darktable vs RawTherapee

Two free alternatives to Adobe Lightroom, side by side.

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
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

Side by side

darktable vs RawTherapee: facts
Fact	darktable	RawTherapee
License	License: Open sourceGPL-3.0-or-later	License: Open sourceGPL-3.0-or-later
Maintenance	Status: Active	Status: Active
Windows	Yes	Yes
macOS	Yes	Yes
Linux	Yes	Yes
Self-hostable	No	No
Works offline	Yes	Yes
No account needed	Yes	Yes
Parity with Adobe Lightroom	63%	63%

License classes: Open source and Open source. Status rules: Active means a commit in the last 90 days. See the methodology.

Feature parity with Adobe Lightroom

Feature parity with Adobe Lightroom
Feature	darktable	RawTherapee
Editing
RAW development and camera profiles	YesNote 1	YesNote 2
AI Denoise	PartialNote 3	PartialNote 4
Masking
AI masks: subject, sky and background	PartialNote 5	PartialNote 6
Retouching
Spot healing and Generative Remove	PartialNote 7	PartialNote 8
Workflow
Presets and batch settings sync	YesNote 9	YesNote 10
Organizing
Albums, ratings, keywords and smart search	PartialNote 11	PartialNote 12
Sync
Cloud sync across desktop, mobile and web	NoNote 13	NoNote 14
Output
Batch export and sharing	Yes	YesNote 15

darktable, RAW development and camera profiles: Scene-referred pipeline, camera profiles and lens correction
RawTherapee, RAW development and camera profiles: Several demosaic methods, camera profiles and lens correction
darktable, AI Denoise: Neural restore for denoise and upscale arrived in 5.6, optional and off by default
RawTherapee, AI Denoise: Manual noise reduction methods; no AI denoise
darktable, AI masks: subject, sky and background: Drawn and parametric masks; an optional AI object mask arrived in 5.6
RawTherapee, AI masks: subject, sky and background: Selective Editing spots with parametric masks; no AI subject selection
darktable, Spot healing and Generative Remove: Retouch and spot removal modules; no generative remove
RawTherapee, Spot healing and Generative Remove: Dust and spot removal through Selective Editing, less direct than a dedicated tool
darktable, Presets and batch settings sync: Styles, presets and copy or paste of edit history
RawTherapee, Presets and batch settings sync: Processing profiles you copy or apply in batch
darktable, Albums, ratings, keywords and smart search: Collections, tags, ratings and filters; no AI content search
RawTherapee, Albums, ratings, keywords and smart search: File browser with ratings, labels and filters; no catalog or albums
darktable, Cloud sync across desktop, mobile and web: No cloud sync or mobile apps
RawTherapee, Cloud sync across desktop, mobile and web: No cloud sync or mobile apps
RawTherapee, Batch export and sharing: Queue-based batch export

All free alternatives to Adobe Lightroom

File formats

darktable vs RawTherapee: file formats
Format	darktable	RawTherapee
.dng	Opens onlyNote 1Full fidelity	Opens onlyFull fidelity
.cr3	Opens onlyNote 2Full fidelity	Opens onlyFull fidelity
.nef	Opens onlyFull fidelity	Opens onlyFull fidelity
.arw	Opens onlyFull fidelity	Opens onlyFull fidelity

darktable, .dng: Reads DNG files; the raw denoise tool can write a linear DNG
darktable, .cr3: Newer camera models need a recent LibRaw