Luminar review

Luminar is aimed at photographers who would rather move one slider than ten. Skylum's Mac App Store listing describes Enhance AI, which adjusts up to a dozen elements including shadows, highlights, contrast, tone, saturation and exposure with a single slider. Scenery tools include Sky AI for automatic sky replacement, Atmosphere AI for fog and haze, and Sunrays; portrait tools include Skin AI, Face AI and Bokeh AI for background blur. Generative tools such as GenErase remove distractions, and Noiseless AI and Supersharp AI clean up dark or blurry shots, with upscaling up to 6X. It is a raw editor, so it handles camera files as well as phone photos. The pricing list on the US Mac App Store is long, with a $8.99 monthly subscription, a $99.99 annual plan and several one-time purchases, so check which plan you are buying. There is no free plan.

Who it is for

beginners who want AI to do most of the editing

Price

$8.99 per month, $99.99 per year or one-time purchases on the US Mac App Store.

Luminar Monthly Subscription $8.99
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 11, 2026.

Key features

• Enhance AI adjusts up to a dozen settings with one slider
• Sky AI replaces dull skies automatically
• GenErase, GenExpand and GenSwap generative tools
• Skin AI, Face AI and Bokeh AI for portraits
• Noiseless AI, Supersharp AI and up to 6X upscaling

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: One slider handles exposure, contrast, tone and saturation together
• Strength: Raw editing with scenery and portrait tools
• Strength: One-time purchase options as well as subscriptions
• Weakness: Many plan options on the App Store can be confusing
• Weakness: Mac App Store download is 3.2 GB
• Weakness: No free plan

Key facts

• US Mac App Store prices: $8.99 monthly, $99.99 annual, one-time from $99.99
• Developer: Skylum
• Raw editing: Yes
• Upscale: Up to 6X

Where it ranks

Luminar is No. 6 in our Best Photo Editing Software for Beginners verdict.