Photo apps you can own.

A photo app is never finished. New iPhones, new RAW formats and new versions of iOS all need updates, and a subscription pays for that work month after month. Apple’s rules add a nudge: once a subscriber has paid for a full year, the developer keeps 85 percent of each payment instead of 70.

For you, small monthly prices add up across several apps. That is why many developers now offer both: a subscription, and a price to own the app outright. This list collects the apps you can own, plus the free ones worth knowing.

Source: Apple’s auto-renewable subscriptions page for developers, checked in October 2026.

Apple Photos is already on your iPhone, iPad and Mac. Adjust light and color, crop, add a filter or a Photographic Style, and copy your edits to a whole batch of photos. Every edit can be reverted to the original.

Snapseed by Google is free on iPhone and iPad. Its listing promises no subscriptions, purchases, ads or watermarks. It opens some RAW formats and brings Healing, Brush, Selective and Curves, plus a camera that shoots with film simulations.

Sources: Apple’s iPhone User Guide, Edit photos and videos on iPhone, and Snapseed on the App Store, checked in October 2026.

Photomator is sold by Apple. It finds subjects, skies and backgrounds on its own and edits RAW. Lifetime costs $119.99, next to $7.99 a month or $29.99 a year, and one license covers iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro.

Darkroom edits photos and video on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro, with AI tools for selective edits, RAW, presets and batch editing. Its one-time purchase is called Unlock Everything Forever and costs $99.99. Darkroom+ costs $9.99 a month or $39.99 a year.

masoc is our own app, so weigh this entry with that in mind. It edits photos and video on iPhone, iPad and Mac, with RAW, AI masks that run on your device, film looks and your Lightroom presets. masoc will be free to try with every tool and three exports. After that, it’s $3.99 a month, $24.99 a year or $69 once, with Family Sharing on for all three. It sells subscriptions as well, and it is on this list for the $69 option. See pricing, or read how switching from Lightroom works.

Sources: Photomator and Darkroom on the App Store, and Photomator’s website for the shared license, checked in October 2026.

Halide Mark III by Lux Optics offers Process Zero for unprocessed photos, manual controls, film-style looks and a Photo Lab for editing. You can buy it outright with a One Time Purchase for $69.99, or choose an annual membership with a free 7-day trial. For iPhone and iPad.

Obscura is free to use, with manual controls, RAW and ProRAW capture and filters for iPhone and iPad. Obscura Ultra adds premium features, at $3.99 a month or $74.99 one time.

ProCamera brings manual controls, RAW and pro video features to iPhone and iPad. After a free trial it runs as a subscription, $7.99 a month or $29.99 a year, and Lifetime Access costs $149.99. A separate add-on, ProCamera Up, has its own $69.99 one-time price, so check which one you need.

IIWII is a film simulation camera for iPhone, made by the developer of masoc. Pick a look, see it live in the viewfinder, and shoot. RAW+ saves a DNG next to the finished photo on every iPhone that can shoot RAW. It costs $1.99 once, with every look included. No in-app purchases, no ads, no tracking, and Family Sharing is on. More about IIWII, or visit iiwii.info.

Sources: Halide Mark III, Obscura, ProCamera and IIWII on the App Store, checked in October 2026.

US prices from each App Store listing, checked on October 19, 2026. masoc prices as planned for its App Store launch. Prices in other countries differ.

VSCO sells Plus for $9.99 a month or $39.99 a year, and Pro for $14.99 a month or $69.99 a year. Its listing shows no one-time option. Lightroom comes with the Lightroom plan, $11.99 a month on the annual plan in the US. If that plan is why you are here, our slightly cheeky breakup letter walks through the numbers.

Sources: VSCO on the App Store and Adobe’s plans page for the US, checked in October 2026.

1. Read the name. Lifetime, One Time and Forever purchases sit in the same list as subscriptions and add-ons. Check what each one unlocks.
2. Ask about Family Sharing. The developer decides whether a purchase can be shared with up to five family members. If the listing is unclear, ask before you buy.
3. Count your devices. Find out if one purchase unlocks iPhone, iPad and Mac, or only one of them.
4. Look at the version history. Regular updates on the App Store page show the app is still cared for.
5. Try it first. Most apps here start free or with a trial. Edit a few of your own photos before you pay.

Family Sharing for subscriptions and in-app purchases is a setting each developer turns on, as described on Apple’s subscriptions page for developers, checked in October 2026.