Photography · alternatives
Alternatives to Adobe Lightroom
21 photography tools sit alongside Adobe Lightroom in this directory. Below is what separates each from Adobe Lightroom on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 21
- With a free tier
- 10
- Cheaper to start
- 0
- Adobe Lightroom starts at
- Free, then $11.99/month
Why people look past Adobe Lightroom
Nothing on the record flags a reason to move. Adobe Lightroom has a free tier, and starts at $11.99/month against a category median of $69.99/month. People still switch over fit and workflow, and those are not things a catalogue entry can measure, which is what the comparisons below are for.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
The world's best imaging and graphic design software
- No free tier, where Adobe Lightroom has one.
- Starts $7.999999999999998 a month dearer, at $19.99/month.
- 3 tiers to Adobe Lightroom's 2.
Professional photo editing software
- No free tier, where Adobe Lightroom has one.
- Starts $57.99999999999999 a one-time dearer, at $69.99/one-time.
- 1 tier to Adobe Lightroom's 2.
Free and open-source image editor
Priced and rated the same as Adobe Lightroom on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Selfie and portrait retouching app from Lightricks, sold on a subscription with a short free trial
Priced and rated the same as Adobe Lightroom on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
AI photo and design editing app combining Photoshop-style tools, templates and a paid Gold subscription
Priced and rated the same as Adobe Lightroom on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Google's photo backup and organisation app, now billed against shared Google account storage
- 3 tiers to Adobe Lightroom's 2.
Every Adobe Lightroom alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Lightroom (this page) | Free, then $11.99/month | - | 2 | |
| Adobe PhotoshopOffers advanced layer-based editing and complex retouching that Lightroom lacks, ideal for detailed manipulation work. | $19.99/month | - | 3 | vs Adobe Lightroom |
| Affinity PhotoProvides perpetual license option and non-destructive editing similar to Lightroom without subscription requirement. | $69.99/one-time | One-time | 1 | vs Adobe Lightroom |
| GIMPFree and open-source raster editor with layer support for those avoiding subscription costs. | Free | Open-source | - | vs Adobe Lightroom |
| Facetune | Free | Free download with a short free trial, most tools require a Facetune Pro subscription that auto-renews annually | 2 | vs Adobe Lightroom |
| Picsart | Free | Free with a watermark on export and limited AI credits; paid Gold subscription removes both | 2 | vs Adobe Lightroom |
| Google Photos | Free | Free tier plus paid storage add-on | 3 | vs Adobe Lightroom |
| VSCO | Free | Free with a limited preset and tool set; paid annual membership unlocks the full library | 2 | vs Adobe Lightroom |
| Remini | Free | Free download with a short free trial, most features require a recurring subscription | 2 | vs Adobe Lightroom |
| Lensa | Free | Free download with a short free trial, Magic Avatars and most tools require payment | 2 | vs Adobe Lightroom |
| Snapseed | Free | Fully free with no ads, subscription or in-app purchases | 1 | vs Adobe Lightroom |
| PhotoDirector | Free | Free tier, one-time purchase or annual subscription | 3 | vs Adobe Lightroom |
| RawTherapee | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Adobe Lightroom |
| Aftershoot | On request | Per module per month, unlimited images | 4 | vs Adobe Lightroom |
| Exposure X | On request | One-time purchase | 2 | vs Adobe Lightroom |
| Corel PaintShop Pro | On request | One-time purchase, paid upgrades | 2 | vs Adobe Lightroom |
| NightCap | On request | One-time purchase | 1 | vs Adobe Lightroom |
| Nik Collection | On request | One-time purchase | 1 | vs Adobe Lightroom |
| ACDSee | On request | One-time purchase or per-user subscription | 2 | vs Adobe Lightroom |
| Narrative Select | On request | Per user per month, tiered by editing depth | 4 | vs Adobe Lightroom |
| Imagen AI | On request | Per image, with annual volume tiers | 3 | vs Adobe Lightroom |
| Photo Mechanic | $139/one-time | One-time purchase | 2 | vs Adobe Lightroom |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Adobe Lightroom badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
What you would be giving up
Adobe Lightroom is most often brought in for photo editing, raw processing, photo organization, client galleries. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Adobe Lightroom is broadly right and the question is cost, the Adobe Lightroom pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Photography category lists everything the directory holds, and best photography tools ranks them.
Adobe Lightroom runs on web, macos, windows, ios, android, apple tv. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Adobe Lightroom alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Adobe Lightroom?
- 21 other photography tools are listed in this directory, led by Adobe Photoshop, Affinity Photo, GIMP, Facetune. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Adobe Lightroom?
- 10 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: GIMP, Facetune, Picsart, Google Photos, VSCO.
- Is there a reason to switch away from Adobe Lightroom?
- Nothing in the data flags one. Adobe Lightroom has a free tier, and starts at $11.99/month against a category median of $69.99/month. Fit and workflow are the usual reasons to move, and those are not things this record can measure.
- What would I give up by switching from Adobe Lightroom?
- Adobe Lightroom is most often brought in for photo editing, raw processing, photo organization, client galleries. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Adobe Lightroom?
- GIMP is recorded with an open-source licence model.
- How were these Adobe Lightroom alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Photography, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Adobe Lightroom against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Adobe Lightroom covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every photography tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Photography category, 21 tools beside Adobe Lightroom. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.