As two of the leading image cataloguing and non-destructive RAW processing software, Capture One and Lightroom offer powerful tools for photographers, each with its own strengths, workflows, and feature sets tailored to different types of users and professional needs.
Developed by Adobe, Lightroom combines the cataloguing features of Adobe Bridge with the RAW processing tools of Adobe Camera RAW (ACR), creating an all-in-one solution for photographers. There are two main versions: Lightroom CC (also known as Lightroom or Lightroom desktop) and Lightroom Classic. While Lightroom CC is cloud-based and optimized for cross-device syncing and mobile workflows, it lacks several advanced features found in Lightroom Classic, such as file management, custom print layout tools, soft proofing, plug-in support, and more detailed metadata handling.
Developed by the company of the same name, Capture One was originally created to support tethered shooting with Phase One medium format cameras. Over time, it evolved into a comprehensive RAW image editor and digital asset management tool, offering advanced features for color grading, tethering, and high-end retouching, making it a popular choice among studio and commercial photographers.
Neither software is definitively superior; each offers a sophisticated toolkit designed to meet specific photographic challenges. At the end of the day, the choice of software should be dictated by the demands of the project, the desired workflow, and the technical and creative needs of the photographer. The key differences between the two will be explored in more detail in the following sections.
Table of contents
User interface
Lightroom features a user interface structured around dedicated modules for different stages of the workflow. The Library module handles image organization and management, while the Develop module provides a full suite of editing tools. Modules like Map, Print, and Slideshow are now used less frequently but support specific workflows. This modular layout helps keep tasks clearly separated and easy to navigate.
The filmstrip at the bottom allows users to browse through images in a folder, while the sidebars and tool layouts are fixed, preventing custom panel combinations. Tools are context-specific and appear only within their respective modules, ensuring a clear separation between organizational and editing functions.
Additionally, the export dialog is separate from the main editing interface. Despite this rigid structure, Lightroom offers an intuitive and linear workflow that many users find efficient and easy to follow.
Capture One uses a module-free interface design, allowing all tools to be accessible at the same time. While this can seem overwhelming at first, it offers users the flexibility to tailor the workspace to their specific workflow. Instead of relying on predefined activity zones, Capture One focuses on customizable workspaces. Panels, including the filmstrip, browser, and viewer, can float and be repositioned freely. Users can also save and share workspaces for different tasks or take advantage of multi-monitor setups for a more efficient layout.
Both software applications offer multi-view options for comparing images. In Lightroom, this feature is called Survey View, while in Capture One it is called Compare View, which lets users display a primary image alongside one or more selected variants for direct comparison. These tools are especially useful for tasks like culling, selecting the best shot, or fine-tuning edits across similar images.
Project management
Lightroom offers a straightforward approach to image management through the use of a catalog, a single database that, by default, handles all projects in one place. While users can create multiple catalogs, Lightroom provides limited functionality for working across them. Catalogs in Lightroom reference images rather than store them directly, meaning the actual files remain on the hard drive in their original locations.
Collections are a key feature of Lightroom catalogs, allowing users to create virtual folders or subsets of images that are independent of their physical storage locations. An important limitation for team-based workflows is that when a catalog is in use, it becomes locked, preventing access by others. Additionally, Lightroom does not support accessing catalogs from network drives, which can further restrict collaboration. However, parts of a catalog can be exported as separate catalogs, including the option to append the associated image files, making it possible to share or archive specific projects.
Even if catalogs may appear limited, they are supported by a complex tagging and keywording system that enhances image organization and searchability. Lightroom allows users to apply hierarchical keywords, star ratings, flags, color labels, and metadata filters, making it easy to sort, group, and locate specific images within extensive libraries.
Capture One offers a dual system for image management: sessions and catalogs. Users can switch between the two or use them together, as catalogs in Capture One can include sessions. While similar in concept to Lightroom catalogs, Capture One catalogs differ in that they allow images to be either referenced from their original location or stored directly within the catalog file structure, providing greater flexibility in file management. Users are also able to import Lightroom catalogs into Capture One, but not the other way around. Images imported this way will retain some basic adjustments and metadata, where supported, allowing for a smoother transition between the two platforms.
Sessions in Capture One enable a project-based workflow using a self-contained, standardized folder structure (Capture, Selects, Output, Trash). This setup is ideal for collaborative projects, as sessions keep all images, adjustments, and settings organized in one location. Sessions are easily portable between computers or external drives, and can be accessed via network drives or cloud services.
While Capture One offers strong metadata handling and organizational features in both catalogs and sessions, they are not as advanced or intuitive as those found in Adobe Lightroom, particularly when it comes to large-scale metadata editing, keywording, and search capabilities.
Capture One uses export recipes for batch exporting, allowing users to export multiple images simultaneously in different formats, sizes, and with various settings. In contrast, Lightroom uses export presets, but it only allows batch exporting with one preset at a time, making it less flexible for multi-format workflows.
Workflow
Even though Lightroom has improved its tethering capabilities over time, Capture One continues to lead in this area. It remains the software of choice for tethered shooting, client sessions, and studio workflows. Its tethering features include a highly responsive Live View, precise camera control, customizable overlay tools, and the ability to apply real-time adjustments, making it an essential tool for professional studio setups.
Additionally, Capture One includes an Annotation Tool, which allows users to draw or write directly on the image using customizable colors and strokes. These annotations are not baked into the image and can be toggled on or off, making them especially useful for collaborative workflows.
