Skip to content
Gratistack, home
Menu

Free alternatives to Adobe Lightroom Classic

Top pick: darktable. Switching saves about $120 USD a year.

Adobe Lightroom Classic, Lightroom plan with 1 TB, annual plan

$119.88 USDa year

$155.88 CAD

Every pick below has a free version.

Runs on
  • Windows
  • macOS
Key file formats
.dng.cr3.nef.arw.lrcat.xmp

Filter alternatives

6 alternatives

Top pick

1 tool

The editor’s first choice for most people switching.

  1. Rank 1: darktable

    Best for open-source RAW editing and a photo library

    License: Open source
    • Windows
    • macOS
    • Linux
    Status: Active
    • DNG: opens only, full fidelity. Reads DNG files; the raw denoise tool can write a linear DNG
    • CR3: opens only, full fidelity. Newer camera models need a recent LibRaw
    • NEF: opens only, full fidelity
    • ARW: opens only, full fidelity
    • XMP: opens and saves, partial fidelity. Imports ratings, tags and about ten Lightroom adjustments from sidecars, and writes its own XMP

    Free on Windows, macOS and Linux with no account. It cannot open a Lightroom catalog, so edits are redone or imported from XMP sidecars.

Strong

2 tools

Covers most of the same work, with trade-offs noted on each card.

  1. Rank 2: RawTherapee

    Best for fine control over RAW conversion

    License: Open source
    • Windows
    • macOS
    • Linux
    Status: Active
    • DNG: opens only, full fidelity
    • CR3: opens only, full fidelity
    • NEF: opens only, full fidelity
    • ARW: opens only, full fidelity

    Free on Windows, macOS and Linux with no account. It works folder by folder with no catalog, and cannot import Lightroom catalogs.

  2. Rank 3: ART

    Best for a simpler RawTherapee-based RAW editor

    License: Open source
    • Windows
    • macOS
    • Linux
    Status: Active
    • DNG: opens only, full fidelity
    • CR3: opens only, partial fidelity. Support depends on the LibRaw version in your build
    • NEF: opens only, full fidelity
    • ARW: opens only, full fidelity

    A fork of RawTherapee with a simpler interface, free on Windows, macOS and Linux. Builds for Windows and macOS are linked from its site rather than hosted on a store.

Situational

3 tools

Right for specific needs, or not yet mature enough to recommend widely.

  1. Rank 4: LightCraft

    Best for testing an open-source Lightroom Classic clone

    License: Open source
    • Windows
    • macOS
    • Linux
    • Self-hosted
    Status: Active
    • DNG: opens and saves, full fidelity. DNG files use their own color matrices
    • CR3: opens only, partial fidelity. Opens as an embedded preview only; RAW decode is not done yet
    • NEF: opens only, partial fidelity. Develops with a neutral color matrix, so color looks muted
    • ARW: opens only, partial fidelity. Develops with a neutral color matrix, so color looks muted
    • XMP: opens and saves, partial fidelity. Reads and writes XMP sidecars and reads Lightroom develop settings

    Alpha (v0.2.1, October 2026). Its makers rate it 60 to 70% of a day-to-day Lightroom replacement and list camera color and CR3 support as top gaps.

  2. Rank 5: digiKam

    Best for managing a large photo library

    License: Open source
    • Windows
    • macOS
    • Linux
    Status: Verified
    • DNG: opens and saves, full fidelity. A converter tool can save DNG
    • CR3: opens only, full fidelity
    • NEF: opens only, full fidelity
    • ARW: opens only, full fidelity
    • XMP: opens and saves, partial fidelity. Reads and writes ratings, tags and labels; Lightroom develop settings are not applied

    Strongest as a library manager. Free on Windows, macOS and Linux, though RAW editing is lighter than in Lightroom Classic.

  3. Rank 6: XnView MP

    Best for browsing and batch-converting photos

    License: Freeware
    • Windows
    • macOS
    • Linux
    Status: Verified
    • DNG: opens only, partial fidelity. Opens and converts RAW files; no raw develop controls
    • CR3: opens only, partial fidelity. Opens and converts RAW files; no raw develop controls
    • NEF: opens only, partial fidelity. Opens and converts RAW files; no raw develop controls
    • ARW: opens only, partial fidelity. Opens and converts RAW files; no raw develop controls
    • XMP: opens and saves, partial fidelity. Edits XMP metadata; Lightroom develop settings are not applied

    Free for private or educational use only; companies must buy a license. A viewer and organizer more than a RAW editor.

Sponsor this page: $149 for 30 days. Sponsors appear above the ranking, labeled; the ranking itself is not for sale.

