We tested the best monitors for photo editing - and these are our top recommendations for photographers, artists, designers, and anyone with a creative streak.
Our team of experts have tested everything from the best photo editing PCs to the best laptops for photo editing - so we understand how important it is to find a display for editing photographs that features color accuracy, high-resolutions, and good color space. The best monitor for photo editing right now is the Dell U3224KB UltraSharp. This compelling 6K 32in screen is bright, vibrant, and ideal for professionals and serious designers.
We rounded up the top-rated displays from ultra-high res models to budget screens that get the job done. Throughout our hardware testing process, we've compared specifications, resolutions, size, design, and connectivity. Specifically here, we've included color-accurate monitors with high sRGB and Adobe RGB color space coverage for best results.
The quick list
The Dell U3224KB UltraSharp offers an extraordinary combination of beautiful display, a beautiful webcam, quality audio, complete with Thunderbolt connectivity. In our tests, we found the 6K picture quality stunning, the port selection excellent, and the camera to be crisp.
The Asus ProArt PA279CRV proves professional photo editing monitors don’t need to cost the earth. A 27in 4K display, the screen offers excellent color coverage and plenty of pop thanks to 400 nits of brightness.
A professional-grade 4K UHD monitor with Thunderbolt 3 connectivity, the BenQ PD3220U is designed for professionals in a variety of fields, and its large screen and high-resolution display makes it ideal for video and photo editing.
The InnoCN 27M2U features an impressive mini LED screen - the same technology you’ll find in Apple products - so expect a crisp, high-resolution display and a monitor that features superb build quality. One for creative professionals and prosumers with a keen eye for color reproduction.
There’s a lot going for the Dell UltraSharp U2723QE, with its monitor and hub arrangement designed to be your all-in-one workspace. There’s plenty of screen real estate thanks to a 27in display that offers true-to-life colors.
If you’re a creative professional, you can’t go wrong with the BenQ PD2725U. A feature-packed 4K monitor boasting plenty of ports nestled in a sleek design. In our tests, it performed exceptionally well, with clear, crisp images and excellent color accuracy.
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For the best of both worlds, the LG DualUp is a stellar screen that effortlessly switches between landscape and portrait orientations. Build quality is excellent, and ideal for highly productive pros.
The BenQ PD3205U features a big screen with an intense focus on color accuracy. We found images appeared crisp and life-like, while the BenQ ‘hockey puck’ made the interface and navigation an absolute breeze.
If you’re working across multiple locations, the espressoDisplay portable monitor is the ideal solution. It’s thin, lightweight, and robust enough to carry with you day-to-day. An impressively versatile display for photo editors.
A dazzling 5K screen from Apple that's designed for photo, video, and graphic design. Expect sharp, detailed images, excellent viewing angles, and 98% DCI-P3 color space coverage.
Best monitor for photo editing overall
With its impressive 6K resolution and sRGB 100% color coverage, the Dell U3224KB UltraSharp is arguably the best photo editing monitor for pretty much everyone.
Beautifully designed, the display features a Thunderbolt hub, 4K webcam, and a soundbar, all built into one clean package. The only other monitor we've tested that comes close with this combination is the Apple Studio Display; in terms of image quality and size, the Dell U3224KB UltraSharp is more like the Apple Pro Display XDR. Both are excellent choices for photographers and creatives - but here, you're getting the best of both worlds in a single 32-inch screen (and it's cheaper with better connectivity, too)
That sRGB color space, though broad, may be a deal-breaker for some professional users who prefer Adobe RGB, and the 16:9 ratio has fallen out of favor in recent years. But for most these specs will be absolutely great. And with the stunning picture quality, extra-high resolution. it's got every other base covered, whatever photos you're working on.
Read our full Dell U3224KB UltraSharp 6K monitor review
Best budget photo editing monitor
There aren't many budget photo editing monitors that boast 99% Adobe RGB and 99% DCI-P3, but the Asus ProArt PA279CRV is one of them.
This affordable screen delivers a near-pro level experience without breaking the bank. Better still, it looks great straight out of the box, before you even dive into the monitor's extensive calibration settings.
The 27-inch IPS panel features full 4K resolution for crisper images, excellent color space coverage, and a decent 400nits luminance. We really liked the features and connectivity with this screen, too, which includes includes USB-C connectivity. With its 96W power delivery and display daisy chaining, this makes for a very versatile display.
However, it is a budget screen, so there are some compromises here. We did find the contrast to be relatively weak at 1,000:1, and the ProArt PA279CRV only has basic DisplayHDR 400 certification. But when it comes to picture quality, color accuracy, and plentiful connectivity, it's difficult to beat the value for money here.
To bring the price down even further, use one of our Asus coupon codes.
Read our full Asus ProArt PA279CRV review
Best 4K monitor for photo editing
The BenQ PD3220U is a sound choice if you want a 4K photo editing monitor that's packed full of features, That broad 32-inch screen, high resolution, and connectivity for fast data transfer speeds make it ideal for image editing, graphic design, video production, and content creation.
In our tests, the PD3220U proved to offer a crisp picture quality, with images really standing out on the screen. And the 100% sRGB color gamut and 10-bit color depth makes for a vibrant, color-accurate photo editing monitor. Even more useful for photographers working with a wide color range, the monitor's impressive HDR capabilities display a greater range of contrast between light and dark areas of an image.
