Top 11 Picasa Alternatives

In 2016, Google discontinued its support and focused on improving Google Photos. As a free application, Picasa has reached the largest possible audience of users worldwide. After all, for its time, this app offered innovative approaches to work with the archive of photos and knew no equal. 

Some users are still not finding a worthy replacement for the Picasa desktop, so they download Picasa from illegal, dubious sources. Still, it is worth noting that no one is immune from the risk of catching a virus in such cases. So, what are alternatives that are just as good as Picasa?

1. Luminar Neo: Best for Advanced AI Features

• Platform: Windows and macOS

• Price: Priced at $49 per year, this plan includes access to all tools, AI photo editing features, and extensions

There is no doubt that Luminar Neo will amaze both core fans of Picasa and professionals searching for reliable and powerful software. The app offers such attractive features as layered editing, advanced masking, LUT mapping, and other useful tools that will change your photos into real masterpieces.

Plus, this updated alternative has some new features. The most wonderful one is Sky AI, which allows users to change the sky in their image with just one click. Such benefits as improved Structure AI and Skin AI make this application one of the best Picasa alternatives available in the market.

Beyond that, you can use it as a standalone photo editor or as a plugin for Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. Although it’s not a free program, its price includes all ongoing updates and support. 

2. Google Photos: Best for Seamless Cloud Storage 

• Platform: Android, iOS, and Web

• Price: Free up to 15GB, with subscription-based upgrades via Google One (starting at around $1.99/month for 100GB)

Although many users say that the main drawback of this application is its interface, there are a lot of people who adore this free cloud-based photo archive. Speaking of cloud services for image management, it is impossible not to mention Google because of its huge popularity. Its main difference from iCloud is that it provides only part of the ecosystem—there are mobile applications for iOS and Android, but no desktop applications. 

On the computer, the developer suggests using only the browser, which is quite in line with the philosophy and view of the future. This image viewer may provide the opportunity to save an unlimited number of HD videos and images up to 16 MP. Also, it’s possible to connect to the archive via any computer, smartphone, or tablet whenever you want.

3. ACDSee Photo Studio: Best for Professional Photo Management & Advanced Editing

• Platform: Windows, macOS and iOS

• Price: Starting at $89.99/year (with one-time purchase options available)

This application is a perfect choice if you are looking for a cheap and easy-to-use Picasa alternative with a photo gallery. It has various features necessary to find the right picture out of thousands in a couple of seconds. All that you need to do is just to use Manage mode. It opens the library of your shots, where you can index categories, labels, and scores.

The program’s advantages are its well-thought-out and rich archive management functionality, functional import, and the ability to classify photos into categories and put color labels. There’s a good slideshow with Picasa-like animation and face recognition, as well as progressive file format support. There is a good set of editing features: cropping, color correction, red-eye removal, retouching, and more.

4. Adobe Lightroom CC: Best for Seamless Cloud Editing & Organization

• Platform: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Web 

• Price: Subscription-based—starting at around $9.99/month as part of the Photography Plan

In case you are a fan of Adobe products and want to keep all your images in reliable online storage, this app is just what you are looking for. Furthermore, you will be able to edit your pictures with the help of any available device.

This tool for photo editing, like Picasa, can provide you with information about any of your images. It can show the file name, capture date, format, and size of the image, and even the camera settings that were used when the picture was taken. If you use the camera provided with a GPS tracker, you will be able to see the information about the location where your photos were captured.

This service can be recommended to those who are professionally engaged in photography, shoot with a professional camera, and want to take the most out of the pictures. It not only allows you to manage your photos but also contains many other functions: color correction, editing, retouching, and other tools that are really high quality. 

5. Zoner Photo Studio X: Best for Intuitive Photo Management & Streamlined Editing

• Platform: Windows

• Price: Priced at $5.99 per month or $59 per year

This replacement for Google Picasa is a perfect combination of image organizer and editor that has the necessary tools for the professional enhancement of your pictures. The simple-to-use app supports over 50 file formats, including RAW, GIF, PNG, JPG, and PDF. Besides, it offers an amazing variety of photo editing features, such as 38 creative filters, Developer Mode, a cloning tool, etc.

Due to its advanced organizing system, it’s possible to use this replacement for Picasa to put all your images in order. Use various tags, color labels, and keywords to find anything. Besides, you can organize your pictures with the help of EXIF data or information about their GPS locations. This application is a great option for a photographer who needs to sort thousands of photos. 

