--- title: "Adobe Lightroom Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra" description: "Is Adobe Lightroom the right Photo Editing solution for you? Explore 328 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/233631/Adobe-Photoshop-Lightroom/reviews/" page_type: "reviews" language: "en" publication_date: "2026-09-29" --- Adobe Lightroom 4.7 (367) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/233631/Adobe-Photoshop-Lightroom/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated September 29th, 2026 # Reviews of Adobe Lightroom Ease of use 4.4 Customer Service 4.1 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews RV Renato V socioComputer Software, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “I consider it to be a complete image editing app due to its wide variety of tools in the field of color, lighting, cropping and more.“ February 4, 2025 HA Hakob A Solutions EngineerElectrical/Electronic Manufacturing, 5,001 - 10,000 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “Unfortunately, the Adobe pricing was a bit high for me, and I couldn't afford a two licenses for Photoshop and Lightroom, so I replaced my Lightroom with Camera Raw application from Adobe, which has the necessary functionality and is free with Photoshop license.“ February 2, 2025 JG Joe G CEOPhotography, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “It gives you the ability to edit a photo a little more effortlessly while keeping the quality and maintaining low grain visibility.“ February 1, 2025 VM Victor M EDITOR PROFISSIONAL DE IMAGENSMarketing and Advertising, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “Limited editing compared to Photoshop, as it does not allow for layers or deeper manipulations.“ April 2, 2025 JB Johanna B Dental HygienistHospital & Health Care, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Lightroom is a great tool for people who want to get started with photo editing while having more options than a smartphone, but easier than photoshop.“ February 20, 2025 Maximilian P Managing PartnerPhotography, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Unfortunately, it sometimes is painfully slow and unresponsive and Adobe does not really seem to do anything about it nor implement feedback - even if there are thousands of votes for it.“ January 27, 2025 LL Lise-Mari Anne L PhotographerPhotography, Self-employedUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “I like that it offers a simple user interface and allows for more than adequate photograph editing for an affordable price.“ January 31, 2025 MB Meherunnesha B Content creatorEducation Management, Self-employedUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “On budget friendly phones, lightroom became laggy and slow and their cloud storage are limited.“ July 17, 2025 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 367 available reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Parves A. Computer shop ### "Easy, Convenient Photo Editing with Time-Saving Presets" November 14, 2026 4.5 Adobe Photoshop Lightroom helps me solve the problem of getting consistent, professional-looking photos without spending too much time editing esch image individually. I can easily correct lighting, improve colours, adjust details and enhance photos that don't look quite right straight from the camera. It also makes it easier to maintain a consistent style across multiple images, saving time and effort in my editing workflow. Pros I like most about Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is how easy it makes photo editing. The editing tools are simple to understand, and I can adjust lighting, colours, contrast and details to make photos look mor polished. I also like the present because they save time and help maintain a consistent look. Overall, it makes photo editing convenient without making the process feel complicated. Cons One thing I find a little frustrating is that some advanced features take time to understand, especially for beginners. Some useful editing options also require a premium subscription. Performance can occasionally feel slow when working with large photos. I would like to see a simpler way to access cartain tools and more features available in the free version. Switched from [Adobe Photoshop](https://www.capterra.com/p/229092/Adobe-Photoshop/) I switched from Adobe Photoshop because I wanted a simple make it easier to adjust colours, lighting, contrast and other details without going through too many steps. I also find its present and editing workflow more convenient for handling multiple photos. Overall, it feels more focused on everyday photo editing. Review Source Philippe N. Traducteur indépendant Used the software for: 5+ years ### "Superb photo tool, less fond of Adobe’s policies" November 12, 2026 4.0 Lightroom helps me cope when I get back from a hike or a trip with hundreds of photos. I can import them, sort through everything, pick my favourites, and edit quickly in one place. Its face recognition has also been really useful lately: it helped me organise a huge collection of family photos and identify everyone in them, which would have taken much longer to do by hand. And when an image needs more complex retouching, it’s straightforward to send it to Photoshop or another editor and then bring the finished result back into the catalogue. Pros I really like Lightroom’s feature set for both editing and organising photos in the library. The Develop tools