Every pixel is a verdict.
We install the image editors, push them through real edits, time the crops, and rate the polish. The mosaic below is what we found — each tile a small report, arranged like the pixels they push.
Speed wins.
Polish keeps.
1:1 Real edits, not feature lists
3 Axes scored: speed, polish, hold-up
0 Marketing copy reused
“If we wouldn't run a real client job through it, it doesn't get a number on this page.”
— the bench notes$ open editor $ start timer $ make the edit $ stop, score, ship
Quick crops?
Different winner.
One ranking can't cover every kind of edit.
A pocket retoucher beats a heavyweight on a quick fix. A heavyweight saves the day on a forty-layer composite. So the mosaic is sorted by the work, not by a single overall score.
Batch runs welcome.
Bring the folder.
The bench is small, the testing isn't.
A short list of editors, each one taken seriously — installed, set up, pushed through a deliberate routine of crops, retouches, batch runs, and exports. The notes that survive that routine become the tiles on this page.
Install & first-launch time Crop & straighten under 30s Skin-tone retouch realism Batch of 100, exported clean
Free tools
get tested too.
Edit a photo we should put on the bench?
Send the file, the editor you used, and what slowed you down. We add it to the next round of tests when it fits the routine.
Updated when an editor ships an update that matters.