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There’s been an explosion of free real estate photo editing software over the past few years.

Today, a real estate photographer or sales agent has hundreds of free real estate photo editing apps, programs, and software to choose from.

However, much of this free real estate photo editing software delivers poor results, leaving many users wondering if these programs are any good. 

In this article, we’ll examine some of the more popular free real estate photo editing software and determine whether these options are good or bad.

Let’s get right to it!

6 Free Real Estate Photo Editing Software Programs

With so many free real estate photo editing software programs, knowing where to begin checking them out can be challenging. 

Let’s look at 6 of the most popular free photo editing software available.

1. Canva

free real estate photo editing software

First on our list is the ever-popular Canva. This app and website allow easy and fast photo editing and other graphic design tools.

In terms of photo editing, Canva offers many features, including the following:

  • Cropping tools
  • Filter applications
  • Color enhancements
  • Also, design templates for branding

Overall, Canva offers many helpful features and design templates for creating appealing real estate images.

While Canva is easy to use, its photo editing options are limited, and it doesn’t offer more advanced editing abilities. Still, it’s free and worth checking out.

2. GIMP Free Real Estate Photo Editing Software

free real estate photo editing software

Next up is GIMP,  another free photo editing software package. GIMP has been available for over two decades, and its recent version offers many advantages.

In addition to basic photo editing tools, GIMP also offers the following capabilities:

  • Advanced filter options
  • Layering tools
  • The ability to remove objects
  • Targeted color changes
  • Photo realignment and perspective correction

As you can see, GIMP is robust as far as free photo editing software goes. Additionally, the software is based on open coding, so it runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. 

The only downside to GIMP is its complexity. This is not software that beginners will find easy to use. 

Now, let’s look at another free photo editing option that is easier to use. 

3. Pixlr

Pixlr is a free, web-based photo editing software that is quite simple to use. 

free real estate photo editing software

Like Canva and Gimp, it also contains some basic editing features, including the following:

  • Background removal
  • Color correction
  • Contrast controls
  • Exposure, brightness, and saturation tools
  • And much more 

Since Pixlr is web-based, it doesn’t require any installation, and you can run it on any browser.  

However, since the program is web-based, it won’t work without an internet connection.

4. Snapseed Free Real Estate Photo Editing Software App

Fourth on our list is Snapseed. This free photo editing software is an excellent choice for real estate photography. 

free real estate photo editing software

The software offers a wide array of editing tools, including the following:

  • Resizing tools
  • Advanced exposure blending
  • White balancing and glare removal
  • Sharpening ability
  • Plus, layering and line straightening

Additionally, the software app is user-friendly and easy to learn. It runs on both iOS and Android platforms.

In terms of free photo editing software, this one is worth trying out.

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5. Fotor

Fotor’s free editing software has been around for a while and is appreciated by many real estate photographers and sales agents.

Fotor

This free program works on Windows and Mac systems and is extremely easy to use.

Among its photo editing features are the following:

  • Color enhancements and corrections
  • Resizing and perspective-adjustment tools
  • Exposure enhancement
  • Removing grain and blur
  • And many other editing tools

This is another web-based editing program, so make sure your internet connection is stable, or you might lose your work. 

Pixlr also offers advanced photo editing capabilities in its paid version.

6. Darktable

Our last free photo editing software is Darktable, which like GIMP, relies on open-source code. 

Darktable

The program offers the standard array of photo editing options, including these widely used tools:

  • Brightness control
  • Color saturation and correction abilities
  • Line straightening
  • Glare removal
  • And resizing functions 

Since the program is open-source, it runs on Linux, Windows, and Mac.

Darktable has one significant drawback: It’s not easy to use and can take hours to produce acceptable results.

Now that we’ve looked at some of the more popular free real estate photo editing software, let’s address our original question: Are these programs any good?

Free Photo Editing Software – Good or Bad?

At the beginning of this article, we posed the question – is free real estate photo editing software any good?

After reviewing 6 popular free photo editing software options, we can answer, “It depends.”

If you want to edit just a few listing photos and don’t need advanced photo editing capabilities, most of the above free programs will work fine.

However, there are some clear disadvantages to using the free photo editing software apps. Let’s consider the following drawbacks. 

Each of these photo editing programs requires time to learn how to use them. Yes, some are easier to use than others, but they will all take at least an hour or more before you are comfortable using them.

Second, let’s be honest: The results of any app or editing software will significantly depend on the user’s skill. 

This means that most real estate sales agents will only be able to get mediocre results. How many agents are okay with mediocre listing photos?

Moreover, these free real estate photo editing software platforms can easily encourage over-editing when used by newbies. Over-edited photos look fake and unappealing, which isn’t ideal for real estate sales. 

The above concerns call to mind the adage, “You get what you pay for.”

Free photo editing apps are certainly nice. However, poor results that can take hours to produce are not okay.

Every real estate sales professional knows the vital importance of high-quality listing photos for successful sales. Skimping on quality simply isn’t an option.

So, what’s your best option then for real estate photo editing? Work with a professional photo editing service.

Our advice is that if you are looking for a trustworthy, fast, and affordable photo editing service, take a look at PhotoUp. 

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PhotoUp is the industry leader for real estate photo editing and marketing solutions. 

In business for over ten years, PhotoUp’s skilled editors use the latest cutting-edge technology to deliver outstanding results. Our prices are hard to beat, with costs between $1.10 and $9.00 per image.

Additionally, we offer turnaround times of 24 hours or less, and we’re easier to use than any free editing app.

How to Get Started

First, sign up for a free PhotoUp account; it takes less than a minute.

Second, upload your images, provide instructions, choose an export setting, and set a turnaround time. In less than 24 hours, you’ll be able to download your beautifully edited images!

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For more details, take a look at our easy-to-use photo editing service in this brief demo:

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Thanks for reading this article on whether free real estate photo editing software is good or bad. You may also want to check out the following related resources:

Gregory Gronbacher

Real Estate Sales Agent / Professional Blogger

Gregory is a real estate sales agent and a state-certified instructor of real estate licensing and law. Originally from New York City, he's called Grand Rapids, Michigan home since 1995.

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