Review
Adobe Lightroom Classic Review (2025): Still the Standard
After a year of daily use across 80,000+ images, Lightroom Classic remains the most complete RAW workflow on the market — but the subscription math gets harder every year.
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The verdict
Lightroom Classic is still the tool to beat for serious photographers. The catalog model, AI masking, and tethering all run circles on the competition. The price keeps creeping up, and Adobe's cloud-first strategy clearly views Classic as legacy — but for now, nothing else handles a 100,000-image library this well.
What we tested
We ran Lightroom Classic 13.x on a M2 MacBook Pro and a Windows 11 desktop (RTX 4070) for a full year, importing roughly 6,000 RAW files per month from Sony, Fujifilm, and Canon bodies.
AI Denoise
Denoise output beats Topaz Photo AI on most files we threw at it, and it's integrated — no round-tripping. The downside: it takes 30-60 seconds per file on a M2, and creates a new DNG, which doubles your storage footprint fast.
Masking
The AI subject, sky, and people masks are the single biggest workflow upgrade in a decade. We tested 200 portraits — only 6 needed manual mask cleanup.
Performance
Catalog performance is finally good again after years of complaints. 1:1 previews on a 60,000-image catalog stay under 2 seconds with a fast SSD.
Where it loses
The Photography Plan is $11.99/mo (20GB) or $19.99/mo (1TB). Over five years that's $720-$1,200 versus a perpetual Capture One license at ~$300. If you don't need the AI features, the math is rough.
What we love
- ✓Best-in-class AI masking and Denoise
- ✓Mature catalog and tethering workflow
- ✓Massive plugin and preset ecosystem
- ✓Excellent cross-device sync via cloud
Where it falls short
- –Subscription-only — no perpetual license
- –Denoise output files balloon storage
- –Adobe roadmap clearly favors cloud Lightroom
FAQ
Lightroom Classic or Lightroom CC?
Classic if your library lives on local drives and you want full control. CC if you shoot under 1,000 images a month and want everything synced across phone and desktop.
Is the $9.99 plan still available?
Adobe quietly raised the Photography Plan to $11.99/mo for 20GB. The 1TB plan is $19.99/mo. Prices vary by region.
Does Lightroom run well on Apple Silicon?
Yes — Lightroom Classic is fully native and AI Denoise is roughly 3x faster on M2/M3 than on equivalent Intel hardware.
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