Movavi Photo Editor
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9 Best Photo Organizing Software in 2024
Higher quality camera phones and the grand scale of popular social media mean that in 2024, everyone is taking more photos than ever before. The downside to that is that keeping track of them all can be extremely difficult: that's where the best photo managing software comes in.
The best photo management software can help you categorize your pictures, sort them by date, place, or who's in them, as well as organize them into albums. You don't even have to pay for the privilege, as some of the best free photo organizing software can do all that and a whole lot more.
Special pick: Movavi Photo Editor
Compatibility: Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 or Mac OS X 10.10 or higher
Hard drive space: 500 MB
RAM: 6 GB
Min. Resolution: 1280 × 768
Free version: A free version is available with some limitations
Key features:
- Lots of automatic effects that improve and enhance images using AI
- Light and color correction
- Easy to remove unwanted background images
- Supports high-quality RAW files
Movavi Photo Editor brings you a new photo editing experience. Enriched with a wide range of features, this software is an alternative to expensive and complex applications. It is one of the best photo editing software which can actually offer very good results even in its free version.
You can edit your images in many ways: retouche portraits, remove objects, apply overlays or work on the background. Every time you are going to use a new feature, the interface will give you a hint on how to get the most out of it. Furthermore, this software is compatible with Mac and Windows computers.
Not convinced it's worth the full price? Give the free trial a go on your Mac or Windows PC, and see if it fits your needs.
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List of the best free photo organizing software
Compatibility: Windows 10, 8, 7 or Mac OS X 10.13 or higher
Hard drive space: 2.1 GB
RAM: 2 GB
Min. Resolution: 1280 × 768
Free version: No free options
Key features:
- Advanced publishing tools
- Strong labelling and metadata options
- Batch renaming and export functions
- Easy to make photo portfolios
For existing Adobe® Creative Cloud® subscribers, Adobe® Bridge is one of the best photo management software options you have, because you already have access. It has robust tools for organizing and categorizing photos, with the option of manual and automated labelling and metadata tweaking. You can also perform batch renames of image files, which can further aid the sorting process.
This is especially great image management software if you're looking to build a photo portfolio, as the export functions are excellent, even compared with some of the other best photo organization software.
Check out some reviews of Adobe® Bridge at the link below.
Pros:
Batch editing
Intelligent picture search function
Cons:
Paid cloud storage can be expensive
Compatibility: Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista
Hard drive space: 600 MB
RAM: 512 MB
Min. Resolution: 1024 × 600
Free version: A free trial is available for 30 days
Key features:
- Facial recognition
- Photo touch up options
- Cloud import from various services
- Wide image format support
The Magix Photo Manager Deluxe is the more expensive picture organizer applications, but it has one of the strongest feature sets to match. It supports an enormous range of different file types, making it a cinch to import pictures from all sorts of cameras and devices, as well as the cloud. You can download directly from a variety of services straight to this album management app.
It's only available on Windows, so it's not as versatile as some of the best photo library software, and its sharing options are a little limited, but it has a simple and intuitive interface, and its built-in photo touch up features can be great if you're working with older pictures.
There are a number of Magix Photo Manager Deluxe reviews at the link below.
Pros:
Excellent touch-up tools for older photos
Simple interface
Cons:
Limited sharing options
3. Apple Photos
Compatibility: iOS 8 or higher, iPadOS, OS X Yosemite or higher, watchOS, tvOS 10 or higher
Free version: Completely free
Key features:
- Allows to edit RAW images
- Integrated with other Apple devices and services
- Intelligent search
- Comes with some free iCloud storage
If you're using any sort of Apple device, then chances are you already have access to Apple Photos, which can make it one of the best photo organizers you have. It enjoys fantastic integration with all sorts of Apple devices and services, which is perfect if you want to access your archive on different platforms. It's also great if you want to take and tag pictures on different devices and upload them to the same, central database.
It is exclusive to Apple devices, and you'll have to pay a little more if you start to fill up your free iCloud allocation, but it's only a few dollars a month for hundreds of gigabytes of space, so it's not costly. Whether you pay extra or just enjoy the free version though, the file tagging and editing options on Mac and iOS devices are excellent.
Apple Photos was given an in-depth review at PC Mag at the link below.
Pros:
Synchronizes your photos through iCloud
Simple and effective
Cons:
Available only on Apple products
Compatibility: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Free version: Free up to 15 GB storage space
Key features:
- Automatic backup
- Integrated with other Google services
- Robust security for library
- Compatibility across many devices and operating systems
You don't need to worry much about what platform you're on with Google Photos. If you can access one of the most popular web browsers, you'll be able to use it. Google account owners can enjoy up to 15 GB of free storage space in the cloud, and the automatic backup functions mean you'll never lose your most precious files.
One of the best photo library software choices for Android users, Google Photos has a fantastic search system for finding pictures in specific albums, from certain years, or based on what's in the picture. It's also a great way to use your photo gallery in different Google services, as they're always within easy reach.
Check out some Google Photo reviews at the link below.
Pros:
Easy sharing
Photos are available on any device
Cons:
Only basic photo editing tools
Compatibility: Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP; Mac OS X 10.6 or higher, Linux
Hard drive space: 2 GB
Free version: The software is free and open-source
Key features:
- Can handle over 100,000 photos
- Supports in-depth metadata
- Supports many file formats
- Lets you publish directly to social media
Arguably the best free photo organizing software out there, Digikam Photo Manager is beloved by its community for being open source, intuitive, and available on Windows PCs and macOS systems. It gives you complete control to make nested albums and catalogs for expertly curated libraries of images, pictures, and videos in a way that most other applications just can't.
