The best free image managers on PC

You are searching in vain for the latest photos from your vacation… You must have acquired a bad habit of copying all your photos onto your hard drive without sorting them or taking the time to organize them properly. And now you're biting your fingers…

Whether you're a photography enthusiast or just someone who loves capturing precious moments, managing your photos on your computer can quickly become a real challenge. Between sorting, organizing, editing, and sharing your photos, it's essential to have a powerful tool that adapts to your needs from the very first stage of organization. Fortunately, there are many photo management programs on your computer that can make your work easier.

What are the basic features of the photo manager?

Before introducing you to the different free image managers, it is important that you know the main features that you should look for in such a tool. A good photo manager should, above all, be compatible with many file formats, but also with many sources (digital camera, memory card, smartphone, etc.), in order to quickly import all your photos and then sort them optimally. .

By default, image managers integrate some sorting filters, such as date, to organize them chronologically, but the most powerful tools also allow the user to add custom tags, labels, create albums, folders, categories… and depending on the EXIF ​​file metadata retrieved, It may be possible to sort them by camera, location, lens…

The viewer is also one of the essential features, allowing you to preview images before sharing them, retouching them, editing them, deleting them, etc.

Of course, it is possible to find more advanced tools using artificial intelligence to recognize faces, colors and type of shots (portraits, landscapes, etc.), but in general, such programs are paid or accompany a paid editor. In this choice, We have only selected free tools-Focused on managing and organizing your photos.

What are the best image managers?

XnView MP, the most complete

XnView MP is a cross-platform image manager (Windows, Mac, Linux) that stands out for its versatility and number of features that it includes for free. Although its interface may seem a little complicated at first, once you get familiar with its tools, you'll discover a true Swiss army knife for managing your photos.

One of the main strengths of XnView MP is its ability to support a wide range of image formats, including raw RAW formats from SLR cameras. In terms of management tools, it is possible to create categories to organize your images and take advantage of the Viewer and Explorer. The built-in editing tool gives you plenty of editing, cropping, and adjustment options, giving you precise control over the look of your photos.

The batch processing feature allows you to quickly perform repetitive tasks on multiple images, such as resizing, converting format, or adding metadata.

FastStone Image Viewer, a light and fast solution

Downloadable only on Windows PCs, FastStone Image Viewer is ideal for users who want a simple and effective solution without having to get lost in a complex interface. Despite its small size, this program offers a full set of tools to view, edit, and manage your photos. Its interface reminiscent of Windows Explorer allows you to get started quickly.

It supports a wide range of popular image formats as well as RAW formats. It can even play video and audio files. When it comes to organizing multimedia files, the program helps you tag and rate your images, so you can quickly find the best ones, and it's even possible to attach a caption to JPG files.

A full screen viewer, slide show editor, color editing and correction tools as well as filters and special effects are among the many features available for free (for personal use).

Adobe Bridge, the power of Adobe for image management

If you're familiar with the tools in the Adobe suite and have an account (free or paid), Adobe Bridge is probably the image manager best suited to your needs. Adobe Bridge integrates closely with other Adobe applications such as Photoshop, Lightroom, or InDesign, and provides an image management experience that is fully in sync with the entire Adobe ecosystem.

With Adobe Bridge, you can browse, view, and manage your media files directly from a central interface. The software for Windows and Mac also provides powerful, non-destructive editing tools, allowing you to adjust the parameters of your images without changing the original files. So you can edit and apply presets, add metadata, and more, all in a familiar, intuitive environment.

IrfanView, a free and lightweight image manager

IrfanView is a free, lightweight image manager for Windows, distinguished by its ease of use and well-thought-out basic functions. Although it's not as comprehensive as some of the more advanced programs, IrfanView is still a great choice for users looking for a simple and effective photo management tool.

IrfanView's interface is clean and intuitive. Navigating your photo library is seamless, with sorting, zooming, and rotating options all easily accessible. You can also perform basic tasks like cropping, adjusting colors, or adding text to your photos.

Although the editing capabilities are limited, IrfanView has proven to be an excellent tool for sharing and exporting your images. You can resize, convert, and save your files in a variety of formats, including developing raw RAW images. In addition, the program provides useful features, such as creating slide shows and taking screenshots.

DigiKam, the most complete solution for photographers

DigiKam is an open source image manager particularly suitable for professional photographers and advanced users. With its many advanced features and great flexibility, DigiKam positions itself as one of the most complete solutions for managing, editing and organizing your photos.

Thanks to the indexing and classification system, you can easily organize your photos by date, location, tag, or even by custom collections. In addition to management features, DigiKam offers a comprehensive set of non-destructive editing tools for RAW images. This allows you to make advanced edits and apply filters and effects, while maintaining the integrity of your original files.

Other great features of DigiKam include advanced metadata management, creating custom slideshows, exporting to numerous online services, and the ability to use plugins to expand its capabilities. Download on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Microsoft Photos, the photo manager built into Windows 10/11

If you're using a Windows computer, you have a built-in photo manager, Microsoft Photos, which can be an interesting option for managing your photos. In particular, it allows you to organize your photos into albums, add tags and sort them according to the different filters available: media type (photo or video), shooting date, modification date, favorites, folders, etc.

With Microsoft Photos, you'll enjoy a slideshow editor and a Memories tool that lets you sync the manager with your OneDrive cloud storage account. Directly from the image tree, it is possible to start a slide show, with a simple right-click.

In terms of additional tools, you'll have an intuitive editor to crop, rotate, correct, make some brightness or color adjustments, and apply some automatic filters. And if you have Microsoft Clipchamp video editor, you can import your photos directly there.