Luminar Neo is the new kid on the block when it comes to photo editing software. Its emphasis on affordability and determination to provide the best tools possible have brought it lots of attention. But, software companies always love to hype up their features. To see if there’s any merit to the claims, I’m sharing this in depth Luminar Neo review.

Luminar Neo only came to market in 2022. Although it aims to be an affordable Lightroom alternative, it’s actually available as a plug-in for Abobe’s editing tools. It can also act as a stand alone app, and that’s the software I’m covering in this review.

Key Takeaways

Luminar Neo is an affordable photo editing software packed with premium quality features, suitable for all experience levels.
The AI tools can certainly help bring a dull image to life, though, the platform could make functionality improvements to some of its AI features.
The modern design makes the software very enjoyable to use and acts as a source of inspiration, even when you’re overwhelmed with the photo editing you need to complete.

Pros

Excellent design
Very affordable
Fast and smooth performance
Plenty of creative tools
Enjoyable to use
Perpetual License

Cons

Certain AI tools need improving
Importing images could be easier
Can lag when multitasking

Bitesize Opinion: Is Luminar Neo Worth it?

I really enjoy using Luminar Neo. The modern design and smooth performance energizes me to do my photo editing. I want to see some improvements to the AI tools, especially when removing items from a frame. But, overall its AI features are helpful and can add lots of flair to an image.

Although the platform really pushes its creative features, it’s still useful for those who prefer making basic photo edits. With that in mind, Luminar Neo is the perfect tool for those who want an easy photo editing software that has scope to really push creative capabilities.

It’s extremely cost effective too and with huge discounts I’d consider it a cheap photo editing software, perfect for all budgets.

Laptop Used for Luminar Neo Review

I tested Luminar Neo in 2025 and its latest iteration (v1.23.0) using a four year old M1 MacBook Air. It has 8GB of memory and an 8-core CPU. Luminar Neo’s system requirements for macOS state a minimum of 8GB (16GB preferred), Intel i5 8gen or higher or Apple’s M1 silicon or higher.

I regularly use this Laptop to run the Lightroom macOS app. It runs extremely smoothly, unless I’m using super large RAW files. I’ll report my feedback on Luminar Neo’s performance further down in the review.

Luminar Neo: Features

I’m going to cover features first, what they can do for your edits and how well they work.

AI Tools

The generative AI tools seem the best place to begin - and Luminar Neo has plenty.

I’ll start with the standard stuff, like being able to remove items from an image. This type of removal tool is hit and miss on a photo editing software and Luminar Neo is no different.

The below image is the original RAW file. I wanted to remove the lamppost at the left of the frame as I felt it was distracting.

As you can see from the example below. It certainly did remove the lamppost, however, for reasons unknown it decided to replace it with another section of the image. Unlike Lightroom, there’s no option to “Add” or “Subtract” when using the Erase tool on Luminar Neo.

One of Luminar Neo’s most popular AI tools is the Sky replacement tool. The clue is in the name but it completely changes the sky, say from a bright blue sky to a warm, cloudy sunset. Here’s a before and after.

Before:

After:

It has several other sky replacement options - many of them free and some behind a paywall. I like the execution of this feature, though it’s not one I would use personally. But, thinking like a conceptual photographer who wants to use software to bring out ideas from their mind, I think you can do a lot with this, both creatively and for fun.

The Twilight enhancer plays around with the tone of your image. It has five different options.

Golden - Adds a warm tone to the image.
Blush - Adds a blend of deep blue and purple to the image.
Emerald - Adds green and orange hues to the frame
Mauve - Adds softer blues and pinks to the image.
Blue - As a colder tone to the image

Golden:

Blush:

Emerald:

Mauve:

Blue:

The Twilight tool can serve as a quick editing feature or as a base point to start your color toning. You can adjust the strength of the effect and change color temperature as well.

Other useful AI features include a Denoise tool, which does a pretty decent job especially for high-ISO frames. There’s an AI cropping tool which I found useful for landscape photography, and a fun atmospheric tool that adds a range of fog to an image.

You can also add more bokeh to your images. But, honestly, I encourage you to learn to do this in camera with manual mode - it looks more natural and will be better for your photographs, especially if you’re a portrait photographer.

Standard Adjustment Tools

Although Luminar Neo goes hard on generative AI tools for photography, it also offers all the basics. They exist in the “Develop” tab. I like the title of this tab, as it’s a nice nod to the dark room days of photo editing.

You can edit RAW files and it supports all leading camera manufacturers. All the basics are there for standard adjustments; exposure, contrast (which is called smart contrast), saturation and vibrancy.

All the standard adjustment tools do their job, and they function just as good as Lightroom and other Lightroom alternatives.

You can adjust white balance and there’s a curve tool to experiment with highlights, darks, reds, green and blues. There was no color grading tool though, which is one of my favorite editing features. You can kind of emulate this tool in the “Toning” tab but it doesn’t feel as fluid as other tools I’ve used.

Layers

Don’t think of layers as you would in Adobe Photoshop or Affinity Photo. Instead, see them as overlay effects you can add to splash more creativity over an image. You can add flares, light leaks and Stardust Bokeh, plus purchase more styles from the marketplace.

Do I envision seeing such features having a place in professional photography? Not really. But for the artistic photographer I think they’re fun to play with, or for hobbyist photographers who like to see how far they can go with an editing tool.

