Remember when Instagram didn’t have a multiple-photo function? At the time, the only way you could fit several pictures into one post was with a photo collage app.
Now, we use them more for aesthetics than anything else, but they’re still fun.
If you want to make photo collages to post online or print out to have as a keepsake around your house, this article will show you a few ways to do them just using your iPhone.
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Why Download a Photo Collage App?
While it’s nice to have pictures by themselves, sometimes it’s too much of a hassle to print multiple photos when you could do them all at once.
A printed collage is also just a cute item to display around the house. You can also use photo collages as part of a custom screensaver with multiple photos, or a social media post that combines several images.
Since the iPhone doesn’t have a built-in collage feature, it’s always worth it to install a collage app. They’re fun, and they can come in handy.
How Did We Test These Photo Collage Apps?
In this technology-savvy age where apps are abundant, and there are hundreds of variations of the same product, how can we determine what makes a good collage app?
First of all, the apps we selected had to include an adequate range of layouts. We decided that a good collage should present plenty of options when combining your photos.
At the same time, we knew there shouldn’t be too many redundant variations of the templates offered. We factored in the obvious: A collage app to be simple and easy to use.
Another thing we looked at was extra features, which included the overall design of the templates offered.
The Best Collage Apps for iPhone
Below is a detailed review of each app so you get to know more about its pros and cons.
1. Analog Film Acoustic
- Price: $0.99
- Best for: Instagram-friendly filters and arranging pictures in a film-like manner. It also offers a good range of experimental design templates for collages.
Analog Film might be one of the most aesthetically pleasing collage apps around. Apart from the collage functions, there are several different design templates to play with. One huge benefit: Analog Film Acoustic offers filtering within the app, so you don’t have to toy with filters in other apps.
When you think of collage apps, you might imagine merely combining all your photos into one grid (Layout from Instagram is a good example).
However, Analog Film Acoustic offers design templates that are more reminiscent of your childhood scrapbooking days. There are collage designs that consist of a single photo, yet looks like there are other pieces of paper or backgrounds pasted together on it. The results are often very pleasing to the eye.
The app also offers more conventional styles of collages, including simplistic borders like the types of grids that we are more familiar with. There are several templates to choose from, whether you’re looking for something fancy or something more minimal.
If you’re not a fan of the auto-editing that comes with some of the collage templates, simply pull the circular slider to the left. It helps you lighten the intensity of the filter or remove the effects altogether. If you’re looking for a more intense filter for your collage, pull the circular icon to the right.
All in all, Analog Film Acoustic is a great collage app for experimenting with different variations of collages or simply just putting your pictures together. It’s not a free app: You’ll drop $0.99 for it. That’s pretty affordable to download, even if you just want to try it out.
2. Unfold
- Price: Free, has in-app purchases. Typically $1.48 for a set of new design templates.
- Best for: The collages tell a story, and the app is extremely user-friendly. It offers excellent layouts and has a nice variety of designs.
You might be familiar with Unfold due to its wide popularity. Unfold offers minimalistic and sleek templates for all your collaging needs. Although it used to be a $0.99 download, it is currently free. You can purchase additional template designs within the app.
When you first load the app, you will notice that, unlike other collage apps where your previous edits are not retained, Unfold keeps your collages archived. This is because the app works in a unique manner they call “storyline collating.”
When starting a new story, simply tap the ‘+’ button. It will bring you to the next page, where you can name your story collage.
After creating the story, you can make more collages under the same series, or start a new story. As this app was originally created for Instagram stories when you tap on the download icon on the top right-hand corner, you will see that there will be two options: Saving it as a Page or as a Story.
By saving it as a Story, all the collages within will be saved simultaneously, whereas the Page option saves only one item. This comes in handy when you post them all at once. There is also an option to share the Page on Instagram. That option automatically opens Instagram so you can put the page on your story.
There are several templates within the app. Below are just a few of the free templates I used for demonstration.
The general design of the templates is minimalistic, so you will find that it makes for a very clean look when collaging your photos. One unique thing about Unfold is that you are able to add text to your photos when you like.
Overall, Unfold offers one of the sleekest minimalist templates for collages, and the unique storytelling feature makes the collaging process fun as well. Unfold’s chic designs and ease of use make it a great app for your collaging needs.
3. Collageable
- Price: Seven-day free trial. After that, the cost is $6.48 per month.
- Best for: There’s a massive array of designs to choose from, mainly for people looking to put photos together with more flamboyant frames. Collageable so offers body and face editing within the app.
Collageable is a well-known app that many people go to not only for collages but photo editing and customization.
Within the app, there are three modes of editing available: Body, Collage, and Beauty. What’s special about this app is that it doubles up as a mini FaceTune, so you can edit bodies or faces you’re not satisfied with within the app itself.
