PicMonkey is an online photo editing and

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

service that can be accessed from a

web browser A web browser, often shortened to browser, is an application for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's scr ...

, or through a mobile app. The company behind the service is headquartered in downtown

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

Features

PicMonkey offers graphic design and photo editing tools, as well as design templates for wedding invitations, announcements, thank you cards, business cards, etc. While free users can access most of the tools and features on the site, a membership is needed for the full design and photo editing workflow, which includes saving, sharing to social accounts like Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Twitter, and access to PicMonkey's integrated cloud storage option. PicMonkey has been redeveloped and its old version can no longer be accessed due to Adobe Flash sunsetting. As of 2023, on the PicMonkey website and mobile app, the key features are: Photo editor, Design tools, Touch up, Facebook design, Instagram design, Youtube design, Templates, Graphics, and Branding. These added features to photos and graphic designs can easily be downloaded and shared/exported out to others. PicMonkey has an open

API An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build ...

for developers to integrate its tools directly into a website. Some current API partners include

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

, Ipernity, and

SmugMug SmugMug is a paid image sharing, image hosting service, and online video platform on which users can upload photos and videos. The company also facilitates the sale of digital and print media for amateur and professional photographers. In 2018, ...

. PicMonkey's affiliate partner is ShareaSale.

History

PicMonkey was founded by former Picnik employees Brian Terry, Justin Huff, Charlie Whiton, and Lisa Conquergood, with financial support from former Picnik CEO

Jonathan Sposato Jonathan Ng Sposato (pronounced SPŌ-sah-toe, born March 17, 1967) is an American serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and media executive known for his influential work in technology and media, as well as his advocacy for gender equality in busi ...

. Picnik was a popular online photo editor that had been acquired by

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

in 2010, but was shut down in January 2012. Terry, Huff, Sposato and others saw this as an opportunity to create a new company, PicMonkey, which was founded in April 2012 with the stated aim of creating a “fast and lightweight” photo editing experience. PicMonkey was recognized as a Top 100 Website in 2013 by

PC Magazine ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and continues . Overview ''PC Mag ...

, listed as hosting one of the Best April Fools’ Pranks of 2014 by

TIME Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

, and recognized as one of the most affordable online services for startups. By February 2014, PicMonkey had become profitable, and had grown to over 13 million unique monthly users. In July 2015, the company received a $41 million investment from the growth equity firm

Spectrum Equity A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of col ...

. On September 2, 2015, Frits Habermann joined PicMonkey as Chief Technology Officer. Habermann had formerly worked as vice president of core technologies at

Adobe Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...

, and as the CTO of PopCap Games. In 2017, Habermann was appointed as the new PicMonkey CEO. Former CEO Jonathan Sposato continued on the PicMonkey board of directors as the chairman. In 2018, PicMonkey did away with the

Adobe Flash Player Adobe Flash Player (known in Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Google Chrome as Shockwave Flash) is a discontinuedExcept in China, where it continues to be used, as well as Harman for enterprise users. computer program for viewing multimedia ...

plug-in for web browsers. In 2019, the service launched a

collaborative Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. The f ...

image editing feature. In 2020, PicMonkey began supporting video editing. On September 7, 2021, PicMonkey was acquired by

Shutterstock Shutterstock, Inc. is an American provider of stock photography, stock footage, stock music, and editing tools; it is headquartered in New York. Founded in 2002 by programmer and photographer Jon Oringer, Shutterstock maintains a library of ar ...

in a $110M cash deal. This has resulted in the stock photo options, which was originally provided by PicMonkey, now being shifted and provided by Shuttershock.

References

External links

{{Portal, Companies
PicMonkey homepage

PicMonkey Editor
Photo software Companies based in Seattle Internet properties established in 2012 American photography websites