Do you find yourself looking for more from your Instagram account? Tired of food porn that, truth be told, does not actually rev anyone’s engines? Feel like ditching the photography amateurs? Or just looking to mix things up? There are alternatives to the much beloved Instagram. And, hey, I’m not knocking Instagram! There is a certain convenience to Instagram, with its connections to Facebook and all the other major social media outlets. Instagram surpasses Twitter in user numbers: over 400 million. We’ve written several articles about Instagram, from best accounts to follow to centering your bio. But like all apps (and bathing suits), one size does not fit all, despite what you may see online (and at water parks).
But where to turn? How do I choose? Can I really just peace out of Instagram? Well, slow down and breathe. This is all hypothetical. Appamatix is here to bring you some different options. Some you will, no doubt, have heard of; others, perhaps not. The bottom line is, we are here to bring you 5 Apps Like Instagram & Photography Alternatives, for you to try at your convenience and inclination.
There are no bad pictures; that’s just how your face looks sometimes. — Abraham Lincoln
5 Apps Like Instagram & Photography Alternatives
But first, can we just take a moment to really appreciate the above quote from our sixteenth president; like, did he really essentially say, “Your face”? I think he did. And I am so happy that that is a thing in the world. Ah, the internet.
Anywho, Instagram.
Love it or hate it, let’s talk about it for hot minute. Instagram was co-founded by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, both Stanford University grads, and was launched way back in 2010. It’s a free app available for iPhone and Android phones.
Also, unless you have been under a rock, you have heard of hashtags (#). Well, this now common convention was introduced by Instagram in 2011 to optimize photo views. In 2012, Instagram was acquired by Facebook, which gave the app and site a level of large-scale support, a soupçon of staying power, and an air of legitimacy that have helped to shut out a number of would-be competitors.
In 2015, Instagram introduced Layout, a separate app for doctoring and then publishing your photos. And today, Instagram is one of the top social media platforms out there. It’s simple and stream-lined, not über-political like Twitter and Facebook can be, and personal. What’s not to love? Unless you are Essena O’Neill, the Australian teen who had over six hundred thousand Instagram followers and had a drastic change of heart in late 2015, deleting her account. See, not everyone loves Instagram.
So, are you ready to see some alternatives to Instagram? The rules I have tried to follow here in choosing these alternatives are pretty straight forward: I want to feature apps that are preferably free, apps that are available for iPhone and Android, and apps that have features that Instagram does not. Bear in mind there are other great photo sharing and editing apps which are exclusively for iOS or Android, but we are huge fans of options here at Appamatix. But we’ll be sure to throw out some names of those other exclusive apps down at the bottom of the article. So without further ado, here are Appamatix’s offerings for Instagram and Photography App Alternatives.
Flickr
“I knew it,” you say. “I knew they would put Flickr in there.” Alright, you guessed it. You’re incredibly perceptive. You also have something between your teeth. (If I’m inventing a version of you to have this conversation with, I’m not going to give up all of my authority in this exchange.) Here — I’ll make you a deal. This one won’t count. I’ll give you five more. Just remember, there are people who maybe haven’t heard of Flickr, or for people who have only heard of it, and have no substantive experience with the app and site. So if you’re rolling your eyes at this one, it’s not for you. Skip to the next one. For those for whom Flickr is a new name or you’ve heard of it and have been curious but haven’t had a chance to try it out, allow me to give you a proper introduction. Flickr really may be the best Instagram alternative.
- Free
- Available for iOS and Android
- A Yahoo, Inc. product (Man, Yahoo used to own the internet! Okay, okay, I’m old.)
- 1000 GB of cloud based photo storage
- Opportunity to license photos you find thru Getty Images
- You can give friends and family permission to organize your photos
- Comprehensive search feature. At first blush, this looks like one of those stupid filler comments, like when first-generation DVDs used to boast “interactive menus,” but it’s something to pay attention to—the more you use Flickr (or whatever service you settle on) the harder it’s going to be to find just the right photo that you’re looking for. A good search system should be a priority for users expecting to go high-volume here.
