Adobe Lightroom review
8.3/10★★★★★Pro photo editor and organiser with AI masks, Generative Remove, Denoise and culling
- Best for
- Photographers who want pro-grade editing and a synced photo library on every device
- Price
- Freemium · from $11.99/month
Free: Free mobile app with core editing tools - Platforms
- Web, iOS, Android, Desktop app, Mac, Windows
- Made by
- Adobe, San Jose, USA · since 1982
- App store ratings
- iOS 4.8★ (337K) · Android 4.5★ (3.67M)
What it is
Lightroom is Adobe's photo editor and library for desktop, web and mobile, with AI subject and sky masks, Generative Remove, Denoise and adaptive presets. In June 2026 it added generally available Assisted Culling, AI Sharpen and Photo to Video. The mobile app is free to download, with premium tools on a subscription.
Latest: June 2026: Assisted Culling became generally available, alongside AI Sharpen and Photo to Video.
What the AI does
- Generative Remove and Generative Expand
- AI masks for subject, sky, background and people
- AI Denoise and AI Sharpen
- Assisted Culling
- Adaptive presets and Quick Actions
- Photo to Video
Pros and cons
- Best-in-class masking and raw editing
- Syncs edits across desktop, web and mobile
- Generative Remove handles distractions well
- Free mobile app is genuinely useful
- Subscription only; no one-time licence
- Generative tools use a monthly credit allowance
- More to learn than one-tap apps
How it scores
Top-tier edit quality and every platform covered; value held back by subscription-only pricing and credit limits.
Feature checklist · 6 of 9
- Remove unwanted objects or people (yes)
- Background removal or replacement (no)
- AI subject or sky selection and masking (yes)
- Generative fill or expand (yes)
- Edit by describing changes in text (no)
- AI enhance, denoise or upscale (yes)
- AI portrait and face retouching (no)
- Free version with useful editing tools (yes)
- Available on both mobile and desktop or web (yes)
Alternatives
See all Adobe Lightroom alternatives, ranked →
- Google Photos 8.4/10Anyone who wants quick, free AI fixes on the photos already on their phone
- Canva photo editor 8.2/10Non-designers who edit photos to use in social posts, slides and marketing
- Adobe Photoshop 8.1/10Designers and retouchers who need full control over complex edits and composites
- Luminar Neo 8.1/10Hobbyist photographers who want strong AI tools without an Adobe subscription
Google Photos vs Adobe LightroomAdobe Lightroom vs Canva photo editorAdobe Lightroom vs Adobe Photoshop