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Photography · head to head

Affinity Photo vs RawTherapee

Affinity Photo logo

Affinity Photo

Photography

Professional photo editing software

From
$69.99/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
RawTherapee logo

RawTherapee

Photography

Open source raw developer with selectable demosaicing algorithms and floating point processing

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only RawTherapee has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Affinity Photo version 2.0 required a full repurchase after seven years, breaking the perpetual license promise made to earlier users; RawTherapee there is no catalogue, only a folder browser, so any library management, keywording or search has to happen in a separate application.
  • They diverge on capability: Affinity Photo covers Photo editing, RawTherapee covers Selectable demosaicing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Affinity Photo and RawTherapee actually diverge.

Attributes where Affinity Photo and RawTherapee differ
AttributeAffinity PhotoRawTherapee
Starting price$69.99/one-timeFree
Pricing modelone-timeOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsmacOS, Windows, iPadLinux, Windows, macOS
Founded1987Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Photography).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Affinity Photo

  • Photo editing
  • RAW processing
  • Non-destructive editing
  • AI enhancement
  • Retouching tools
  • Batch processing
  • Vector support
  • HDR tools

Only in RawTherapee

  • Selectable demosaicing
  • Floating point pipeline
  • Local adjustments
  • Wavelet levels
  • Processing profiles
  • Colour management

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Affinity Photo

  • Photo editingnot RawTherapee
  • RAW processingnot RawTherapee
  • Retouchingnot RawTherapee
  • Digital photographynot RawTherapee

RawTherapee

  • Difficult raw files where the demosaicing algorithm visibly changes the result, such as fine fabric, foliage or architectural detailnot Affinity Photo
  • Archive and restoration work where a free tool with strict colour management is preferable to a subscriptionnot Affinity Photo
  • Photographers who want to understand and control each processing stage rather than accept a vendor renderingnot Affinity Photo
  • Producing a high quality sixteen bit TIFF to hand to GIMP or another editor for compositingnot Affinity Photo

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Affinity Photo

  • Version 2.0 required a full repurchase after seven years, breaking the perpetual license promise made to earlier users
  • Affinity Photo was discontinued in October 2025 and replaced by freemium Affinity application
  • No subscription model means no cloud storage or automatic backups like Photoshop Creative Cloud

RawTherapee

  • There is no catalogue, only a folder browser, so any library management, keywording or search has to happen in a separate application.
  • The default rendering is deliberately neutral and looks flat next to the camera JPEG, which means every user has to build their own processing profiles before the tool is pleasant to use.
  • Support for new camera models and for Fujifilm X-Trans sensors arrives later than in commercial converters because it depends on volunteer work and upstream library updates.
  • The interface presents several hundred controls across many tabs with little guidance about which ones interact, and the learning curve is measured in weeks rather than hours.
  • Batch export is slow compared with commercial converters and there is no GPU acceleration, so processing a large wedding shoot ties up the machine for a long time.

Pricing, plan by plan

Affinity Photo

$69.99/one-time
  • Standard$69.99/one-time
    • Full version
    • All features
    • Lifetime updates

RawTherapee

Free
  • RawTherapeeFree
    • GPL licensed with no seat limit
    • All processing features included
    • Documentation and support through RawPedia and the community forum

Which should you pick?

Choose Affinity Photo if

  • You need photo editing.
  • You work on macOS, Windows, iPad.
  • You also want raw processing.
Affinity Photo review

Choose RawTherapee if

  • You need selectable demosaicing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, macOS.
  • You also want floating point pipeline.
RawTherapee review

Questions people ask

Is Affinity Photo or RawTherapee better?
Neither clearly leads. Affinity Photo starts at $69.99/one-time and RawTherapee at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Affinity Photo or RawTherapee?
RawTherapee has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $69.99/one-time for Affinity Photo and Free for RawTherapee.
Does Affinity Photo or RawTherapee run on more platforms?
Affinity Photo runs on macOS, Windows, iPad. RawTherapee runs on Linux, Windows, macOS.
Can I use RawTherapee for free?
Yes. RawTherapee has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Affinity Photo starts at $69.99/one-time.
What is Affinity Photo best used for?
Affinity Photo is most often used for photo editing, raw processing, retouching, digital photography. Of those, photo editing and raw processing are not what RawTherapee is typically brought in for.
What can Affinity Photo do that RawTherapee cannot?
Affinity Photo covers Photo editing, RAW processing, Non-destructive editing, AI enhancement. RawTherapee covers Selectable demosaicing, Floating point pipeline, Local adjustments, Wavelet levels.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Affinity Photo: Does Affinity Photo include RAW editing?

Yes, Affinity Photo includes non-destructive RAW photo editing and development capabilities for photographers working with RAW image formats.

Source
RawTherapee: Does RawTherapee support Fujifilm X-Trans files?

Yes, but support arrived later than in commercial converters and results on fine detail still trail Capture One and Adobe on some bodies.

RawTherapee: Can it replace Lightroom entirely?

It replaces the develop side. It does not replace the catalogue, so you will need digiKam, darktable or something similar alongside it.

RawTherapee: Are my edits stored in the raw file?

No. Edits are written to sidecar profile files next to the raw, so originals are untouched and profiles can be copied between images.

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