However, the best things in life are sadly not free. Collageable offers a seven-day trial period. Anything beyond that costs $6.48 per month.
The app offers more colorful and vivid design templates than some of its minimalist competitors, which is excellent for people who are fans of bold design.
As the app offers many mix-and-match customization options, you can create more flamboyant collages with Collageable than with many of its competitors.
Another function that is unique to Collageable is its Body and Beauty functions. Just like to FaceTune, you can refine the faces and bodies in your pictures to your liking. When we think of editing, what comes to mind is the typical slimming effect or face tweaks.
Collageable also offers stickers that mimic tattoos–so if you ever wanted to get a tattoo but were too afraid of the pain, this app can show you how you’d look.
While this app is on the pricier side for collage apps, the array of design template borders is extremely vast. If you can imagine a template, Collageable probably has it.
Here are just some of the few variations available for template borders.
While Collageable is marketed as a collaging app, its appeal lies in the beauty editing that you can do within the app itself, saving the hassle of loading up several apps for photo editing. As it is on the pricier side, I’ve listed some cheaper alternatives to Collageable below.
4. Pic Collage
- Price: Free. However, it costs $1.99 to remove the watermark and ads. It also offers in-app stickers and patterns for an additional $2.99 each.
- Best for: There is a vast variety of stickers to choose from, and it adds a cute touch to your photos. It also offers an adequate amount of template designs.
The appeal of Pic Collage lies not necessarily in the templates it offers for collaging, but the cute stickers that come along with it. There is a vast array of stickers for customization and designing your photos, a feature unique to this app.
In addition, there are three modes available for editing: Grids, Freestyle, and Cards. Grids offers simplistic template borders; Freestyle lets you customize every detail to your liking; Cards offers collage templates for holidays, birthdays, and significant occasions.
While using the app is free, it costs $1.99 to remove the watermark and ads. Pic Collage also offers in-app stickers and patterns for $2.99 each. There’s also a VIP option that offers unlimited stickers, removal of ads, and removal of watermark for $6.98 per month or $48.98 per year.
Below are some examples of the card template designs. You can add multiple photos to your card and arrange them wherever you like in the Freestyle section.
It lets you add a personal touch by customizing your card to your liking, making this a great option for making a digital greeting card to send to your loved ones.
Below is an example of the cards in a collage format. You can choose to add stickers for a cuter touch or stay with the original template.
The stickers are fun to play around with, and it is a feature unique to Pic Collage. While most of them are free, the app offers certain sticker designs for $2.99 each.
If you’re not a fan of fancy collages, there are simple template borders as well. What I liked about this app is the ability to customize not only your collage aesthetics but also the divisions.
You easily change the template size by controlling how high or low you want the line segregating your collages to be. Pull the border line up or down to adjust where you want the photos to be cut.
Here is the final result! Pic Collage is fun to use, and the customization options are vast. If you don’t find the watermark to be too much of an eyesore, it is a great app with free options as well. Otherwise, you can pay to remove the watermark or purchase additional stickers.
5. Fuzel
- Price: Free, offers in-app purchases for special templates and removing the watermark. Fuzel costs $1.99 to remove ads, and $2.99 to alter or remove the watermark. Additional special layouts are $2.99.
- Best for: It is great for customizing the finer details of your collage.
Fuzel is an app purely for borders, with no extra fuss or flair. Much like the other apps, Fuzel has a few different modes of editing available: Animated, Free Form, Simple, and Funky.
All of these modes are strictly for the different types of border dividers; there is a frame function for additional touches to the templates themselves.
While using the base version of the app is free, Fuzel offers in-app purchases for special templates and removing the watermark. It costs $1.99 to remove ads and $2.99 for removing or customizing your own watermark. Additionally, there is a $2.99 charge for special layouts.
Another feature that is unique to Fuzel is the ability to control the thickness of the width of the borders and margins (outer lines). You can swipe up or down to make them thinner or thicker. Swiping left or right rounds out or sharpens your borders.
Similarly, the “spacing” function edits the roundness or squareness that you want the inner border division line to be, or the thickness as well.
All in all, Fuzel is a great app for collaging due to its precision in customizing the width of template border dividers. The app is best for those who want simple designs but precise borders. It is also relatively easy to use, and there are additional features for adding flair to the borders.
Final Thoughts
If none of the apps we’ve mentioned here seem like a good fit for you, there are many others available including the Canva app, PicsArt Collage, PicPlayPost, PiZap, and Moldiv.
They may not have made the cut for this article, but they’re all free collaging apps. If nothing else is working for you, there’s no risk checking them out.
