AirBrush built its reputation on natural-looking selfie retouch: smooth skin without the plastic finish, teeth whitening that does not glow, eye enhancement that does not look posed. The catch is that the headline features behind that reputation now sit inside AirBrush Premium, and the AI tools added over the last two years lean on subscription credits rather than the free editor. If you are looking for AirBrush alternatives that retouch faces and bodies without the steady upsell, this is the shortlist.
We tested seven across Android and iOS and ranked them by retouch quality, subscription pressure, and how natural the output looks at default settings.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Facetune | Precision face and body retouch | 7-day trial | $7.99/mo Premium | Slider control with no auto bias |
| YouCam Perfect | AR makeup and live retouch | Yes, with ads | $5.99/mo Premium | Real-time makeup overlay in camera |
| BeautyPlus | All-in-one selfie editor | Yes, with watermarks | $4.99/mo Premium | Largest filter and sticker catalogue |
| BeautyCam by Meitu | Trending makeup looks | Yes, with ads | $4.99/mo VIP | Meitu AI portrait and makeup engine |
| FaceApp | Age, gender, smile filters | Yes, with watermark | $4.99/mo Pro | Photorealistic age and gender swap |
| Peachy | Body reshape and figure edits | Yes, with watermarks | $7.99/mo Pro | Best body sliders on mobile |
| B612 | Selfie camera with filters | Yes, with VIP gating | $3.99/mo VIP | TikTok-style live filters at capture |
Why people leave AirBrush
Premium gates the headline features. AI Retouch, the marquee one-tap auto-perfection feature, runs on subscription credits. The free tier handles basic smoothing and blemish removal; the polish that AirBrush markets sits behind Premium.
Subscription pressure is steady. Reddit threads on r/AppleHelp and Google Play reviews regularly mention the renewal arriving without warning at the $59.99 yearly tier. Cancellation has to happen through the store, not the app, which trips up first-time subscribers.
AI retouch can read as plastic. AirBrush’s AI mode pushes towards a polished editorial look. On dark skin tones, freckled faces, and older subjects, the auto pass can flatten texture in a way reviewers and TikTok comparisons call out. Manual retouch produces better natural results, but it is slower.
Hairstyle and makeup tools lag specialists. AirBrush added hairstyle, makeup, and outfit try-on, but the realism trails YouCam Perfect on AR makeup and BeautyCam on trending Meitu looks. Generalist apps lose specialists on each individual task.
The best AirBrush alternatives
Facetune, best for precision face and body retouch
Facetune by Lightricks is the editorial industry’s selfie retouch tool. The sliders are the cleanest on mobile: smoothness, eye whiten, teeth, jaw reshape, face slim, each on a manual scale rather than a one-tap auto setting. The AI retouch mode applies a sensible baseline that does not flatten texture the way AirBrush’s auto pass can.
For users who want to retouch a portrait the way a magazine editor would, Facetune is the upgrade.
Where it falls short: No free editor past a 7-day trial. Most features sit inside Facetune Premium. The interface assumes you know what each slider does.
Pricing:
- Free: 7-day trial of Premium
- Facetune Premium: $7.99 a month or $35.99 a year
- vs AirBrush: Pricier monthly, comparable yearly, deeper manual control.
Migrating from AirBrush: Re-edit recent photos in Facetune to compare. The slider layout is similar enough that AirBrush muscle memory transfers.
Bottom line: Pick Facetune when manual slider control and editorial-quality retouch matter more than one-tap convenience.
YouCam Perfect, best for AR makeup and live retouch
YouCam Perfect by Perfect Corp is the AR-first alternative. Open the camera and the live preview applies foundation, blush, lipstick, eyeshadow, brows, and hair colour in real time. Capture, and the look is baked into the photo. The same engine powers makeup brand try-on apps for Estée Lauder, MAC, and Sephora, which gives it a different ceiling than AirBrush’s post-capture retouch.
For users who want makeup overlay and AR effects more than skin smoothing, YouCam Perfect is the right tool.
Where it falls short: AR makeup is more impressive than necessary if you only want basic retouch. The free tier nags toward Premium with daily reminders.
Pricing:
- Free: Basic camera, ads, watermark on some exports
- Premium: $5.99 a month or $29.99 a year
- vs AirBrush: Cheaper, broader AR makeup catalogue, weaker on body retouch.
Migrating from AirBrush: YouCam keeps a similar editor tab for post-capture work. Save AirBrush presets as reference; rebuild them with YouCam’s makeup looks.
Bottom line: Pick YouCam Perfect when AR makeup and live camera effects are the use case.
BeautyPlus, best for all-in-one selfie editing
BeautyPlus by Meitu spinoff Commsource has been in the beauty camera category since 2014. The library is the broadest: hundreds of filters, beauty presets, retouch tools, makeup looks, stickers, frames, and AI generators in one app. The trending look catalogue refreshes weekly to track TikTok and Instagram aesthetics.
For users who came to AirBrush for variety as much as retouch, BeautyPlus is the broader replacement.
Where it falls short: Free tier exports carry a small BeautyPlus watermark on certain effects. Ad pacing inside the editor can interrupt longer sessions.
Pricing:
- Free: Most editing, watermark on AI exports
- BeautyPlus Premium: $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year
- vs AirBrush: Cheaper monthly, deeper filter library, less natural at default than AirBrush.
Migrating from AirBrush: Recreate favourite AirBrush presets using BeautyPlus’s beauty sliders. The filter and sticker library is wider, so expect to spend time picking favourites.
Bottom line: Pick BeautyPlus when filter and sticker variety matter alongside retouch.
