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Photography · head to head

Facetune vs RawTherapee

Facetune logo

Facetune

Photography

Selfie and portrait retouching app from Lightricks, sold on a subscription with a short free trial

From
Free
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

  • Each has a real cost: Facetune the free trial is short, commonly around 3 days, and automatically converts into a paid annual subscription unless the user proactively cancels beforehand, a pattern that has generated a consistent volume of complaints about unexpected charges.; 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: Facetune covers Skin and blemish retouching, RawTherapee covers Selectable demosaicing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Facetune and RawTherapee actually diverge.

Attributes where Facetune and RawTherapee differ
AttributeFacetuneRawTherapee
Pricing modelFree download with a short free trial, most tools require a Facetune Pro subscription that auto-renews annuallyOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsiOS, AndroidLinux, 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 Facetune

  • Skin and blemish retouching
  • Facial reshaping
  • Body contouring
  • Teeth whitening and eye enhancement
  • Background blur and replacement
  • One-tap auto-enhance

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.

Facetune

  • Someone wanting quick, targeted retouching of a single selfie or portrait before posting to social medianot RawTherapee
  • A user comfortable cancelling a free trial through their phone app store settings before it converts to a paid annual chargenot RawTherapee
  • Someone who has decided to pay for the annual subscription and wants a broad set of face and body retouching tools in one appnot RawTherapee
  • A user who has used Photoleap or Videoleap from the same publisher and wants a consistent editing tool stylenot RawTherapee

RawTherapee

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

Where each one falls short

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

Facetune

  • The free trial is short, commonly around 3 days, and automatically converts into a paid annual subscription unless the user proactively cancels beforehand, a pattern that has generated a consistent volume of complaints about unexpected charges.
  • Cancellation must be done through the phone Apple App Store or Google Play subscription management screens rather than a clear button inside the app itself, adding friction specifically at the point users most want to stop paying.
  • Nearly all meaningful retouching functionality is locked behind the paid tier, so the free download is not a genuinely usable product on its own, only a gateway to the trial.
  • Heavy reliance on face and body reshaping tools has drawn broader criticism, common to this whole app category, over promoting unrealistic beauty standards, particularly among younger users.
  • Published subscription pricing has varied by region and promotional period, so the price a new user is quoted is not necessarily stable or consistent across markets.

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

Facetune

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Very limited basic editing tools
    • Most retouching features locked
    • Trial access to Pro tools for a short period, commonly around 3 days
  • Facetune Pro$47.99/year
    • Full access to retouching, reshaping and enhancement tools
    • Auto-renews annually unless cancelled before trial or renewal date
    • Cancellation handled through Apple App Store or Google Play subscription settings, not inside the app

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 Facetune if

  • You need skin and blemish retouching.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android.
  • You also want facial reshaping.
Facetune 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 Facetune or RawTherapee better?
Neither clearly leads. Facetune 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, Facetune or RawTherapee?
Facetune starts at Free and RawTherapee at Free.
Does Facetune or RawTherapee run on more platforms?
Facetune runs on iOS, Android. RawTherapee runs on Linux, Windows, macOS.
Can I use Facetune for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Facetune best used for?
Facetune is most often used for someone wanting quick, targeted retouching of a single selfie or portrait before posting to social media, a user comfortable cancelling a free trial through their phone app store settings before it converts to a paid annual charge, someone who has decided to pay for the annual subscription and wants a broad set of face and body retouching tools in one app, a user who has used photoleap or videoleap from the same publisher and wants a consistent editing tool style. Of those, someone wanting quick, targeted retouching of a single selfie or portrait before posting to social media and a user comfortable cancelling a free trial through their phone app store settings before it converts to a paid annual charge are not what RawTherapee is typically brought in for.
What can Facetune do that RawTherapee cannot?
Facetune covers Skin and blemish retouching, Facial reshaping, Body contouring, Teeth whitening and eye enhancement. RawTherapee covers Selectable demosaicing, Floating point pipeline, Local adjustments, Wavelet levels.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Facetune: Does Facetune have a free trial?

Yes, typically around 3 days, after which it automatically converts to a paid annual subscription unless cancelled beforehand.

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.

Facetune: How do I cancel a Facetune subscription?

Cancellation is done through the Apple App Store or Google Play subscription settings on your phone, not through a button inside the Facetune app itself.

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.

Facetune: Can I use Facetune without paying?

The free download offers very limited functionality; nearly all retouching tools require the paid Facetune Pro subscription after the trial ends.

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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