Best Photo & Video Apps for Mac (2026)

Adobe still anchors most serious Mac workflows, and Lightroom Classic plus Photoshop is what we reach for when a job has to be right. Lightroom keeps thousands of raw files organized, while Photoshop handles retouching nothing else matches. It is subscription only, from about 10 dollars a month, so it suits working creatives more than casual editors. Masking felt noticeably snappier on Apple silicon.

Procreate made its name on iPad, and it is a natural pick for illustrators who also work at a desk. Paired with a drawing tablet on a Mac, the brushes feel responsive and layered files open fast. It is a one time purchase rather than a subscription, which we love, and the price stays low. If you sketch, letter, or paint, this is the friendliest creative app here.

If you edit video on a Mac and Adobe feels heavy, Final Cut Pro is the answer. Apple tuned it for its own chips, so 4K timelines scrub without stutter and exports finish fast. The magnetic timeline takes a day to click, then you fly. It is a one time purchase near 300 dollars with a generous trial. We cut a full travel video without a single beachball.

Resolve is the free download that genuinely embarrasses paid editors, and on a Mac it runs beautifully. The color page is Hollywood grade, the edit page is fast, and the audio tools are proper. Most people never need the paid Studio version. It suits anyone serious about grading. In our testing the free tier handled a multi clip 4K edit and color pass on a MacBook Air.

Pixelmator Pro is the photo editor we recommend most to Mac owners who do not want a subscription. It feels native because it is, with tools that remove backgrounds and upscale images in a click. The interface is calm and it is a one time purchase around 50 dollars. For everyday retouching, it hits a sweet spot pricier iPad photo apps rarely match on a big screen.

Affinity Photo is the closest thing to Photoshop you can buy outright, and it runs smoothly on Intel and Apple silicon alike. Layers, masks, raw development, and retouching are all here, with a panorama and HDR merge that quietly impressed us. It suits photographers who want pro power without a monthly bill. The one time price sits near 70 dollars. We edited a 42 megapixel raw file with zero lag.

Photomator is Lightroom's friendliest rival on the Mac, built by the Pixelmator team. It reads your Photos library directly, applies smart adjustments with one tap, and syncs edits across devices. There is a free tier, with a subscription or one time unlock for everything. It suits anyone who lives in Apple Photos and wants better results without learning a catalog. The denoise tool saved a few low light shots.

CapCut is the free video editor most people should try first, especially for social clips. The Mac app is surprisingly capable, with auto captions, trendy transitions, and effects that make short videos look polished in minutes. It is free with optional paid extras, and the learning curve is gentle. We turned a pile of phone clips into a tidy one minute edit, captions and all.

iMovie comes free on every Mac, and for many people it is all the video editing they will ever need. Drag in clips, trim, drop a title and a soundtrack, and export. It is genuinely good for home movies and quick recaps, and the trailers feature is a delight. When you outgrow it, projects open straight in Final Cut Pro, making it a smart free Mac app to begin with.

Snapseed is Google's free photo editor, and Mac users running it through the App Store get precise tools at no cost. The selective adjustments and healing brush punch well above the price, which is zero. It suits anyone who wants quick, sharp edits without opening anything heavy. We used it to rescue a slightly flat sunset photo in under a minute, and the result looked like it took far longer.

VSCO is for people who care about a consistent look more than heavy editing. Its film inspired presets give photos a cohesive mood with one tap, which is why creators lean on it for a tidy feed. There is a free set of tools, with a paid membership unlocking the full library. We ran a shoot through one preset and the whole gallery felt finished.

Remini is the app you open when an old or blurry photo needs rescuing. Its AI upscaling and face enhancement can turn a soft, low resolution image into something usable, which feels close to magic the first time. It is free to try, with a subscription for heavier use. It suits anyone restoring old family pictures. In our testing it brought real detail back to a grainy decade old photo.

Canva makes non designers look capable, and it runs well as a Mac app rather than just a browser tab. Templates cover social posts, thumbnails, simple video edits, and presentations, so it pulls double duty for creators and small businesses. The free tier is generous, with Pro adding brand kits and background removal. It pairs naturally with your other Mac productivity tools when a project needs polish and speed.

Video Star is the music video maker beloved by younger creators for its beat synced effects and transitions. It leans mobile first, so on a Mac it is best run through compatible methods, but fans seek it out for edits that look different from the usual templates. It is free with paid effect packs. The effect library kept a short edit from ever looking generic.

Photoshop Express is Adobe's free, lightweight editor for people who want Photoshop polish without the full app or a subscription. Quick fixes, filters, blemish removal, and collages are a tap away, and it handles raw files better than you would expect for free. It suits casual editors wanting fast cleanups before posting. We ran a batch of quick crops and color tweaks through it and it never once felt sluggish.