Blingee is a well-known online GIF creator. With Blingee, you can layer your own decorative designs over original artwork or photography to create unique, charming GIFs. Something interesting about Blingee is that you can create your own profiles to share your GIFs.
Blingee is not alone in its space, there are some top alternatives to Blingee which includes Lunapic, Glitterfy, PicMix, ImageChef and others. However, the best Blingee alternative is Loonapix. The tool is simple, and easy to use even for beginners. What’s more, you can get started without having to create an account.
Also Read: Best GIF Apps For WhatsApp
About Blingee & why explore Blingee alternatives
Having been around since 2006, Blingee is loved and adored by many internet users as a relic of a past internet age.
Apart from making GIFs, you can use Blingee to edit and animate all kinds of pictures and graphics. Lots of internet subcultures like fantasy, anime, and emo use Blingee to express themselves.
Blingee almost shut down in 2015. This was due to business infrastructure issues. Although a round of funding allowed it to remain up and running.
However not all is great about Blingee. It does not work well for a good number of current users because of technical issues. A few users have complained about how difficult Blingee is to use.
As much as you may love Blingee, you may have to turn elsewhere to make your GIFs or edit your photos. Here are a few alternatives for you to consider:
Best Blingee Alternatives
1. Loonapix
Loonapix is a fun quirky site that you can use to achieve the Blingee effect. It was created around the same time.
With Loonapix, you can easily create graphics to accompany your photos. It’s rather barebones which makes it very straightforward.
You don’t have to have sophisticated photo graphics knowledge to use Loonapix. It was designed for normal people.
Unlike Blingee, Loonapix regularly updates its software making it very smooth and versatile.
Loonapix is free to use. Additionally, you don’t have to have an account of any kind to use it.
2. Lunapic
Lunapic is an online photo editor with a cult following. Like Blingee, its effects are retro and vintage in a way that reminds many of an internet age that has long passed.
The tool is very sentimental for a lot of its users. That it is not as sophisticated as other online photo editors is not a fact that’s held against it.
With Lunapic, you can add many effects to your photographs. Of course, you can also make GIFs.
It’s completely free to use. It’s web-based and compatible with almost all browsers including Firefox, Chrome, and Safari.
3. BigHugeLabs
BigHugeLabs has the following simple tagline, “Do fun stuff with your photos.” It definitely lives up to its mission.
BigHugeLabs can be used by anybody of any age. However, it is targeted at users of school-going age.
It has an educator account. When teachers sign up for this free account, they get access to great benefits such as the ability to pre-register students so that they can sign in without an email address, view and download student-generated content, use the site ad-free, and has ready-to-print ID cards for their students.
BigHugeLabs has design tools that students can use to make trading cards, badges, maps, mosaics, and jigsaws. It’s a lot of fun to use.
The basic version of BigHugeLabs is free to use. However, it costs a small fee of around $5 to print high-resolution images of your customized designs.
4. Glitter Graphics
Glitter Graphics describes itself as, “Your #1 community for graphics, layouts, glitter text, animated backgrounds, and more.” Glitter Graphics’ quirky yet useful interface allows it to live up to this description.
Glitter Graphics has been around since 2005 and is very similar to Blingee. The site’s interface is rather simple.
Like Blingee, it is straight out of the Myspace era. On the website, you can find lots of Myspace layouts and backgrounds.
Glitter Graphics is heavy on nostalgia. An internet user of a certain age would have a sentimental time using the site’s features.
Glitter Graphics is a community. This means that you can join it to share your own graphics or comment on others.
All graphics are free to use for any online profile, but you cannot use them for commercial purposes. Glitter Graphics has a group of loyal and active moderators.
5. Glitterfy
Glitterfy is another alternative to Blingee you can consider. This prevalence of glitter is because the glitter aesthetic was a big thing during the Myspace age.
It was created in 2006 by Binary Inertia LLC.
It’s a free web-based application that is quite easy to use. Use Glitterfy to come up with memorable graphics that ignite your nostalgic and sentimental feelings.
The site has a suite of readymade graphics divided into many interesting categories. Click on any of the categories or subcategories to input each graphics code into your web profile on Myspace, Tumblr, Orkut, Hi5, and many more.
You can also upload your own photos to create a flipbook, in addition to many other features. Explore the website to dive into its many fun features.
6. GlassGiant.com
Another substitute to Blingee, GlassGiant.com was founded in 2001 by programmer Shawn Wilson as a place for his personal projects.
Initially, Glassgiant.com was a personal portfolio website and a place to do rough programming for Mr. Wilson. Over time, it grew into a place for Myspace widgets and other widgets as well.
Glassgiant.com was quite popular with Myspace users. Even though the use of Myspace is not as widespread currently, Glassgiant.com is still a great place to hang out on the internet.
GlassGiant.com prompts its users to, “make cool pictures starring you!” It’s a lot of fun to use because it actually lives up to this.
You can upload your own pictures to enhance them with a good number of fun effects. For example, you can overlay your picture with a romance novel cover, a prom makeover, a custom snow globe, a St. Patrick’s Day aesthetic, or a ‘Wanted’ poster. You can then use these pictures on your social media profiles.
