The Best Open Source Adobe Lightroom AlternativesTop Photo Managers & Raw Photo Editors like Adobe Lightroom

The best open source alternative to Adobe Lightroom is darktable. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Adobe Lightroom and many of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Adobe Lightroom are RawTherapee, GIMP, digiKam and RapidRAW.

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Adobe Lightroom alternatives are mainly Image Editors, but if you're looking for Photo Editors or Raw Photo Editors you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Open Source, Mac, Linux, Android, Free, Online and Windows. 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

     370 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.

    81 darktable alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Darktable’s lighttable mode showing a collection
     
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    15
    darktable vs Adobe Lightroom Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    14

    Complete Raw processing suite. Best free open source solution

    Top Negative Comment
    ccier7u87wl2pvvz7o
    -1

    Doesn't support Apple ProRAW DNGs

    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

    3 of 15 comments
    • darktable is Free and Open SourceAdobe Lightroom is Paid and Proprietary
    • darktable is a Raw Photo Editor Adobe Lightroom is a Photo Manager
    • darktable is Privacy focusedAdobe Lightroom is not according to our users
  2. RawTherapee icon

    RawTherapee

     243 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.

    68 RawTherapee alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flatpak
    RawTherapee screenshot 1
     
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    2
    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.

    fredly2
    Positive
    0

    I like Rawtherapee as an alternative to Lightroom because it gives me controll over DNG files for free on a Macbook.

    • RawTherapee is Free and Open SourceAdobe Lightroom is Paid and Proprietary
    • RawTherapee is a Raw Photo Editor Adobe Lightroom is a Photo Manager
    • RawTherapee is Privacy focusedAdobe Lightroom is not according to our users
  4. GIMP icon

    GIMP

     4824 likes

    Free open-source suite offering advanced photo retouching, image composition, original artwork creation, batch processing, plugin support, custom scripting, mass image format conversion, and integration with free publishing tools for comprehensive editing solutions.

    211 GIMP alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku
    • Flatpak
    • AmigaOS
    • AppImage
    GIMP screenshot 1
     
  5. digiKam icon

    digiKam

     368 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.

    129 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.

    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

    Guest
    Negative
    -35

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

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

    RapidRAW

     69 likes

    GPU-accelerated RAW photo editor for Windows, macOS, and Linux featuring non-destructive workflow, AI-driven masking tools, 32-bit precision, advanced color grading, tonal controls, batch operations, preset system, customizable interface, and comprehensive export options.

    61 RapidRAW alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    RapidRAW screenshot 1
     
  8. QuickEdit icon

    QuickEdit

     23 likes

    Lightweight tool offering cropping, drawing, text editing with formatting options, GPUImage filters, smooth Jetpack Compose-based animations, quick saving, and direct sharing to social media apps, designed for fast, simple photo enhancements on any device.

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • F-Droid
    QuickEdit screenshot 1
     
  9. Right Gallery icon

    Right Gallery

     22 likes

    Your private moments are protected. Discover Right Gallery, where your privacy is our priority.

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    Right Gallery screenshot 1
     
  11. 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.

    72 PhotoSort alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    PhotoSort screenshot 1
     
  12. Lap icon

    Lap

     10 likes

    Lap is an open-source desktop photo manager and local photo organizer for people who want to browse family albums, find old photos quickly, and manage large photo libraries and media collections offline.

    5 Lap alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Home of Lap
     
  13. ART icon

    ART

     11 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...

    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
    • ART is a Raw Photo Editor Adobe Lightroom is a Photo Manager
  14. LUMAFORGE icon

    LUMAFORGE

     3 likes

    Delivers browser-based image editing with advanced color controls, professional optics, non-destructive 30-step undo/redo, steganographic preset export, precise RGB curves, high-dynamic-range exposure, .CUBE LUT export, WebP compression, metadata embedding, and remixable public grades.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    Home Page
     
12 of 27 Adobe Lightroom alternatives