Freemium
Watermarkly Add Text
Watermarkly's free web tool adds custom text and captions to photos, and it works right in your browser.
BeginnerWeb
BeFunky Text Editor
Adds text to a photo with curved text, outlines and shadows, and imports your own fonts or Google Fonts on BeFunky Plus.
FreemiumBeginnerWebiOSAndroid
Overview
BeFunky's text editor puts words onto photos, collages and designs. You drop a text box on and style it. Alongside BeFunky's own library, you can upload your own font files or import Google Fonts without leaving the app. Both run through the Font Manager, which needs BeFunky Plus.
Curve bends text into an arc or a full circle for badges. Shadow, outline and highlight lift letters off a busy photo. It runs inside BeFunky's Photo Editor, Collage Maker and Graphic Designer, in the browser and phone apps. Placing and styling text is free. Plus is a monthly or annual subscription.
Key features
✓Upload your own font files (Plus)
✓Import Google Fonts without leaving the app (Plus)
✓Curated library of designer fonts
✓Curve text into an arc or full circle
✓Drop shadow, outline & highlight
✓Colour, size, spacing & alignment controls
✓Ready-made text patches as a starting point
✓Copy a styled text layer between projects
✓Runs in the browser & on iPhone & Android
When to use
Use BeFunky's text editor if:
- You need a specific brand font. You can upload the file yourself or import a Google Font, which needs a BeFunky Plus subscription.
- You want text curved into an arc or a full circle, for a badge, a logo or a round design.
- Your words disappear into a busy photo, which the shadow, outline and highlight effects address.
- You are making the same graphic repeatedly with different wording, since a styled text layer can be copied between projects.
- You are already captioning inside BeFunky's editor or collage maker, so the text sits on the same canvas.
- You want to work from a phone, because the text tools are in the iPhone and Android apps too.
When NOT to use
Skip BeFunky's text editor if any of these describe you:
- You need real typographic control: kerning specific letter pairs, variable fonts, text on a path you draw. This is simpler, and Adobe Photoshop is built for that work.
- You are laying out a document for print. This puts words on pictures, which is a different job from page layout and print production.
- You want the biggest free font and template library. Canva's add text to photo gives away a large font library on its free plan.
- You only need one quick caption. A whole editor is more than the job needs, and a lighter text overlay tool is faster.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, on a paid plan. You drag your own font files into the Font Manager, or import a Google Font in one click, and both then appear alongside BeFunky's own library. The Font Manager is a BeFunky Plus feature, so a free account uses BeFunky's own fonts, with the extended library limited as well. Uploading a font does not licence it. If you are working commercially, check what the font's own licence permits.
An outline or a drop shadow separates the letters from what is behind them. A highlight, or a colour on the text box background, puts a solid block behind the words. Moving the text to a quieter part of the picture often does more than any of the effects.
It bends the baseline your words sit on into an arc or a complete circle, rather than running them in a straight line. That is what you need for a badge, a stamp, a logo, or text following the edge of a round design. Doing it by hand means rotating and positioning each letter individually, which is slow and rarely comes out even. Not every captioning tool has it.
Placing text, setting the font, colour, size and alignment, and exporting all cost nothing. BeFunky Plus is a monthly or annual subscription. It adds the Font Manager, which is how you upload your own font files or import Google Fonts, plus the extended font library and some of the effects.
Yes. Once you have styled a text layer the way you want it, you can copy it and paste it onto another project, so the font, colour and effects come with it rather than being rebuilt from scratch. The text patches do a similar job from the other direction, giving you a pre-made starting point to adjust.
Alternatives to BeFunky Text Editor
Free
Visual Watermark Add Text
Free browser tool to add and style text on a photo, without a watermark or a sign-up.
BeginnerWeb
Free
Text2Photo
A free browser tool for adding text to a photo, with more than 950 Google fonts and no account needed.
BeginnerWeb
Free