With the ability to handle over 100,000 images at once, it's a powerful piece of software, and despite being one of the longest running photo organizing apps out there, it enjoys modern features, like publishing directly to all the most popular social media sites.
Here are some reviews of Digikam if you need more information.
Pros:
Supports RAW files
Open-source software
Cons:
Image export is complicated
Compatibility: Windows 10, 8; macOS Sierra or higher
Hard drive space: 1 GB
RAM: 4 GB
Min. Resolution: 1366 × 768
Free version: Entirely free for Nikon camera owners
Key features:
- Easily edit RAW files in the organizer
- Import directly from your Nikon camera
- Freely available with all Nikon DSLR Cameras
Nikon makes some of the best cameras in the world, so it makes sense that it also has one of the best photo library software applications you can use. It's entirely free for Nikon camera owners and supports RAW images for both organizing and simple tweaks and edits.
Available on both Windows PCs and macOS systems, Nikon ViewNX-i includes basic image processing of colors and shadow effects, even letting you edit the RAW files straight from your Nikon camera.
It doesn't support other camera brands, though, and its photo organizational tools are no way near as robust as the competition.
Here's a detailed look at Nikon ViewNX-i for more information.
Pros:
RAW image processing
Quick image alteration tools
Cons:
Only supports Nikon cameras
Not the most expansive range of metadata options
Compatibility: Windows 10, 8, 7
Free version: A regular user account is free
Key features:
- Screenshot tool
- Lightweight app uses minimal system resources
- Batch image processing
One of the few photo organization apps that supports the HEIC file type, Apowersoft Photo Viewer is a fantastic replacement for the default photo viewer on Windows PCs and is a great tool for integrating your Apple devices that take the pictures, with your Windows PC that stores them.
You can use Apowersoft Photo Viewer for free. Its image editing tools are quite basic, however, making it better for organizing photos in a standard album than some of its robust photo categorization rivals.
For more information, check out this review of Apowersoft Photo Viewer.
Pros:
Low lag photo viewing
Supports HEIC images
Cons:
Doesn’t include a photo management feature
8. PicaJet
Compatibility: Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP
Free version: A free trial is available with some limitations
Key features:
- Advanced categorizing of photos
- Import from cameras, folders, CD, or DVD
- GPU acceleration for intensive tasks
- Automated categorization
The PicaJet looks and feels like it's straight out of the Windows XP era of computing, and that's no accident. It's been one of the best photo organizing apps available since the mid-'00s and though it's showing its age, it's still a simple and intuitive tool to help categorize your image gallery. The paid-up version isn't worth its asking price, but the free option gives you plenty of tools to use to put together a comprehensive database of all your photos and videos.
It offers a number of automated and manual organizational tools to help put your collection together, and when you're done, there are a few basic search options to help find your favorites.
Here's a review of PicaJet, with a more detailed look at the software.
Pros:
A lot of sharing options
Imports photos directly from the camera
Cons:
The interface is dated
Compatibility: Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP
Disc space: 10 MB
Free version: You can use the program for free with some limitations during the trial period
Key features:
- Batch conversion tool
- Automatic keyword generation
- Encrypted photo storage and password protection
- Robust search function
Another popular, if a little dated, photo management application, Smart Pix Manager still has a solid set of tools to help you organize your photo library into something more manageable. It has powerful search tools for finding the pictures that you're looking for, and supports a wide range of file formats.
With a dated interface, however, it's not the most intuitive, and can take a little bit longer to get to grips with than some of the other best photo management software options. There are some wizards and tooltips to help explain some of the more opaque functions, though, so if you're willing to give it some time, Smart Pix Manager can still be a great way to organize your photo library.
You can find a great review of Smart Pix Manager at the link below.
Pros:
Many ways to organize photos
Wide range of print templates
Cons:
Not the most intuitive interface
Limited sharing options
Best ways to organize photos
Printed photos
You can easily organize printed photos, by following instructions below:
Buy a set of photo albums and photo boxes.
Sort photos by date or any other identifying feature.
Get rid of low-quality photos.
Put the sorted photos to photo albums.
Digitize photos and organize them on your PC or Mac.
Digital photos
In addition to photo organizing software, you can manage your photos like this:
- Create custom folders in your camera’s storage and name them according to the date or event to which the photos are related.
- If your camera doesn’t allow you to create such folders, do it on your favorite device.
- Sort your photos appropriately and put them in categorized folders.
Frequently asked questions
💸 What is the best free photo-organizing software?
It’s hard to choose the best photo organizing software that will be suitable for everyone. However, if you want to find the photo organizing program that is best for you, choose from the list below.
📂 What is the best way to organize photos?
Digitize printed photos. If you have printed photos you want to save, use a scanner to sort and preserve them in digital format.
Use a single device to store the photos. Choose a device where you want to store all of your digital photos. You can also use cloud storage to access the photos from any device and create additional backups.
Divide your photos into folders to organize them. Division can be based on events, dates, people that are present in the photos, etc.
Make backup copies of your photos. Local backup options like external hard drives are great, but cloud backups guarantee your photos will remain safe for years to come.
💻 What is the best photo manager for Windows?
You can choose a Windows-compatible photo manager that is the most convenient for you, from the list below.
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