Since the time Snapchat launched in 2011, it has only been growing more and more popular with time. This viral application has taken the world by storm and is nothing less than a global phenomenon.
Snapchat completely reinvented the communication method between people. It is a solid example of how even short-lived content can establish its own space in social media.
Millions of users are using this application daily, and the popularity of this app will not go down anytime soon.
However, after having used this application for more than a couple of years, I wanted to check other similar options. Snapchat is mainly known for a massive variety of unique face filters, and that is one feature I was especially interested in while trying out other options.
Fortunately, I got the opportunity to test many different applications, and I have some great options for you that you’ll like if you enjoy using Snapchat. And that is precisely what I will discuss in this article.
I will not say that these alternatives work exactly the same as Snapchat and have the same features and filters, but they perform similarly, and you will get to try out a lot of amazing effects.
So if you want to know about the best apps like Snapchat with filters, please keep reading until the end.
Contents
Why is Snapchat so popular?
We live in a time when millions of people worldwide click selfies daily. And human beings are social animals, and we love sharing our lives.
And that is where Snapchat entered and hit the head on the nail. Whenever we share pictures, we always ensure that we look presentable and are satisfied with our appearance before sharing it.
However, Snapchat has added a slight twist to this so that users can communicate freely with their friends and even fool around a bit.
There is no question about the popularity of Snapchat, and the statistics speak for themselves. The application has around 363 million daily active users worldwide and is the 12 most popular social media platform today. More than 5 million snaps every day, and every user spends approximately 30 minutes on Snapchat daily.
The growth of this popular platform is quite interesting, and I feel one of the major reasons why people enjoy using this app is that you don’t have to be perfect while clicking a picture of yourself.
You could send your ugliest and goofiest pictures to your friends, and they will only be able to view them for a few seconds, and they will not be stored on their phones.
The interface is very easy to use, you can set time limits while clicking a picture, and you can even upload the ones you like on the Snapchat story. The filters are the main components that are winning a lot of hearts, and I love how creative they are.
There is another really impressive feature, in my opinion. Snapchat focuses on privacy, and its features can attest to it.
There are options to take a screenshot of the snap you sent, save it, or replay it. But whatever action the receiver takes, you will get to know about it. If your friend replays your snap, saves it to the chat, or takes a screenshot of it, the app will let you know.
Now, let’s move on to some of the best Snapchat alternatives in the next section.
Best Filter Apps Like Snapchat For iPhone & Android
Playing around with different filters and face lenses while clicking selfies is always fun. Mentioned below are the 8 best applications like Snapchat with face filters that you can try out.
I loved trying them out, and I am sure you will too, irrespective of whether you want to have some fun with face lenses or are looking for motivation to develop your own filter app.
1. Instagram
There is hardly anyone who is not aware of this extremely popular social media platform, and I feel most of you are already using it.
Owned by Facebook, Instagram is mainly known for letting users share images and videos.
This application is compatible with both Android and IOS smartphones, and you can even use it on your Windows and Mac OS PCs and laptops.
You can curate your own aesthetic feed and add images and videos to your feed and story. And if you open the camera lens, you’ll be able to see lots of face filters.
While some are subtle and add a few touch apps, others totally transform your face with heavy makeup looks. You’ll also find multiple goofy ones like cat ears, adding sparkles to your face, etc.
However, Instagram does not have a feature where the messages get automatically deleted after 24 hours, and there is no concept of streaks either.
Features
- It is a top-rated and stable app.
- It is available for both Android and IOS platforms.
- There is a massive library of built-in effects and filters.
- You can share your photos and videos on the stories and on your feed.
- The app lets you interact with friends, family, and fellow creators.
2. B612
This is not just an application that I tested to find Snapchat alternatives. I have used B612 multiple times before, and it is one of the best applications for clicking instant selfies. It is a very popular application as well, and there have been multiple times when I have seen users posting an image on their social media feed that has been edited using B612.
