Adobe Lightroom vs. ON1 Photo RAW vs. Imagen: A Professional’s Comparison

Rolling out gradually to photographers over several weeks, shaped directly by their feedback, Imagen is now an intelligent Studio for professional photographers: the same product you already use, just further along. This comparison puts that evolved Imagen next to two very different tools: Adobe Lightroom, the catalog and raw editor most studios still run on, and ON1 Photo RAW, an all-in-one raw editor sold with a one-time license instead of a subscription.

ON1 Photo RAW positions itself as an all-in-one raw editor: you can browse and edit photos without a separate import step, use Super Select AI to isolate a subject or sky in one click, and reach for its MAX edition for an AI Culling Assistant that flags obvious misses. Lightroom remains the default library most photographers already have, with its own AI masking and generative tools. Imagen, instead of asking you to pick between a catalog and a one-time-purchase editor, focuses on learning how you edit and then doing that work consistently across a whole gallery.

Everything below about ON1 Photo RAW and Lightroom is checked against ON1’s and Adobe’s own site today, so you know what each tool can actually do, where its pricing stands right now, and where it genuinely fits before you decide between them.

Key Takeaways

• Imagen builds a Personal AI Profile from your own editing history and applies it across a whole gallery inside one project you can cull, edit, and export from in any order.
• ON1 Photo RAW skips the import step entirely, letting you browse and edit photos where they already live on disk.
• Adobe Lightroom remains the subscription-based catalog and raw editor most studios already run, with AI masking and a cloud-synced library.
• ON1 Photo RAW is sold as a one-time purchase, with a MAX edition that adds an AI Culling Assistant and a Restore AI tool.
• Imagen combines AI culling with free manual culling in the same project, so photos arrive edited in batches instead of all at once at the end.
• Adobe Lightroom and Imagen are not rivals here either; Imagen’s AI edits carry over to Lightroom as XMP if you want to keep working there.

The Core Philosophy: Adobe Lightroom vs. ON1 Photo RAW vs. Imagen

Imagen

Imagen is not trying to be a gallery host, a delivery platform, or an invoicing tool. It goes deep on one specific bottleneck: turning a whole shoot into finished images that already look like your work. Rather than offering a menu of effects, its Personal AI Profile studies your own past edits, so the result stays consistent across however many photos are in the gallery, not a one-off look you dial in per image.

Adobe Lightroom

Lightroom’s approach has stayed remarkably stable: a single application that imports, catalogs, develops, and exports raw files, built around a library strong enough to hold a photographer’s full archive. AI masking and Generative Remove add speed on top, but the underlying model is still manual control first, automation second.

ON1 Photo RAW

ON1 Photo RAW is built around skipping steps. You browse your files directly instead of importing them into a separate catalog, and tools like Super Select AI and Brilliance AI are meant to get you from raw file to finished look fast, without the layer of library management Lightroom asks for.

Deep Dive: Imagen Capabilities

AI Editing in Your Personal Style

At the core of Imagen is the Personal AI Profile, trained on edits you have already made, usually pulled straight from a Lightroom Classic catalog. That training is what makes the AI edit look like something you made, not a generic filter pass. Photographers without an established edit history can start from a Talent AI Profile or a Lite AI Profile instead, and you can mix profiles within one gallery, applying a different look to a handful of selected photos while the rest get your usual treatment.

Culling in the Same Project

Rather than culling in one app and editing in another, Imagen keeps both inside the same non-linear project. AI culling gives you a faster first pass through a large shoot, and manual culling is always free if you would rather make every call yourself. Since cull, edit, review, and export all sit in one project, you can return to any of those steps later without restarting the whole process.

The Built-in Editor and Assistant

Imagen’s built-in editor, in beta, combines manual sliders, a histogram, and crop and straighten tools with presets you can import from Lightroom or build from scratch, all alongside the AI tools in the same workspace.

Refining an AI edit with manual sliders in the Imagen editor

An assistant works alongside that editor, letting you describe what you want in plain language so it can find and act on the matching photos. It understands what is in a photo rather than where things sit within the frame, so placing a mask on a specific object is not something it can do yet, and it never generates new imagery of its own. A handful of AI tools are not yet supported inside the built-in editor, and projects using them keep running through the regular Lightroom-connected flow.

Export to Lightroom or Directly From Imagen

You can finish and export directly from Imagen in JPG, TIFF, or PNG, or continue exporting to Lightroom Classic as before; both paths are treated as equally valid. AI Profile and AI-tool edits travel to Lightroom as XMP, while manual adjustments, ratings, and culling decisions made in Imagen’s own editor remain in Imagen. On pricing, pay-as-you-go photographers are charged a monthly base fee plus a per-export charge, and trying any tool out across a full gallery costs nothing until you export, while the Limitless plan covers unlimited AI edits, AI tools, retouching, and AI culling for one fixed fee, with custom Business pricing for studios. Current rates live on Imagen’s pricing page, and a free trial is available if you want to try it on your own photos first.

