9 Best Lightroom Alternatives in 2024

Adobe is a well-known software due to its editing dominancy, but many people can’t do justice to it, whether because of its rising price tag or simply a desire for a change. In 2024, dozens of Lightroom alternatives are out there, many free. In this article, we will discuss Lightroom alternatives that offer a range of features to enhance your photography workflow.

Selection Criteria Of Lightroom Alternatives:

Several factors are important for selecting Lightroom alternatives:

Choose a photo editor that suits your needs, such as features, image editing capabilities, catalog, interface, RAW file support, different platform support, image organization, and price. Based on these factors, we have replaced Lightroom with alternatives that can meet the various requirements of photographers at different levels of work.

Software Overview:

Brand	Luminar Neo
Operating System	PC resources
Features	AI-based workflow is easy and fast
Cost	Paid but flexible
Best For	Beginners

Description:

Luminar Neo is an AI-based & most popular software because it has awesome artificial intelligence features that allow you to edit photos in seconds. It makes complex editing tasks simple. Luminar Neo has the same editing tools as Lightroom but with advanced features that enable you to unleash your creativity. Whether you want to edit landscape shots or portraits, Luminar intelligence makes your work fast and easy. It offers an affordable alternative with its one-time purchase.

Advantages & Dis-Advantages of Luminar Neo:

Software Overview:

Brand	Apple Photos
Operating System	Mac
Features	Cost-free, automatically set up in the Apple devices.
Cost	Free
Best For	Best for people who don’t want professional editing.

Description:

Apple photos are best for those who don’t want professional editing. This software is automatically installed on Mac computers and set up to sync with your other Apple devices via iCloud. It has features for organizing photo edits, supports RAW files, and many other tools that help in basic editing like cropping, color selecting, levels, curves, etc. 

Its drawback over Lightroom is that it can’t edit certain parts of an image; its editing features apply all over the image, even where they are unnecessary. 

Advantages & Dis-Advantages of Apple Photos:

Software Overview:

Brand	Capture one
Operating system	Mac, windows, iPads
Subscription	Both are available; the license covers over 3 computers
Key features	Both are available, and the license covers over 3 computers
Best For	Collaborative or teamwork

Description:

Capture One is powerful software and one of the best alternatives to Adobe Lightroom. It has extensive tools and powerful RAW file editing capabilities. In tethered shooting qualities for collaboration or teamwork capture, one is more reliable and fast than Lightroom. In image cataloging, when you use layers, you can make tethered local and keystone adjustments in Capture One. Moreover, it has a customizable interface, precise color control like shadow, mid-tone, highlights, and a channel dedicated to skin tone. For more detail you can check Lightroom vs. Capture One.

Advantages & Dis-Advantages of Capture One:

Software Overview:

Brand	RawTherapee
Operating System	Mac, Windows, Linux
Cost	Free
Features	Non-destructive editing flow, advanced tools, cross-platform compatibility, and a wide range of supported file formats, Powerful & precise editing
Best For	Those who seek free sources

Description:

RawTherapee is a free, open-source RAW photo editor that offers multiple editing features, such as a non-destructive editing flow, advanced tools, cross-platform compatibility, and a wide range of supported file formats, making it a better choice among Lightroom alternatives. 

Advantages & Dis-Advantages of RawTherapee:

Software Overview:

Brand	Darktable
Operating System	Windows, Linux, Mac OS X/Mac Port, BSD, and their distribution
Cost	Free, open-source
Key features	Non-destructive editing tools presets & styles, tethered shooting, modular workflow, advanced masking tools
Best For	Those who seek the free source

Description:

Darktable is the best free Lightroom alternative software, offering full-featured organization and editing advancement. It is available for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X/Mac Port, BSD, and Solaris11. Darktable has extensive library management options with various standard, RAW, and HDR formats. Its UI looks like Lightroom’s, but the grouping of the editing module still takes a bit of time to get used to. 

Advantages & Dis-Advantages of Darktable:

Software Overview:

Brand	Snapseed
Operating System	Android, iOS, Windows
Cost	Free
Best For	Mobile photographers are looking for a free open source

Description:

Google has developed the most popular mobile photography app, Snapseed, available for Android or iOS. With over 100 million downloads in the Google Play Store, it is the most popular but free Lightroom alternative. It is a feature-rich editing app that offers comprehensive editing tools and filters. More details about the Lightroom vs. Snapseed database are available on the internet. 

Advantages & Dis-Advantages of Snapseed:

Software Overview:

Brand	Affinity Photo
Operating System	Mac & Windows
Features	A combination of both Lightroom & Photoshop capabilities
Cost	Subscription-based
Best For	Those who are looking for a single photo editing piece

Description:

Affinity Photo is an excellent choice for all photograph editors looking for a combination of Lightroom and Photoshop graphic manipulation capabilities. Affinity Photos takes more after Photoshop than Lightroom in the list of most popular software. It offers a wide range of professional editing tools, including advanced retouching, layer support, mask grading, smart objects, color management, and RAW file editing capabilities.

Advantages & Dis-Advantages of Affinity Photos:

Software Overview:

Brand	Polar
Operating system	Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
Features	Free and online photo editing software
Cost	Free with an optional pro subscription
Best for	Who has the best internet availability
Free trial	Yes, the free version is available.

Description:

Polar is the best free online alternative to Lightroom. It is browser-based photo editing software that offers powerful and highly advanced features unavailable elsewhere for free. 

Advantages & Dis-Advantages of Polar:

Software Overview:

Brand	Mylio Photos
Operating System	Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
Features	Best photo organizing software
Cost	Free / subscription plan
Best For	Managing image libraries

Description:

Mylio Photo is editing software equivalent to Lightroom, but it has no subscription plan so it can replace Lightroom. The best photo management app uses local media storage and device-to-device syncing. It allows users to connect multiple image libraries and access them in one location—all without the internet or the Cloud. It is an entirely private app where you can store unlimited photos and videos—the only limitation is your device’s capacity. 

Advantages & Dis-Advantages of Mylio Photos:

Adobe Lightroom is the world’s best and most popular editing software, but it is not for everyone due to various reasons, like budget, complicated editing system, and confusing management system. Several great image editors can do similar but great jobs, that fulfill your needs. If you need basic editing on Mobile, go with Snapseed and Apple Photos. If you need online alternatives, go with Polar, and if you are looking for advanced Lightroom alternatives then go with Affinity Photos, or Capture One.