Where it falls short is its catalog backup, which lacks Lightroom’s easy touch. When using the tool, there’s no need to import images, as the program will automatically recognize images on your computer’s hard drive. That gives it a strong edge over some of the other best Lightroom alternatives. The RAW photo editor and organizer originally started out developing image-editing plugins, many of which are now integrated with Photo RAW. It also features layers and focus stacking, so it’s easy to get to grips with if you’re familiar with Adobe products.

ON1 boasts many of Lightroom’s digital asset management features to keep media libraries in order, plus the sometimes essential image-editing capabilities of Photoshop. If you’re already familiar with using Adobe tools to manage and edit your photos, ON1 Photo RAW is a breeze.Īs an alternative to Lightroom and Photoshop, it’s a powerful combination of both apps. Skylum Luminar is available as both a standalone app and a plugin for other apps like Lightroom, Photoshop, and Photos for macOS. However, there's no free trial but there is a 30-day money-back guarantee. The pricing for Skylum Luminar is modest at around $200 /£180 / AU$300 for a one-time license or you can choose a monthly subscription of around $9 / £8 / AU$12 for the Explore plan, or around $12 /£11 / AU$18 for the Pro plan. Those with more experience aren’t left out, however, as advanced editing tools are available for those who like finer-grained control. There is also quite a large focus on presets and one-click edits, which will help you become familiar with the program. These sorts of tools are great for newcomers looking for a suitable alternative for Lightroom. For example, Accent AI will analyze a photo to automatically calculate the best edits to make.

Since then, other image enhancement filters powered by artificial intelligence (AI) have been added, which have made Skylum Luminar a genuine rival to Lightroom.

Free lightroom