B612 is so popular because it takes the face filter scenario up a notch by offering facial recognition-based filters.
Moreover, they have a massive range of more than 1500 filters to pick from. You can also add shiny effects, smoothen your skin, use real-time 3D emojis that mimic you, apply effects to the background behind you, and much more.
Apart from applying filters to your selfies, there are multiple high-quality filters that you can use for clicking pictures of food, landscape, or anything else.
The app also remembers your favorite filters, and you can later access them easily with just a single tap without needing to search for them repeatedly.
I can say for sure that B612 is one of the best applications to offer a wide variety of camera effects on this list.
Features
- It is available for both IOS and Android.
- It offers live 8 hours with micro-expressions.
- There are more than 1500 different filters to try.
- The app offers facial recognition-based filters.
- The app remembers your favorite filters and lets you use them instantly.
- Using your back camera, you can use the AR stickers on actual surfaces.
- You can draw effects while capturing a video.
- The app lets you add music to your photos and videos.
3. YouCam Perfect
YouCam Perfect is one of the best alternatives for Snapchat on this list, and I would highly recommend you try it out. A friend of mine suggested I test it out, and I’m very glad I did.
If you love applying aesthetic effects and filters to your pictures, this application is perfect for you. I have observed that it adds a very artistic vibe to any photo, but you have to be careful not to overdo it.
It is available for both IOS and Android platforms, and the best part about it is that you can use it for free. It offers an extensive range of hundreds of aesthetic filters, effects, and beautifying tools to enhance your pictures.
You can choose different filter packs according to your mood and requirements. For example, you can try out the sparkle filter pack to add bling and shine to your photos. If you have clicked multiple landscape photos and you want to edit them quickly, you can go for the scenery filter pack. Apart from these, YouCam Perfect also offers filters based on different occasions, themes, holidays, and more.
If you are a beginner and you start using this application for the first time, you may feel a little bit overwhelmed with all the different features and functionalities. However, it will not take much time to get the hang of it.
YouCam Perfect also offers a premium subscription which lets you access even more filters, editing tools, and stickers.
Features
- The app is compatible with both Android and iOS platforms.
- You can use it for free.
- There are hundreds of filters, photo effects, and editing and beautifying tools.
- It can take some time for beginners to get used to the functions.
- There are expensive rainbow filters based on occasions and holidays as well.
- The premium version gives access to more filters and editing tools.
4. Banuba
I was not quite aware of this application, and I came across Banuba while searching for the best Snapchat alternatives. And yes, it is one of the closest resembling ones that I found.
This application is available for both IOS and Android platforms, and it has a collection of more than 1,000 face filters and AR games. Irrespective of your age group, you’ll be able to take funny photos, transform your face into any celebrity, astronaut, hipster, etc., change your voice, and even edit videos.
The face-swapping feature is really interesting and lets you turn into a Hollywood actor or pop star or even into a cute animal. You can also swap faces with your friends. Banuba also lets you create emojis using funny faces and share them on different social media platforms.
The filters are actually impressive, and I tried out some absolutely crazy filters with my cousin, who loved them as well. From showing yourself skydiving or relaxing on a beach, there are a lot of different backgrounds to explore and some wild accessories, hairstyles, and much more.
Features
- The app is available for both Android and iOS platforms.
- There are 1000+ face filters for you to explore.
- It offers AR effects based on different themes and holidays, like Christmas, Halloween, etc.
- The effects are available with triggers, like opening your mouth, smiling, frowning, etc.
- You can apply filters to already created images too.
- It lets you swap faces with Hollywood actors and pop stars, celebrities, animals, and even your friends.
- You can change your voice on videos to sound like different characters.
5. YouCam Fun
YouCam Fun is another great Snapchat alternative and a worthy competitor on this list. I tested this application quite late, but it is undoubtedly one of the best ones when it comes to entertaining filters.
