So What Do You Replace Lightroom With?
Suggestions for Mac and Windows Users
M
y reviews at the tail-end of 2025 – of On1 Photo RAW 2026, Affinity, Photolab, Luminar and ACDSee – received a fair bit of attention and a healthy volume of correspondence.
Turns out that many photographers were hanging on for the big annual upgrades (and that Canva Affinity reveal) in the hope that they could finally kick Adobe in the bollocks and take their dosh elsewhere.
And I hear similar things on the reviews of the other apps that I look at because, as we all know, every app has its flaws and limitations and none of them seem to hit that sweet-spot that Adobe – love them or hate them – nailed with Lightroom.
So in this post I’m going to give you guys some solid recommendations for alternatives to Lightroom for both Windows and Mac users – should you wish to enter your own post-Adobe era.
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Also published in RAW & Unfiltered on Substack.
