The best photo editing app to download 2014

Pro Camera 7 (iOS)

A replacement for the stock iOS camera app, but one that combines a great quality snapper with a whole host of editing tech. You have much more control over your options here, from exposure altering to choosing a specific point of focus, overall you'll end up with much better shots. There's also rapid firing, live data and a self timer, basically every photo option you could want. After you've snapped you can apply of host of after effects, from unique filters to the ones Apple added in iOS 7. A fantastic step up from the in-built app.

69p | Pro Camera 7

Photo Editor by Aviary (iOS

A great multiplatform app that performs really well on Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 - if you've recently picked up a Nokia Lumia 1520, this is a must download. With one tap you can auto-enhance your snaps, the continue to add to the effects with loads of filters and even some stickers to add that extra bit of charm. All the cropping, resizing and blur/sharpening tools are here, completing a pretty fully featured app.

Free | Aviary

Android

Take the filtering experience away from that small screen and edit your snaps on the big screen, using the full power of your Mac in the process. The filters themselves are some of the best we've seen, probably down to the non-destructive 32-bits-per-component floating-point architecture that is used to build them - basically this keeps the quality up, even when layering. You can even create your own and transfer to the iPad and iPhone companion apps.

Lightweight in its build, it opens quickly and navigation is silky smooth - with shots adjusting and transforming in next to no time. It also looks utterly drool worthy on a Retina MacBook Pro

£7.99 (Mac) £1.49 (iOS) | Never Center

Windows 8

Truly an image editing app that works anywhere, Fotor has specially built apps for iOS, Android, Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, along with a fully featured online client. Simply upload an image, resize, crop, add effects and the like and then you can save it back to your desktop. No extra app downloads needed. You can also create neat looking collages - which combine multiple snaps in a load of different way and make personalised greetings cards.

The mobile apps boast lots of filters, sharing options and an in-build camera to shoot right from the app.

Free | Fotor

Windows Phone 8 )

Owned by Google, Snapseed is a powerful after effects package that goes way beyond just adding simple, hipsterish filters to your snaps. Images can be tweaked and adjusted manually or through the Auto Correct option if you're looking to save time, while the shadow slider adds that professional touch. The UI is neat and easy and the gesture based system for upping the individual settings is surprisingly intuitive.

Rocking a Nexus 7? The Android version has a great tablet interface that really makes the most of the extended screen real estate.

Free | Snapseed

Camerabag 2 (iOS

Finally released on Android, VSCO cam is easily one of our favourite photo editing apps that produces some stunning snaps, boasts great filters and is so simple to use and master. The camera UI lets you select your focus zone, then shoot - all this is super snappy and responsive. Filters are plentiful and moving through them is quick as is changing the contrast, temperature and exposure.

Once you're photos are taken and edited, you can view them all on a clever maps - complete with metadata and locations.

Free | VSCO

Mac)

This alternative to Photoshop may not be quite as feature rich as the photo manipulation king, yet with a much lower price tag and a broad range of useful options, it's a great app for a Mac. With support for layers, colour adjustments, re-touching, a multitude of effects and custom shapes, along with selection tools and paintbrushes it definitely doesn't fall overly short of Adobe's behemoth. The interface is great; stylish and simple while iCloud syncing means you can keep working across multiple machines.

Pixelmator has just upgraded to the latest version, and it's the best one yet. You can now quickly colour layer styles, add lovely looking gradients and shape images with the fantastic liquefy tool. There's a new image editing engine, and Pixelmator 3 FX takes full advantage of OSX Mavericks.

£20.99 | Pixelmator

Fotor (iOS

While this app may be built for use in the Chrome browser, it can also be used offline so it's a must have if your laptop of choice is a Chromebook. It's definitely not the most comprehensive app on our list, but that doesn't mean it doesn't pack features. You'll easily be able to crop, resize, rotate, enhance colours and play about with the contrast. Effects are included too, so you won't feel left out of the filter loving crowd. As its built for Chrome, it links directly with Google Drive, saving your images across your Google account.

Free | Pixlr

Android

Something a bit different here - instead of adding effects, Photosynth builds a 3D panorama of your surrounding area, but does it to 360 degrees, creating a full sphere. It's quick to do, builds right into the camera on Windows Phone 8 and is easily sharable with a load of social networks. It's simple, but it works.

Free | Photosynth

Windows 8

The original king of power picture editing, Photoshop has been condensed into a touch friendly product for your Android and iOS devices. Manipulate your snaps with classic Photoshop features such as layers, selection tools, adjustments, and filters and use the camera to add in special extra bits. Everything works great with your finger and feels much more natural than using a mouse plus the helpful tutorial talk you through achieving some awesome looking photos.

Thanks to Adobe Creative Cloud, you can upload your work and continue editing on the desktop versions of Photoshop. Clever, eh?

£6.99 (tablets) £2.99 (phones) | Adobe