cover everything I need, from basic exposure and colour corrections to more targeted local adjustments. On the library side, it’s easy to sort, tag, rate, and quickly find images even in a large catalogue. Having both editing and cataloguing in a single program keeps my entire photo workflow in one place. Cons What I like much less is Adobe’s overall direction: everything seems to be pushed toward subscriptions and the cloud. I deliberately stick with Lightroom Classic, using local files and a local catalogue, instead of the cloud-based Lightroom. Fortunately, Classic is still available. If it ever disappeared, I’d probably switch to another program. I really hope Adobe continues developing Classic as a fully local, desktop-first product. Review Source Diana E. secretary ### "AI & Precision Focus: "Game-Changer for RAW Photo Organization and AI Masking" (8 words" November 12, 2026 5.0 Before using Lightroom, we struggled with managing thousands of unorganized RAW files and spent hours manually editing photos one by one to maintain a consistent look. Now, we can import, cull, apply custom presets, and batch-export entire shoots in a single streamlined workspace, which has cut our post-production turnaround time by roughly 60% and allowed us to deliver projects to clients much faster. Pros What I like best about Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is its non-destructive editing workflow and batch processing capabilities. Being able to apply custom presets, sync color grading across hundreds of RAW photos instantly, and organize everything seamlessly with smart collections saves me hours of post-processing time every week. Cons Lightroom can be quite resource-heavy, especially when handling large catalogs or applying multiple AI-powered masks and Denoise features. It occasionally lags or slows down during batch exports, and having to keep track of differences between Lightroom Classic and the cloud-based Lightroom CC can feel confusing for new users Review Source Mohamed A. Sales Engineer Used the software for: 1-3 years ### "Easy Photo Editing with Powerful Presets and Full Control" November 12, 2026 4.0 It helps me improve my photos without needing professional editing skills. I can fix lighting, adjust colours, and make everything look more polished. It also saves me time and helps me keep my photos organised in one place. Pros I like how easy it is to edit photos and make them look better without overcomplicating things. The presets are useful, and I really like having control over lighting, colours, and details. It’s also great that I can edit and organise all my photos in one place. Cons Sometimes it feels a bit overwhelming, especially when trying to find certain tools or settings. Some features also take time to learn, and I wish the subscription was a bit cheaper. Review Source Hèlmi A. Projects Managers ### "Fast, Professional Photo Editing—Held Back by Subscription Costs" November 12, 2026 5.0 My photos often look dark or unprofessional, and their backgrounds can be distracting. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom quickly improves lighting, colors, and clarity, and lets me remove objects or change backgrounds easily. Pros I use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom to quickly improve photos and create professional-looking visuals without opening full Photoshop. I like how quickly I can get a polished result without learning a complex professional editing application. It’s fast, and the editing is automated. I can also edit images on my phone when I’m away from my computer. It quickly improves lighting, colors, and clarity, and makes it easy to remove objects or change backgrounds. I found it easy to use, with more professional features and modes for recurring, high-volume photo editing. The setup was very easy and straightforward, and everything was well detailed and presented. Cons I think the subscription pricing could be better, since most professional features require an ongoing subscription. Cloud storage costs are also a concern because a large library of raw photos can use substantial storage. Review Source Mark T. Design Engineer (Systems Integration Lead) Used the software for: Less than 1 year ### "Non-Destructive Editing and Powerful Catalog Workflow" November 11, 2026 4.0 Lightroom solves the problem of managing and editing a large number of photos efficiently. Before using it, my photos were scattered across folders, and editing them meant working on one image at a time with no easy way to keep a consistent look. Lightroom gives me one place to import, organize, rate, and keyword everything, so I can find a specific shot in seconds. Presets and synced settings let me apply the same edit across a whole set of photos from one shoot, which saves a lot of time and keeps the results consistent. Because editing is non-destructive, my originals are always safe and I can revisit or undo edits whenever I want. Overall, it means I spend less time on tedious sorting and more time on the creative side, and my finished photos look more polished and professional. Pros the thing I like best is non-destructive editing. Lightroom never touches your original file. Every adjustment is saved as a list of instructions applied on top of it, so you can go back months later and undo one change without losing the others. That takes away the worry of “did I just ruin this shot?”, which I think is what lets people experiment freely. A close second is the