Meitu | AI Photo & Video Editor | Features, Stats & Pricing
Over 1.5 billion people have installed one app to fix a bad selfie in seconds. That app is Meitu | AI Photo & Video Editor, and it has quietly become one of the most downloaded creative tools on Earth. If you’ve scrolled TikTok or Instagram lately, chances are you’ve seen its fingerprints: the glowing skin, the Y2K digicam flash, the dreamy filter grain that makes a phone photo look shot on film.
This guide breaks down what Meitu actually does, how it stacks up against rivals, and whether it deserves a spot on your home screen in 2026.
What Is Meitu and Why Does It Matter in 2026?
Meitu is a free, all-in-one AI editor for mobile photos and videos. Xiamen Meitu Technology Co., Ltd. built it, and the app has lived on Google Play since March 2011. It handles beautification, filters, collage, video effects, and AI-generated art, all inside one interface.
The app isn’t a niche tool anymore. Meitu markets itself around a massive user base of over 1.5 billion users worldwide, with seamless integration across platforms like TikTok and Instagram. That scale puts it in the same conversation as Snapchat’s editing tools and Facetune, but with a heavier lean toward AI-driven automation rather than manual sliders.
Parent company Meitu Inc. backs this up with real financial momentum. The company reported revenue of 3.34 billion yuan, roughly $461.72 million, in 2024, up 23.9 percent year-on-year, while adjusted net profit climbed 59.2 percent to 586 million yuan.
That kind of growth doesn’t happen by accident. Meitu invested 910 million yuan in R&D during 2024, a 43.3 percent jump from the prior year, specifically to strengthen its position in visual AI.
Key Features Inside Meitu | AI Photo & Video Editor
Meitu packs a lot into one download. Here’s what actually stands out.
AI Beauty and Retouching Tools
The retouching suite covers skin smoothing, blemish removal, teeth whitening, and virtual makeup. Users can also reshape their bodies to appear curvier, slimmer, more muscular, or taller. A background lock feature keeps the rest of the photo untouched while you adjust the subject.
Digicam and Vintage Filters
This is where Meitu built its viral reputation. The Flash Digicam collection recreates the iconic 2000s CCD camera look with one tap, plus a high-contrast AI Flash Effect that mimics the flash photography style trending across TikTok and Instagram. Film grain and golden-hour tones round out the retro aesthetic.
AI Art, Avatars, and Object Removal
Selfies can transform into AI art, group photos, or digital avatars with a few taps, and an AI Object Removal tool erases photobombers or unwanted clutter with automatic blending. The app also converts portraits into artistic illustrations using more than 200 original filters.
Video Editing Capabilities
Meitu isn’t just a photo app. It provides tools for creating and editing high-quality videos, including filters, special fonts, stickers, music, and the same portrait retouching and body adjustments used in photos.
Quick feature list for anyone comparing apps at a glance:
- 200+ original filters
- AI portrait-to-illustration conversion
- Skin, teeth, and body retouching
- Digicam and film grain effects
- AI object and background removal
- Sticker-based collage tools
- Full video editing suite with music and text
- VIP tier with 1,000+ premium materials
Meitu’s Global Growth: Numbers That Tell the Story
Meitu | AI Photo & Video Editor isn’t slowing down. As of December 31, 2024, the company’s monthly active users reached 266 million, a 6.7 percent year-on-year increase. The international push is the more interesting story. MAU outside mainland China hit 94.51 million, a 21.7 percent surge year-on-year.
Senior product director Lu Weiying has said the company wants to expand its footprint in Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States, and its apps have already taken the top app ranking spot in Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Other Video Editor App: KwaiCut Video Editor App.
Download tracking backs up the app’s staying power. Meitu has been downloaded 140 million times, averaging roughly 40,000 downloads per day over recent 30-day windows. Sensor Tower estimated the app pulled in around 2 million downloads and $11 million in revenue in a single recent month.
Meitu vs Competing Photo Editors
Here’s how Meitu measures up against the apps people most often compare it to.
| Feature | Meitu | Facetune | B612 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary focus | AI beauty + video + filters | Portrait retouching | Selfie camera + filters |
| Filter count | 200+ | Limited presets | Moderate |
| AI object removal | Yes | Limited | Basic |
| Video editing | Full suite | Minimal | Basic |
| Body reshaping | Yes | Yes | No |
| Free tier usability | Generous | Restricted | Generous |
| Global reach | 1.5B+ users claimed | Smaller install base | Smaller install base |
Meitu wins on breadth. It does more things in one app. Similarweb tracks Facetune and B612 as apps with high user overlap with Meitu, meaning people who use one often try the others too. If precision editing matters more than speed, dedicated tools like Facetune still hold an edge for fine control.
Meitu AI 2026 Product Suite
Meitu isn’t only a consumer app anymore. At its 2026 Multimedia Festival on June 17, 2026, the company unveiled an eight-product imaging suite spanning four new tools (Picchi for portrait retouching, MVLAND for music video, Artflo for concept video, and MeituHub as a developer platform) plus four upgraded ones, all running on Meitu’s MiracleVision V6 model.
The standout is Picchi. It learns a user’s personal editing style from just 3 to 10 before-and-after photo pairs, a rare capability among consumer retouching tools.
At the launch demo, a photographer rated Picchi’s match to their own editing style at 90 out of 100, according to ifanr’s hands-on coverage, though that figure comes from a staged demo rather than independent testing.
MeituHub, the infrastructure layer tying the suite together, is set to open to developers on August 5, 2026. That’s the date worth watching if your business wants to plug Meitu’s AI models into an existing workflow rather than use the consumer apps directly.
Pros and Cons of Using Meitu
No app is perfect. Here’s a balanced look based on user feedback and store data.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Free core features with no forced paywall for basic edits | Many features require an internet connection, even basic adjustments like brightness and contrast |
| Massive filter and effect library | The app requests a large number of permissions, 52 in one recent audit, and uses 88 libraries |
| Strong AI automation reduces manual editing time | Some users report core tools like object removal becoming Pro-only over time |
| Frequent updates with trending effects | Heavier app size compared to simpler editors |
How to Get Started With Meitu | AI Photo & Video Editor
Getting up and running takes a few minutes. Download the app from the App Store or Google Play, grant only the permissions you’re comfortable with, and start with a single photo. Try one filter category first. The Flash Digicam pack is the easiest way to see AI processing in action. From there, layer in retouching before jumping into video tools.
Is Meitu Safe?
Meitu requests broad permissions typical of photo and video apps: camera, storage, microphone, network access, and ad-related identifiers. It supports in-app purchases and licensing checks, and users should review requested permissions carefully at install and monitor privacy settings after each update.
This isn’t unusual for apps in this category, but it’s worth checking your phone’s privacy dashboard periodically if you use Meitu regularly.
Final Words
Meitu | AI Photo & Video Editor has grown from a niche Chinese beauty app into a global editing powerhouse used by hundreds of millions of people every month. Its filters, AI retouching, and video tools cover most everyday editing needs without demanding a steep learning curve. The 2026 expansion into business-facing AI tools shows the company isn’t content staying purely consumer-focused either. Whether you’re polishing selfies or exploring its new professional suite, Meitu remains one of the most practical entry points into AI-powered visual editing today.
Josh is a technology writer and app enthusiast who specializes in Android apps, mobile games, APK downloads, and digital tools. He enjoys testing new applications, exploring game features, and creating easy-to-follow guides that help readers install, use, and troubleshoot apps with confidence.