Affinity PhotovsAdobe Lightroom

App

Score Comparison

Overall

Pricing

Usability

Performance

Support

Reliability

Onboarding

Mobile

Security

Integrations

Affinity PhotoAdobe Lightroom

Signals Comparison

Usability

Affinity Photo

No generative AI or content-aware fill(8/10)
No photo library or asset management(7/10)
Confusing mask layering system(6/10)
No Smart Objects like Photoshop(6/10)
No Save for Web feature(5/10)
Keyboard shortcuts differ from Photoshop(5/10)
UI text too small on high-DPI displays(5/10)
No video or animation timeline(4/10)

Adobe Lightroom

Steep learning curve for beginners(6/10)
Confusing Lightroom vs Classic distinction(5/10)
Face recognition marks cats as people(3/10)
Missing features compared to Classic(5/10)

Performance

Affinity Photo

Slow RAW file processing(8/10)
Limited AI noise reduction capabilities(5/10)

Adobe Lightroom

Extreme slowness with large catalogs(9/10)
AI features consume excessive resources(7/10)

Integrations

Affinity Photo

Limited plugin ecosystem(7/10)

Adobe Lightroom

Photoshop roundtrip breaks intermittently(6/10)

Reliability

Affinity Photo

Crashes during RAW import and export(8/10)

Adobe Lightroom

Cloud sync issues between Classic and CC(7/10)
Catalog corruption causes data loss(10/10)
Frequent outages affect cloud users(6/10)

Mobile

Affinity Photo

No iPhone or Android mobile app(5/10)

Adobe Lightroom

Mobile app laggy on budget phones(6/10)

Security

Affinity Photo

Forum shutdown and Discord migration concerns(4/10)

Adobe Lightroom

Photos used for AI training by default(6/10)

Pricing

Affinity Photo

No signals

Adobe Lightroom

Subscription model with no perpetual license(8/10)
50% cancellation fee for annual plans(8/10)
Cloud storage runs out quickly(7/10)

Pricing Comparison

Affinity Photo

Free (Current)

Popular

Free

Users: Unlimited

Storage: Local storage only

Limits: Must have Canva account, no AI-powered tools in free tier, V1/V2 licenses no longer updated

Canva AI features (Generative Fill, AI expansion) require Canva Pro at $120/year

Canva Pro (for AI features)

$120/yr

Users: 1 user

Storage: 1TB Canva cloud storage

Limits: AI features require Canva ecosystem integration

Monthly billing is $15/month ($180/year), additional team seats cost extra

Legacy V2 (No longer sold)

$69.99/mo

Users: 1 user per platform

Storage: Local storage only

Limits: No longer sold, existing licenses work but won't receive V3 features

Each platform (Mac, Windows, iPad) required separate purchase, V2 Universal was $169.99

Adobe Lightroom

Lightroom (1TB)

$9.99/mo

Users: 1 user

Storage: 1TB cloud

Limits: No Photoshop included; cloud-dependent for full functionality

Annual commitment required for monthly billing; 50% cancellation fee; additional storage costs extra

Photography Plan (20GB)

Popular

$9.99/mo

Users: 1 user

Storage: 20GB cloud

Limits: Very limited cloud storage; may not be available to new users

Being phased out for new subscribers Jan 2025; 20GB fills up fast with RAW files; annual commitment

Photography Plan (1TB)

Popular

$19.99/mo

Users: 1 user

Storage: 1TB cloud

Limits: Still limited for large professional libraries

Annual commitment ($239.88/year); 50% cancellation fee; extra storage beyond 1TB costs more

Creative Cloud All Apps

$59.99/mo

Users: 1 user

Storage: 100GB cloud

Limits: Overkill for photography-only users; less storage than dedicated photo plans

Annual commitment ($719.88/year); less cloud storage than Photography 1TB plan; 50% cancellation fee

Lightroom Mobile (Free)

Free

Users: 1 user

Storage: 2GB local

Limits: No cloud sync; missing key features; essentially a trial/demo

Premium features locked (Healing Brush, Selective Edits, Raw HDR); no cloud sync; limited presets

Feature Comparison

Feature	Affinity Photo	Adobe Lightroom
Core Features
Layer-based editing Full layer support
RAW development Non-destructive, but slow
HDR merge Built-in HDR tools
Panorama stitching Automatic stitching
Focus stacking Multi-focus merge
Editing
Non-destructive RAW editing Industry-standard XMP sidecar approach
AI-powered masking Select Subject, Sky, Background automatically
AI Denoise Excellent results but RAM-intensive
HDR panorama merge Lightroom Classic only, not mobile
Video editing Basic color/exposure only, no timeline
AI Features
AI Generative Fill Requires Canva Pro
Content-Aware Fill Traditional inpainting only
Sync
Cloud sync across devices Lightroom cloud version; Classic requires setup
Organization
Photo library/catalog No asset management
Face recognition Works but accuracy issues reported
Mobile
Mobile app iOS and Android with most desktop features
Professional
Tethered capture Lightroom Classic only
Export
Print/Book modules Lightroom Classic only
File Formats
PSD compatibility Good import/export
Extensibility
Plugin support Limited compared to PS
Usability
Offline editing Classic fully offline; cloud version limited
Platforms
iPad version Full-featured
iPhone/Android app Not available
Pricing
Perpetual license option Subscription only since Lightroom 6
Collaboration
Multi-user catalog Single-user catalogs only