catalog. Photoshop is built around working on one image at a time. Lightroom is built around organizing a whole library: keywords, ratings, collections, and syncing one set of edits across hundreds of photos from the same shoot. For anyone coming back from an event with 800 photos, that workflow matters more than any single editing tool. I also like that the newer AI masking tools (select subject, select sky) put precise local edits within reach of beginners. Those edits used to take real skill with brushes and gradients. Cons The biggest drawback is the subscription model. You can’t buy Lightroom outright anymore, so you keep paying as long as you want access to your edits in the full app, which feels expensive for hobbyists who only edit now and then. It’s also confusing that there are two versions, Lightroom and Lightroom Classic, with different workflows and storage models. New users often don’t know which one to pick. Performance can also drag with large catalogs or high-resolution raw files: importing, generating previews, and using the AI masking tools can be slow unless your computer is fairly powerful. Finally, the cloud-based version leans heavily on Adobe’s cloud storage, and the included space fills up quickly if you shoot a lot. Review Source Marcelo S. BIM Architect and Co-funder ### "Intuitive, Versatile Editing—But Demanding on Hardware" November 11, 2026 4.5 I use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom to edit my photos, fix exposure, contrast, and general lighting problems, and make them more interesting by editing multiple features. Pros I like Adobe Photoshop Lightroom’s versatility, well-organized workspace, and intuitive tools. I can correct exposure, contrast, and lighting problems in my photos, and make them more interesting by editing multiple features. It was easy to set up because it’s intuitive even for beginners. Cons When I edit full-size photos of around 50 MB, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom needs a very good, expensive processor and graphics card. It can get slow and overheat on an average laptop. I’d like it to use less processing and graphics power when editing large photos, maybe by removing some features that aren’t that useful. Review Source Liz O. Business Development Analyst Used the software for: 1-3 years ### "Lightroom’s Intuitive UI Delivers High-Quality Edits with Easy Local Adjustments" November 10, 2026 5.0 Lightroom makes it much quicker to edit images in bulk. I can quickly adjust different settings, save them to my filters, and apply the filter to multiple images at once. Overall, when Lightroom is running smoothly on my computer, it cuts my editing time down by a few hours per session. Pros Lightroom’s UI is easier to navigate and more intuitive to learn, compared to Photoshop. At first glance, it feels like there are far fewer “levers” to pull and fewer options to tweak, but I can still end up with a high-quality final image. I especially love that I can still customize the S-curve and easily localized changes to highlights, shadows, and exposure. Cons I used Lightroom on my MacBook Air, and the app would often cause my laptop to overheat. When that happened, I experienced major lag while trying to use certain features in Lightroom, especially things like shading with localized adjustments. It become very frustrating to run the desktop app, and increased my overall editing time by multiple hours. Review Source Kapil P. UI/UX Designer & Frontend Developer Used the software for: 1-3 years ### "Easy Photo Editing That Makes Pictures Look More Professional" November 10, 2026 5.0 It helps me edit and improve photos easily, fix lighting and colors, and make images look more professional. It saves time and gives me better results without much effort. Pros I like how easy it is to edit photos, improve colors, adjust lighting, and make pictures look more professional. Cons Sometimes it takes time to learn all the features, but overall, the experience is smooth and easy to use. Review Source Sajal Kumar B. Production executive ### "Easy-to-Use Editing with Powerful Tools, Though AI Can Lag" November 9, 2026 4.0 I find separating a subject from the whole picture difficult in other software, but in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom it’s very easy—just one click away. Pros I find it very easy to separate a subject from the rest of the picture—just one click. I like the easy-to-use interface, comfortable layout and settings, and how easy it is to operate. The toolkits are awesome to use, and masking and the color separator are very good. I like the variety of tools, simple UI, and fast working. It’s an all-in-one app that works well for me on its own, and getting started was very easy—just one click. Cons Many times, when I use the AI features, they take time. I’d like them to be faster. Review Source General Manager Used the software for: 3-5 years 4.0 November 14, 2026 AI summary based on a full review This application provides a quick way to edit multiple photos simultaneously, which is beneficial for users looking to save time. A limitation is that the software can be slow at times and is no longer available for purchase. Log in to unlock the full review, detailed ratings, and pros & cons Student Used the software for: Less than 1 year 4.5 November 13, 2026 AI summary based on a full review The application delivers stunning results, making photos look professional with its effective editing tools. However, it