If you are looking for a replacement for picnik, go straight to PicMonkey . com.
All your dreams will come true.
For back up options, keep reading.
Google and Picnik recently released an official announcement that they would be closing the online photo editing tool as of April 19, 2012. Picnik happens to be one of the SITS girlsfavorite online editing resources, we’ve been utilizing Picnik and singing it’s praises for years now. It was a platform that provided bloggers like us a quick and easy fix for photos we wanted to improve and share online.
So why is Google shutting down Picnik?
Because Google wants to use all those amazing Picnik photo editing tools on Google+. Now when you upload a photo to Google+ you will see an option to edit your photo…looks familiar doesn’t it?
It contains a LOT of the editing tools we’ve grown to love Picnik for.
Adding these elements to Google+ may be a way to gain more users as well as to give Google+ a leg up on Facebook. It really is a great addition to the platform, but already I see some drawbacks. I don’t want to store every photo I edit on Google+. I’ve already experienced the repercussions that arise with so many Google owned accounts…could they block me out of access to my own pictures as well? I want the option of editing and then saving my photos to other sites (like Flickr and Facebook), and lastly I really enjoyed the Picnik collages. It made displaying a lot of pictures in one spot super easy.
So what are some other photo editing sites like Picnik?
I’m glad you asked. I spent hours playing with tons of free options, including the and these two were the closest to Picnik I could find:
1. Pixlr Express is the faster “no brains” version of Pixlr and my favorite alternative when it comes down to ease of use and filters. It claims to be the “best online photo editor in the world” and I have to admit the site is pretty darn intuitive. It appears they’re already prepared for Picnik’s lost users:
Pros
-Easy to use!
-A list of 50 really great filters
-Awesome textures and borders
-Pixlr phone app available
-A more advanced “Photoshop” type editor available for more complex photo editing.
-Easy to use!
-A list of 50 really great filters
-Awesome textures and borders
-Pixlr phone app available
-A more advanced “Photoshop” type editor available for more complex photo editing.
Cons
-Pixlr Express does not have some of our “beautifying” Picnik favorites including airbrush, blemish fixer, etc…
-Saves only to your computer without the option of saving to social media platforms.
-Because it’s so simple and easy to use there are no Collages or functions to add doodles, text, speech bubbles etc to photos…unless that’s what Pixlr Editor version of the site is for?
2. FotoFlexer calls itself the “world’s most advanced online editor”…I’m seeing a trend here. Hokey taglines aside, FotoFlexer makes it clear on it’s front page exactly what it’s capable of doing for your photos and I appreciate that. Right away I see that adding text, shapes, and effects are all things that can be done here. Between the two it operates more like Picnik, but in my opinion falls way short when it comes to nice filter options.
Pros
-Easy Collages. They don’t have the diverse choices Picnik had, but better than nothing.
-Doodles, text, speech bubbles etc
-”beautify” tools for airbrushing or smoothing
-Allows you to share/save your photos to other platforms (Flickr, Facebook, Photobucket, Twitter, etc…)
-Advanced tools and layers
-Easy Collages. They don’t have the diverse choices Picnik had, but better than nothing.
-Doodles, text, speech bubbles etc
-”beautify” tools for airbrushing or smoothing
-Allows you to share/save your photos to other platforms (Flickr, Facebook, Photobucket, Twitter, etc…)
-Advanced tools and layers
Cons
-The 32 Filters leave much to be desired
If you’re in the mood to research even more alternatives Phixr, BeFunky, LunaPic, FlauntR,Aviary, and Dr.Pic were all popular sites that cropped up in my searches, but in my opinion fell short due to poor functionality and/or other limitations.
And since none of the options listed above offer the same array of collages that Picnik allowed us to choose from, I may end up using a site specifically designed for collages only.Big Huge Labs Mosaic Maker has great options for easy collage making and Diptic is an easy phone app option for collage making.
If you have a smart phone than you may be aware of some pretty amazing photo editing apps you can use right from your phone and then save or upload to your favorite site or email account. Phone alternatives I love: Instagram, Snapseed (desktop option available),Hipstamatic, Poladroid CameraBag, PhotoStudio, and for collages Diptic.
Unfortunately there is no one stop shop alternative to Picnik unless you want to download and learn a software program similar to Photoshop…and even that is not as fast as popping a photo onto Picnik for editing. For now, this might mean utilizing two different sites to produce a photo just the way you’d like. A site like Pixlr or a phone app might be great for adding filters/borders, but Foto Flexer or Big Huge Labs Mosiac Maker might be the place to go for adding extra elements to your photo or for creating a very simple collage.
It’s just a matter of time before any one of these photo editing sites steps up their game to provide all of the same functions Picnik offered. For now, we make do…and mourn the loss of our favorite photo editing service. At least we know there ARE other options.
Rest in Peace Picnik.
For more on photo editing check out another post we published on Free Photo Editing and Collage Sites.
