Like Google Photos, Apple’s photo manager lets you organize images, edit and update your photos on-the-fly and then upload them or sync them to storage. It’s an easy way to organize photos.
All your files are automatically updated, and you can share them with friends and family through Apple features like AirDrop.
Some love this photo organizer software for its seamless integration with other Apple products. Others find it too limiting.
3. Adobe Lightroom CC
Adobe Lightroom is one of the best photo management software programs for professionals. It’s available as a standalone program or as part of Adobe Creative Cloud. This photo manager offers a variety of features, including a photo organizer, photo editor, and photo sharing.
Adobe Lightroom also has a mobile app to access your photos on the go. But the most important aspect is that it lets you use photos throughout the entire Adobe ecosystem, whether you’re using Illustrator or Photoshop.
Of course, Adobe Lightroom is a more expensive solution. Adobe now sells its products on a subscription basis, so you may want to drop the subscription in the future. You will still have your photos, of course, but you won’t be able to manage them within the product anymore.
The facial recognition feature is a key feature in Adobe Lightroom, which can quickly help you organize your photos by person.
Location data is also automatically added to your photos, making it easy to find and organize images by place.
You can duplicate images, add keywords, and rate photos within the software.
Adobe Bridge is a great way to view all your photos in one place, and it syncs with Lightroom so that you can manage everything from one interface.
If you need to publish multiple photographs quickly, Adobe Lightroom makes it easy to create web galleries and slideshows.
4. SmugMug
SmugMug is a photo management software geared toward photographers who want to share their photos online. It offers a variety of features for managing and editing photos, as well as creating beautiful photo galleries.
Perhaps more importantly, you can also use SmugMug to sell your photos online. SmugMug lets you sell directly to businesses and other professionals who need photos, creating an alternative revenue stream for photographers who want to take photos and get paid for it.
Some say SmugMug is the best photo organizing software because it’s so easy to use. Others find the interface dated and not as intuitive as other products on the market.
SmugMug also offers a wide range of customization options, making it easy to create a photo gallery that matches your brand.
The pricing plans are a bit more expensive than other photo management software on this list. But if you’re serious about photography, SmugMug is worth considering to manage images.
5. Snapchat
We shouldn’t avoid talking about Snapchat, even if it is a social media/conversational portal. Many people also use Snapchat to take photos, although you should be aware that you’ll lose those photos if you delete the Snapchat app.
So, it’s not the best photo management software out there, and if you use Snapchat and want to keep your image files, we recommend backing them up elsewhere as well. But it’s still undeniably true that many people use Snapchat for this purpose.
6. Flickr
Flickr is one of the most popular photo-sharing websites and offers a robust photo management system. You can tag, organize, and search through your photos.
Flickr also offers a Pro plan that gives you access to more photo storage and advanced features. Flickr is a great choice for hobbyists and professional photographers who want to manage and share photos.
As far as photo organizing software, Flickr is one of the best. You can tag people, places, and things in your photos to make them easy to find later.
And if you want to share your photos with others, Flickr makes it easy to create photo galleries and slideshows. Facial recognition is also coming soon to Flickr, making organizing your photos even easier.
While probably not the best photo management software for businesses, Flickr is a great choice for individual photographers who want to share photos online.
7. iPhoto
iPhoto is a photo management software that comes pre-installed on all Mac computers. It’s simple to use and offers a variety of features for managing, editing, and sharing photos.
Because it’s synced with the Apple ecosystem, you can upload all your photos to iCloud. But iPhoto is more of a rudimentary photo editor than a photo manager.
With iPhoto, you can do basic photo editings, such as cropping and rotating images. But if you want more advanced editing, such as removing blemishes or adding filters, you’ll need to use a different program.
iPhoto also offers a few organization features, such as the ability to create albums and add tags. But it’s not as comprehensive as some of the other options on this list.
IPhoto is a good choice if you’re looking for a simple photo management program and use Apple products. But if you need more advanced features, you’ll need to look elsewhere.
8. Photo Mechanic
Photo Mechanic is a photo management software that is popular among professional photographers. It’s fast and offers a variety of features for managing, editing, and sharing photos. Photo Mechanic also has a mobile app to access your photos on the go.
This is a professional suite; you’ll be able to dig into your raw digital photography files, giving you more power and control over how your photos look.
