Swap Adobe Photography plan for darktable, GIMP, RawTherapee, LightCraft or PhotoCraft and stop paying $239.88/yr.
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As a Lightroom stand-in: no phone app or cloud sync, and its editing workflow takes real time to learn.
Imports your data: reads Lightroom XMP sidecars for ratings, tags, GPS and a few basic edits (crop, exposure, tone curve)
$ sudo pacman -S darktable$ flatpak install flathub org.darktable.DarktableAs a Photoshop stand-in: layered PSDs open, but adjustment layers, smart objects and most layer styles don't carry over.
Imports your data: opens layered PSD/PSB files; adjustment layers and smart objects are lost
$ sudo pacman -S gimpAs a Lightroom stand-in: a raw developer with a file browser only, no catalog, collections or keyword search.
$ sudo pacman -S rawtherapee$ flatpak install flathub com.rawtherapee.RawTherapeeAlpha first released in September 2026; its makers put it at about half of what a working photographer needs.
Imports your data: reads XMP sidecars including Lightroom/Camera Raw (crs:) develop settings and presets
Download it from getartcraft.com.
Early alpha first released in September 2026; its own docs say it isn't yet ready for daily professional work.
Imports your data: opens and saves layered PSD/PSB files (its tests re-save 307 of 309 sample PSDs faithfully)
Download it from getartcraft.com.
| Alternative | Verdict | License | Linux | AUR | Self-host | Stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| darktable | Replaces it | GPL-3.0 open source | Yes | Yes | No | 13.3k★ |
| GIMP | Replaces it | GPL-3.0-or-later open source | Yes | Yes | No | 6.5k★ |
| RawTherapee | Partly replaces it | GPL-3.0 open source | Yes | Yes | No | 4.2k★ |
| LightCraft | Early (alpha/beta) | MIT or Apache-2.0 open source | Yes | — | No | 13.4k★ |
| PhotoCraft | Early (alpha/beta) | MIT or Apache-2.0 open source | Yes | — | No | 66.2k★ |
Adobe Photography plan bundles 2 apps: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom. Their free alternatives cover it piece by piece.
| Plan | For | Paid monthly | Paid yearly | Annual plan, paid monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photography (1TB)Most common | individual | $29.99/mo | $239.88/yr | $19.99/mo |
Quoted from adobe.com on Oct 17, 2026, US prices in USD before tax.
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