Using GlassGiant.com is free and there are lots of fun free games to play on the site as well. These include classic niche games such as Air Dodge, Air Hockey, Alien, Balloony, Cowboy Bullet, and many more.
GlassGiant.com also has a lot of cool features targeted toward programmers. They call this category ‘Geek Stuff’ where you can play with a Binary Clock, Timestamp Converter, ROT13 Encoder, et cetera.
7. ImageChef
ImageChef is a free, simple web-based application that you can use to generate many kinds of edited images. ImageChef focuses on providing elementary photo editing features in a way that’s quite similar to Blingee.
You can use ImageChef on either your PC or smartphone and you will need an original image to use the application.
Simply upload the image and then download the edited image. You can use the final image in any way, for both commercial and non-commercial purposes.
The final image does not have a watermark for this reason. However, you have to make sure that the original image is copyright-free if you’d like to use the final edited image for commercial purposes.
ImageChef has a variety of features that allow you to edit your image however you’d like. These features include Picture to Manga, Photo to Watercolor, Image to Sketch, Image to Woodcut, and Photo to Ukiyo-e.
Some painting styles available are Claude Monet, Van Gogh, and Paul Cezanne. You can also colorize, sharpen, and blur images.
These features are just the tip of the iceberg. Explore ImageChef to find out all it has to offer.
8. PicMix
PicMix was initially created as a phone application as opposed to a web application.
PicMix was created for the BlackBerry smartphone when it was the most popular smartphone in Indonesia. Since then, it has evolved into a platform with over 27 million registered users.
PicMix now has a web-based version, as well as apps for both Android and iPhone. It is available in 25 languages.
You can use PicMix to create all sorts of edited and animated images, including GIFs and text effects. To enable easy sharing of images, PicMix is integrated with all the popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
PicMix is a great application because it’s a one-stop shop for all your photo editing needs. It houses a GIF maker, photo frame effect maker, photo editor, and a fake chat generator.
You can use PicMix for free without registration. Its revenue model is based on ads and optional in-app purchases.
9. Picsart
Picsart is a sleek application that you can use to edit your photos in a variety of ways. It was founded in 2011 by three Armenian entrepreneurs and programmers called Hovhannes Avoyan, Artavazd Mehrabyan, and Mikayel Vardanyan.
Picsart is extremely popular. The app has more than one billion downloads worldwide.
The Picsart company has developed a range of apps that work together to ensure that you can optimally edit a given photo however you’d like. It has Picsart Photo & Video Editor, Picsart Animator, Picsart Color, Sketch AI, and Picsart GIF & Sketch Maker.
You have to download each of these apps separately. The most popular app is Picsart Photo & Video Editor which allows you to add various effects, and the social networking component allows you to share your photos with other users for feedback.
Picsart Animator allows you to create animation, Picsart Color is for drawing and painting, Sketch AI uses generative AI to turn drawings and photographs into digital art, while Picsart GIF & Sketch Maker lets you create animated GIFs and stickers.
Picsart apps are available on iOS, Android, and Windows devices. The web-based application is available through your desktop computer on all the major browsers.
You can access the free version of Picsart by simply downloading the app or by signing up through the website. This free version gives you access to a basic version of Picsart Photo & Video Editor that is nonetheless quite comprehensive, as well as thousands of free images and templates.
The premium version is called Picsart Gold. It costs only $5 per month and gives you full access to the entire suite of Picsart apps and their many features.
If you are working on photos and images with a group of people, you may consider the premium Picsart Team which goes for $7 monthly. With Picsart Team, you get full premium access for each member as well as team management tools.
10. Picasion
Picasion is a free and simple web-based tool that you can use to create animated GIFs. It’s available in four languages.
Picasion got its start during those Myspace days. It’s best for making fun-filled animations for Myspace, Hi5, Facebook, Tumblr, eBay, Orkut, Bebo, Digg, Friendster, et cetera.
Simply go to the website, upload a picture, and enjoy your animation. You don’t have to have an account.
You can use Picasion to make GIFs, make glitter text, and even resize images online.
With Picasion, you can easily import images from Flickr if you have an account. You can then use those images to make your animation.
11. PicMonkey
PicMonkey is a very versatile application. It comes as both a mobile and web application.
It was founded in 2012 in Seattle, Washington. It is quite popular with users, having been downloaded millions of times.
PicMonkey is for both graphic design and photo editing. Like Blingee, you can use PicMonkey to do almost anything when it comes to enhancing or animating an original drawing or photograph.
PicMonkey contains countless templates, graphics, and fonts. It also comes with a royalty-free stock video library.
PicMonkey was designed to integrate well with social media. For example, it has particular templates for each of the major social media sites like YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.
You can use a basic version of PicMonkey for free. However, to access more great features, you will have to subscribe to its premium plans that begin at less than $8 a month.
The other premium plans include the PicMonkey Pro plan which goes for less than $13 a month. If you have heavy usage needs and collaboration needs because of your business, you may consider the PicMonkey Business plan which goes for $23 per month.
