There are two different versions of Lightroom – the cloud-native Lightroom CC and the traditional folder-based Lightroom Classic. So how do you figure out which you need?
I’ve prepared a flow chart to help you make your decision (although of course it doesn’t cover all possible variations and workflows!) and a feature comparison, which I’ll continue to update as new features are added to Lightroom CC.
Table of features
| Classic (folders) | CC (cloud) | |
| Storing Photos | ||
| Originals stored locally | Yes | Optional |
| Split originals across multiple different hard drives | Yes | No |
| Originals uploaded to cloud | No | Yes |
| Originals downloaded on demand | N/A | Yes |
| Automatically manage hard drive space used | No | Yes |
| Split into multiple catalogs | Yes | No |
| Import | ||
| Import raw, JPEG, PSD, TIFF, DNG, PNG and some video formats | Yes | Yes |
| Add to collection/album | Yes | Yes |
| Change sort order / filter photos in Import dialog | Yes | No |
| Add metadata during import | Yes | No |
| Apply presets during import | Yes | No |
| Rename photos during import | Yes | No |
| Tethered Shooting & Watched Folders | Yes | No |
| Viewing Photos | ||
| View Photos in Grid View | Yes | Yes |
| View Photos in Loupe/Detail View | Yes | Yes |
| Zoom in on photos | 1:16 – 11:1 | Fit – 2:1 |
| View Photos in Survey View | Yes | No |
| View Photos in Compare View | Yes | No |
| Secondary Screen | Yes | No |
| Organizing Photos | ||
| Organize using Folders | Yes | No |
| Organize using Collections / Albums | Yes | Yes |
| Stack photos | Yes | Yes |
| Rename photos | Yes | No |
| Delete photos | Yes | Yes |
| Viewing & Adding Metadata | ||
| View EXIF/IPTC metadata | Yes | Yes, limited |
| Star Ratings | Yes | Yes |
| Flags | Yes | Yes |
| Color Labels | Yes | No |
| Title, Caption | Yes | Yes |
| Copyright | Yes | Yes |
| Edit Capture Time | Yes | Added in Dec 2017 |
| Add other IPTC metadata | Yes | No |
| Keywords | Yes, incl. hierarchical | Yes, flat only |
| View GPS | Yes | Yes |
| Add GPS | Yes | No, except using Zip Code |
| Face recognition | Yes | No |
| Write metadata to files | Yes | Only when saving a copy |
| Finding & Filtering Photos | ||
| Change sort order | Y (13 options) | Y (4 options) |
| Set custom sort order | Yes | No |
| AI-based text search without tagging | No | Yes |
| Filter on rating, flag, photo vs. video | Yes | Yes |
| Filter on keywords, locations or camera model | Yes | Yes |
| Filter on columns of other metadata | Yes | No |
| Save frequently used filter combinations | Yes | No |
| Smart Collections | Yes | No |
| Editing Photos & Videos | ||
| Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites, Blacks | Yes | Yes |
| Tone Curves | Yes | Added in Dec 2017 |
| Clarity & Dehaze | Yes | Yes |
| Color Adjustments (WB, HSL, Vibrance, Saturation) | Yes | Yes |
| Split Toning | Yes | Added in Dec 2017 |
| Sharpening, Noise Reduction, Grain | Yes | Yes |
| Lens Corrections | Yes | Yes |
| Chromatic Aberration/Defringe | Yes | Yes, checkbox only |
| Geometric Corrections (Upright) | Yes | Yes |
| Local/Selective Editing Tools | ||
| Cropping & Straightening | Yes | Yes |
| Spot Removal—Clone & Heal Tools | Yes | Yes |
| Red Eye & Pet Eye Correction Tools | Yes | No |
| Local Adjustments—Gradients & Brushes | Yes | Yes |
| Radial Filter mask | Yes | Yes |
| Local Adjustment Presets | Yes | No |
| Post-Crop Vignette | Yes | Yes |
| Photo Merge | ||
| Stitch a panorama | Yes | |
| Create an HDR file | Yes | |
| Editing Tools | ||
| Edit multiple photos at once | Yes | No |
| Apply Presets | Yes | Yes |
| Create Presets | Yes | Yes, but all settings included |
| Apply Custom Defaults | Yes | Yes |
| Create Custom Defaults | Yes | No |
| Copy/paste settings | Yes, in bulk | Yes, one at a time |
| Sync settings | Yes | No |
| Match Total Exposures | Yes | No |
| History | Yes | No |
| Before / After Preview | Yes | Yes |
| Reference View | Yes | No |
| Snapshots | Yes | No |
| Create Copies | Yes, virtual | Yes, real |
| Soft Proofing | Yes | No |
| Viewing/Editing Videos | ||
| Play video clips | Yes | Yes |
| Clip beginning/end | Yes | No |
| Make color/tonal adjustments | Yes | No |
| Extensibility | ||
| Send to Photoshop | Yes | Yes |
| Send to Photoshop Elements | Yes | No |
| Send to Other External Editors | Yes | No |
| Third-Party Plug-ins | Yes | No |
| Export | ||
| Export as new file name | Yes | No |
| Export file formats | Original, JPEG, TIFF, PSD, DNG | Original, JPEG |
| Export color space | ProPhoto, Adobe RGB, sRGB, Display P3 | sRGB |
| Export with resize | Yes | Long edge in pixels |
| Export with output sharpening | Yes | Screen Standard only |
| Export with watermark | Yes | No |
| Export with specific metadata | Yes | No |
| Email Photos direct from Lightroom | Yes | No |
| Publish Services | Yes | No |
| Send to Facebook | Yes, as Publish Services | Yes, but no tracking |
| Send to Flickr | Yes, as Publish Services | No |
| Output Modules | ||
| Book | Yes | No |
| Slideshow | Yes | No |
| Yes | No | |
| Web | Yes | No |
| Multiple Computers/Devices | ||
| Use on secondary desktop | Using import/export catalogs | Yes, all photos |
| Use on mobile device | Yes, but uploads smart previews only | Yes, full size originals available |
| Access photos in a web browser | Yes | Yes |
| Share Lightroom Web galleries | Yes | Yes |
What does the Photography Plan subscription include?
The Photography Plan subscription costs $9.99 a month (with a year’s contract) and includes:
- Lightroom Classic CC for Windows and Mac
- Lightroom CC for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android
- Photoshop CC for Windows and Mac
- 20GB cloud storage space
You can have the same package, but with 1TB of storage space for $19.99 a month. There’s a special offer for current members at $14.99 for the first year, if you want the whole lot.
What does the Lightroom CC subscription include?
If you don’t need Lightroom Classic and Photoshop, you may prefer the Lightroom CC subscription. It also costs $9.99 a month but has loads of cloud storage space for a cloud-centric workflow. It includes:
- Lightroom CC
- 1TB of cloud storage space
Learn More!
There are 5 more posts related to this series of announcements:
- The Future of Lightroom
- What’s New in Lightroom Classic October 2017 (7.0)?
- The End of Perpetual/Standalone Lightroom Licenses
- Lightroom CC 1.0 Released!
- What’s New in Lightroom iOS/Android October 2017 Releases?
I know you’ll have loads of questions, so I’ve written free Quick Start eBooks, available for download later today.
More extensive books for both Lightroom Classic 7.0 and Lightroom CC will be available soon in eBook and paperback formats, and I’ll let you know as soon as they’re released.
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