Deep Dive: Adobe Lightroom Capabilities

Selection and Retouching Tools

Lightroom’s AI masking covers subject, sky, and background selection with a single click, working the same way in Lightroom Classic and the cloud-based Lightroom. Generative Remove clears distractions, Lens Blur adds portrait depth with one-tap presets, and dedicated tools handle dust removal and noise reduction, all sitting next to the manual sliders Lightroom has always had.

Catalog and Cross-Device Access

The cloud-based library keeps a catalog in sync across desktop, mobile, and web, useful for photographers who need to check or tweak images away from their main machine. Lightroom Classic stays optimized for desktop and ships with the same subscription. Adaptive Presets apply targeted adjustments, like skin smoothing or sky enhancement, without you building a custom mask each time.

Automatic Keeper Suggestions

Lightroom can flag likely keepers across a shoot automatically, which speeds up the first look at a large batch, though most photographers still finish with a manual pass before locking in a final select.

Pricing

Lightroom is available bundled with Photoshop in Adobe’s Photography plan or as its own standalone subscription; the exact monthly price depends on the plan, billing term, and region, so check Adobe’s current plans page for the figure that applies to you.

Deep Dive: ON1 Photo RAW Capabilities

Browse Instead of Import

ON1 Photo RAW skips the traditional import step: you browse and edit photos directly where they already live on disk, rather than waiting for a catalog to build first. Layer-based editing sits underneath everything, with masks and precise selections available throughout.

AI Selection and Enhancement

Super Select AI isolates a subject, sky, or background with a click, and AI Depth Masks let you target foreground, midground, or background separately. NoNoise AI handles noise reduction, Tack Sharp AI corrects blur, Resize AI handles enlargement, and Brilliance AI balances exposure and color automatically. The MAX edition adds Restore AI for photo restoration work.

Generative and Creative Tools

Generative Erase removes unwanted objects, Sky Swap AI replaces skies, and Generative Crop & Expand extends a frame beyond its original edges; these tools create new pixels to fill in what is missing. Imagen does not generate new imagery of its own, so if that kind of generative work matters to your process, ON1 Photo RAW and Imagen are built for different jobs. ON1 Photo RAW also ships with a library of effects, presets, LUTs, and textures that stack and can be masked.

Effects and Presets Library

Beyond the AI tools, ON1 Photo RAW ships with a large built-in library of effects, presets, LUTs, and textures that photographers can stack and mask for a specific creative look, organized by genre so you can browse for a portrait look or a landscape treatment without building one from scratch. For photographers who shoot a mix of work, from family sessions to product and landscape work, that breadth is part of the appeal: one license covers a lot of creative ground on a per-image basis, even though it is not built to apply one consistent style automatically across a whole gallery the way a personal AI profile would.

Culling and Pricing

The MAX edition’s AI Culling Assistant can flag out-of-focus frames and closed eyes to speed up a first pass. ON1 Photo RAW runs on Mac and Windows desktops, with a companion mobile app, and is sold as a one-time purchase: the standard edition is $99.99 and the MAX edition is $169.99, with no subscription required to keep using the version you bought.

Comparison: Where Each Tool Fits in Your Workflow

Lightroom still anchors most studio workflows as the central catalog. ON1 Photo RAW can take over that catalog step entirely for photographers who would rather browse files directly, or it can sit alongside Lightroom as a secondary editor for specific images. Imagen slots in differently again: it can learn your style straight from a Lightroom Classic catalog, let you finish entirely inside Imagen, or send AI edits back to Lightroom as XMP so you can keep working there. All three can coexist; none of them requires you to give up the others.

Comparison: Selection, Masking, and Creative Tools

ON1 Photo RAW’s Super Select AI and AI Depth Masks are built for fast, precise selections on a single image, backed by a deep library of effects, presets, and generative tools like Generative Erase and Sky Swap AI. Lightroom covers similar ground with its own AI masking and Generative Remove, built into the same app as its catalog. Imagen does not offer a comparable menu of creative effects; instead, its Personal AI Profile applies one consistent style across an entire gallery, and its assistant can find photos by what is in them, though it cannot yet place a mask on a specific object.

Comparison: Picking the Keepers

ON1 Photo RAW’s MAX edition includes an AI Culling Assistant that flags out-of-focus frames and closed eyes. Lightroom relies on ratings, flags, and automatic keeper suggestions rather than a dedicated culling mode. Imagen folds culling into the same project as editing, combining AI culling for speed with free manual culling whenever you want full control, so you are not juggling a separate app just to get through a first pass.

Comparison: How You Pay

Lightroom is a subscription, either bundled with Photoshop in the Photography plan or sold on its own, with the price depending on plan and region. ON1 Photo RAW is a one-time purchase, $99.99 for the standard edition and $169.99 for MAX, with no required ongoing payment to keep using what you bought. Imagen’s pay-as-you-go plan charges a monthly base fee plus a per-export charge, with exploring any tool on a whole gallery free until export, while the Limitless plan covers unlimited AI edits, AI tools, retouching, and AI culling for a single fixed fee; current rates are on Imagen’s pricing page.