6. Microsoft Photos: Best for Basic Photo Management & Seamless Windows

• Platform: Windows

• Price: Free—included with Windows

Microsoft managed to develop an app that has a chance to fight off competition and become one of the best photo editor in the market. The first thing that salutes the eye is its user-friendly interface with thumbnails of your photos. You won’t face any difficulties if you haven’t utilized photo editing software before.

The Picasa replacement for Windows provides its users with wonderful photo editing features that can be used to create eye-catching images. It has all the necessary and popular tools, including picture rotation, color correction, exposure, etc. Besides, its amazing histogram feature allows for highlighting shadows, changing brightness, and adjusting color temperature.

This app lets users import and keep files organized using keywords and tags. It’s possible to create various folders if you want to find any image within several seconds. Moreover, users can share all their uploaded and edited photos on Facebook, YouTube, or other popular platforms without problems. 

7. Phototheca: Best for Efficient Photo Organization & Smart Tagging

Platform: Windows 

Price: Starting at $59.95 for a lifetime license

Phototheca offers wonderful features perfect for editing, viewing, and sharing your pictures. You’ll definitely be amazed by its smart albums and photo collections. The app will automatically create albums with images that have a lot of common features in your photo library. 

Besides, this software is an ideal choice for photographers who must protect their photos. Just set your password, and it’ll be impossible to open this or that image without your permission. 

8. PhotoScape: Best for Quick and Fun Photo Editing

• Platform: Windows, macOS 

• Price: Free

PhotoScape is definitely worth your attention if you are looking for a free photo editor similar to Picasa that will help you enhance and manage your pictures. The great fact is that it allows users to create GIF animation and draw digital pictures. Besides, the software provides its users with tons of filters and effects that can make their photos unique and more attractive.

Due to the user-friendly interface, even beginners won’t face any difficulties using this app. And the RAW converter is another great benefit of this Picasa alternative. Although the software is provided only in English and Korean languages, it’s possible to download a special language package to overcome this problem.

9. IrfanView: Best for Fast, Lightweight Image Viewing & Basic Editing

• Platform: Windows

• Price: Free and on a perpetual license at $12

It may be difficult to find a perfect image viewer that can surpass your expectations instead of Picasa, but this app certainly copes with this task. It has all the tools necessary to manage and edit your photos. Besides, you can install plugins to access a wider choice of opportunities. Even though it has an unattractive old-fashioned interface, it offers impressive performance speed. It works with files larger than 25 MB without any lags or crashes.

10. FastStone Image Viewer: Best for Quick Image Browsing & Basic Editing

• Platform: Windows 

• Price: Free for personal use (donations accepted)

This software works with all popular formats, including JPEG, PNG, GIF, and RAW. The app’s editing tools include not only basic color correction and cropping but also a photo editor clone tool and unsharp masking.

Plus, there is a portable app version that doesn’t require installation. You may just download it to the USB flash device to use your favorite photo editor whenever you need it. Yet, take into account that the app works only with Windows OS.

11. macOS Photos Mac: Best for Deep Apple Ecosystem Integration & Advanced Photo Curation

• Platform: macOS 

• Price: Free (included with macOS)

This is the most advanced cloud service for working with photos because it is much more than just a photo editor to replace Picasa. It is an entire ecosystem comprising the iPhone, the Photos app on the macOS, and iCloud itself. And it’s all seamlessly integrated. 

Working with Photos is maximally simplified, uploading to the cloud is automatic, there is synchronization between devices of the same user, and there is also a very convenient way to share with family and relatives.

Also, the software has awesome features like Face Recognition. Due to this feature, you’ll be able to find photos of your friends or relatives in a couple of seconds. Additionally, you can use keywords for faster searches. And, of course, it’s possible to see the information about the location where the picture was taken.

Plus, this app has incredible editing tools, such as white balance settings and noise reduction. It’s even possible to use a special Retouch tool that can fix your images and make them flawless.

Wrapping Up

As you can see, it’s been many years since support for Picasa ceased, and the situation with alternatives is pretty clear. There are many worthy direct analogs, and you can easily find a perfect Google Picasa desktop alternative.

It’s a no-brainer that Picasa was an awesome app for image viewing and organization, but right now, there are better photo editors that offer newer and more advanced features. That’s why you shouldn’t be afraid of changes, and it’ll be a great idea to check out each app from the list. With this guide, you can be sure that you’ll definitely find the software that will satisfy all your needs.