Adobe Lightroom AlternativesOnly Free apps categorised as Photo Managers

The best free Photo Manager alternative to Adobe Lightroom is darktable, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Adobe Lightroom and many of them are free Photo Managers so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free Photo Manager alternatives to Adobe Lightroom are RawTherapee, digiKam, Right Gallery and Apple Photos.

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Adobe Lightroom alternatives are mainly Photo Managers, but if you're looking for Image Viewers or Image Editors you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Open Source, Mac, Linux, Android, Online, Android + Free and iPad. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Adobe Lightroom.
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Alternatives list

  1. darktable icon

    darktable

     342 likes

    Open source non-destructive RAW editor and virtual darkroom with zoomable lighttable, database-driven organization, HDR and EXR support, floating-point workflow, batch exporting, and advanced editing for photography and scientific imaging across platforms.

    70 darktable alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Darktable’s lighttable mode showing a collection
     
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    14
    darktable vs Adobe Lightroom Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    14

    Complete Raw processing suite. Best free open source solution

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Roman
    Positive
    0

    The general approach, workflow and selection of tools for RAW development is a close match to Lightroom, but it's free and works on Linux

    bolude
    Positive
    0

    FOSS and does everything Lightroom does

    3 of 14 comments
    • darktable is Free and Open SourceAdobe Lightroom is Paid and Proprietary
    • darktable is Privacy focusedAdobe Lightroom is not according to our users
  2. RawTherapee icon

    RawTherapee

     234 likes

    Raw photo processing software with advanced control over demosaicing. Ideal for newcomers, semi-professionals, and professionals. Supports HDR DNGs, JPGs, and TIFFs, with in-house enhancements for some camera models. Open-source, lacks digital asset management.

    58 RawTherapee alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flatpak
    RawTherapee screenshot 1
     
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    1
    RawTherapee vs Adobe Lightroom Comments
    MercuryHero
    Positive
    3

    Fairly advanced control over RAW processing including demosaicing algorithm, gamma curves, etc. Supports its own profiles and presets.

    • RawTherapee is Free and Open SourceAdobe Lightroom is Paid and Proprietary
    • RawTherapee is Privacy focusedAdobe Lightroom is not according to our users
  4. digiKam icon

    digiKam

     357 likes

    digiKam is an advanced digital photo management tool that simplifies importing and organizing photos into albums. It supports various formats including RAW, features tagging, metadata management, duplicate finder, photo editing, sharing, GPS data handling, and has cross-platform compatibility.

    106 digiKam alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    • Qt
    Image editor
     
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    3
    digiKam vs Adobe Lightroom Comments
    Guest
    Positive
    6

    Database functionality - Lots of other pieces of software mentioned are good at RAW processing but few, if any, have a good, structured back-end to organise photos.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    -1

    digiKam is good at organizing photos but has nothing to edit or adjust photos and RAW files. It only covers half of the features of Lightroom

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    -35

    digiKam is a photo management while lightroom is a raw photo editor, they have nothing in common

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • digiKam is Free and Open SourceAdobe Lightroom is Paid and Proprietary
    • digiKam is Privacy focusedAdobe Lightroom is not according to our users
  5. Ad
  7. Apple Photos icon

    Apple Photos

     57 likes

    Photos is a digital photograph manipulation application developed by Apple, intended to be less complex than its predecessor iPhoto .

    120 Apple Photos alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Online
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    Apple Photos screenshot 1
     
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    5
    Apple Photos vs Adobe Lightroom Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    jamiegray
    1

    Improved editing tools, thanks to the merging of Apple Aperture and Apple Photos. Nice to sync between all devices. Certainly not as robust as Lightroom, but very convenient.

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    0

    No adjustment brushes in Photo

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    -3

    Insufficient editing toolset, clumsy facial recognition, requires iCloud subscription for some features.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 5 comments
    • Apple Photos is Free and ProprietaryAdobe Lightroom is Paid and Proprietary
  8. PhotoSort icon

    PhotoSort

     10 likes

    Desktop app for photo sorting on Windows & Mac, managing JPG+RAW files. Sort photos into folders using keys, providing easy navigation and clean interface without deletion, ensuring a focused experience with flexible viewing, safe storage, and no fluff.

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    PhotoSort screenshot 1
     
  10. Photon Studio icon

    Photon Studio

     9 likes

    Photon Studio grabs the latest photo taken with Photon Camera on your iPhone, and allows you to easily display it on your iPad, Apple Silicon Mac, or another iPhone connected to an external monitor.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Mac
    Photon Studio screenshot 1
     
  12. ART icon

    ART

     10 likes

    ART, a free, open-source, cross-platform raw image processing program. ART is a derivative of the popular RawTherapee , trading a bit of customization and control over various processing parameters for a simpler and (hopefully) easier...

    12 ART alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    ART screenshot 1
     
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    1
    ART vs Adobe Lightroom Comments
    nrwd
    Positive
    0

    As good or even better and Free OpenSource

    • ART is Free and Open SourceAdobe Lightroom is Paid and Proprietary
  13. Tonfotos icon

    Tonfotos

     99 likes

    Tonfotos simplifies browsing of large photo collection by grouping shots by events, dates, people, locations and so on. Quickly find what you need regardless where files are stored - on your computer, external drives or NAS.

    27 Tonfotos alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Tonfotos screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Tonfotos vs Adobe Lightroom Comments
    kegho
    Positive
    1

    Your application is very convenient and easy to use.

    • Tonfotos is Free Personal and ProprietaryAdobe Lightroom is Paid and Proprietary
  14. Diffractor icon

    Diffractor

     14 likes

    Diffractor unifies managing photo, video and audio files. If you centralize media on that trusty old PC; let Diffractor do the heavy lifting.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Diffractor screenshot 1
     
  15. VSCO icon

    VSCO

     49 likes

    For creators, by creators, the VSCO app helps you reach your creative potential within a community that values honest and imaginative expression above all else.

    101 VSCO alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Apple TV
    • Online
    • Windows
    VSCO screenshot 1
     
12 of 23 Adobe Lightroom alternatives