Feature Comparison Table

Feature	Imagen	Adobe Lightroom	ON1 Photo RAW
Personal style learning	Personal AI Profile learned from your own past edits	Manual presets and sliders you build or import yourself	Presets, LUTs, and effects you choose and apply per photo
Import step	Upload a gallery into one project	Imports photos into a Lightroom catalog	Browse and edit files directly, no import required
Culling	AI culling plus free manual culling in the same project	Ratings, flags, and automatic keeper suggestions	AI Culling Assistant (MAX edition) flags out-of-focus frames and closed eyes
Masking	Assistant finds photos by content; mask placement not yet supported	AI masking for subject, sky, and background selections	Super Select AI and AI Depth Masks for precise selections
Generative tools	Not a current focus; Imagen edits your real photos only	Generative Remove for unwanted objects	Generative Erase, Sky Swap AI, and Generative Crop & Expand
Built-in editor	Manual sliders, histogram, crop and straighten, alongside AI tools	Full manual develop module plus AI masking tools	Layer-based editor with masks and stackable effects
Platforms	Desktop app for Mac and Windows	Desktop, mobile, and web	Desktop (Mac and Windows), plus a mobile app
Pricing model	Pay-as-you-go base fee plus export charge, or a fixed Limitless fee	Subscription, with cost varying by plan	One-time purchase ($99.99 standard, $169.99 MAX)

Conclusion: Which Tool Fits You?

Choose Lightroom if your studio already depends on its catalog to manage a growing archive; nothing here argues against that. Choose ON1 Photo RAW if you want a one-time purchase that skips the import step and gives you fast, precise selection and creative tools on a per-image basis, especially if the MAX edition’s AI Culling Assistant and Restore AI matter to your work. Choose Imagen if your real bottleneck is turning a whole shoot into consistent, on-brand edits without adding another catalog to manage; it culls and edits together, in your own style, and still lets you export to Lightroom when you want to. Several of these pair up well in practice: Lightroom or ON1 Photo RAW as the raw editor, with Imagen handling whole-gallery editing and culling in your own style. A wedding or event photographer delivering a thousand-plus image gallery, for instance, often cares most about speed and consistency across the whole set, which is where Imagen’s personal-style editing tends to save the most time, while a portrait or product photographer polishing a handful of hero shots may lean harder on ON1 Photo RAW’s per-image creative tools.

If you want to see how Imagen handles your own galleries, you can start a free trial at imagen-ai.com. For more comparisons and workflow breakdowns like this one, browse the Imagen tips hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is Imagen a replacement for Adobe Lightroom? No. Imagen is designed to work alongside Lightroom. You can train your Personal AI Profile from a Lightroom Classic catalog, and AI edits made in Imagen carry over to Lightroom as XMP if you want to keep working there.

2. Does ON1 Photo RAW require importing photos first? No. ON1 Photo RAW lets you browse and edit files directly where they live on disk, without a separate import step into a catalog.

3. Is ON1 Photo RAW a subscription? No. It is sold as a one-time purchase, with the standard edition priced at $99.99 and the MAX edition at $169.99, and no required ongoing payment to keep using the version you bought.

4. Does Imagen generate new images the way ON1 Photo RAW’s tools do? No. Imagen edits the real photos you took and does not generate new imagery. ON1 Photo RAW’s Generative Erase, Sky Swap AI, and Generative Crop & Expand tools do create new pixels to remove, replace, or extend scene content.

5. Can I use ON1 Photo RAW and Imagen together? Yes. Many photographers use Imagen to edit and cull a whole gallery in their own style, then bring specific images into ON1 Photo RAW for targeted selection or creative work.

6. How does Imagen pricing work? Pay-as-you-go photographers pay a monthly base fee plus a charge on exported photos, and exploring any tool on a whole gallery is free until export. A Limitless plan covers unlimited AI edits for a fixed fee, and Business pricing is available for studios. Check Imagen’s pricing page for current rates.

7. Does ON1 Photo RAW have a culling tool? Yes, in its MAX edition. The AI Culling Assistant can flag out-of-focus frames and closed eyes to help speed up a first pass through a shoot.

8. Can Imagen’s assistant place masks on specific objects? Not yet. It understands what is in a photo rather than where things sit within the frame, so it can find and act on photos in natural language but cannot place a mask on a specific object.

9. Is there a free trial for Imagen? Yes, Imagen offers a free trial so you can test the workflow on your own photos before committing to a plan.

10. Does ON1 Photo RAW work on an iPad or in a browser? ON1 Photo RAW’s main editor runs on Mac and Windows desktops, with a separate ON1 Photo RAW for Mobile app; ON1 has not announced a browser-based version.