BeautyCam by Meitu, best for trending makeup looks
BeautyCam is Meitu’s flagship beauty camera and the closest direct cousin to BeautyPlus inside the Meitu family. The AI Portrait mode generates stylised headshots, the makeup presets cycle through trending looks fast, and the result has a softer aesthetic than AirBrush’s editorial polish. The Meitu engine has decades of beauty-camera tuning behind it.
For users who want a Chinese-aesthetic, soft-glow finish over AirBrush’s sharper editorial look, BeautyCam is the alternative.
Where it falls short: The AI Portrait packs cost credits or sit behind VIP. Some makeup presets are heavily stylised and read as filtered rather than natural.
Pricing:
- Free: Camera, basic editing, ad-supported
- BeautyCam VIP: $4.99 a month or $24.99 a year
- vs AirBrush: Cheaper, trending Meitu aesthetic, more stylised default look.
Migrating from AirBrush: Start from BeautyCam’s auto mode and dial back if the default reads too heavily filtered.
Bottom line: Pick BeautyCam for the trending Meitu makeup catalogue and softer aesthetic.
FaceApp, best for age, gender, and expression filters
FaceApp does one category better than anyone: photorealistic single-photo transformations. Age up or down by decades, swap gender, change expression, change hair colour, all from a single selfie with no training step. The results stay recognisable as the same person, which is what separates FaceApp from generic face-swap apps.
For users whose AirBrush use is more curiosity than touch-up, FaceApp is the specialist.
Where it falls short: Not a retouch tool. Skin smoothing and blemish removal exist but the focus is transformation. Some filters carry a small watermark on the free tier.
Pricing:
- Free: Most filters, watermark on Pro-only filters
- FaceApp Pro: $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year
- vs AirBrush: Cheaper, different use case, weaker on body and selfie polish.
Migrating from AirBrush: Keep AirBrush for retouch, add FaceApp for transformations. They cover different categories.
Bottom line: Pick FaceApp when age, gender, or expression transformation is the goal.
Peachy, best for body reshape and figure edits
Peachy by InShot is the body-editor specialist. Slim the waist, lengthen legs, define shoulders, reshape arms, smooth posture, all with sliders calibrated for the body rather than the face. AirBrush has body reshape, but Peachy’s controls are deeper, and the auto-detect picks up posture and limb position more reliably.
For users who came to AirBrush primarily for body retouch on full-figure shots, Peachy is the upgrade.
Where it falls short: Body-first focus means face retouch is shallower than AirBrush. The full body editor sits inside Peachy Pro on a yearly subscription.
Pricing:
- Free: Basic edits, watermark on Pro features
- Peachy Pro: $7.99 a month or $29.99 a year
- vs AirBrush: Same monthly tier, deeper body controls, weaker face retouch.
Migrating from AirBrush: Use Peachy for full-figure photos, keep AirBrush for portrait-cropped shots. They complement each other.
Bottom line: Pick Peachy when body and full-figure retouch is the priority.
B612, best for selfie camera with filters
B612 by SNOW Corp is the filter-led selfie camera with TikTok-style live effects. Capture-side beautification, real-time AR filters, video lenses, and music-synced effects all live inside the camera rather than the editor. The free tier carries a deeper feature set than AirBrush’s free editor.
For users who want a filter-first selfie experience rather than a post-capture retouch app, B612 is the cleaner fit.
Where it falls short: Some filters and VIP-tier looks sit behind subscription. The editor is shallower than AirBrush for serious post-capture work.
Pricing:
- Free: Most filters and effects
- VIP: $3.99 a month or $19.99 a year
- vs AirBrush: Cheaper, camera-first rather than editor-first, weaker for detailed retouch.
Migrating from AirBrush: Use B612 for capture, AirBrush or another editor for serious retouch. The two cover different stages of the same workflow.
Bottom line: Pick B612 for live filters at capture rather than retouching after the fact.
How to choose
Pick Facetune for serious retouching with manual slider control. The closest power-user replacement.
Pick YouCam Perfect when AR makeup and live camera effects matter most. Strongest real-time makeup engine on mobile.
Pick BeautyPlus for the widest filter and sticker library alongside competent retouch.
Pick BeautyCam by Meitu for trending Meitu-aesthetic makeup looks and AI portraits.
Pick FaceApp when the use case is age, gender, or expression transformation rather than retouch.
Pick Peachy for body and full-figure retouch where AirBrush’s face-first toolkit falls short.
Pick B612 for capture-side filtering before the photo is even saved.
Stay on AirBrush if you want the natural-look auto pass without spending time on sliders, the Premium pricing fits your usage, and the AI retouch result matches your skin tone and styling preferences. The natural-finish reputation is real and the workflow is fast.
FAQ
Is there a free AirBrush alternative? YouCam Perfect, BeautyPlus, BeautyCam, FaceApp, Peachy, and B612 all have meaningful free tiers. BeautyPlus and B612 keep the broadest free feature set.
What is the best AirBrush alternative for body retouch? Peachy. The body sliders, posture detection, and figure reshape are calibrated specifically for full-body shots, where AirBrush’s tools sit downstream of its face-first design.
Which AirBrush alternative looks most natural? Facetune at default settings produces the most editorial-natural finish. AirBrush’s own auto retouch is close on lighter skin tones but Facetune holds up better across complexions.
What is the cheapest AirBrush alternative? B612 at $3.99 a month and BeautyCam at $4.99 a month are the cheapest. BeautyPlus and FaceApp at $4.99 a month sit at the same tier.
Can I cancel an AirBrush subscription easily? Cancel through Google Play Subscriptions or Apple App Store Subscriptions, not through the AirBrush app itself. Cancellation within 24 hours of starting a trial avoids the renewal charge.
Do these AirBrush alternatives work on Android and iOS? All seven are available on both Google Play and the App Store. Feature parity is close, with AR makeup running slightly smoother on iOS on most devices.