When it comes to file format management, each software handles this differently. Capture One stores adjustments and edits within the folder structure of a catalog or session. If users need to transfer images without moving the entire session, they can use the proprietary EIP (Enhanced Image Package) format, which bundles the RAW image together with all adjustments and metadata, but can only be opened in Capture One. On the other hand, Lightroom uses XML sidecar files to store edits, which are saved separately from the original RAW files and are more universally compatible.
Both Capture One and Lightroom offer non-destructive image versioning: Capture One uses variants, Lightroom uses virtual copies. Functionally, they serve the same purpose: allowing multiple edited versions of a single RAW file without duplicating the original.
Capture One offers intuitive, layer-based selective editing through masking, which functions similarly to Adobe Photoshop, though with less versatility. Masks can be created using brushes, linear or radial gradients, and automatic selections, allowing for precise local adjustments. In Lightroom, local adjustment tools are separate from global ones and are not as seamlessly integrated as in Capture One, but they are still effective for most editing needs. For more advanced masking or complex retouching, it is still best to use Adobe Photoshop alongside either program.
Lightroom offers better integration with Photoshop, allowing users to send files either as standalone images or as layered compositions. In contrast, Capture One can only export images to Photoshop as separate flattened files, which limits flexibility for complex multi-layer workflows.
An important advantage of Lightroom is its ability to store history states for every image, allowing for sequential and retroactive adjustments at any point in the editing process. Syncing settings between images is also more intuitive and streamlined in Lightroom. While Capture One offers a Match Look feature that attempts to emulate the appearance of one image on another, its results can be inconsistent. This tool works best when applied to images captured under similar lighting conditions, such as during the same shoot.
For film photographers, Lightroom is generally the more suitable option. It supports powerful plugins like Negative Lab Pro, which are specifically designed for converting and editing film scans. Capture One often struggles to accurately interpret color data from dedicated film scanners, making it less reliable for achieving consistent film tones.
Editing tools
While the core editing tools in both programs are largely similar, there are subtle but meaningful differences in how they are implemented.
Capture One features a Luma Curve, which allows for adjusting contrast and tonality without affecting color saturation. This makes it ideal for fine-tuning highlights and shadows while maintaining accurate colors. The software also includes a Skin Tone panel, enabling precise and subtle adjustments to skin tones for more natural and accurate results. Additionally, the Saturation slider in Capture One emulates the Vibrance tool in other programs, as increasing the value prevents oversaturation of color tones.
Capture One offers layer-based adjustments with opacity control for each layer, providing more flexibility in selective editing. Additionally, each tool can be applied individually to each layer, as well as any presets.
Both programs feature AI-assisted tools, though the range and implementation vary between the two. As of May 2025, Capture One includes automatic object selection and auto-cropping, along with newly introduced AI-powered retouching tools for faces and skin, such as blemish removal, skin smoothing, and contouring. Lightroom, on the other hand, features advanced AI tools for selecting people, objects, and skies, as well as object removal and artificial lens blur.
The AI-assisted noise reduction in Lightroom is very effective, delivering impressive results even at high ISO values. The lens correction tool is also highly accurate, particularly when addressing chromatic aberrations, distortion, and vignetting, thanks to its extensive built-in profile library. Users are also able to import third-party lens profiles, which is not possible in Capture One.
When it comes to manually correcting perspective, Lightroom offers a more intuitive and flexible approach. The Keystone Tool in Capture One requires aligning all four sides of the image simultaneously, which is time-consuming and can feel less precise. Cropping is also more intuitive in Lightroom, whereas in Capture One it is more closely tied to export recipes, which can make the process feel less straightforward.
In the software interface of Capture One, tools feature enhanced tooltips when hovering over their names, briefly describing how they function and offering external links to better understand them.
Support
Adobe maintains a robust support ecosystem designed to assist users of all skill levels, through detailed Help Center pages. These pages include a comprehensive range of resources, from detailed how-to articles to short, targeted video tutorials that walk users through specific tools and features. Users can also turn to the active Adobe Community forums, where they can post questions, share tips and troubleshoot issues, and receive guidance from Adobe staff and community experts.
In contrast, Capture One decided to make community forums read-only, which means that existing threads and discussions remain accessible, without the possibility to create new posts or comments. This impacts users which rely on community knowledge sharing for learning and troubleshooting.
To compensate, Capture One provides a detailed official user guide on its website, offering concise articles that cover all aspects of the software with visual examples. The company also organizes regular webinars and live streams to showcase newly added features and explore specific topics. Adobe hosts Adobe MAX, a large-scale annual conference that highlights software innovations and outlines its broader development roadmap.
Pricing model
In 2017, Adobe shifted its business model by discontinuing standalone, perpetual licenses for its software, which previously allowed users to pay a one-time fee for indefinite use. Instead, all paid software is now offered through subscription-based licensing, billed monthly or annually. As a result, both access to the software and any updates or new features require an active Creative Cloud subscription.
Lightroom Classic is available either as a standalone subscription, bundled with Photoshop in the Photography Plan, or as part of the full Adobe Creative Cloud suite, with increased price points based on the features and apps included.
Capture One still offers perpetual licenses, but they only include major bug fixes and limited optimizations. New features, functionalities, and support for cameras or lenses released after the purchase will not be added to a perpetual licensed version.
In addition to perpetual licenses, Capture One offers subscription-based plans, billed monthly or annually, with higher tiers providing additional features focused on collaboration and client feedback. These plans provide continuous access to the latest updates and support for newly released cameras and lenses. A separate mobile subscription is also available, either purchased individually or included in the higher-tier plans.
At this point, it is important to mention two free, open-source alternatives for those not interested in subscription-based software: darktable and RAWTherapee, both being very powerful RAW editors that offer a wide range of features suitable for enthusiasts and advanced users alike.