Photoshop is a pixel-based image editor for complex retouching and compositing, while Lightroom is a non-destructive RAW processor optimized for photo organization and batch editing. Photoshop offers unlimited creative control; Lightroom prioritizes workflow efficiency for photographers.
Photoshop vs Lightroom — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Professional pixel-based image editor with unlimited creative tools and compositing capabilities.
Non-destructive RAW photo processor with integrated library management and cloud sync.
Primary Use Case. Learning Curve. Non-Destructive Editing. Batch Processing Speed. RAW File Support. Creative Freedom. File Size Management
Choose Photoshop if you need advanced retouching, compositing, graphic design, or pixel-level control—it's industry standard for professionals doing complex creative work. Choose Lightroom if you're a photographer handling high volumes of RAW files who needs fast organization, non-destructive editing, and batch processing—it will save you hours of repetitive work.
Adobe Photoshop: 12+ AI tools | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 94% of creative professionals | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 25 million active users | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 4000+ MB optimized | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: $281.88/year | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Monthly Subscription Cost (Standard Plan)
Adobe Photoshop: $19.99/month | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Annual Subscription Cost (Standard Plan)
Adobe Photoshop: $239.88/year | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 500+ advanced tools | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Typical Learning Time (Beginner to Productive)
Adobe Photoshop: 40+ hours | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 90%+ of design agencies, studios, freelancers | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 7 (Generative Fill, Super Resolution, Generative Expand, etc.) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: $22.49 | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 50-100 (with scripts) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 500-2000 (PSD) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 70% (requires workarounds) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 300,000 x 300,000 | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: ~500 templates | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 60+ hours | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Via third-party plugins/subscriptions | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Yes (300+ camera profiles) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: $239.88 | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Yes, desktop app | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
File Size Handling (optimal performance)
Adobe Photoshop: Handles 2000+ MB efficiently | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 100 Firefly credits | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Yes, full 3D and video timeline | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: $20.99/month | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 4+ (Generative Fill, Firefly, Content-Aware, Super Resolution) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Yes (full support) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Full (adjustment layers, smart objects) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 75,000+ | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Full (NVIDIA, AMD, Apple Metal) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 8/10 | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: $251.88 | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 8 seconds | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 200+ | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 100GB (Creative Cloud only) | Adobe Lightroom: 1TB (Lightroom plan)
Adobe Photoshop: Windows, macOS, iPad, Web | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: $378/year | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Minimal (third-party required) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 50-100+ hours | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Yes (extensive RAW editing) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Limited (cloud sync only) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Unlimited (print-ready) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Yes (Windows/Mac only) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Extensive (unlimited layers, advanced masks) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 40-60 hours | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Unlimited | Adobe Lightroom: Unlimited adjustment layers only (no pixel layers)
Adobe Photoshop: 40+ (includes PSD, TIFF, RAW, PDF, AI) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 7 days | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 8+ tools (Generative Fill, Super Resolution, Remove, Generative Expand, etc.) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Yes (CUDA, OpenCL, Metal) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Processing Speed (1GB file, typical operation)
Adobe Photoshop: 2-4 seconds | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 40+ formats (PSD, JPEG, PNG, HEIF, WebP, AVIF, PDF, SVG) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Stock integration (millions via Adobe Stock) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Desktop application (offline capable) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: ~500 built-in templates | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 2GB (requires Creative Cloud) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Stock via Adobe Stock (requires separate subscription) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Adobe Fonts library (240,000+ via subscription) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Advanced: layers, masks, curves, healing brush, content-aware fill | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Used by 90% of professional designers/photographers | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: $20.99 | Adobe Lightroom: $11.49 standalone or $22.49 with Creative Cloud
