Lightroom vs Photoshop | Which One is Better in 2024

All Adobe fans are confused when it comes to deciding which adobe photo editor to use. Two of the most famous creations of Adobe Inc. are Lightroom and Photoshop. I’ve done my research and I found out, ‘Lightroom vs Photoshop’ which photo editor is better in 2024.

In this article, we are going to compare the features and pros & cons of Lightroom and Photoshop. We’ll also discuss which photo editor is best for which specific task.

There are many people who say that if both of these apps are created by the same developers then why is there a need to use two apps for photo editing at all, their questions will be answered in this article as well.

Lightroom 

Adobe Lightroom is one of the best image editing and organization software created by Adobe. In 2007, Lightroom was launched for desktops only. A few years later another version for mobile phones was released in 2016. And just like that Lightroom became available on PC, iOS and Android.

The app has it’s own camera to take pictures. You can also use it’s amazing tools for efficient and great editing. Lightroom also has presets which are one of a kind. by using them you can instantly edit your images with just a click.

Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editing software created by Adobe but it is more advanced than Lightroom. People majorly use Photoshop for graphic designing.

Photoshop was released 34 years ago on February 19, 1990 for desktops. During that time android devices weren’t invented so it took Adobe quite some time to release the mobile version of Photoshop. It was released for android in 2009 and named as “Photoshop Express”.

 Now Photoshop is available on all devices including Android, PC/Windows, iOS, iPhone, macOS, and tvOS (Apple TV) etc.

If you want a detailed guide on “Lightroom vs Snapseed” you can CLICK HERE.

Following are the top features of Adobe Lightroom that are not available in Photoshop:

Image organization with Adobe Sensei 

The image storing system of Lightroom is what makes it better than other editing tools. It has the best image organizing features ever found in an editing app. the way it stores your images it becomes really easy to find them and edit them and then share them.

Photographers usually have a messy image gallery because hey love taking pictures which fills their galleries with their amazing snaps. Due to this they face a big issue but by using Lightroom they can easily organize it because of how efficient it’s image organizing system is. It includes:

• Library Module
• Creating Folders and Collections
• Keyword Tagging
• Date and Time Filters
• Geotagging

Easy Photo Searching 

Another distinct and better feature of Lightroom is its searching capabilities. In Lightroom you can easily organize your images with tags and as a result collections of images are made. So you can search a whole group of relevant images by just searching that tag as a keyword.

For example, you take photos in the gym after you finish your workout. You can easily categorize your gym photos in Lightroom with the tag ‘GYM’. Now whenever you want to access all your gym pics, you can do so just by searching the keyword ‘GYM’.

In this way certain collections of relevant images are created and you can easily access them just by searching a single keyword.

Batch Editing

Using Lightroom, you can edit a group of photos easily at the same time through a feature called, Batch Editing. This feature is the only reason that the debate arises whether Lightroom or Photoshop is better. Because by using Photoshop you can do most of your editing tasks but Batch editing is the only feature that Photoshop lacks which puts it one step down from Lightroom. 

This is so efficient that you can edit hundreds of images with a single click. And if you’re using presets, this feature becomes ten times better. Hundreds of images can be edited in a matter of seconds with the combination of Presets & Batch editing.

The top premium features of Lightroom are:

• Advanced color grading
• Cloud storage integration
• Access to premium presets
• AI-based auto-tagging and organization
• Batch editing
• Advanced geometry and perspective correction
• Interactive tutorials
• Selective editing with brushes and gradients
• Adobe Sensei-powered search
• Mobile sync across devices

Following are the top unique features of Photoshop that aren’t available in Lightroom:

Graphic Designing Features

The main reason that Photoshop gained its popularity is because of its graphic designing features. Photoshop is the best graphic designing tool in the world. 

This distinct feature is present in Photoshop only so that’s why graphic designers always prefer Photoshop over Lightroom. So if you are a graphic designer deciding which app to choose, then you should definitely go for Photoshop.

• Vector Shapes

Graphic designing features of Photoshop create certain shapes, images and objects that can be resized and edited. This feature allows users to make graphic content such as logos, icons etc.

• Text Editing

Text editing feature of Photoshop allows users to add, edit and style texts separately or on other designs. Users can also animate and add effects to their texts to make them more stylish.

• Drawing Tools

Drawing tools of Photoshop include brushes, pencils, pens, erasers etc. through which users can draw certain shapes, graphics and digital artwork.

Perfect Retouching Tools 

Photoshop has perfect retouching tools, for graphic designing, making GIFs and other 3D work, which is kind of an advanced feature because it can be a little tricky for beginners to use it. So, it is better to use this feature on Photoshop if you are a professional.

Following are some examples of retouching tools.

• Clone Stamp Tool

Clone Stamp tool is used to edit parts of an image rather than editing the whole image which makes it a better retouching tool option.

• Healing Brush Tool

The healing brush feature can be used to make your photos look the best by removing any imperfections from your pictures with just a single whoosh. 

• Content-Aware Fill

This tool can be used for filling empty parts of an image. By using this tool you can add or replace new objects in place of empty spaces or unwanted objects in your images.

Layer-Based Editing

In Photoshop, you can add and edit certain layers of your images rather than editing the whole image at once. This feature makes photo editing less difficult and gives the users more control as you can move, hide and send the layer forward and backward of other layers.

You can also use the adjustment layers to freeze the original image and only make changes to these layers. Photoshop also has different modes for layers.

