IrfanView vs Photo Mechanic

IrfanView is a Windows graphic viewer with tools for viewing, editing, and processing images. It can convert and process files in batches, rotate and crop JPGs without loss, create slideshows, scan, print, and capture the screen. Editing features include painting tools, effects, watermarking, IPTC editing, and multipage TIFF editing. The maker describes support for many file formats, with plugins adding formats such as AVIF, PDF, SVG, WebP, and camera RAW. Other plugins add OCR, FTP transfer, video playback, Photoshop filters, and PDF support; some require additional software or files. A Shell Extension adds image actions to Windows Explorer and other file managers. IrfanView is listed for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, and 11, in 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Private, non-commercial use is free. Commercial use requires a license; the listed single commercial license costs $18 as a one-time purchase and is perpetual. The maker’s privacy policy says the software does not collect or transmit personal data.

Photo Mechanic is a media browser for viewing, organizing, managing, and exporting digital photos on macOS and Windows. During ingest from memory cards, users can view thumbnails, cull, rate, and tag pictures while copying them. Metadata features include captions, copyright, keywords, IPTC fields, variables, structured keyword lists, and code replacements. Batch editing can copy, delete, tag, watermark, rename, resize, or add IPTC metadata to multiple images.

The software can apply saved GPS tracking logs and add city, state, and country names to photo metadata. It uploads directly to services including PhotoShelter, Zenfolio, Amazon S3, Flickr, and SmugMug, can send files through an existing SMTP email server, and can make web galleries from templates. Photo Mechanic Plus adds an image database for cataloging pictures across storage locations.