Adobe Photoshop: $276/year (or $55/month for annual plan) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 8 GB | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 8 GB (16 GB optimal) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 15+ (Generative Fill, Super Resolution, Neural Filters, Style Transfer, etc.) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 900+ | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 90% of professional designers/photographers | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Full (adjustment layers, smart objects, layer masks) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Minimal (0-100) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 8-12 weeks | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Full 1px-level control across 1000+ tools | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Full (100% functionality) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Estimated 15+ million | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 8 GB recommended | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: $9.99 (single app) / $55 (full Creative Cloud) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Unlimited with plugins; native support requires 3rd-party tools | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 12-15 seconds on standard hardware | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Full offline editing with all tools available | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: No (native); requires external plugins or manual versioning | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 9.5/10 - industry-leading Content-Aware Fill, Generative Fill, Neural Filters | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 6.5/10 - possible but requires workarounds for design systems | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 80-120 hours | Adobe Lightroom: 20-40 hours
Adobe Photoshop: 500-2000+ MB per complex project | Adobe Lightroom: 2-10 MB per catalog (100,000+ photos)
Adobe Photoshop: 120-180 minutes (manual or scripting) | Adobe Lightroom: 2-5 minutes (Sync Settings feature)
Adobe Photoshop: Via Smart Objects/plugins (requires extra steps) | Adobe Lightroom: Native RAW engine with 150+ camera profiles
Adobe Photoshop: 20+ (Magic Wand, Select Subject, Refine Edge, Content-Aware) | Adobe Lightroom: 4-6 (basic select, brush, range mask)
Adobe Photoshop: Not available | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: $900 (single app) / $1,800 (Creative Cloud) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Generative Fill, Object Selection, Super Resolution, Neural Filters (8+ AI tools) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 15,000+ plugins available | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Large File Processing Speed (800MB file)
Adobe Photoshop: 45-60 seconds | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Limited (Smart Objects, adjustment layers require workarounds) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Yes (Adobe Cloud + shared projects) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Monthly Subscription Cost (Single App Plan)
Adobe Photoshop: $9.99/month | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 4GB | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Adobe Firefly (Generative Fill, Expand, Super Resolution, 150+ filters) | Adobe Lightroom: Super Resolution only (limited AI features)
Adobe Photoshop: 25+ (Smart Objects, adjustment layers, clipping masks) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 20+ (PSD, PSB, PDF, PNG, JPG, TIFF, WebP, EPS, AI import, SVG import) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 12+ major updates monthly | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Unlimited | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 100 credits included | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: Desktop only (Windows 10+, macOS 11+) | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: 30+ template packs | Adobe Lightroom: N/A
Adobe Photoshop: $31.49/month | Adobe Lightroom: $14.99/month
Adobe Photoshop: 40-60 hours | Adobe Lightroom: 15-25 hours
Adobe Photoshop: 180-300 seconds | Adobe Lightroom: 3-5 seconds
Adobe Photoshop: Partial (via Camera Raw Filter) | Adobe Lightroom: 400+ models native
Adobe Photoshop: Unlimited | Adobe Lightroom: N/A (adjustment-based)
Adobe Photoshop: PSD, PSB, TIFF, JPG, PNG, GIF, PDF, RAW (limited) | Adobe Lightroom: RAW (all major), DNG, TIFF, JPG, PNG, HEIC
Adobe Photoshop: 5 (Generative Fill, Super Resolution, Upscale, Denoise, Removal) | Adobe Lightroom: 3 (Super Resolution, Denoise, Enhance)
How to choose between Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom
Compare Adobe Photoshop vs Adobe Lightroom
Photoshop vs Lightroom — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Photoshop vs Lightroom. Contains 114 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Photoshop vs Lightroom — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Photoshop vs Lightroom.
Not necessarily, but many professional photographers use both: Lightroom for organizing, rating, and initial RAW adjustments (saving 10-15 hours per week on batch work), then export to Photoshop only when pixel-level retouching is needed. If you only shoot JPEGs or do minimal editing, Lightroom alone suffices. If you do graphic design or complex compositing, Photoshop is essential.
Can Lightroom replace Photoshop for photo editing?
No. Lightroom handles 90% of photo editing tasks (exposure, color, clarity, vibrance, local adjustments via masks), but cannot do advanced retouching (healing cloned areas, removing complex objects, compositing multiple images). Use Lightroom for global/local tonal adjustments; use Photoshop when you need pixel-level control.
Lightroom is significantly more beginner-friendly. Its slider-based interface is intuitive for photographers—you can produce professional results within 2-3 hours. Photoshop requires 40-60 hours to reach basic competency due to its 100+ tools and steep learning curve. Start with Lightroom; add Photoshop later if you need advanced retouching.
Is there a free alternative to Photoshop or Lightroom?
Yes: GIMP (free Photoshop alternative, less powerful), Darktable (free RAW processor), or RawTherapee. However, Adobe's AI tools (Generative Fill, Super Resolution) and professional plugins require paid subscriptions. For serious photography/design, the subscription cost is justified by time savings and output quality.
Yes, but less efficiently than Lightroom. Photoshop uses Camera Raw Filter (same engine as Lightroom) for RAW edits, but you must open each file individually—no batch processing. Lightroom syncs settings across 100+ photos in seconds. For RAW workflows, Lightroom is 50-100x faster for batch operations.
How to Choose Between Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom
Primary Use Case: Adobe Photoshop has Advanced pixel editing, compositing, graphic design, while Adobe Lightroom has RAW processing, photo organization, batch editing.
Learning Curve: Adobe Photoshop has Steep (100+ tools, complex interface), while Adobe Lightroom has Moderate (intuitive for photographers).
Non-Destructive Editing: Adobe Photoshop has Limited (requires Smart Objects/adjustment layers), while Adobe Lightroom has Full (all edits are reversible).
Batch Processing Speed: Adobe Photoshop has Slow (requires Actions/scripting), while Adobe Lightroom has Fast (sync settings across 100+ photos in seconds).
RAW File Support: Adobe Photoshop has Basic (requires Camera Raw Filter plugin), while Adobe Lightroom has Native (optimized RAW engine, 400+ camera models).
Creative Freedom: Adobe Photoshop has Unlimited (pixel-level control, layers, masks, plugins), while Adobe Lightroom has Limited (adjustment-based editing only).
File Size Management: Adobe Photoshop has Large (PSDs with layers 500MB+ common), while Adobe Lightroom has Lightweight (catalogs <10MB per 10,000 photos).