The Best Photo Editing Software We’ve Tested for Macs in 2026

Adobe Lightroom Classic is the longtime software choice of working professional photographers. In addition to top-notch importing and organizing capabilities, Lightroom Classic provides photographers with the best tools for correcting and enhancing photos during the raw file workflow. It includes things missing from the non-Classic version of Lightroom (see below) that pros need, such as plug-in support, printing, soft-proofing, and tethered shooting. You don’t, however, get some of the features amateurs and hobbyists might like, such as basic video tools and lots of learning content.

Advanced amateurs: Lightroom Classic is for photo enthusiasts who want its organization, tethering, plug-in, and printing capabilities and are willing to pay a recurring subscription fee.

Pro photographers: The primary users of the program are professional photographers. Lightroom Classic is the industry standard. In fact, when professionals, articles, and seminars for pros talk about Lightroom, they invariable mean Lightroom Classic. For these users, the monthly fee is just part of doing business.

Photoshop is the photo editing software that started it all, and it has become the most powerful image editing software, bar none. Photoshop is often where Adobe first introduces its state-of-the-art features, such as Firefly-based generative AI image-creation tools. It includes the complex drawing, filters, gradients, layering, masking, text options, and output formats that professionals need.

Professional image editors: Not only does Photoshop have the largest set of cutting-edge image tools in the best-designed user interface, but it’s the industry standard for photographers, retouchers, and producers of marketing imagery. Its default file format enjoys practically universal support.

Serious photo enthusiasts: Even though it offers an incredibly deep set of tools, Photoshop’s interface is flexible and has become more manageable in recent versions. Hover-over help tips and a persistent search box at the top make a big difference.

Students of image editing: If you are learning the ropes of professional photo editing, the best thing you can do for yourself is get familiar with Photoshop. Adobe offers a student discount on subscriptions.

Lightroom combines some of the most powerful photo editing and organizing tools in one of the most usable and appealing interfaces. It simplifies the more pro-oriented Lightroom Classic and optionally keeps all your photos and edits in the cloud for access anywhere. The community and learning features within Lightroom’s Discover section are difficult to beat.

Amateur photographers: Lightroom features a more streamlined user interface than its older sibling, Lightroom Classic. Its top-notch organization and search capabilities, along with generous online backup storage allotments, make it an ideal choice for serious amateurs.

Some Professional Photographers: Pros who don’t need plug-in support, printing, or tethered shooting capabilities should find Lightroom a pleasure to use. If you’re shooting for online outlets or a web portfolio, Lightroom is a good fit.

Photoshop Elements includes many of the capabilities of its big sibling, Photoshop, but wraps them in a friendlier interface that emphasizes hand-holding. Its Guided Edits make creating stunning effects with your photos easier. You still get filters, layers, and a smart Organizer utility to keep track of your photo collection. Photoshop Elements isn’t technically a subscription-based product, but a license now lasts just three years (it used to be perpetual).

Memory keepers: This is Adobe’s term for people who want to create appealing photographic keepsakes from family occasions and trips.

Photoshop learners on a budget: Elements also offers anyone a good entry point to the processes behind the pro-level effects designers get with Photoshop proper.

Social media posters: Elements includes plenty of tools and text options to create fun images for social sharing.

Apple Photos is an excellent photo editing app that comes free with every Mac. It includes strong organization and photo adjustment features and is particularly suitable if you take pictures with an iPhone. The app also lets you view and edit raw camera files from popular camera models.

iPhone users: Apple Photos is especially good if most of your contacts use iPhones, since it lets you share within Apple’s walled garden. Just keep in mind that you will likely need to sign up for an iCloud storage subscription, since that service syncs Apple Photos across devices.

Mac users: You already have Apple Photos (you can’t get rid of it even if you tried), and to be honest, it’s as capable as many third-party photo services you’d have to pay for.

Capture One, a super-powerful alternative to Lightroom, is among the best we’ve tested at interpreting a camera’s raw image data into a sharp, detailed photo. It includes numerous adjustments and local editing tools, as well as layers and advanced color grading. Capture One also excels at tethered shooting support. A unique Speed Edit feature lets you access the tools you use most often with a simple key press. However, it still trails Lightroom in workflow capabilities and interface design. You should consider Capture One if you are a pro photographer who can afford its pricey subscription cost or one-time license.

