Phonto alternatives for iPhone (2026)

Phonto has been one of the go-to apps for adding text to photos for years. It's still good at that job. But if you want text that sits behind a person, a framed layout, or animated type, you'll need something else. Here is what Phonto does well, where it stops, and the best alternatives on iPhone in 2026.

Full disclosure: we make layrd, one of the alternatives. Facts about other apps come from their App Store listings, with ratings as shown on October 23, 2026.

What Phonto does well

Phonto is free, and it has been on the App Store since 2011. Its listing describes more than 400 fonts, the ability to install your own, curved and perspective text, gradients, strokes, shadows, background colours, rotation, kerning and line spacing, and erasing parts of text. It has more than 122,000 ratings and a 4.8 average, and it was updated in October 2026.

That makes it a strong, plain text tool. Reasons people look elsewhere are different needs:

• Text behind a subject. Phonto puts text on top of the photo. It doesn't detect a person or object, so you can't tuck the text behind one.
• Layouts. It's focused on text rather than borders, templates or camera details.
• Carousels and motion. It has no panorama splitting or animated export.
• Installing fonts takes steps. Its listing describes copying font files through file sharing on a computer.

Quick comparison

App	Best for
layrd	Text behind subjects, frames and finished posts
Add Text	Simple text with many fonts
Canva	Full social designs and templates
Adobe Express	Templates and quick design actions
Picsart	All-round editing with text

1. layrd

Best for: text that interacts with the photo.

layrd puts text behind the person or object in your photo in one tap, or at a depth you choose. Then it adds frames, camera details from your photo, panorama splitting and animated text exported as MP4, GIF or APNG. Hundreds of fonts are built in, and Pro lets you import your own.

Worth knowing: iPhone and iPad only for now. It's more focused on a polished photo post than on a general font toy, and Phonto's very large font count and curved text are things layrd doesn't try to match.

2. Add Text

Best for: quick, simple text with lots of fonts.

Add Text lets you create unlimited text layers, with hundreds of fonts and colours, letter spacing and line height, perspective and shadow. It's the nearest like-for-like swap for Phonto. Its listing says the app is free to use, with premium fonts and graphics in a paid subscription.

3. Canva

Best for: people who design posts, not only captions.

Canva is much broader than a text app, with templates for social posts, presentations and more. Its AI tools can separate a subject, which lets you put text behind it, but those need Canva Pro. See how to put text behind a person in Canva.

4. Adobe Express

Best for: template-based content and quick actions.

Adobe Express covers photo editing, video, templates, background removal, resizing and brand kits. It's more of a design suite than a text editor.

5. Picsart

Best for: one app for editing, effects and text.

Picsart is a large photo and video editing app with AI tools, a background remover, collages and text. It has more than a million ratings.

How to choose

• Just want text on a photo, free and fast? Phonto or Add Text.
• Want the text to sit behind your subject? layrd, or try the free text behind image tool in your browser.
• Want to design full posts from templates? Canva or Adobe Express.
• Want every effect in one big app? Picsart.

For more apps built around the text-behind look, see the best apps to put text behind a subject.

Frequently asked questions

Is Phonto still available?

Yes. It's on the App Store and was last updated in October 2026 according to its listing.

Can Phonto put text behind a person?

No. It places text on top of the photo and doesn't separate the subject. You'd need another app or a layer editor.

What is the best free alternative to Phonto?

Add Text is the closest in style. For text behind a subject, our free browser tool and layrd's free tier are options.

Which alternative has the most fonts?

Phonto and Add Text both list hundreds of fonts. layrd includes a smaller curated set and lets Pro users import their own.