Here is a question I get asked day in and day out, year in and year out; “Mark, what is the very best raw editing software that I should use?“. Today we will answer this question.
A bit of a backstory. As you all know, I am deeply involved in the photography world and part of that is using and experimenting with different software so that I can teach it to others. I also talk a lot to various groups of photographers, from the very early stages of being an amateur up to world class professional photographers. Here is what they have to say.
Ask a professional and they will you want the best of the best is to use Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, or Capture One, or DXO, or Luminar Neo, or Affinity Photo. Ask an amateur and they will tell you exactly the same, but with maybe Darktable or RawThearapee thrown into the mix. Ask 10 people in a room and you’ll get a different answer from each of them.
The actual truth of the matter is, in 2026 every single raw editing package is perfectly capable of producing images that a professional photographer would happily give the results to a client. This is a fact, if there was an actual “very best” raw editor, each time you ask someone, you would get the same answer. But you don’t.
There is a simple reason for this, raw editing software has matured to a point that every single program can extract detail, correct colours and offer infinite refinements to your image.
The best raw editor in 2026 is the software that you enjoy working with. You’ll feel at home with it, it will be intuitive to you. Regardless of what it is, you know that when you use your chosen software, you will extract as much as it’s possible from the software.
Yes, every bit of software has advantages and disadvantages and they are all slightly different, but generally speaking, the majority of people use the same core functions in each editing package.
Choosing your software is like choosing your camera. There is a reason for it. Otherwise, we would all have the same cameras too!
Every software package has a free trial, and there are also plenty of free software packages (use this guide to help you decide!) So, just see which one you are most comfortable with, and the next time someone tries to tell you that such-and-such a raw editor is the best editor just remember, they are not you. Be confident that you’ll get fantastic results in any software.
My name is Mark G Adams and I run Photography By Mark G Adams. I am a professional photographer from South Wales, shooting weddings, events and portraits as well as running meets and workshops. For fun I like to shoot landscapes, wildlife and occasionally do street photography. Enjoy my website as I share my knowledge learned over decades of working and having fun in photography.
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Well written Mark, I think that’s a fair way to look at it. At this point most RAW editors are more than capable, so it really comes down to how well a tool fits your way of working and how comfortable you are with it.
In the end, consistency and familiarity probably matter more than chasing small differences between software.
Have a great weekend with your family !
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Thank you Marc. That’s what I see all the time, for most people the software chooses you and you work with what works for you.
You have a great weekend too 🙏
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Great post, Mark. I use Lightroom for denoise, lens corrections, and profiles, then do the rest of the RAW processing in Camera Raw. Lately I’ve been wondering if I should switch to Adobe Bridge. Lightroom just keeps getting slower, and honestly I could do everything in Camera Raw and Photoshop anyway. Plus I wouldn’t have to keep ‘compatibility’ for PSDs, which makes them 500MB+ per file. And you’re right – the best software is what works for you, for photography and for everything else you do on a computer or on your phone.
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Give RapidRaw a try if you want a lightweight, fast raw editor with plenty of features.
I do like Camera Raw though, it just works and it’s the only thing I really miss leaving the Adobe ecosystem. My main editor is now Luminar Neo, which is excellent and just works.
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