The best photo-organizing software
Edited by Jon Martindale
April 29, 2021
Higher quality camera phones and the grand scale of popular social media mean that in 2021, 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 organizing 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.
Software | OS and price | Key features | Rating |
---|---|---|---|
Picverse Photo Editor | $69.95 Windows, macOS | Facial recognition AI-powered editing tools Advanced image editing | 5 out of 5 |
Adobe Bridge | Free (included with CC Subscription) Windows, macOS | Strong labelling and metadata options Batch renaming and export functions Easy to make photo portfolios | 5 out of 5 |
Magix Photo Manager | $50 Windows | Photo touch up options Cloud import from various services Wide image format support | 3.5 out of 5 |
Apple Photos | Free (more storage costs extra) iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, macOS, watchOS | Integrated with other Apple devices and services Intelligent search Comes with some free iCloud storage | 4 out of 5 |
Google Photos | Free (more storage costs extra) Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, Chrome OS | Integrated with other Google services Robust security for library Compatibility across many devices and operating systems | 4.5 out of 5 |
Digikam | Free Windows, macOS, Linux | Supports in-depth metadata Support many file formats Publish directly to social media | 5 out of 5 |
Nikon ViewNX-i | Free with Nikon Cameras Windows, macOS | Easily edit RAW files in the organizer Import directly from your Nikon camera Freely available with all Nikon DSLR Cameras | 3 out of 5 |
Apowersoft Photo Viewer | Free Windows | Native support for HEIC and PDF files Lightweight app uses minimal system resources Batch image processing | 3.5 out of 5 |
PicaJet | Free Windows | Import from cameras, folders, CD, or DVD GPU acceleration for intensive tasks Automated categorization | 2.5 out of 5 |
Smart Pix Manager | $50 Windows, macOS | Automatic keyword generation Encrypted photo storage and password protection Robust search function | 3 out of 5 |
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The best free photo-organizing software

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
Price: Full version costs $69.95, free trial available
Key feature: Automatically selects similar photos
Pros
- Advanced image-editing options
Cons
- Limited free trial period
Picverse Photo Editor is one of the best photo organizers for Windows and macOS, offering a robust set of categorization tools to better organize your photo collection. With a combination of facial recognition, geolocation support, and manual tagging, you can easily manage your digital photo library into a collection that is easier to navigate and find the precise photo or album you're looking for.
The user-friendly interface makes it easier than ever to archive your photos on your computer, with the ability to create new and descriptive albums. If you're planning on sorting out your expansive catalog of pictures in the near future, consider giving Picverse Photo Editor a try.
Not convinced it's worth the full price? Give the free trial a go on your Mac or Windows PC, and see if it's the best photo organizer for you.

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
Price: Included in any Adobe Creative Cloud plan, starting at $9.99
Key feature: Advanced publishing tools
Pros
- Batch editing
- Intelligent picture search function
Cons
- Paid cloud storage can be expensive
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.

Compatibility: Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista
Hard drive space: 600 MB
RAM: 512 MB
Min. Resolution: 1024 × 600
Price: $49.99 for a Deluxe version
Key feature: Facial recognition
Pros
- Excellent touch-up tools for older photos
- Simple interface
Cons
- Limited sharing options
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.

Compatibility: iOS 8 or higher, iPadOS, OS X Yosemite or higher, watchOS, tvOS 10 or higher
Price: Free
Key feature: Allows to edit RAW images
Pros
- Synchronizes your photos through iCloud
- Simple and effective
Cons
- Available only on Apple products
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 free photo organizing software options 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.

Compatibility: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Price: Free up to 15 GB storage space
Key feature: Automatic backup
Pros
- Easy sharing
- Photos are available on any device
Cons
- Only basic photo editing tools
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 15GB 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.

Compatibility: Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP; Mac OS X 10.6 or higher, Linux
Hard drive space: 2 GB
Price: Free
Key feature: Can handle over 100,000 photos
Pros
- Supports RAW files
- Open-source software
Cons
- Image export is complicated
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 databases 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.

Compatibility: Windows 10, 8; macOS Sierra or higher
Hard drive space: 1 GB
RAM: 4 GB
Min. Resolution: 1366 × 768
Price: Free
Key feature: Powerful image processing
Pros
- RAW image processing
- Quick image alteration tools
Cons
- Only supports Nikon cameras
- Not the most expansive range of metadata options
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.

Compatibility: Windows 10, 8, 7
Price: Free
Key feature: Screenshot tool
Pros
- Low lag photo viewing
- Supports HEIC images
Cons
- Doesn’t include a photo management feature
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.
Although once requiring a costly license, Apowersoft Photo Viewer is now entirely free, making it much more accessible than ever before. 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.

Compatibility: Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP
Price: $59.95 for a full version
Key feature: Advanced categorizing of photos
Pros
- A lot of sharing options
- Imports photos directly from the camera
Cons
- The interface is dated
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.

Compatibility: Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP
Disc space: 10 MB
Price: $49.50
Key feature: Batch conversion tool
Pros
- Many ways to organize photos
- Wide range of print templates
Cons
- Not the most intuitive interface
- Limited sharing options
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.
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.
Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale is a writer and author from the United Kingdom. He's written how-to guides and in-depth features for some of the largest digital publications in the world, including Digital Trends, ITProPortal, and Forbes. He's been building and working with computers all his life.

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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 on 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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