Photography · head to head
Pic-Time vs RawTherapee
Pic-Time
Photography
Client galleries with an automated print store and marketing campaigns built in
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
RawTherapee
Photography
Open source raw developer with selectable demosaicing algorithms and floating point processing
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Pic-Time the commission on store sales means the true cost rises with your success, so a photographer with strong print revenue may pay far more than the subscription implies and should price the top tier against the percentage before choosing.; 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: Pic-Time covers Designed galleries, RawTherapee covers Selectable demosaicing.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Pic-Time and RawTherapee actually diverge.
| Attribute | Pic-Time | RawTherapee |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per month by photo count | Open source, no licence fee |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Linux, Windows, macOS |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Pic-Time
- Designed galleries
- Automated store campaigns
- Wall art visualiser
- Album proofing
- Regional lab fulfilment
- Digital delivery
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.
Pic-Time
- A wedding photographer who wants print revenue from past clients without writing and sending the promotions personallynot RawTherapee
- Studios where the gallery itself is part of the perceived product and a plain grid of thumbnails undersells the worknot RawTherapee
- Album based workflows that need clients to comment on spreads rather than exchange PDFs by emailnot RawTherapee
- Photographers with clients in several countries who need orders fulfilled by a lab local to the clientnot RawTherapee
RawTherapee
- Difficult raw files where the demosaicing algorithm visibly changes the result, such as fine fabric, foliage or architectural detailnot Pic-Time
- Archive and restoration work where a free tool with strict colour management is preferable to a subscriptionnot Pic-Time
- Photographers who want to understand and control each processing stage rather than accept a vendor renderingnot Pic-Time
- Producing a high quality sixteen bit TIFF to hand to GIMP or another editor for compositingnot Pic-Time
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Pic-Time
- The commission on store sales means the true cost rises with your success, so a photographer with strong print revenue may pay far more than the subscription implies and should price the top tier against the percentage before choosing.
- Storage is counted by photo, so high volume delivery pushes you up the tiers even when the files themselves are small.
- There is no contracts, invoicing, booking or CRM module, so a working studio still pays for a separate management tool and reconciles two systems.
- Lab coverage is uneven by country and some regions have a single partner, which removes any ability to shop for print quality or price.
- The automated campaigns go out under your studio name on Pic-Time schedules, and photographers with a small or recently marketed client list can look pushy unless every sequence is edited by hand.
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
Pic-Time
Free- FreeFree
- Small photo allowance for evaluating the platform
- Store available with the commission that applies to this tier
- Paid tiers$undefined/month
- Priced by the number of photos stored
- The sales commission differs by tier and falls on the higher plans
- Automated marketing campaigns included from the paid tiers upward
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 Pic-Time if
- You need designed galleries.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want automated store campaigns.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Pic-Time or RawTherapee better?
- Neither clearly leads. Pic-Time starts at Free and RawTherapee at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Pic-Time or RawTherapee?
- Pic-Time starts at Free and RawTherapee at Free.
- Does Pic-Time or RawTherapee run on more platforms?
- Pic-Time runs on Web, iOS, Android. RawTherapee runs on Linux, Windows, macOS.
- Can I use Pic-Time for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Pic-Time best used for?
- Pic-Time is most often used for a wedding photographer who wants print revenue from past clients without writing and sending the promotions personally, studios where the gallery itself is part of the perceived product and a plain grid of thumbnails undersells the work, album based workflows that need clients to comment on spreads rather than exchange pdfs by email, photographers with clients in several countries who need orders fulfilled by a lab local to the client. Of those, a wedding photographer who wants print revenue from past clients without writing and sending the promotions personally and studios where the gallery itself is part of the perceived product and a plain grid of thumbnails undersells the work are not what RawTherapee is typically brought in for.
- What can Pic-Time do that RawTherapee cannot?
- Pic-Time covers Designed galleries, Automated store campaigns, Wall art visualiser, Album proofing. RawTherapee covers Selectable demosaicing, Floating point pipeline, Local adjustments, Wavelet levels.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Pic-Time: Does Pic-Time take a percentage of print sales?
Yes, and the rate depends on the plan you are on, with the higher tiers reducing it. Check the current rate for your tier, because it usually outweighs the monthly price difference.
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.
Pic-Time: Can it replace my studio management software?
No. There is no contract signing, invoicing or booking. Pic-Time covers delivery and sales only.
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.
Pic-Time: Do clients need an account to view a gallery?
No. Galleries open from a link with an optional password, and an email is only requested when a client downloads or orders.
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.
Related pages
More on RawTherapee
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