- Facial recognition
- Location data
- Duplicate photos
- Keywords
- Ratings
- Web galleries
- Slideshows using all your digital images
- Simple interface
- Fast
- Mobile app
- Download the entire photo collection of edited images
- Import images
9. Zoner Photo Studio
Zoner Studio is another excellent photo management software program. It’s available as a standalone program or as part of Zoner’s Creative Cloud subscription.
This photo manager offers a variety of features, including a photo organizer, photo editor, and RAW processing. Zoner is a great choice for both amateur and professional photographers.
Your entire collection can be found in the Zoner Photo Studio library. You can rate, label, and organize your photos in the library. You can also search for specific photos using keywords or metadata.
The photo editor in Zoner Photo Studio is excellent. You can do basic edits, such as cropping and resizing images.
With Zoner photo studio, your image files will be well-organized, and you’ll have all the basic editing tools you need at your fingertips. You can also use Zoner to manage your photos on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
This free photo management software also offers premium features available as a subscription.
- Thumbnails and quick selection of photos for import
- Auto-sorting into folders by date, place, and keywords
- Batch assigning of digital images with descriptions, keywords, and more
- Batch renaming for multiple images
- Immediate backups on demand
- local photo libraries
- photo editing tools
- photo organizer software
- facial recognition
- Use the standalone photo editing software to manage an entire collection
- Allows for duplicate images in various file formats
- Ability to categorize photos
10. Adobe Bridge
Adobe Bridge is a powerful photo management and editing software with Adobe Creative Cloud. You can manage all your assets with Adobe Bridge, including photos, videos, and fonts. Adobe Bridge also offers a variety of features for editing, organizing, and sharing photos. If you’re a professional photographer or graphic designer, Adobe Bridge is an excellent choice for photo management.
This powerful photo organizing software offers a wide range of features for professionals.
You can manage all your assets and raw images with Adobe Bridge, including photos, videos, and fonts. Adobe Bridge also offers a variety of features for editing, organizing, and sharing photos. If you’re a professional photographer or graphic designer, Adobe Bridge is an excellent choice for photo management.
- Asset management
- Photo editing
- Photo organization
- Social media sharing
- image labels
- photo management tools
- arrange photos
- edit photos
- basic edits
- delete duplicate images
- facial recognition feature
- photo downloader
11. Acdsee Photo Studio
ACDSee Photo Studio is a comprehensive photo management software with various features for professionals and amateurs that lets you manage various image file formats.
You can manage, edit, and share your photos with ACDSee Photo Studio. You can also use ACDSee Photo Studio to create slideshows, web galleries, and prints.
This software made our list of the best photo management software because it offers a wide range of features for both professionals and amateurs.
- Asset management
- Import photos
- Advanced editing
- Photo organization
- Social media sharing
- Slideshows
- Web galleries
- Prints
- Basic and advanced editing tools
- Facial recognition
- Batch processing
- Delete duplicate images
12. Faststone Image Viewer
Faststone Image Viewer is a fast, stable, user-friendly image browser, converter, and editor. It has many features and editing tools, including image viewing, management, comparison, red-eye removal, emailing, resizing, cropping, and color adjustments. Its interface is intuitive and easy to use.
This software is great for managing your image files and offers a variety of features for editing, organizing, and sharing photos.
- Image management
- View images
- Compare images
- Edit images
- Resize images
- Crop images
- Color adjustments
- Red-eye removal
- Email photos
- Share photos
- Intuitive interface
13. Movavi Photo Manager
Movavi Photo Manager is a user-friendly photo management software with many features for managing, editing, and sharing photos. Movavi Photo Manager also offers an innovative facial recognition feature that can help you organize your photos by people.
This software is great for managing your image files and offers a variety of features for editing, organizing, and sharing photos.
- Asset management
- Facial recognition
- Image editing
- Photo organization
- Social media sharing
- Intuitive interface
As a photo manager, Movavi Photo Manager offers all the features you need to keep your photo collection in order. Crop, resize, and rotate photos; remove red-eye and other defects; enhance colors, contrast, and sharpness – all with just a few clicks.
Movavi Photo Manager also lets you organize photos by person, place, or event using its innovative facial recognition feature. You can also tag people in your photos and create photo albums to share with family and friends.
Movavi made our list of the best photo management software because it is user-friendly and offers a wide range of features for managing, editing, and sharing photos.
