Adobe Lightroom Classic review

Lightroom Classic ranks first because it answers both halves of what Mac photographers need: a catalog for organizing and a raw editor for finishing. Adobe describes it simply as a way to edit and organize all your photos on desktop, and its comparison table confirms that originals stay on a local hard drive. On the editing side, Adobe lists masking tools for precise adjustments, Content-Aware Remove for erasing distractions and Adaptive Presets. The cost is a subscription. Adobe's US plan page lists the Lightroom (1TB) plan at $11.99 per month and the Photography (1TB) plan, which adds Photoshop, at $19.99 per month, both on annual terms; we could not confirm those figures from our location, so the price check is marked pending. There is no perpetual license. Photographers who keep everything on external drives and want one place to rate, keyword and develop raw files will find it the most complete option on the Mac.

Who it is for

Mac photographers who shoot thousands of images and want to organize, cull and edit them in one desktop app.

Price

See vendor pricing (USD check pending).

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• Catalog that stores originals on your local hard drive with keywords, collections and ratings
• Masking tools for precise local adjustments
• Content-Aware Remove to erase distractions
• Adaptive Presets that respond to the subject of each photo
• Included with Photoshop in Adobe's Photography (1TB) plan

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Organizing and editing live in one app, which suits large libraries
• Strength: Files stay on your own drives rather than in a cloud library
• Strength: Pairs with Photoshop in the Photography plan for pixel-level work
• Weakness: Subscription only, with no one-time license
• Weakness: Adobe describes it as desktop only, so mobile editing needs the separate Lightroom app
• Weakness: Keywording is manual according to Adobe's comparison table

Key facts

• Platform: Desktop only
• Storage of originals: Local hard drive
• Plans that include it: Lightroom (1TB), Photography (1TB), Creative Cloud Pro
• One-time license: No

Where it ranks

Adobe Lightroom Classic is No. 1 in our Best Photo Editing Software for Mac verdict.