Photo CleanerBest photo cleaner apps for iPhone: an honest 2026 comparison
Updated · By Mohamed Elatabany
There is no single best photo cleaner for everyone. Some people want to swipe through every photo; others just want duplicates gone. Here is an honest comparison of the free built-in option and five popular apps, including ours.
Checked October 2026. No prices are listed because they vary by region and change often; see each app's App Store page.
Disclosure: this site is made by the developer of Photo Cleaner. We have tried to be fair to every app listed and only state features that are documented in the apps' own App Store listings or websites. Where we could not confirm something, we wrote "—" rather than guess. Features change; check each app's App Store page before deciding.
Comparison table
| App | Swipe review | Duplicates / similar | Blurry detection | Large videos | On-device | Free tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Photos (built in) | No | Exact and visually identical copies only (Duplicates album, iOS 16+) | No | No sort by size; iPhone Storage may suggest reviewing videos | Yes | Built in, free |
| Photo Cleaner (ours) | Yes | Yes, both; marks the best shot | Yes | Yes, Largest Files sorted by size | Yes, 100% | Yes, 100 deletions one time |
| Swipewipe | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Slidebox | Yes | — | — | — | — | Free download |
| Cleanup | — | Yes | — | — | — | Free download |
| CleanMy®Phone | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | Free download |
The apps, briefly
Apple Photos (built in)
Free and already on your iPhone. Since iOS 16, Utilities → Duplicates lists identical copies and lets you merge them, keeping the highest-quality version. It does not group similar shots, detect blur or sort by size, and deleting many photos means selecting them in a grid. Always worth doing first. How to use it.
Photo Cleaner
Ours. Swipe left to delete, right to keep, with a Trash Bin you review before anything is deleted. It also has a Similars / Duplicates finder that marks the best shot, Blur Detection, Largest Files, categories (Screenshots, Videos, Live Photos, Bursts, WhatsApp/Messenger), Memory Lane and a session recap. Everything runs on-device with no account. Free tier with a one-time allowance of 100 deletions, with an optional Pro subscription. iOS 17 or later.
Swipewipe
A swipe-based cleaner built around the same idea of quick keep-or-delete decisions. If swiping is all you need and you already like its interface, it is a reasonable choice. Swipewipe vs Photo Cleaner.
Slidebox
A long-standing swipe app. Its distinctive feature is sorting photos into albums while you review them, which neither Apple Photos nor Photo Cleaner does in the same way. A good fit if organising albums matters as much as deleting. Slidebox vs Photo Cleaner.
Cleanup
A storage cleaner focused on grouping duplicate and similar photos for bulk deletion. It suits people who prefer reviewing grouped results rather than swiping photo by photo.
CleanMy®Phone
From MacPaw, the makers of CleanMyMac. Its declutter tools group similar photos and duplicates and flag blurry shots and screenshots. A good fit if you already use MacPaw's tools.
How to choose
- Only exact copies bother you: use the built-in Duplicates album. It's free.
- You want to go through your whole library: a swipe app (Photo Cleaner, Swipewipe or Slidebox) is faster than the Photos grid.
- You want to organise into albums as you go: Slidebox is built for that.
- You want swiping plus duplicates, blur and large files in one app, entirely on-device: that's what Photo Cleaner is for.
Whatever you choose: check how deletion works before your first big session. With Photo Cleaner, swiped photos go to a Trash Bin first, then to iOS's Recently Deleted album for 30 days, so mistakes are recoverable.
Try Photo Cleaner
Free to download, 100 deletions free, one time. On-device, no account.