Feature parity

How each alternative covers what people use Adobe Lightroom Classic for. Numbers link to editor notes.

Feature parity with Adobe Lightroom Classic
FeaturedarktableRawTherapeeARTLightCraftdigiKamXnView MP
Editing
RAW development and camera profilesYesNote 1YesNote 2YesNote 3PartialNote 4PartialNote 5PartialNote 6
AI DenoisePartialNote 7PartialNote 8PartialNote 9NoNote 10PartialNote 11No
Masking
AI masks: subject, sky and backgroundPartialNote 12PartialNote 13PartialNote 14PartialNote 15NoNo
Retouching
Spot healing and Generative RemovePartialNote 16PartialNote 17NoNote 18PartialNote 19PartialNote 20No
Workflow
Presets and batch settings syncYesNote 21YesNote 22YesNote 23YesNote 24PartialNote 25PartialNote 26
Tethered capture and printPartialNote 27NoNoNoNote 28PartialNote 29No
Organizing
Catalog with keywords, collections and metadataYesNote 30PartialNote 31PartialNote 32YesNote 33YesNote 34PartialNote 35
Output
Batch export and watermarksYesYesNote 36YesNote 37YesNote 38YesNote 39YesNote 40
Parity score75%63%56%56%56%31%
  1. darktable, RAW development and camera profiles: Scene-referred pipeline, camera profiles and lens correction
  2. RawTherapee, RAW development and camera profiles: Several demosaic methods, camera profiles and lens correction
  3. ART, RAW development and camera profiles: Uses the RawTherapee engine with fewer controls
  4. LightCraft, RAW development and camera profiles: DNG, NEF and ARW develop; other raws use a neutral color matrix and CR3 opens as a preview
  5. digiKam, RAW development and camera profiles: Raw import with basic corrections; fewer editing tools than Lightroom
  6. XnView MP, RAW development and camera profiles: Opens RAW files with basic adjustments; no raw develop controls
  7. darktable, AI Denoise: Neural restore for denoise and upscale arrived in 5.6, optional and off by default
  8. RawTherapee, AI Denoise: Manual noise reduction methods; no AI denoise
  9. ART, AI Denoise: AI denoise only through external tools
  10. LightCraft, AI Denoise: AI Denoise is not started
  11. digiKam, AI Denoise: Noise reduction in the image editor
  12. darktable, AI masks: subject, sky and background: Drawn and parametric masks; an optional AI object mask arrived in 5.6
  13. RawTherapee, AI masks: subject, sky and background: Selective Editing spots with parametric masks; no AI subject selection
  14. ART, AI masks: subject, sky and background: Drawn and parametric masks; AI masking only through external tools
  15. LightCraft, AI masks: subject, sky and background: Brush, linear, radial and range masks; subject and sky use classical heuristics
  16. darktable, Spot healing and Generative Remove: Retouch and spot removal modules; no generative remove
  17. RawTherapee, Spot healing and Generative Remove: Dust and spot removal through Selective Editing, less direct than a dedicated tool
  18. ART, Spot healing and Generative Remove: No spot healing tool is listed in its documentation
  19. LightCraft, Spot healing and Generative Remove: Heal and clone spots; content-aware fill is in progress
  20. digiKam, Spot healing and Generative Remove: Inpainting and a healing clone tool in the editor
  21. darktable, Presets and batch settings sync: Styles, presets and copy or paste of edit history
  22. RawTherapee, Presets and batch settings sync: Processing profiles you copy or apply in batch
  23. ART, Presets and batch settings sync: Presets and batch processing
  24. LightCraft, Presets and batch settings sync: Presets, versions and copy or paste of settings
  25. digiKam, Presets and batch settings sync: Batch Queue Manager runs tool chains; there are no develop presets
  26. XnView MP, Presets and batch settings sync: Batch conversion with saved settings
  27. darktable, Tethered capture and print: Tethered shooting and printing through CUPS; no book module
  28. LightCraft, Tethered capture and print: Print and book modules are not started
  29. digiKam, Tethered capture and print: Camera capture and a print creator; no book module
  30. darktable, Catalog with keywords, collections and metadata: Library database with tags, ratings, color labels and collections
  31. RawTherapee, Catalog with keywords, collections and metadata: File browser with ratings, labels and filters; no catalog database
  32. ART, Catalog with keywords, collections and metadata: File browser with ratings and labels; no catalog database
  33. LightCraft, Catalog with keywords, collections and metadata: Albums, smart albums, stacks, ratings and filters
  34. digiKam, Catalog with keywords, collections and metadata: Albums, tags, ratings, face recognition and duplicate search in a database
  35. XnView MP, Catalog with keywords, collections and metadata: Browser with ratings, labels, keywords and XMP editing; no editing catalog
  36. RawTherapee, Batch export and watermarks: Queue-based batch export
  37. ART, Batch export and watermarks: Queue-based batch export
  38. LightCraft, Batch export and watermarks: JPEG, PNG, TIFF, WebP, AVIF and DNG with batch export and watermarks
  39. digiKam, Batch export and watermarks: Batch export and export to web services
  40. XnView MP, Batch export and watermarks: Batch convert to about 70 formats