Connectivity is excellent, including multiple HDMI and DisplayPort ports - essential for many in the photographic field - as well as a USB-C port for data transfer and power delivery. The built-in KVM switch is also a handy feature for those who work on editing projects across multiple computers.
Read our full BenQ PD3220U review
Best mini LED photo editing monitor
Tired of the same old OLED panels on your photo editing monitor? The InnoCN 27M2U tries something different - a 27-inch 4K mini LED display with exceptional visual performance, solid OSD controls, and superb build quality. It's not cheaper, though, and we recommend this one for creative professionals and thoser who demand excellent color reproduction.
With support for 99% Adobe RGB, 99% DCI-P3 and 100% sRGB color spaces, this monitor certainly scores high on color reproduction and fidelity. And with its mini LED, the screen has crisp whites, vibrancy, and color saturation, better viewing angles. It's the same tech used in Apple laptops popular across the creative community. This smaller light emitting diodes that are used to literally shine a light on the LCD panel.
Beyond this, the 27M2U sports a built-in automatic lighting sensor capable of adjusting brightness depending on ambient lighting. And the gravity sensor clever adjusts the screen's orientation depending on whether you're editing photos in landscape or portrait mode.
Read our full InnoCN 27M2U review
Best all-in-one photo editing monitor
A wide range of color spaces - 100% Rec 709, 100% sRGB, 98% DCI-P3 - mark the 27-inch Dell U2723QE as one of the best monitors for photo editing if you want an all-in-one work hub.
This 4K UHD 3840 x 2160 LED screen offers true-to-life color, and while not the brightest monitor, we found the 2000:1 contrast ratio and HDR features helped to create a well-balanced, beautiful image with accurate colors when editing your photos. Those color space presets do more than just look great. They're excellent for increasing productivity. The ability to choose different presets meant we could switch from office apps to photo editing workflows quickly and easily.
For those spending long hours in front of the screen, we also found Low Blue Light emissions let us use the monitor without eye fatigue, even when we were parked in front of it for hours.
On the connectivity side, the U2723QE provides USB-C or DisplayPort ports for daisy chaining monitors. You can also set up KVM, Picture-In-Picture, and Picture-By-Picture if you need to see or control multiple computers simultaneously. It may all be more than you need, and it doesn't come cheap, but as an all-in-one hub for any serious workspace, it excels.
Read our full Dell UltraSharp U2723QE review
Best photo editing monitor for creative professionals
There's a lot to like about the BenQ PD2725U if your focus is on photo editing. It's a sleek, 4K 27-inch display designed for creatives, with incredible color accuracy, connectivity options, and wide color space coverage.
This sort of monitor does have a premium price-tag, so it is an investment - but you get a great feature-set for the money. The PD2725U supports 100% Rec.709, 100% sRGB, and 95% P3, has a relatively quick 4ms response time for minimal disruption to the images. We really liked the Picture-by-Picture and Picture-in-Picture modes on offer here, too, which made multi-tasking and referencing much easier. And we had no trouble using the screen in both portrait and landscape orientations.
Elsewhere you'll find a suitably modern port selection, with Thunderbolt 3, HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB-C. There's even on on-screen and shortcut keys built into the monitor, which meant we could change the settings and inputs very quickly.
If there's a downside with the BenQ PD2725U, it's the built-in speakers. We found them to be very poor, and would strongly recommend using headphones or external speakers with this one. But as a pure 4K monitor for photo editing aimed at the creative community, it's ideal.
Read our full BenQ PD2725U review
Best portrait monitor for photo editing
Plenty of the best monitors for photo editing can switch between landscape and portrait mode - it's essential - but in our experience, the LG DualUp is the pick of the bunch. After all, as the name suggests. it's specifically designed for the job.
The secret sauce here is a sturdy, secure, highly adjustable ergonomic monitor arm. You're free to use a VESA mount, but we found using the DualUp's twin arms effortlessly allowed us to alter the height, angle, and orientation. Supporting that are picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture modes, for splitting the screen in two - Photoshop on one half, reference images and the brief on the other. It's rare to highlight a monitor arm, but the DualUp has nailed the design and operation, and it's really is a stand-out feature here. Elsewhere, the screen shows excellent performance and picture quality.
It's admittedly expensive, so if you're not regularly switching orientations, other displays offer better value for money. But we tested this monitor for over a month, and loved every second - somehow, most other monitors just can't compare after using it.
Read our full LG DualUp review
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Best color-accurate monitor for photo editing
The BenQ PD3205U is our pick for best color accurate monitor for photo editing - we expected good things here, having experience with BenQ's line-up, but this IPS panel surpassed them all
The 31.5-inch 4K screen in a 21:9 ratio proved to be a very well-sized canvas. We found images were impressively crisp, sharp, the high-resolution providing excellent levels of detail, colors were vibrant. Add 99% sRGB and Rec. 709 color space coverage into the mix, and it's a very potent mix for photo editors and designers.
Color accuracy isn't the only aspect we liked about the PD3205U. The BenQ Hotkey puck provides a novel way of interfacing with the monitor. It adds a simple way to switch between USB-C, HDMI, and Displayport or access custom control settings like color modes. We had no issues performing these tasks with the puck (once we'd learned to love it, that is), and it easily helps speed up workflows.
Despite the good color space, we did find it's not the brightest out there, and it's not at a budget price-point, but overall, the BenQ PD3205U offers stellar performance for pretty much any task or project.
Read our full BenQ PD3205U review
