15 online photo editors compared

(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CBS Interactive)

Tools that let you edit photos in the web browser have come a long way in the last few years. We wanted to take a moment to do a feature comparison with a grouping of editors — big and small, to see what each one is capable of. You should also have a look at our photo gallery to see these editors in action.

Most of the services on this list take advantage of Adobe's ever-developing Flash platform, which in its latest iteration got a huge boost with support for the large images coming out of today's high-megapixel cameras. On the flip side of that, several of the non-Flash-based editors use AJAX to make the changes happen without reloading the page. The benefit here is that you can run these on machines without the latest versions of Flash installed.

While not an exhaustive list of features, we wanted to focus on some of the ones that really mattered, like how much each service costs to use, how large of a photo you can upload, and what makes each one special. Here are the results:

Two small caveats about size: in most cases, any difference in the maximum photo resolution is a result of which version of Flash the tool — or the user — is running. In Aviary's case, its Phoenix photo editor uses the Flash 9 spec, thus only supporting images up to 2800x2800 in size. Its next release, due later this year, will nearly double that resolution.

Also, the maximum resolution doesn't necessarily mean if your original photo is bigger, it won't take it. Instead, what many of these services will do is simply scale it down to something that's more manageable both for your machine and its servers. Photos with odd aspect ratios are often constrained within the proportion of pixels any given editing app can render within its available workspace.

So which one is the best?

That's a difficult question. It depends on what you're trying to do. If you want to add glitter graphics to a picture to put on your MySpace profile, you should go with Lunapic. If you're trying to edit the RAW photos you just took on your new SLR, you're only going to be able to do it on Snipshot's paid pro service.

Nearly all of the services have API plug-ins with various photo-hosting services and social networks, so when you're done with a shot you can send it out elsewhere. Those that don't still let you save a local copy to your computer in one of many popular formats — and most importantly, without any kind of branding or watermarking on the original.

Ultimately what should win you over is the feel and needed utility of the site. Two of our personal recommendations are Picnik and Fotoflexer, both of which strike a good balance between serious editing tools and things that tweenagers would go ga-ga for, like zany fonts and heart stamps. You can use either set of tools without feeling like they're in your face.

Another office favourite is Photoshop online. It certainly has its faults, but for newbies who don't want to shell out for Adobe's pricey Lightroom or Photoshop software, it's incredibly simple to use and renders editing previews with amazing speed.

Did we miss one? Let us know by leaving your personal favourites in the comments below.