YouCam Fun has some really cool 3D face filters, live stickers, and a wide range of different hairstyles you can try. However, while testing out the range of filters offered by this application, I observed that most of them are based on cute animals. From snow leopards, tigers, and deer, to cats and many more, the variety is really impressive.
The user interface is also very clean and friendly, and the filters do a great job of sticking to the face properly, even if you switch multiple times. The app is also very fast, and once you apply any sticker, it does not move away easily due to unintentional finger gestures.
Features
- It is available for both Android and iOS platforms.
- There is a massive range of 3D face filters and live stickers.
- The application offers a lot of animal-based filters.
- The interface is clean and neatly arranged.
- It offers fast face detection and filter placement.
- You can apply filters in both real-time and existing photos.
6. Sweet Face
I will be completely honest with you. When I first heard the name of this application, I was not really inclined to try it out, as it didn’t seem promising. However, I’m glad I did, as it offers decent performance and is actually a great Snapchat alternative.
This is one application you really need to try out if you are a fan of Snapchat filters already. Sweet Face lets you click selfies and enhance them using different funny and cute face filters. It offers a massive range of a variety of filters, including dog face, cat face, rabbit filter, etc. There are multiple adorable stickers you can use as well, and you can even create gifs.
You can also apply filters and effects to food and landscape pictures easily. There are also many beautifying effects on Sweet Face, using which you can get flawless skin, perfectly white teeth, sparkly eyes, rosy lips, and get rid of your acne and blemishes. It also adds makeup effects, including lipstick, blush, contour, etc.
Once you are done editing your photo, you can share them on multiple social media platforms, like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok, etc.
Features
- The app is free and easy to use.
- More than 100 million people are using it worldwide.
- There are multiple live camera filters and stickers on this application.
- You can use beautifying tools to enhance your photo and add makeup effects.
- The app lets you create GIFs too.
- You can share the edited photos on different social media platforms.
7. TikTok
Well, I don’t think Tik Tok needs any introduction, as a lot of us are already familiar with this app. It has been around for years, and even though it is not exactly similar to Snapchat, you can still try it out to explore different filters and effects.
It works on the concept of a video-based community and has around a billion users today. TikTok is most famous for letting users create short and entertaining videos, and there are a lot of different filters to get creative. You can even use these filters to click selfies. The app also offers AR filters for cats and dogs, theme-based filters, face filters with triggers, etc.
Features
- The app is available for both Android and iOS platforms.
- It lets users create short and creative videos.
- There are a lot of different funny face filters, including AR ones and theme based.
- It lets you add custom music to your video clips.
- The app is free to use.
8. VSCO
I am going to a slightly different route here with VSCO. And I have to admit that I might be a little biased toward it, as this is one of my favorite applications, and I have been using it for years. It offers various filters and effects, but not in the same way Snapchat does.
VSCO has an altogether different vibe to it. You should definitely go for it if creating moody, edgy, and atmospheric type of pictures is your thing.
There are more than 200 filters and advanced editing tools, and I fell in love with the vintage range of filters. There are also 10 presets to make the editing process faster and more efficient.
You can create beautiful and unique collages by layering videos and photos and adding filters to them. That is a very interesting Discover feature on this app where you can see other users’ creations. I mostly use this feature when I need inspiration.
Features
- The app is available for both Android and IOS platforms.
- It is absolutely great for creating moody and edgy photos.
- There are more than 200 filters, editing tools, and 10 presets.
- It is very easy to edit and enhance the photos.
- You can create beautiful collages by layering images and videos.
- The discover feature will give you inspiration from others.
Conclusion
I have mentioned my top recommendations for the best apps like Snapchat with filters. They are all great in their unique way, and I can assure you they won’t disappoint, no matter which one you pick.
However, if I have to pick a favorite, I will go for YouCam Perfect. It offers a great range of aesthetic effects and filters, is easily accessible, and I love that they have different filter packs based on different moods, requirements, and occasions. Plus, to get a massive amount of filters and effects for free.
I hope this article will help you pick the best Snapchat alternative that will meet your needs.