Not covered by any free alternative yet: AI masks: subject, sky and background, AI Denoise, Spot healing and Generative Remove, Tethered capture and print. See all feature gaps

File formats

Can each alternative open and save Adobe Lightroom Classic files?

Opening and saving Adobe Lightroom Classic files
FormatdarktableRawTherapeeARTLightCraftdigiKamXnView MP
.dngOpens onlyNote 1Full fidelityOpens onlyFull fidelityOpens onlyFull fidelityOpens and savesNote 2Full fidelityOpens and savesNote 3Full fidelityOpens onlyNote 4Partial fidelity
.cr3Opens onlyNote 5Full fidelityOpens onlyFull fidelityOpens onlyNote 6Partial fidelityOpens onlyNote 7Partial fidelityOpens onlyFull fidelityOpens onlyNote 8Partial fidelity
.nefOpens onlyFull fidelityOpens onlyFull fidelityOpens onlyFull fidelityOpens onlyNote 9Partial fidelityOpens onlyFull fidelityOpens onlyNote 10Partial fidelity
.arwOpens onlyFull fidelityOpens onlyFull fidelityOpens onlyFull fidelityOpens onlyNote 11Partial fidelityOpens onlyFull fidelityOpens onlyNote 12Partial fidelity
.lrcatNoNote 13NoNote 14NoNote 15NoNote 16NoNote 17NoNote 18
.xmpOpens and savesNote 19Partial fidelityNoNote 20NoNote 21Opens and savesNote 22Partial fidelityOpens and savesNote 23Partial fidelityOpens and savesNote 24Partial fidelity
  1. darktable, .dng: Reads DNG files; the raw denoise tool can write a linear DNG
  2. LightCraft, .dng: DNG files use their own color matrices
  3. digiKam, .dng: A converter tool can save DNG
  4. XnView MP, .dng: Opens and converts RAW files; no raw develop controls
  5. darktable, .cr3: Newer camera models need a recent LibRaw
  6. ART, .cr3: Support depends on the LibRaw version in your build
  7. LightCraft, .cr3: Opens as an embedded preview only; RAW decode is not done yet
  8. XnView MP, .cr3: Opens and converts RAW files; no raw develop controls
  9. LightCraft, .nef: Develops with a neutral color matrix, so color looks muted
  10. XnView MP, .nef: Opens and converts RAW files; no raw develop controls
  11. LightCraft, .arw: Develops with a neutral color matrix, so color looks muted
  12. XnView MP, .arw: Opens and converts RAW files; no raw develop controls
  13. darktable, .lrcat: Lightroom catalogs do not import
  14. RawTherapee, .lrcat: Lightroom catalogs do not import
  15. ART, .lrcat: Lightroom catalogs do not import
  16. LightCraft, .lrcat: Lightroom catalogs do not import
  17. digiKam, .lrcat: Lightroom catalogs do not import
  18. XnView MP, .lrcat: Lightroom catalogs do not import
  19. darktable, .xmp: Imports ratings, tags and about ten Lightroom adjustments from sidecars, and writes its own XMP
  20. RawTherapee, .xmp: Edits are saved in its own .pp3 sidecar files
  21. ART, .xmp: Edits are saved in its own sidecar files
  22. LightCraft, .xmp: Reads and writes XMP sidecars and reads Lightroom develop settings
  23. digiKam, .xmp: Reads and writes ratings, tags and labels; Lightroom develop settings are not applied
  24. XnView MP, .xmp: Edits XMP metadata; Lightroom develop settings are not applied

What switching saves

Switching saves about $120 USD / $156 CAD a year. Prices checked .

Based on Lightroom plan with 1 TB, annual plan. Price source.

About this page

Last verified . Ranking: tier first, then the published score.

Something wrong or out of date? Report outdated info.

Related

Adobe Lightroom Classic is a product of Adobe, named here for comparison only. Platforms listed for Adobe Lightroom Classic: Windows, macOS.