Before:

After:

Presets

There are several presets to choose from which apply to different styles of photography. I actually prefer the presets Luminar Neo offers to those you get with Lightroom. Luminar Neo’s are more subtle, serving as a good base for editing your photo, rather than taking over the full image.

There are 22 preset categories available as part of your standard subscription, you can purchase more from the marketplace. My personal favorite are the Filmatic filters that offer a grainy, film-esque aesthetic to your photograph.

File Management

Managing photo files is one of the most important aspects of a photographer's workflow. Luminar Neo gives you all the standard options. You can give your images a star rating from 1-5 and sort your images in the order of their rating. Users can also favorite their images and quickly access them via the “Favorites” tab in the left hand menu of the “Catalog”.

There’s some cool search functionality I especially like with the app. For example, I can search “bridge”, and it will bring all images taken on or of a bridge. I was unable to do this with Lightroom and it’s super useful to get straight to the images you want to edit.

Users can create different folders inside the Catalog tab.

There are numerous ways to sort your files. You can order them in the time of when they were edited, file name/type/size and by the date in which they were shot. You can view file previews in different sizes and select the “edit” symbol to quickly start making your edits. It’s possible to batch export your edits and you can adjust quality, size and PPI.

Overall Luminar Neo has done a good job with its file management capabilities.

Usability and Performance

Every photo editing software has its own learning curve - the flatter the better. For the most part, Luminar Neo is going to be easy for seasoned photo editors. All the adjustment tools exist in the right hand menu and you can see your catalog underneath the image you're editing. All standard stuff.

Its AI tools will require a bit of playing around with, though, this is true on all platforms, as generative AI is a relatively new concept. The best way to learn more is to experiment with them, however, Luminar Neo has an extensive knowledge base on its site if you need some detailed guidance. There’s a YouTube channel packed with plenty of tutorials.

The app itself performs very well. Only when I had other apps and tabs running in the background did I experience some slight lagging. But, if I’m 100% focusing on editing the app is smooth in performance and assists with a speedy workflow. It’s also very easy to navigate with very little in the form of sub menus. High marks in this section.

Luminar Neo Price

Luminar is certainly a cost effective photo editing software. When you compare it to Adobe's products and other leading services like CaptureOne it’s extremely affordable. The company also offers huge discounts at different times of the year and you can grab it for less than $100 and it's yours to use forever. It’s why many see Luminar Neo as a cheap Lightroom alternative.

I should note again that some of Luminar Neo’s features are locked behind paywalls. Access to more presets, LUTs and overlays come at a cost. But, these are more of a nice add on than a necessity.

You can use an overwhelming majority of Luminar Neo’s features - including the already available presets and overlays - without spending more than the price you paid for the software.

Luminar Neo vs Lightroom

Both Luminar Neo and Lightroom share some similarities and have some key differences that separate them.

I prefer Luminar Neo’s user interface over Lightroom’s. It has a more modern look and feel and its minimalist design makes it less overwhelming when first opening it up.

Lightroom does use more familiar terminology and it requires a flatter learning curve than Luminar Neo. But, once you become familiar with Luminar Neo’s way of doing things, everything falls into place. Lightroom handles high-intense tasks and multitasking better than Luminar Neo, offering more smoother performance. Luminar Neo is good too, but it has some slight catching up to do.

Lightroom edit:

Luminar Neo edit:

The main comparison to make right now is AI and creative features. You have more creative options with Luminar Neo and you can push the creativity as far as your mind allows. Lightroom’s standard AI features work much better, for example the removal tool is far more consistent and it’s an area Luminar Neo really must improve.

When it comes to pricing, there really is no comparison. For those tired of the monthly fees Adobe demands, Luminar Neo offers a solution by having a Lifetime Perpetual License available. A one off fee gets you the software for life, and like I said above, it often has massive discounts too.

Luminar Neo will only get better with each iteration and what it offers now is a very well rounded product. If you want to save money, access basic editing tools and really push your creativity with its AI functionality, I’d say go with Luminar Neo.

Signing Off

My time with Luminar Neo was positive and I’ll continue to use the platform within my editing workflow. I think other services can learn from Luminar Neo about good software design. It makes a lot of difference, especially when you’re not in the mood to edit.

Its tools also make editing much quicker and I can trust most of the AI features to take care of a lot of things for me.

Is this a professional photo editing tool? It certainly can be, but I know many pros will be put off by the heavy focus on AI features and the platform could benefit from focusing more on professional editing features if it wants to be a true Adobe killer.

The best recommendation I can give is to try it for yourself. There’s a seven day free trial which should give you enough time to see how it is. If you’re already sold on the software and want to make the most of current discounts, you can sign up here.

What do you think of Luminar Neo? Will it replace your current photo editing tool? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading.

FAQs

Is Luminar Neo really free?
Luminar Neo offers a free seven-day trial, however, after that you’ll need to sign up for a paid subscription or purchase a perpetual licence. Thankfully Luminar Neo is one the most affordable photo editing software services.

Is Luminar Neo worth getting?
Yes. Luminar Neo has plenty of editing features that allow you to push your creativity as far you like. It’s suitable for all experience levels and has useful tools for both hobbyists and professional photographers.

Is Luminar Neo as good as Lightroom?
Luminar Neo is a great Lightroom alternative. It has all the basic editing tools Lightroom offers, plus some unique features you won’t find on other platforms.

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