The top premium features of Photoshop are:

• Advanced image retouching tools
• Layer-Based Editing
• Content-aware fill
• 3D editing and creation
• Camera Raw editing
• Perspective warp
• Selective color grading
• Custom brushes and brush presets
• Vector shapes and paths
• Text and typography tools

Feature	Lightroom	Photoshop	Winner
Primary Use	Image organization and editing	Photo editing and graphic design	Both
Workflow	Streamlined, efficient for photographers	Versatile, supports various creative tasks	Both
Non-Destructive Editing	Yes	Yes	Both
Adjustment Layers	Limited  adjustment layers	Yes	Photoshop
Layers and Masks	No	Yes	Photoshop
Graphic Design Tools	Limited graphic design tools	Extensive graphic design tools	Photoshop
Batch Editing	Yes	Limited	Lightroom
Presets and Profiles	Yes	Yes	Both
Integration with Adobe Creative Cloud	Yes	Yes	Both
Mobile App	Yes (Lightroom Mobile)	Yes (Photoshop Express)	Both

When it comes to the pricing of Lightroom and Photoshop, we see that Lightroom wins this battle. Because its price is way less than Photoshop. But what’s good is that you can get a 7-day trial which includes all the Adobe software for free. So you can try both these apps and decide which one is the best for you.

After the free trial ends, you have to buy a premium monthly subscription from Adobe. If you want all  the Adobe apps, you can get them for $59.99/month. You can also buy Lightroom and Photoshop for $9.99/month and $22.99/month respectively. A combined photography bundle is also available for $19.99/month.

Winner: Lightroom

PRO TIP: You can use the premium version of Lightroom for free at Lroomapk.com.

Lightroom has a more simple and user-friendly interface as compared to Photoshop which makes it better to use for beginner photographers. All you have to do is to open the app, select an image and then use presets or other features to easily edit it.

On the other hand, Photoshop is used for more complex image editing and graphic designing so it has a detailed and a little confusing user-interface. All the tools in Photoshop have more and more options. So, it can be said that Photoshop is more for the professional photographers and graphic designers who know what they are doing.

But that doesn’t mean that Photoshop is any less than Lightroom, it actually is more efficient. The interface of Photoshop consists of:

1. Menu Bar

Photoshop has a menu for editing, organizing, creating, saving and much more. There are also menus for texts, graphics, and layers.

2. Tools Bar

On the other hand is a customizable toolbar which can be used to select different features and tools used for editing and retouching.

3. Document Tabs

The interface also has document tabs so you can work on different projects at once and easily open any wanted document. 

4. Options Bar

This bar has different options for each and every tool.

5. Panels

On the right hand side of the editing work are the panels where all your used tools are being shown. You can just click on a panel and the customization of an already used feature or layer is displayed.

Winner: Lightroom

Lightroom is a much easier and simple app as compared to Photoshop. So it is obvious that beginners can quickly master this app and become pros in no time. This app is best for image editing and organizing efficiently. It can be made more easy to use with its Keyboard shortcuts.

On the other hand, Photoshop is way more complex as compared to Lightroom so it takes a lot of time to get a hang of it. So it is suggested that only the professional photographers and graphic designers should use Photoshop to get the most out of it.

Winner: Lightroom

PRO TIP: You can use Lightroom for basic editing then export the edited images to Photoshop for advanced editing.

Now it is obvious that Photoshop provides a more detailed, complex, efficient and advanced editing experience so it is best to be used by professionals. Now one might ask a question that if Photoshop has all the features that an editor could ever need then why should anyone use another app instead of just using Photoshop.

The simple answer is that after the popularity of Photoshop in the market, Adobe developers found out that some people were having trouble using this software due to its complexity and advanced features. There was a need for another software that provided almost all the features of Photoshop but in a simple and friendly user interface. 

That is when Lightroom was created in 2016 and it immediately became popular among all the photographers and editors who were having a little trouble in using the previous advanced softwares. People really liked how they could easily perform all their editing tasks with such ease.

Winner: Photoshop

The best feature that Lightroom offers is its ‘Presets’. If you don’t know what a preset is then it is a feature in Lightroom in which different settings are stored. When you click on a preset it automatically applies the stored settings on your images. These presets are customizable as well.

On the other hand, a similar feature is found in Photoshop called ‘Actions’. These actions are more customizable and versatile than Presets. The reason is that they are more customizable than presets because actions consist of different steps unlike presets. And these steps can be customized at any point.

Winner: Photoshop

When deciding to choose between Lightroom and Photoshop, consider your needs, preferences,  workflow, expertise and experience:

Choose Lightroom If:

• You want to do basic or intermediate image editing and organization
• You want a simple user interface without compromising your editing needs
• You want to edit a large batch of photos at the same time

Choose Photshop If:

• You are a professional and you want to do advanced image editing and graphic designing
• You want to do a variety of work like illustrations and graphic designing other than just image editing
• You want all the advanced features even if the user interface is a bit tricky

In conclusion, Lightroom and Photoshop are for different groups of people. Professionals should use Photoshop and beginners should use Lightroom. But for best results you should do basic editing of your images in Lightroom and after that you should export it to Photoshop to do advanced editing to make it look alot more better.

You can easily export images from Lightroom to Photoshop using the shortcut “Cmd/Ctrl + E” or by going to Edits>Export and then clicking on “Export”. Now you can decide which editing software to choose according to your specific needs. Happy Editing!