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The 4 Best Monitors For Photo Editing - Winter 2024 Reviews

Updated
Best Monitors For Photo Editing

If you're a professional photo editor or content creator, a proper monitor helps you perfect your craft by displaying accurate colors and life-like images. While there are dedicated professional displays with perfect color accuracy, those tend to cost a lot, so if you don't have the funds, the next best option is to get a monitor that performs well enough for serious photo editing. Although you can realistically edit photos with any calibrated monitor, you can get the best performance by getting a monitor with accurate colors and a dedicated sRGB mode, which is important if you work in the sRGB color space and don't want to pay more for calibration.

Besides the color accuracy, a high-resolution display lets you see images with a ton of detail. Getting a monitor with a USB hub and good ergonomics can also improve your workflow, especially if you need to connect different devices or often share your screen with someone else.

We've bought and tested more than 300 monitors, and below are our picks for the best monitors that you can use for photo editing. See our recommendations for the best 4k monitors, the best ultrawide monitors, and the best monitors for video editing. If you need more than just a monitor, check out the best laptops for photo editing and the best cameras for photography.


  1. Best Monitor For Photo Editing

    The best monitor for photography editing we've tested is the ASUS ProArt Display PA279CRV. It's designed with content creators in mind, as it even includes various picture modes for different color spaces you may work with, including anything from sRGB to Rec. 2020. It's excellent for photo editing as its sRGB mode has fantastic accuracy, so you'll only need to calibrate it if you need perfectly accurate colors. It also displays all colors in the sRGB and Adobe RGB color spaces. Besides that, it has a 4k resolution, so you can see plenty of details in your pictures, and its 27-inch screen is big enough to multitask while editing.

    It also has a few handful features, like a USB hub that features three USB-A ports and two USB-C ports. One of the USB-C inputs supports DisplayPort Alt Mode with 90W of power delivery, so you can easily connect a compatible laptop to work on it and charge it using a single cable. However, if you want more features, like a bigger USB hub and a KVM switch, check out the Dell U2723QE. It's another excellent choice for photo editing, but the ASUS displays a wider range of colors, especially in Adobe RGB.

    See our review

  2. Best Monitor For Photo Editing On Mac

    If you want to edit your photos with a Mac computer, like a MacBook Pro or Mac Mini, consider the Apple Studio Display. While the ASUS ProArt Display PA279CRV is good enough to use with macOS devices, the Studio Display completes your Apple ecosystem and has features you can use only with a Mac computer. One of those features you can only access with macOS is its dedicated sRGB mode, which results in exceptional accuracy, and you won't even need to calibrate it for the most accurate image. It also has a higher 5k resolution, resulting in an incredibly high pixel density and sharp images.

    It's different in a few ways from the ASUS because it doesn't support HDR, but that doesn't make much difference if you don't edit photos in HDR. It's available with two different types of stands, but neither is very ergonomic, as they don't even offer swivel adjustment. This means it's hard to adjust to an ideal position unless you get its third variant that comes with a mounting adapter, for which you'll need to buy a proper mount.

    See our review

  3. Best Mid-Range Monitor For Photo Editing

    If you don't need a high-end monitor like the Apple Studio Display for editing content with Mac computers and find the ASUS ProArt Display PA279CRV too expensive, check out the Dell S2722QC. It's a step down in performance from ASUS as it doesn't have a dedicated sRGB picture mode, meaning it has worse accuracy, and you'll need to calibrate it, but that's what you must expect when getting something cheaper. It also has a smaller USB hub, with only two USB-A ports and a single USB-C port. Luckily, it supports DisplayPort Alt Mode with 65W of power delivery, which is enough to charge smaller laptops but not power-hungry ones.

    It's a great choice if you need to use your monitor in a bright room because it has great peak brightness, enough to fight glare, and the reflection handling is good. It also has wide viewing angles that are great if you need to share your work with someone next to you, and the excellent ergonomics make adjusting the screen in different ways easy.

    See our review

  4. Best Budget Monitor For Photo Editing

    If you're looking for something on a budget, the Dell S2721QS is a good option in Dell's 4k lineup, but it's a step down from the more expensive Dell S2722QC model and has fewer features. The main difference is that it has no USB hub, so you can't use your laptop's USB-C port to directly connect to it like on the S2722QC. However, it still has DisplayPort and HDMI inputs, so you can use an adapter even if your laptop doesn't have those ports.

    Besides the difference in connectivity, the picture quality is very similar to the S2722QC, as it also has decent accuracy. Still, it doesn't have an sRGB mode, so you'll have to calibrate it if you need the most accurate colors possible. If that's important to you, there are other budget monitors available with an sRGB mode, like the ASUS ProArt Display PA278CV or the Gigabyte M27Q P, but those have a 1440p resolution, so you don't get as many details or the same image sharpness as on the Dell.

    See our review

Notable Mentions

  • LG 40WP95C-W: The LG 40WP95C-W is a great monitor for photo editing with an ultrawide screen, offering more screen space than the ASUS ProArt Display PA279CRV. Get this if you like the ultrawide format, but it doesn't get as bright as the ASUS. See our review
  • ASUS VG246H: The ASUS VG246H is a cheap monitor with incredible ergonomics and a dedicated sRGB mode, which is great if you want something more affordable than the Dell S2721QS. It has a lower 1080p resolution, so images aren't as detailed. See our review
  • Apple Pro Display XDR: The Apple Pro Display XDR is a higher-end professional content creation monitor than the Apple Studio Display. It supports HDR and has a higher resolution but costs a lot more, so it isn't worth getting for most people. Untested - Join the discussion

Recent Updates

  1. Feb 13, 2024: Removed the Dell U2723QE and renamed the ASUS ProArt Display PA279CRV to 'Best Monitor For Photo Editing' because it displays a wider range of colors than the Dell. Removed the Gigabyte M32U from Notable Mentions because it doesn't fit into the scope of this article.

  2. Dec 12, 2023: Removed the Acer Nitro XF243Y Pbmiiprx because of lack of availability and added the ASUS ProArt Display PA279CRV as the 'Best Upper Mid-Range' monitor. Replaced the Dell Alienware AW3423DW with the Apple Pro Display XDR in Notable Mentions.

  3. Oct 13, 2023: Removed the Dell U3223QE and renamed the Dell U2723QE as 'Best For Photo Editing' because both monitors are similar and the U2723QE is cheaper; updated text for clarity throughout.

  4. Aug 16, 2023: Verified that the monitors are still available to purchase and updated text for clarity throughout; added the Dell Alienware AW3423DW to Notable Mentions.

  5. Jun 20, 2023: Replaced the ASUS ProArt Display PA278CV with the Dell S2721QS because it has a higher resolution and it's slightly cheaper; added the Acer Nitro XF243Y Pbmiiprx as the 'Best Cheap Monitor'; added the ASUS VG246H to Notable Mentions.

All Reviews

Our recommendations are based on what we think are the best monitors for photography and other types of media creation currently available. They are adapted to be valid for most people in each price range. Rating is based on our review, factoring in price and feedback from our visitors.

If you would prefer to make your own decision, here is the list of all of our monitor reviews. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. Most monitors are good enough to please most people, and the things we fault monitors on are often not noticeable unless you really look for them.