can be slow to process images after editing is completed. Log in to unlock the full review, detailed ratings, and pros & cons Student Used the software for: Less than 1 year 3.5 November 13, 2026 AI summary based on a full review Users appreciate the ease of manual editing and the quality of auto-editing functions for color adjustments. A limitation noted is the time taken for photos to be created after editing, which could be improved. Log in to unlock the full review, detailed ratings, and pros & cons Accounting Associate -SSC Used the software for: Less than 1 year 4.5 November 12, 2026 AI summary based on a full review Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is advantageous for its efficient photo editing capabilities, allowing users to produce high-quality results quickly. A notable limitation is the requirement for a paid subscription, which may not be suitable for occasional users. Log in to unlock the full review, detailed ratings, and pros & cons Membership Concierge 5.0 November 12, 2026 AI summary based on a full review This software provides a straightforward interface that is easy to navigate, even for those lacking technical skills. While it offers many useful features, the sheer number of options can be a bit daunting. Log in to unlock the full review, detailed ratings, and pros & cons data technician Used the software for: I used a free trial 5.0 November 12, 2026 AI summary based on a full review This app is highly regarded for its ability to create beautiful and professional-looking images, especially with its glow effects. A limitation is that some basic yet important features are locked behind a premium subscription, which could be a drawback for users. Log in to unlock the full review, detailed ratings, and pros & cons Community Leader (Berlin) Used the software for: 3-5 years 4.0 November 12, 2026 AI summary based on a full review The application is beneficial for organizing photos, enabling users to view and modify their collections effortlessly. However, the user experience can be overly complex for those looking to perform straightforward tasks. Log in to unlock the full review, detailed ratings, and pros & cons Social Media Executive Used the software for: 1-3 years 5.0 November 12, 2026 AI summary based on a full review Adobe Lightroom effectively transforms poorly lit or dull photos into professional-quality images, saving time with its batch editing capabilities. Some features are locked behind a subscription, which may be frustrating for users who only need occasional editing. Log in to unlock the full review, detailed ratings, and pros & cons Developer Used the software for: 1-3 years 4.5 November 12, 2026 AI summary based on a full review Lightroom provides substantial time savings for photo editing, enabling users to deliver large volumes of work more efficiently, as evidenced by one user who reduced editing time from ten days to four. However, performance can lag with extensive RAW file usage, necessitating a robust computer setup. Log in to unlock the full review, detailed ratings, and pros & cons Associate Copy Editor Used the software for: Less than 1 year 4.0 November 12, 2026 AI summary based on a full review Lightroom provides excellent tools for achieving consistent photo edits quickly, which is beneficial for managing extensive photo shoots. The subscription model can become costly over time, as there is no option for a one-time purchase. Log in to unlock the full review, detailed ratings, and pros & cons Recruitment Specialist Used the software for: I used a free trial 4.0 November 11, 2026 AI summary based on a full review This tool provides easy-to-use editing features that effectively enhance images for business needs. The free version is limited, lacking some functions that could improve user experience. Log in to unlock the full review, detailed ratings, and pros & cons Verified Reviewer 5.0 November 11, 2026 AI summary based on a full review The software is highly regarded for its effective color grading and masking capabilities, which enhance photo editing results. A limitation is the lack of advanced tools for editing human subjects, particularly for skin tone adjustments. Log in to unlock the full review, detailed ratings, and pros & cons Multimedia Director Used the software for: 3-5 years 4.0 November 10, 2026 AI summary based on a full review Lightroom is praised for its flexibility and ease of use in editing RAW photos, which is particularly helpful for nonprofit work. However, it can lag at times and may produce green-tinted images. Log in to unlock the full review, detailed ratings, and pros & cons Senior Manager of Web Technology Used the software for: 1-3 years 4.0 November 10, 2026 AI summary based on a full review This tool excels in offering fine-tuning capabilities for photo edits, reminiscent of darkroom processes, which can significantly enhance the editing experience. On the downside, it may take a considerable amount of time to load numerous photos. Log in to unlock the full review, detailed ratings, and pros & cons Desktop Publishing Operator Used the software for: 1-3 years 5.0 November 10, 2026 AI summary based on a full review Lightroom simplifies photo editing and organization, allowing users to improve colors and lighting efficiently. The subscription cost can be a drawback, particularly for students and casual creators. Log in to unlock the full review, detailed ratings, and pros & cons Similar Products Featured