The Best Open Source Adobe Lightroom AlternativesTop Photo Managers & Image 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, digiKam, RapidRAW and Sly.

filter to find the best alternatives

Adobe Lightroom alternatives are mainly Image Editors, but if you're looking for Photo Editors or Raw Photo Editorss you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Open Source, Mac, Linux, Android, Free, Photo Organization and Online. 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.
More about Adobe Lightroom
Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard
Adobe Lightroom alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. darktable icon

    darktable

     331 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    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.

    69 darktable alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Darktable’s lighttable mode showing a collection
     
    |
    14
    254
    Comments about darktable as an Alternative to Adobe Lightroom
    Comment summary: Darktable is praised for being faster and potentially more powerful than Lightroom, offering similar features including improved denoise capabilities. However, some users note a significant drawback in its lack of robust photo organization functions, a key feature of Lightroom. Despite this, as a free open-source solution, darktable remains a strong contender as a Lightroom alternative, especially for those prioritizing cost and development features.
    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

    Show more comments
    3 of 14 comments
    Adobe Lightroom Icon
    darktable icon

    • Almost everyone thinks darktable is a great Adobe Lightroom alternative.

    • darktable is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Adobe Lightroom.

    • darktable is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Adobe Lightroom.

    • 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

     231 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    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

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flatpak
    RawTherapee screenshot 1
     
    |
    1
    110
    Comments about RawTherapee as an Alternative to Adobe Lightroom
    MercuryHero
    Positive
    3

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

    Adobe Lightroom Icon
    RawTherapee icon

    • Almost everyone thinks RawTherapee is a great Adobe Lightroom alternative.

    • 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

     348 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    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.

    102 digiKam alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    • Qt
    Image editor
     
    |
    3
    74
    Comments about digiKam as an Alternative to Adobe Lightroom
    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
    0

    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.
    Adobe Lightroom Icon
    digiKam icon

    • Most users think digiKam is a great Adobe Lightroom alternative.

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

    Sly

     48 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Sly is a user-friendly, offline image editor requiring no expertise; adjust brightness, contrast, apply effects, and export in JPEG or PNG formats with control over metadata.

    36 Sly alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Online
    Sly screenshot 1
     

    • Sly is the most popular Web-based & Android alternative to Adobe Lightroom.

    • Sly is Free and Open SourceAdobe Lightroom is Paid and Proprietary
    • Sly is Privacy focused and LightweightAdobe Lightroom is not according to our users
  7. QuickEdit icon

    QuickEdit

     20 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Lightweight photo editor where you can crop your images, paint over them, add text and even add exciting filters to make it stand out on social media. Save the edited images locally or share them directly to your friends through any other social media app.

    54 QuickEdit alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • F-Droid
    QuickEdit screenshot 1
    QuickEdit screenshot 2
    QuickEdit screenshot 3
     
  10. PhotoSort icon

    PhotoSort

     10 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    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.

    60 PhotoSort alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    PhotoSort screenshot 1
     
  12. ART icon

    ART

     10 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    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
     
    |
    1
    Comments about ART as an Alternative to Adobe Lightroom
    nrwd
    Positive
    0

    As good or even better and Free OpenSource

    Adobe Lightroom Icon
    ART icon
    • ART is Free and Open SourceAdobe Lightroom is Paid and Proprietary
  13. Ansel icon

    Ansel

     4 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Ansel is an open-source photo-editing software for digital artists, designed to help you achieve your own interpretation of raw digital photographs.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Lighttable
     
  14. Litrato icon

    Litrato

     5 likes
    Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Litrato is an app for editing photos and saving those changes to the gallery.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Android
    Litrato screenshot 1
    Litrato screenshot 2
    Litrato screenshot 3
     
12 of 24 Adobe Lightroom alternatives