vs
Google Photos vs Luminar Neo
Google Photos scores higher overall (8.4 vs 8.1), but the right pick depends on what you need.
Choose Google Photos if…
Anyone who wants quick, free AI fixes on the photos already on their phone
8.4/10★★★★★Full review →Choose Luminar Neo if…
Hobbyist photographers who want strong AI tools without an Adobe subscription
8.1/10★★★★★Full review →Side by side
| Google Photos | Luminar Neo | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 8.4/10 | 8.1/10 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 12 | #5 of 12 |
| Price | Free | Paid · from £129 one-time |
| Free version | All editing tools, including conversational editing, are free | — |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | iOS, Android, Mac, Windows |
| Made by | Skylum | |
| Edit quality | 8 | 8.5 |
| Ease of use | 9.5 | 8 |
| Features | 7 | 7.5 |
| Value for money | 9.5 | 8 |
| Platforms | 7.5 | 8 |
Google Photos: what the AI does
- Help me edit (conversational editing by text or voice)
- Personalised edits using face groups
- Nano Banana restyling
- One-tap suggestions
- Create with AI templates
- Free AI editing built into a photo library many people already use
- Describe an edit instead of learning tools
- Big Gemini-powered upgrades through 2025–2026
- Newest AI tools roll out by country and device
- Little manual control for serious editing
- Ties your photos to a Google account
Luminar Neo: what the AI does
- Sky AI replacement
- GenErase, GenSwap and GenExpand
- Enhance AI and Relight AI
- Skin AI and Face AI portrait tools
- Noiseless AI and Supersharp AI
- AI Assistant
- Best-in-class sky replacement
- Perpetual licence option
- Generative tools are genuinely useful
- Works as a Lightroom and Photoshop plugin
- AI tool access in a licence lasts one year unless renewed
- Demanding on older computers
- Weaker photo library management than Lightroom