Download of the day: Fotor

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Fotor

Some of us are old enough to remember the days when even an average image editing app cost the same as a second-hand car. Those days are long gone, and it’s possible to get a very good image editor for a price tag of exactly zero. Say hello to Fotor.

Why you need it

In exchange for the odd not-too-annoying ad, Fotor offers a good range of image tools. You can apply special effects and add frames and borders, improve the appearance of photos and even get the kind of tilt-shift blurry effects that you’d normally need an expensive camera to achieve.

The emphasis here is on fast results, so for example Fotor has 13 different one-tap scenes that you can use to completely change the appearance of your images. Overly dark scenes are brightened, overly exposed ones are dimmed and colours really punch.

Fotor is free because its creators really want you to buy Fotor Pro, which removes the ads and adds some new features including more editing and full HDR support for really dramatic images. But the free version is pretty feature-packed in its own right, so hurrah for that.

Download here: Fotor

The best free photo editor 2016

Whatever your level of expertise, there's a free photo editor that will give you all the tools you need to make your pictures look amazing. These are our three favorite free tools for optimizing your images.

For more details, see our complete guide to the best free photo editors

1. GIMP

The most fully-featured free photo editor around, GIMP is powerful enough for just about any task.

2. Paint.NET

Not quite as feature-packed as GIMP, but Paint.NET's streamlined interface makes everyday photo editing a breeze.

3. PhotoScape

PhotoScape appears simple, but delve a little deeper and you'll find RAW conversion, photo splitting and merging, and animated GIF creation.