Photographers who want a single program: Capture One can fully serve your needs if you’re looking for a program that combines Lightroom Classic’s workflow features with Photoshop’s layer editing and design tools.

Professional photographers: If you don’t use Lightroom Classic, Capture One is a top alternative. It has strong support for collaboration features and tethered shooting. Pros can also take advantage of its elite color and skin-tone tools.

Studios: Capture One’s Studio subscription includes online collaboration features and other enhancements for professional editing teams working on both Macs and Windows PCs.

PhotoDirector offers both Lightroom- and Photoshop-like functionality in a single, affordable app. You get all the workflow features of Lightroom—keywords, nondestructive import catalogues, and other organization tools—as well as Photoshop’s layer editing, masking, and even some generative AI-powered tools like background or object removal. If you go for the subscription option, you get a constantly growing library of stock images and templates.

Amateur photo enthusiasts: PhotoDirector can replace both Lightroom and Photoshop thanks to its fast performance and a deep set of organization and image editing tools.

Photoshop users who don’t want to pay a subscription: Since it’s available as a perpetual-license purchase and includes most of the same features you get in Photoshop, PhotoDirector is a good option for pros who don’t want to spring for an ongoing Adobe subscription.

Social media marketers: Its wealth of generative AI image creation and enhancement tools, along with frequent new stock media and templates for subscribers, make the program an excellent tool for social posts.

DxO pioneered several technologies that later appeared in other software products, including deep, time-consuming noise reduction, geometry fixes, and lens-profile-based corrections. Its DeepPrime XD noise reduction is faster than ever and can make unusable photos usable; PhotoLab is worth getting for that alone. The software is also excellent at automatically fixing lighting with its Smart Lighting tool and chromatic aberration tools. The included U Point technology also offers unmatched control over local adjustments. If you just need noise reduction and lens corrections, the more limited DxO PureRAW can work as a Photoshop or Lightroom plug-in. PhotoLab isn’t cheap, but its one-time pricing might appeal more than a subscription.

Professional photographers: DxO PhotoLab is for professionals who need to get the most out of their raw camera files, thanks to its unique AI-powered noise reduction, camera- and lens-calibrated profiles, masking, and retouching features. It’s one of the most popular Lightroom alternatives. It also has strong organization and search capabilities that bypass Lightroom’s need to import before you edit.

Serious amateur photographers: If you care about getting the most out of your digital photos, PhotoLab is an excellent option, particularly for its strong noise reduction and other aforementioned tools. We also like that it doesn’t require a subscription.

The web-based Photopea is a remarkably full-featured Photoshop replacement. You get a good helping of its features for free, while a $5-per-month subscription adds generative AI image generation tools, more steps in your editing history, and 5GB of online image storage. You can use it on practically any internet-connected device, and setting it up as a PWA gets you all the standard conveniences of a desktop application. And if you want to eliminate ads or try generative AI tools, a subscription starts at a reasonable €50 (about $58) per year.

Browser-based photo editors: If you can’t install a large photo application on your Mac, Photopea is an excellent choice.

Photographers on a budget: Photopea will appeal to budget-conscious editors, because it offers a surprisingly comprehensive selection of Photoshop-equivalent features at no cost.

Skylum Luminar Neo is a well-designed photo app with some innovative tools, such as AI-based powerline removal, a tool that relights different parts of a photo based on distance, and generative features that expand scenes or erase objects. As the company name suggests, Luminar excels at fixing drab skies in your shots. The program lets you edit with layers, local adjustments, and masks, just like Photoshop, but note that it doesn’t include Photoshop’s text and shape overlay support. The interface is clear and simple, but short on photo organization and workflow compared with Lightroom (either version).

Image effect seekers: If you want to have a lot of fun enhancing your photos (whether you are an amateur or a pro), check out the well-designed Luminar Neo app.

Professional photographers: You can install Luminar as a plug-in to Lightroom Classic or Photoshop, letting pros get its unique generative AI editing tools and effects while maintaining their industry-standard toolset.