A full comparison of pricing, control, skin quality, and who each tool is actually built for.
If you want full control, natural results, and a lower price - RetouchLab Skin Pro wins. Retouch4me is AI-based and works automatically, which sounds great until your photos look over-processed and plastic. RetouchLab uses a brush - you decide exactly where and how much to retouch, with 7 adjustable parameters and real-time feedback.
I make one of the tools on this list, so take that openly: RetouchLab is first because it is what I built and use every day. Every other tool below is listed with what it genuinely does well and the catch that comes with it, because a list that pretends everything else is bad is no use to you.
Prices are the makers' list prices, checked August 2026, and they change often - check before you buy. The three-year column puts one-time and subscription tools on the same basis.
| Tool | Price | Cost over 3 years | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. RetouchLab Skin Pro | €39 / 6 months or €79 lifetime | €79 total | Photographers who want control on the frames that matter, and natural skin texture rather than an automatic look. |
| 2. Evoto | $80-134 a year in credits | $240-402 | High-volume work where speed across hundreds of frames matters more than per-image control. |
| 3. Imagenomic Portraiture | $249.95 (Photoshop) or $299.95 (+ Lightroom) | $249.95 | Fast automatic smoothing across a large batch, in either Adobe app. |
| 4. Beauty Box | $99 one-time | $99 | Fast automatic batch smoothing, including video work. |
| 5. SkinFiner | $59.95 home / $79.95 commercial (one-time) | $59.95 | Fast automatic smoothing on the smallest budget - genuinely the cheapest paid option on this list. |
| 6. PortraitPro | €41-€175 depending on edition (often half price) | you pay again at each major version | Beauty and fashion work where a strong, processed look is wanted. |
| 7. Photoshop Neural Filters | Free (built into Photoshop) | €0 | A free quick pass, and the honest starting point if you are learning. |
A brush-based Photoshop plugin: frequency separation, dodge & burn and tone evening in one brush, so you paint exactly where you want the retouching and keep real pores.
Best for: Photographers who want control on the frames that matter, and natural skin texture rather than an automatic look.
Over 3 years: €79 total
The catch: It runs in Photoshop only, not Lightroom, and it is hands-on by design - it will not batch-process a whole wedding for you.
A standalone AI editor that batch-retouches whole shoots outside Photoshop. You edit free and spend a credit to export.
Best for: High-volume work where speed across hundreds of frames matters more than per-image control.
Over 3 years: $240-402
The catch: It is a separate application rather than a plugin, and the cost scales with how much you export - credits run about $0.05-0.10 each.
The long-standing automatic skin-smoothing plugin, detecting skin and softening it.
Best for: Fast automatic smoothing across a large batch, in either Adobe app.
Over 3 years: $249.95
The catch: The highest one-time price here, and it smooths - there is no dodge & burn to shape light.
Builds an automatic skin-tone mask and smooths inside it.
Best for: Fast automatic batch smoothing, including video work.
Over 3 years: $99
The catch: The mask decides for you, so faces in tricky light need manual cleanup afterwards.
Automatic skin detection and smoothing, Windows only.
Best for: Fast automatic smoothing on the smallest budget - genuinely the cheapest paid option on this list.
Over 3 years: $59.95
The catch: Smoothing-focused, so it does not cover the dodge & burn or tone-shaping side of a full retouch, and there is no Mac version.
Heavier facial editing - reshaping features, relighting, and skin work.
Best for: Beauty and fashion work where a strong, processed look is wanted.
Over 3 years: you pay again at each major version
The catch: Upgrades are charged per major version, and the default strength is easy to overshoot into an unnatural face.
Photoshop's own Skin Smoothing filter, applied over the whole face.
Best for: A free quick pass, and the honest starting point if you are learning.
Over 3 years: €0
The catch: One all-over effect with no brush control and no dodge & burn - push it and skin goes plastic.
| RETOUCHLAB SKIN PRO ✦ | RETOUCH4ME | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | €39 for 6 months or €79 lifetime CHEAPER | $20–90/month or $124–149 per plugin |
| Control | Full - brush-based, you decide where BETTER | None - fully automatic AI |
| Skin texture | Preserved - real pores, natural look BETTER | Often over-smoothed, plastic appearance |
| Parameters | 7 adjustable sliders, real-time preview | Limited controls per plugin |
| Techniques | Frequency Separation + Dodge & Burn + Tone Evening in one brush | One technique per plugin - need to buy separately |
| Works inside | Adobe Photoshop directly | Photoshop (some as standalone) |
| Speed | 20–60 seconds per photo | Instant - but result often needs manual fixing |
| Learning curve | 5 minutes - just paint with a brush | Minimal - but no way to fix bad results |
| Best for | Portrait, wedding, event photographers who want natural results | High-volume studios who accept AI results |
Retouch4me's biggest selling point is speed - one click and it's done. But that's also its biggest problem. Skin retouching is not a one-size-fits-all job. Every face is different. Every photographer has a different style. Some clients want barely visible retouching. Others want polished, editorial-quality results.
When you hand that decision over to AI, you lose all of that nuance. The result is technically "retouched" - but it often looks the same on every photo, and it often looks fake. Clients notice. And they ask for re-edits.
RetouchLab Skin Pro gives you a brush. You paint where you want smooth skin. You see the result in real time. You adjust 7 parameters - frequency separation strength, texture detail, dodge & burn intensity, tone evening, smoothing, grain, and clarity - until it looks exactly right. Then you move on in 30 seconds.
This is where the difference becomes very clear:
To get the equivalent of what RetouchLab does in one €79 plugin, you'd spend $400–600 on Retouch4me - for results that look less natural and give you less control.
You're a portrait, wedding, or event photographer who wants professional, natural-looking results and full control over where and how much you retouch. You work in Photoshop and want everything in one place. You care about real skin texture - not AI-smoothed plastic skin. You want the most affordable option with lifetime access.
You run a very high-volume studio (100+ photos/day), you're okay with fully automated results, and you have a large enough budget for ongoing monthly fees. Even then - you'll want to manually check every result.
Get it for €39 (6 months), or go lifetime for €79 - one payment, all future updates included.
GET SKIN PRO — €39 →Not ready to buy? Try the free live demo →
Available on Adobe Exchange · Instant download · Works in Photoshop 2022+
Retouch4me sells its photo plugins as a bundle starting around $145, or on subscription from $169 a year, and two of its plugins are free. RetouchLab does brush-based skin retouching (frequency separation, dodge and burn, tone evening in one brush) for €79 one-time.
There is no truly free professional skin retouching plugin, but RetouchLab is far cheaper at €39 for 6 months or €79 lifetime, one-time, no subscription.
Retouch4me is fully automatic AI; RetouchLab is brush-based, so you control exactly where and how much you retouch and keep real skin texture instead of a plastic look.
Yes, as panels. RetouchLab also runs inside Photoshop as one brush that combines frequency separation, dodge and burn, and tone evening, about 30 seconds per photo.