I image viewers belong to a category of software in which the quantity and quality of free programs available makes it difficult to choose just one product; the only sure thing is that, having a Windows PC, by no means settle for the standard image viewer and installing an external program is highly recommended for all users who frequently view photos and pictures from PC.In the following guide we have collected the best free programs to view, manage and organize photos and images on your computerso you can organize all the photos you’ve taken, edited images with your favorite editor and apply small changes to groups of photos (change name, change size, etc.).
READ ALSO: Best programs to organize photos and sort images on PC
Best image viewers for PC
1) IrfanView it’s the best program to view and browse images present on the computer. IrfanView is an outstanding free program with numerous editing features such as resizing images, renaming batches of photos, and converting between formats. IrfanView is an easy to use and very fast program, capable of showing the photos of a folder to view them full screen or in a window and to scroll through the images using the mouse wheel or the space bar.
2) Microsoft Photos it is the default app already included in Windows 11 and in Windows 10, which can still be a valid alternative if you don’t want to install external programs. The Photos app scores with its OneDrive sync features, basic editing options (rotate photos, flip photos, and apply new lighting effects) and the ability to create photo slideshows in seconds.
3) XnView MP is probably the most versatile of all image viewers, because it can read 500 file types and convert them. It displays images very quickly and these can be viewed full screen, as slideshows or as thumbnails. It is also capable of processing images, rotating them, cropping them, resizing them, adjusting brightness and color, applying filters or effects, creating a web page and much more. The preview window is customizable with different layouts and sizes.
4) Apowersoft Photo Viewer is a lightweight application for Windows capable of opening images of different digital formats such as JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF, ICO, CUR, TIFF, DNG, HEIC, DDS, Webp and others, as well as being able to work as a PDF viewer. Animated GIFs are also supported, as are Microsoft’s HEIF and Camera RAW image formats. This program also supports batch photo editing and can help in creating the perfect screenshots.
5) FastStone Image Viewer is another excellent choice for those who want a complete new program for viewing images on their PC. FastStone supports all major graphic formats and digital camera RAW formats, so you can use it immediately after installation; among its strengths we find the interface in full screen mode, with different panels that appear automatically when the mouse cursor is moved to the sides of the screen. The zoom system has a very smart feature and zooms to a custom predefined level with just one click. You can then move around the image by holding the button down and reverting to full view when released. Another notable built-in tool is batch processing, which is quite extensive and really easy to set up and run.
6) ImageGlass is a modern open-source, lightweight, super-fast versatile image editor that allows you to handle over 70 digital image formats, including GIF, PNG, WEBP, SVG, RAW, AVIF, JP2. Its minimal aesthetic makes it extremely accessible and highly customizable, you can see images in slideshows with transition effects and quickly switch from one image to another.
7) PicView is another great modern image viewer for Windows with the ability to open and browse photos and images even when they are inside an archive. It is an open source software that supports the display of any image format, also with filters to make changes and improvements to the photos.
8) Quick Picture Viewer is an excellent program to view photos on PC, minimalist, with a toolbar at the top and a status bar at the bottom, function to view photos in slideshow and also with the Picture in Picture mode. Quick Picture Viewer supports image formats: PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, JPEG, JPE, JFIF, EXIF, TIF, ICO, WEBP, DIB, RLE and SVG.
9) WildBit Viewer is another alternative to view photos on your computer, very handy and functional. In addition to the usual functions, it offers an easy zoom with the mouse wheel and a very intuitive image editor full of tools. There’s also a side-by-side image comparison feature and a highly customizable slideshow mode. It supports over 70 image file formats and can display major video formats as well.
10) ACDSee Free is the free version of the famous commercial program ACDSee, one of the simplest and most powerful photo management, organization and viewing programs on Windows PCs (described in another post).
11) WidsMob is an all-in-one media management software available in free and paid versions. It offers an incredibly vibrant image viewing experience and supports fast batch processing and conversion between formats.
12) Nomacs is a free image viewer for Windows, Linux and Mac that is completely open source. Light in memory, it’s the go-to choice for anyone with a PC running Windows and less than 8GB of RAM.
13) HoneyView is another lightweight image viewer also available as a portable program (without installation). This program also allows you to open GIFs, correct gamma levels, select your favorite images and hide some information such as date, time, name and size.
14) 123 Photo Viewer is another valid program to view images and photos on PC, complete with a built-in photo editor, so you can apply the most basic changes on the fly (lighting, contrast, color and red-eye removal effects) without having to switch between an advanced editor.
15) Movavi Picverse is a complete photo viewer for Windows and Mac that supports over 60 image formats, allows you to quickly navigate through photos (even in large folders), offers a basic photo editor and can rename photos in batches or apply a new name only to selected photos.
Conclusions
The characteristics of a good program to view images on PC are basically those of being able to see them in series without having to open them one by one, being able to change their orientation, being able to read EXIF data, being able to open any image format including those RAW, TIFF, DNG e PSD, WebP in addition to the classics JPG, PNG, GIF.
Compatibility is a point that can’t be overlooked, so it’s also important to use programs that can convert a variety of files without problems. Some of these programs also support video viewing.
To learn more, we can read our guide on how to change program to open photos in windows.