12. GIMP
GIMP stands for ‘GNU Image Manipulation Program.’ Fun fact: the cartoon animal in its logo is called a ‘Gnu.’
GNU also refers to a collection of free software that is used as an operating system or as part of another operating system. GNU is affiliated with Linux and its development began in 1983.
If Blingee is old, GIMP is ancient! Blingee was launched in 2006, while GIMP was launched ten years earlier in 1996.
GIMP was free and open-source when it was launched, carrying the ethos of the internet of the times. That it remains free and open-source after all these years is amazing.
You can use GIMP to edit, enhance, and animate all sorts of photographs and drawings. It’s very versatile and easy to use.
Because it’s open source, you will be using programs developed by other people. If you’re interested in sharing your own program with others by changing the source code, you’re welcome to do so.
13. Canva
Canva is a very popular design tool. As of October 2022, it had over 100 million users.
One reason for Canva’s popularity is its versatility. You can do almost anything on Canva.
It was designed to be a one-stop shop for all your online graphic needs. With Canva, you can create logos, social media posts, posters, videos, presentations, and more.
Furthermore, it is available through both a mobile app (iOS and Android) as well as through your web browser. It is mostly free of charge but you can pay extra for premium features, beginning at $12.95 a month.
Because it’s so versatile, you can use Canva to achieve the elusive Blingee effect. Canva is primarily a graphic design tool, meaning it works well if you want this Blingee effect for your graphic design.
However, you can still use Canva to edit and animate visual images.
14. Pixlr
Pixlr was released in 2008. The application retains that classic feel while being quite sleek and modern because of regular updates.
Pixlr was founded in Sweden by Ola Sevanderson to, “enable everyone to create, edit, and share images online with ease.” Even though it was acquired by Autodesk in 2011, ease remains at the center of the application’s design.
For example, Pixlr is completely cloud-based, meaning that you don’t have to have a mobile app to use it. If you’d like to, you can download the mobile app version for iOs, Android, and Windows devices.
You don’t require an account to use Pixlr. It is also compatible with most devices.
The free version is very comprehensive. You have access to over half a million graphics in the form of vectors, icons, videos, and photos.
You also have access to both basic and advanced editing features. Check out Pixlr to enjoy the full range of what it has to offer because these are only the tip of the iceberg.
You can try out the premium version for free for 30 days. Thereafter, it costs $7.99 per month.
If you are a heavy user of Pixlr’s basic version but wouldn’t like to commit to the premium plan, you should consider the ad-free plan. It goes for only $1 a month.
15. BeFunky
BeFunky is a great creative platform that allows you to do a lot with your photos. You can edit photos, make photo collages, and create graphic designs.
You can access BeFunky through its website, or you can download its iOS or Android app on any of your mobile devices. To date, its Android app has been downloaded over 10 million times.
BeFunky is truly special when it comes to photo editing. This makes sense because since being founded in 2007, the company has been dedicated entirely to making photo editing and graphic design fun and easy.
It’s therefore quite easy to mimic the Blingee effect using BeFunky. Some of BeFunky’s features include cropping and resizing, turning your photos into art, batch editing, retouching portraits, customizable design templates, more than a million stock images, and many vector graphics and icons.
You can access these features for free. To access premium features like its background remover and AI photo editing, you can subscribe to BeFunky Plus which goes for $9.99 if billed monthly or $4.99 if billed annually.
BeFunky came up with a new iOS app called Visionn. The app uses BeFunky’s patented technology called Art Engine.
You can use the app to animate moments as they happen. It’s worth checking out!
16. FotoJet
FotoJet is another great application that you can use for your photo design needs. Its features allow you to freely and easily create a Blingee-type effect.
It’s completely web-based, meaning you don’t have to download an app to use it. You also don’t have to register an account to use it.
This ease of use is very similar to Blingee. FotoJet’s features include graphic design tools, collage tools, and photo and video editing tools.
FotoJet is completely free. However, you can access the premium version for $6.99 a month if billed monthly and $3.33 per month if billed annually, which comes to about $39.99 per year.
17. Fotor
Fotor is an online platform that provides tools for photo editing, graphic design, and collage making. It was founded in 2012 and has garnered over 10 million downloads on Google Play Store since then.
Fotor is so popular because you can use its many features to do almost anything. Its filters and effects are particularly great.
It’s available through the web as a web-based program, as professional software for both Mac and Windows, and as a mobile app for both Android and iOS devices.
The basic version with standard features, Fotor Basic, is completely free. To access more or all of Fotor’s features, you may choose to subscribe to either one of its two premium tiers.
Fotor Pro, which the company describes as, “best for small businesses, freelancers and designers” retails at about $8.99 a month or $39.99 if billed annually. Unlike Fotor Basic, it’s ad-free and offers a few great extra features that make all the difference.
In addition to Fotor Pro’s features, Fotor Pro Plus offers other great features including priority email support. This plan retails for $19.99 a month and is described as, “best for startups, agencies, and corporate marketing.”
Wrapping Up
There you have it folks. An exhaustive list of the best Blingee alternatives for this year.
I hope that these help you with whatever projects you might have. Happy editing!
