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Adobe Lightroom Classic
Desktop catalog-based RAW editor and photo organizer with AI masking, assisted culling and batch syncing of edits.
Visit siteRanking created by SGM Creative · How we rank
Adobe Lightroom Classic is ranked 5 of 11 photo editors in 2026, with a score of 7.7/10 (tier Strong).
Vendor tagline: "Your best photos. Made even better."
Score breakdown
| Skin retouching depth | 12/30 |
| Predictable cost | 20/25 |
| Fits a pro workflow | 20/20 |
| Try before you buy | 10/10 |
| Platforms | 10/10 |
| Kept up to date | 5/5 |
| Total | 7.7/10 |
Facts
- Vendor
- Adobe
- Price model
- subscription
- Entry price
- USD 11.99/month (Lightroom plan, includes Lightroom Classic, annual plan billed monthly)
- Free trial
- Yes
- Works in
- standalone, Photoshop
- Platforms
- mac, windows
- Apple Silicon native
- Yes
- Founded
- 1982
- Latest update
- v15.6, September 2026 release (source: https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/desktop/introduction-to-lightroom-classic/release-notes.html)
Prices
- Lightroom (includes Lightroom Classic, 1TB): 11.99 USD / month, annual plan billed monthly
- Photography (Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, 1TB): 19.99 USD / month, annual plan billed monthly
- Creative Cloud Pro: 69.99 USD / month, annual plan billed monthly (regular price)
Reviews
- G2: 4.6 from 908 reviews
Strengths
- Assisted Culling shows a Faces panel with Eyes open and Eye sharpness scores per detected face
- Masking gained Feather and Edge controls in 15.5 and Check All for people and landscape masks in 15.6
- Included in the USD 11.99/month Lightroom plan together with Lightroom for desktop, web and mobile
Watch-outs
- Adobe lists Lightroom Classic as desktop only, with originals stored on a local drive and no file backup included
- Full GPU acceleration for AI features such as Denoise, Lens Blur and Reflection Removal on Apple silicon needs 16 GB of unified memory
- Requires macOS Sonoma (14) or later on Mac
Data verified on 2026-10-30. Re-assessed every two weeks. No payment can change this score. Spotted a mistake? Send a correction.
Sources
- https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-lightroom-classic.html
- https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-lightroom/plans.html?country=US
- https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/plans.html?country=US
- https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/photography/compare-plans.html?country=US
- https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/desktop/introduction-to-lightroom-classic/release-notes.html
- https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/desktop/introduction-to-lightroom-classic/system-requirements.html
- https://www.g2.com/products/adobe-photoshop-lightroom-classic/reviews
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Inc.
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