14. Photolemur
Most photo editing software is designed for professional photographers and graphic designers. Photolemur is different – it’s an AI-powered photo editor that anyone can use to get great photo results.
Photolemur offers a variety of features for editing, organizing, and sharing photos. You can edit multiple photos at once, apply filters and effects, and share your photos on social media.
This photo management tool is great for anyone who wants to get great photo results without learning complex photo editing software.
- Asset management
- Photo editing
- Apply filters and effects
- Share photos on social media
- Edit multiple photos at once
- User-friendly interface
- photo downloader
- access photos and digital assets easily
15. Magix Photo Studio
Magix Photo Studio is a powerful photo management software with many features for editing, organizing, and sharing photos. You can edit your photos with various tools, including red-eye removal, color correction, and cropping.
The magix photo manager also offers batch processing for editing multiple photos at once.
As a photo manager, Magix made our list of the best photo management software because is great for managing your image files and offers a wide range of features for editing, organizing, and sharing photos.
- Asset management
- Photo editing
- Batch processing
- Red-eye removal
- Color correction
- Cropping
- User-friendly interface
The magix photo manager offers more features for editing and organizing photos than Google photos, Zoner, and other photo management software.
Magix Photo Studio is a great option if you want powerful photo management software with many features.
Use magix photo manager to get the most out of your photos!
Cloud vs. Desktop Photo Management Software
You might notice a key difference in these solutions. Some of these solutions store your photos on the cloud, others on a device, and others do both. What’s the difference?
If you store your photos on the cloud, they’re stored on a remote server. The advantage of this is that you can access your photos from anywhere. The downside is that if the cloud service goes down, you won’t be able to access your photos.
If you store your photos on a device, they’re stored locally on your computer or an external hard drive. This advantage is that you have complete control over your photos and don’t have to worry about a cloud service going down. The downside is that you could lose all your photos if something happens to your device.
The best photo management software will offer both options, so you can choose what’s best for you. But do remember that you should avoid putting anything too personal on the cloud. The cloud is notorious for getting “hacked” (accessed by unauthorized users), and you don’t want anyone to get their hands on photos you wanted to keep private.
What Should You Look For in Photo Management Software?
When you’re looking for photo management software, there are a few key features to keep in mind:
- Organization: Look for software that offers a variety of ways to organize your photos. Tagging, keywords, and face recognition are all helpful tools.
- Editing: If you want to do more than just crop and rotate your photos, look for software that offers a variety of editing features.
- Sharing: If you want to share your photos online, look for software that makes it easy to share on social media or create photo galleries.
- Mobile app: If you want to be able to access your photos on the go, look for photo management software that offers a mobile app.
- Cloud storage: If you want to be able to access your photos from anywhere, look for software that offers cloud storage.
- Pricing: Photo management software can range from free to $100. Decide how much you’re willing to spend based on your needs.
Together, these features should direct you to the right photo management software.
Conclusion
There are a variety of photo management software solutions available, each with its own set of features and benefits. Most people today will get by with Google Photos or Apple’s iCloud, but photographers may want to invest in Adobe or Photo Mechanic. Test out a few free trials before you settle on one system. You may find that one system suits you better than others.
FAQs
How do I transfer photos from one computer to another?
There are a few ways to transfer photos from one computer to another. You can use a USB drive, an external hard drive, or cloud storage. Cloud storage is the easiest way to transfer photos because you can access them from anywhere, but that also means that there can be security risks. If you lose access to the cloud, you could also lose access to your photos.
How do I backup my photos?
There are a few ways to backup your photos. You can use a USB drive, an external hard drive, or cloud storage. Cloud storage is the most convenient way to backup photos because you can access them anywhere. But cloud storage can also be dangerous because it’s possible that someone else can access your files, too.
How do I organize my photos?
Most photo management software offers a variety of ways to organize your photos. Tagging, keywords, and face recognition are all helpful tools. You can also create albums to organize your photos. Cloud photo management systems have advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms that recognize and organize your photos for you. But other systems will organize your photos by basic tags, such as your location at the time.
How do I share my photos?
Most photo management software offers a variety of ways to share your image files. You can share on social media, create photo galleries, or email them to friends and family. Cloud photo management systems also have advanced sharing features, such as sharing an album with a specific group of people or creating a public link to your photos. A lot of people share photos on places like Instagram, too.