- Ability to link on other sites
To sign up for Flickr, click here. To download Flickr, click here.
Pixlr
And continuing with the “apps missing an ‘e'” category, we have Pixlr.
- Free
- Available for iOS and Android
- Desktop version — and I want to call attention to this, because soooo many apps assume that you only ever want to use your phone for the rest of your life. But if you have a decent computer, or at least have a neck made of fragile human materials, you’re not going to want to spend all your waking hours craning at your screen and poking around with its inferior real estate. I’m actually surprised at the relative dearth of apps that offer desktop extensions.
- Very user-friendly
- Real time effects, meaning you can add all the bells and whistles even before you snap the shot
- Share on social media directly from app
- Screen grabber browser extension
Read all about and download Pixlr here.
Snapseed
Of our Instagram alternatives, Snapseed (which has two e’s, but is a bit of a miniature tongue twister) has been a bit of a dark horse, and doesn’t have quite the name recognition of some of the others. However, it was recently acquired by Google so it’s playing in the major leagues now. (I, for one, am still mourning the loss of Songza to Google Play but that’s neither here nor there. *sigh*).
- Free
- Available for iOS and Android
- Simple touch, tap, and swipe editing gestures
- Nice user interface
- Fun filters
Snapseed for iOS here. And for Android here.
Camera360 Ultimate
Camera360 Ultimate is widely used, much like Instagram. But honestly, it’s just a lot more fun.
- Free
- Available for iOS and Android
- Over 400 million users
- Lots of cloud storage
- No ads or in app purchases
- Ability to save and delete and rearrange filters you love or hate
To download Camera360 Ultimate for Android, click here. To download for iOS, click here.
Adobe Photoshop Express
What can I really say about Photoshop. It’s just great. And now it has an app that’s great, too. And you don’t have to be a wizard to use it.
- Free
- Available for iOS, Android, and Windows
- Remember that free thing? Well, there are in-app purchases but still some free stuff
- iPad version: Adobe Photoshop Mix
- Edit and share
Check out Adobe Photoshop Express here.
Retrica
- Free
- Available for Android, Windows, and iOS
- Think vintage
- Live filters
- Photo booth type experience with collage feature
- Add the company watermark so everyone knows how you got your photo so awesome
You can check out and download Retrica here.
Honorable Mentions:
There is such a wealth of photo sharing and editing apps, it is impossible to choose just 5 or 6. I want to highlight PicsArt Photo Studio for a couple of reasons: first, it not only fits the criterion of free and available for iOS and Android, but is also available for (bonus!) our oft- forgotten Windows friends. Through PicsArt, you can share to your Facebook or Twitter or even Whatsapp. PicsArt has a complete drawing toolset, along with hundreds of filters and some stickers, etc. If you are artistically inclined, this is the app for you!
And for the professional photographers out there, check out 500px. 500px is the photo sharing community for the pros and enthusiasts. You can share your photos, sell your photos, buy photos, and of course, edit your photos with Adobe tools within the app. Best of all, you can just peruse and discover millions of amazing photos, and in 500px, you won’t be looking at just square photos. Users vote on favorites and guest editors curate collections. If you are a pro and technically minded photographer, give 500px a look see.
If you are an iOS user, you may look into Hipstamatic Classic. It is not free, but it has great filters and is very well known in the iOS world for the vintage looking photos it produces. It’s also available for Windows, but the Hipstamatic company has confirmed that there will be no more updates for the app for Windows phones (last updated in early 2014)… so that sucks. Another iOS exclusive: Camera+. Another paid app, but boasts some nice features and is available for iPad.
For you Android users, check out Camera MX for your capturing and editing needs. It’s free and exclusively for Android devices.
Finally, since Instagram’s Layout is so vital to some people’s Instagram, I wanted to let y’all know there are alternatives to Layout as well! Check out FotoRus, which is free and available for both iOS and Android.
Now it’s your turn! Please share in the comments the photo sharing and editing apps you love best!