open sourceGPL-3.0Local★ 4.1kactive jul 2026
RawTherapee
Excellent RAW development, optical correction, detail recovery, and profiles, with fewer catalog features and zero hand-holding.
Technical Profile & Specs
verified 2026-08-10
- Cost
- $0 / forever (Open Source)
- License
- GPL-3.0
- Hosting Model
- Local (on your machine)
- Platforms
- desktopone-click install
- Installation
- Install the Windows installer, macOS disk image, or Linux AppImage/distribution package
- Where Your Data Lives
- Original RAW files remain unchanged; processing settings are saved as human-readable .pp3 sidecars beside the image or in the local cache, and rendered exports go to a chosen folder
- The Catch / Trade-off
- It offers excellent manual RAW control, but not DxO's DeepPRIME neural noise reduction or automatically matched laboratory camera and lens corrections.
Replaces 2 paid apps
RawTherapee FAQ
Common questions
Is RawTherapee free and open source?+
RawTherapee is an open-source tool licensed under GPL-3.0 that runs on local. Excellent RAW development, optical correction, detail recovery, and profiles, with fewer catalog features and zero hand-holding.
What paid software does RawTherapee replace?+
RawTherapee serves as a free replacement for 2 paid SaaS applications: DxO PhotoLab, Imagen AI.
How do you install and set up RawTherapee?+
Installation: Install the Windows installer, macOS disk image, or Linux AppImage/distribution package.
What is the catch or trade-off with RawTherapee?+
It offers excellent manual RAW control, but not DxO's DeepPRIME neural noise reduction or automatically matched laboratory camera and lens corrections.