Meitu

Meitu (the main app, also known as Meitu Xiuxiu) is a photo and video editing app with a strong focus on AI-powered beautification. The core workflow:

1. Open a photo or take one with the in-app camera 2. Apply filters, beauty effects, or AI transformations 3. Export to social media or save to device

The brand ecosystem includes several apps:

Meitu (Meitu Xiuxiu). The flagship all-purpose photo editing app.

BeautyCam (Meiyan Xiangji). Camera-focused with real-time beautification.

Wink. Video-focused editor with Meitu's beauty AI.

Hypic. Newer app with AI portrait generation and creative features.

For this review, we're focused on Meitu (the flagship), though the other apps share core technology.

Meitu's core strength is AI-powered portrait beautification. The app can automatically:

Smooth skin while preserving texture.

Enhance eyes — make them larger, brighten, add definition.

Refine face shape — slim jaw, sharpen contours.

Whiten teeth and improve smile.

Apply virtual makeup — foundation, blush, lipstick, eyeshadow, eyeliner.

Remove blemishes — acne, scars, small imperfections.

Adjust lighting — brighten, balance shadows.

The quality of these transformations is best-in-class. Meitu has been optimizing for this specific task for nearly two decades, and the AI models are deeply refined. The results often look natural — not obviously retouched — which is the hallmark of good beautification.

The intensity of beautification is controversial. Cultural beauty standards are embedded in the defaults, and Meitu's presets tend toward standards popular in East Asian markets (pale smooth skin, large eyes, slim face). Users can dial down intensity or customize, but the defaults show what Meitu's target audience tends to want.

Beyond beautification, Meitu has pushed heavily into AI portrait generation:

AI Portraits. Generate stylized portraits in various artistic styles — oil painting, anime, watercolor, retro, fantasy, cyberpunk. Similar to Lensa's AI avatars.

AI Avatar. Create AI-generated avatars from reference photos.

AI Hair. Try different hair colors and styles.

AI Outfit. Try different clothing styles.

AI Scene. Change the background to different environments.

AI Face Swap. Place faces on templates.

AI Video. Extend AI portrait features to video clips.

Quality varies. Some features produce genuinely good results; others feel like novelties. The release cadence is frequent — new AI features appear regularly, often aligned with trending social media content.

Meitu's video features (often through its Wink sister app but integrated into the main app for some features) extend beautification and AI to moving content:

Real-time beauty in video. Apply skin smoothing, makeup, and face adjustments to video as you record or as post-processing.

Video filters. Apply effects to entire video clips.

Short video creation. Template-based short-form video creation for social platforms.

Body beautification. Adjust body proportions in video (controversial but capable).

Meitu's pricing in 2026:

Free. Basic filters and features with ads. Limited AI credits daily. Useful for occasional use.

VIP Monthly at $4.99/month. All filters and features unlocked, no ads, unlimited AI, priority processing.

VIP Annual at $29.99/year. Effectively $2.50/month. Best value for regular users.

The pricing is very competitive compared to Western alternatives. Remini, FaceApp, and Facetune are all more expensive than Meitu for comparable features.

A note on subscriptions: Meitu has aggressive auto-renewal defaults. Users should check settings carefully to avoid unwanted charges.

Meitu is a Chinese company with a Chinese user base as its primary audience. This raises the same data sovereignty questions as other Chinese apps (CapCut, Kling, TikTok).

Key facts: - Meitu Inc. is publicly traded in Hong Kong - Photos are uploaded to Meitu servers for AI processing - Privacy policy exists and has been updated multiple times to address concerns - Chinese tech companies operate under Chinese data laws

For users in the U.S. and Western Europe, this is similar risk profile to using TikTok. For users in sensitive industries or with strong privacy preferences, alternatives with Western data sovereignty may be preferable.

Against FaceApp: FaceApp is Russian-owned with different (also scrutinized) data concerns. FaceApp's aging filter is stronger; Meitu's beautification is stronger. Both process on servers. Choose based on which specific features you want and which risk profile you prefer.

Against Remini: Remini is Italian-owned, focused on photo enhancement and viral AI features rather than beautification. For restoring old photos, Remini. For beautifying current selfies, Meitu.

Against Facetune: Facetune is a Western portrait retouching app with precise controls. More manual editing, less AI automation. For professional portrait work, Facetune. For AI-automated beauty, Meitu.

Against Snapchat: Snapchat is AR-based for real-time creative filters. Different use case. Snap for real-time social creativity, Meitu for post-processing photo enhancement.

Against BeautyCam (Meitu's own brand): BeautyCam focuses specifically on camera and beauty features. Main Meitu app has broader creative features. For most users, one or the other is sufficient.

Users comfortable with Chinese-owned apps who want strong beautification technology.

Casual users who want viral AI portrait features at affordable pricing.

Users in Asian markets where Meitu is culturally the default.

Content creators for Chinese and other Asian social platforms — ecosystem integration helps.

Budget-conscious users — at $2.50/month annual, it's one of the cheapest comprehensive photo apps.

Privacy-conscious users — Chinese ownership and cloud processing of face data.

Users wanting natural unretouched aesthetics — Meitu's defaults skew heavily toward beautification.

Government or defense employees — check your organization's policies.

Users wanting Western-style UX — interface feels different, translations sometimes awkward.

Users with Creative Cloud — Photoshop Neural Filters cover similar ground with different data practices.

Meitu is the best AI beautification app in 2026 for users comfortable with its data sovereignty trade-offs. The technology is genuinely best-in-class for portrait enhancement, the AI features are creative and frequent, and the pricing is aggressive compared to Western alternatives.

The main considerations are Chinese ownership (same general concerns as TikTok) and the fact that Meitu's beauty standards are baked into defaults in ways that don't match all users' preferences. Both are manageable — the first is a risk assessment each user must make, and the second is adjustable in settings.

For users in the U.S. and Western Europe, the decision typically comes down to: "Do I trust a Chinese-owned app with my face data in exchange for the best beautification technology?" For many casual users, yes. For privacy-sensitive users or those in sensitive industries, alternatives like Facetune (Western) or Remini (Italian) make more sense.

As of 2026, Meitu has survived multiple geopolitical shifts and continues to release new AI features at a rapid pace. For the right user, it's a strong choice. For others, the alternatives have caught up enough to be viable replacements.