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Both cover photo editing. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Capture One | ON1 Photo RAW | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $18 | From $99.99 |
| Pricing model | Paid subscription | One-time purchase |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | One-time purchase |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | macOS, Windows, iOS | macOS, Windows |
| Covers | Photo Editing, Design & Graphics | Photo Editing |
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
RAW editing and tethering for professionals
Capture One is what photographers move to when Lightroom's colour handling and tethered shooting stop being good enough. The colour editor works on ranges you define rather than on fixed sliders, and tethering to a camera is the feature its users will not give up. It is a professional tool with a professional learning curve, and it still sells a licence you buy once.
Our note
The perpetual licence is the reason to look here rather than at the subscription-only alternatives, and it is worth doing the arithmetic: $349 is about nineteen months of Pro. Buy the subscription if you want the newest camera support the week it ships, and the licence if you do not.
Only on this side
Raw editing and layers, bought once
ON1 Photo RAW covers browsing, raw processing, retouching, layers and masks in one application, which is the pitch: the two Adobe programs most photographers rent, without renting them. It runs on your own machine and keeps working when you stop paying, because there is nothing to stop paying. The catalogue handling is the part that divides people.
Our note
Now that Affinity is free, the case for paying anything at all for photo editing has narrowed to catalog handling and raw processing, which is exactly where ON1 is stronger. Try both before spending the money.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.