Signals Comparison

Usability

Affinity Photo

No generative AI or content-aware fill(8/10)
No photo library or asset management(7/10)
Confusing mask layering system(6/10)
No Smart Objects like Photoshop(6/10)
No Save for Web feature(5/10)
Keyboard shortcuts differ from Photoshop(5/10)
UI text too small on high-DPI displays(5/10)
No video or animation timeline(4/10)

Adobe Lightroom

Steep learning curve for beginners(6/10)
Confusing Lightroom vs Classic distinction(5/10)
Face recognition marks cats as people(3/10)
Missing features compared to Classic(5/10)

Performance

Affinity Photo

Slow RAW file processing(8/10)
Limited AI noise reduction capabilities(5/10)

Adobe Lightroom

Extreme slowness with large catalogs(9/10)
AI features consume excessive resources(7/10)

Integrations

Affinity Photo

Limited plugin ecosystem(7/10)

Adobe Lightroom

Photoshop roundtrip breaks intermittently(6/10)

Reliability

Affinity Photo

Crashes during RAW import and export(8/10)

Adobe Lightroom

Cloud sync issues between Classic and CC(7/10)
Catalog corruption causes data loss(10/10)
Frequent outages affect cloud users(6/10)

Mobile

Affinity Photo

No iPhone or Android mobile app(5/10)

Adobe Lightroom

Mobile app laggy on budget phones(6/10)

Security

Affinity Photo

Forum shutdown and Discord migration concerns(4/10)

Adobe Lightroom

Photos used for AI training by default(6/10)

Pricing

Affinity Photo

No signals

Adobe Lightroom

Subscription model with no perpetual license(8/10)
50% cancellation fee for annual plans(8/10)
Cloud storage runs out quickly(7/10)

Pricing Comparison

Affinity Photo

Free (Current)

Popular

Free

Users: Unlimited

Storage: Local storage only

Limits: Must have Canva account, no AI-powered tools in free tier, V1/V2 licenses no longer updated

Canva AI features (Generative Fill, AI expansion) require Canva Pro at $120/year

Canva Pro (for AI features)

$120/yr

Users: 1 user

Storage: 1TB Canva cloud storage

Limits: AI features require Canva ecosystem integration

Monthly billing is $15/month ($180/year), additional team seats cost extra

Legacy V2 (No longer sold)

$69.99/mo

Users: 1 user per platform

Storage: Local storage only

Limits: No longer sold, existing licenses work but won't receive V3 features

Each platform (Mac, Windows, iPad) required separate purchase, V2 Universal was $169.99

Adobe Lightroom

Lightroom (1TB)

$9.99/mo

Users: 1 user

Storage: 1TB cloud

Limits: No Photoshop included; cloud-dependent for full functionality

Annual commitment required for monthly billing; 50% cancellation fee; additional storage costs extra

Photography Plan (20GB)

Popular

$9.99/mo

Users: 1 user

Storage: 20GB cloud

Limits: Very limited cloud storage; may not be available to new users

Being phased out for new subscribers Jan 2025; 20GB fills up fast with RAW files; annual commitment

Photography Plan (1TB)

Popular

$19.99/mo

Users: 1 user

Storage: 1TB cloud

Limits: Still limited for large professional libraries

Annual commitment ($239.88/year); 50% cancellation fee; extra storage beyond 1TB costs more

Creative Cloud All Apps

$59.99/mo

Users: 1 user

Storage: 100GB cloud

Limits: Overkill for photography-only users; less storage than dedicated photo plans

Annual commitment ($719.88/year); less cloud storage than Photography 1TB plan; 50% cancellation fee

Lightroom Mobile (Free)

Free

Users: 1 user

Storage: 2GB local

Limits: No cloud sync; missing key features; essentially a trial/demo

Premium features locked (Healing Brush, Selective Edits, Raw HDR); no cloud sync; limited presets

Feature Comparison

Feature	Affinity Photo	Adobe Lightroom
Core Features
Layer-based editing Full layer support
RAW development Non-destructive, but slow
HDR merge Built-in HDR tools
Panorama stitching Automatic stitching
Focus stacking Multi-focus merge
Editing
Non-destructive RAW editing Industry-standard XMP sidecar approach
AI-powered masking Select Subject, Sky, Background automatically
AI Denoise Excellent results but RAM-intensive
HDR panorama merge Lightroom Classic only, not mobile
Video editing Basic color/exposure only, no timeline
AI Features
AI Generative Fill Requires Canva Pro
Content-Aware Fill Traditional inpainting only
Sync
Cloud sync across devices Lightroom cloud version; Classic requires setup
Organization
Photo library/catalog No asset management
Face recognition Works but accuracy issues reported
Mobile
Mobile app iOS and Android with most desktop features
Professional
Tethered capture Lightroom Classic only
Export
Print/Book modules Lightroom Classic only
File Formats
PSD compatibility Good import/export
Extensibility
Plugin support Limited compared to PS
Usability
Offline editing Classic fully offline; cloud version limited
Platforms
iPad version Full-featured
iPhone/Android app Not available
Pricing
Perpetual license option Subscription only since Lightroom 6
Collaboration
Multi-user catalog Single-user catalogs only