Airbrush vs PhotoPad
Airbrush
airbrush.comPhotoPad
nchsoftware.comSide by side
| Figure | Airbrush | PhotoPad |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $8/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 5 | 9 |
| Spec score · AI Photo Editors | 9.1 (#3) | 8.9 (#13) |
| Spec score · Photo Editing Software | 8.8 (#19) | 9.3 (#6) |
| Spec score · Photo editors | 8.9 (#14) | 9.2 (#8) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | The privacy policy says Airbrush may collect and process personal information included in text inputs and generated outputs when users use ChatGPT or similar integrated features. | Edited images can be uploaded directly to Twitter, Flickr, Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive. |
| Privacy | The privacy policy says cloud editing uploads photos to Airbrush servers for processing and may receive photo EXIF data. | NCH's privacy statement says it does not store credit card information and will never sell personal data. |
| RAW photo support | Yes | Yes |
| Support | The site links to an Airbrush Help Center and a Contact Us option. | NCH offers email support; telephone and live chat support are listed for customers with Platinum support. |
Plans
Airbrush
- FreeFree
- Credits Pack$9 a month
- Web Plus Monthly$15.95 a month
- Web Plus Annually$95.95 a year
- Credits Pack (10 Credits)$9, paid once
PhotoPad
- Pro Edition Annual PlanPrice not published
- Home Edition Annual PlanPrice not published
- Pro Edition Quarterly PlanPrice not published
- FreeFree
- Free editionFree
- PhotoPad Photo Editor Pro Edition Quarterly Plan$9.99 a month
- PhotoPad Photo Editor Home Edition Annual Plan$34.99 a year
- PhotoPad Photo Editor Pro Edition Annual Plan$39.95 a year
- Pro LicensePrice not published
In their own words
Airbrush
Airbrush is a photo and video editing app with AI filters, skin smoothing, object removal and background adjustment. It runs on web, Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. The mobile app supports video editing; desktop Airbrush Studio adds portrait retouching, image enhancement, batch editing, object removal and smart presets. RAW photo support and batch editing are listed, while cloud sync is not available. Studio supports Windows 10 and 11 and macOS 11 or later. Airbrush has a free plan and advertises a seven-day free trial for downloads. The Free plan is free, with a 512M upload limit and limited access to Magic Image, Magic Video, Portrait, Export and some editing features. Web Plus Monthly costs $15.95 a month and includes 80 monthly credits, 10GB upload space and unlimited exports. Web Plus Annually costs $95.95 a year with the same listed monthly credit and storage allowances. Subscription credits expire at the end of the term if unused; purchased credits remain valid for one year. Cloud editing uploads photos to Airbrush servers for processing, while the Mac Studio page says on-device AI processing does not upload images without consent.
PhotoPad
PhotoPad edits and enhances digital photos and images, with tools for cropping, rotating, resizing, retouching, and adjusting color and exposure. Blur and sharpening controls complement its non-destructive editing: users can undo, reorder, or change effects in a layers list. It can also make collages, photo mosaics, calendars, greeting cards, and photo montages. The maker lists AI-assisted super-resolution resizing, object and background removal, and colorizing black-and-white photos. PhotoPad supports RAW editing and formats including JPG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, and BMP; HDR/exposure blending is also listed. A project can contain up to eight images, and panorama types include wide. Edited pictures can be uploaded directly to Twitter, Flickr, Dropbox, OneDrive, or Google Drive. It is listed for Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web, Windows, and as an extension. The free edition costs nothing and is limited to non-commercial use; no signup is required. Desktop requirements are Windows 7 to 11 or macOS 10.5 or later.