Luminar VS Lightroom - Is Luminar Neo Worth it For Photo Editing?

In this video, we'll dive into the heated debate: Should you use Luminar or Lightroom for your photo editing? Whether or not you already use Lightroom, my answer may surprise you.

This video is NOT sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links which means if you buy something I'll receive a small commission.

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⏰ Timecodes ⏰
0:00 - Luminar VS Lightroom Is Luminar New Worth It?
0:30 - Luminar Neo Tutorial For Photo Editing
6:04 - The One Feature That Sets Luminar Apart From Lightroom
7:33 - Comparing Luminar and Lightroom

My mission on this channel is to provide you with the best tips and tools to level up the success and love for your photography.

This video will compare Luminar Neo vs Lightroom to show you which editing software is the best one for your photo editing. I'll show you how you can edit a photo with Luminar in a quick tutorial. We will also compare Luminar and Lightroom for speed, cost, and other features to answer the question: Is Luminar Neo worth it for photo editing?

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QUESTION — Have a question about photography, composition, gear, editing, or Anything Else? Post in the comments section of this video!

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[hiramabiff]

This year is my 50th anniversary as a working photographer. I just added a new Dell computer as an additional editing platform in addition to my two Macs. I find Adobe's subscription model abhorrent and went looking for a substitute. After testing a couple of options I decided to take a chance with Luminar as I got it about two hours ago for a sale price of $89.00 so I figured for that price the gamble was worth a try. I have now completed uploading 4393 images. The interface is nothing short of brilliant. The speed of adding the images was incredibly fast and the visual representation of the images is beyond outstanding. I'm looking forward to the editing capabilities and I suspect I will be very pleased.

[dwightsphotosandart]

I love Luminar Neo. This company is based out of Ukraine. They continue to deliver the goods during extremely adverse conditions. Blows my mind. This is one of the huge reasons that I am supporting them. That being said, the more I use the program, the better I am getting at it. I love the results.

[lauriebreton]

I've been using Luminar AI for about a year, and I love it. I start my photos in Lightroom, then take them over to Luminar AI. I also enjoy Aurora HDR, which is another Skylum product. I think it's great to have multiple tools at my fingertips.

[cguerrieri]

For me, the speed that I can do the edit makes all the difference. Add that to a one time purchase and then add that the program continues to evolve and get better. It has an insiders group that you can learn a ton from.
All and all, I agree, it’s been a great investment for my editing. Thanks for the video David!

[xdatauk]

This is just my 2 cents worth, but here is no such thing as lifetime with any of these companies, because usually annually they bring out a brand new version say v2 which you'll have to pay an upgrade fee for. You also stated Neo is a little cheaper than LR yes, but for the extra couple of $ you get Photoshop, Camera Raw plus a free Portfolio web site I actually use saving me paying for web space.
My biggest gripe is speed, Iv'e just upgraded to a M1 Macbook pro 16gb, and Neo still takes forever to process my finished edits, whereas LR flies through them.
A very professional video David well done, which has helped many out there I'm sure to decide what's best for there needs.

[stevenmales]

which do I enjoy using the most is lightroom, neo is like filters and luts over your photo with sliders and masks

[MrFishrr]

Great video but you can't say you're not affiliated with Luminar and then the link you ask people to click on is an affiliate link with your name in the URL. We all get that you have to make money from affiliate links and more power to you, but be transparent about it. I would've trusted you and the product more had you been honest.

[xuaculopez]

Thanks David for your videos. I have both and I start to enjoyed Luminar a lot.

[jackconyers]

Very intrigued with how easy it is to edit in this software - also the option for a one time lifetime fee is extremely appealing. May have to take this for a test spin. Thanks for the video David.

[themoodyphotographer]

Thanks David, that's just what I needed to hear. I was about to purchase Luminar Neo and thought I might need to hear a review on it first. They have an end of the year holiday special now for $99 for the lifetime so I'm going to get it. Thanks!

[raylander]

Definitely worth having Luminar Neo; I have started with Luminar 2, and every new version was better then the last. I only pay to upgrade if I need/want to. I use in conjunction with DXO for best RAW converting engine, and better catalog functions. I always hated the Ligthroom convoluted import scheme.

[DaveBerthiaume]

Luminar has a lot going for it, but they're moving to a model where new features are being released as paid "extensions". That's a big "no thanks" from me. I own AI and Neo, but have decided not to further buy into their ecosystem and just stick with Adobe. Once in a while after I've made an edit with Adobe, I'll pop over to Luminar just to see if one of the templates can add that finishing touch to an image, but that's as much as I use it now.

[ooSpyderoo]

You can pay for the perpetual licence but they get around providing you an app that lasts until a major upgrade by rereleasing it under a new name, Ai>Neo, unlike the likes of Serif where you get a few years of ownership and updates. Might as well be subscription based, which I don't buy into.

[pauloricardoferreira]

Hi, David! You did a good job comparing these two important software, especially regarding to pricing. Thanks fo that.
Best regards from Rio de Janeiro/Brazil.

[sigmundochudzawa]

I use Luminar and I absolutely love it.

[christopherstefanski]

The thing that Adobe does that has me sucked into their subscription model is the cloud. I upload my photos to edit on my Mac. Then let’s say I’m traveling and want to do some edits. No problem I just start Lightroom on my iPad and all my pics/edits are there. Maybe I want to show someone photos I’m editing while out and about. No problem I just open Lightroom on phone and they are all my pics/edits. If Luminar did that I might switch.

[colinkeane]

Brilliant software. I've just left Adobe for Luminar. Mostly happy with it but I'd like to see Layer naming brought in. It also accesses the image folder directly, so if you're doing any more than standard Post Processing, I'd make a copy of your image and edit that,

[ronpettitt]

I have to admit, I am less than enthused by all this one click and it's fixed software. I own Neo, not totally sure why because I have never used it beyond a quick test drive when I first got it. I am one who thoroughly enjoys editting time and I'm not taken with all this other stuff. I think Neo actually walks a fine line where it gets pretty fake looking pretty fast.

[JoeB_BSc]

Hi David, yes, I used to subscribe to the Lightroom and associated software photography package but 2 factors lead to my transferring to Luminar Neo. I opine the following: cost of Lightroom to Luminar, and complexity of Lightroom and associated software to LuminarNeo; doubtless many can easily become adept with Lightroom and its associated software, but I couldn't. Regards JB

[Mark-fsok]

As an amateur photographer who shoots in RAW and likes tweaking his photos, I think Luminar Neo is great. Earlier versions of Luminar could be pretty slow and a bit buggy, but Neo is quick and smooth. I appreciate the power of Lightroom and Photoshop, but Luminar lets me do everything I want to do, including focus stacking. The Adobe products have a steep learning curve; I'm not a pro and don't want to spend the time to learn every little thing about them.