Lightroom Classic vs Lightroom CC – Which Should be Preferred?

Are you looking for the best and most reliable tool to take your photography experience to the next level?  Adobe Lightroom is undoubtedly one of the easiest to learn, most intuitive, and a favorite among professionals. However, the question arises: which version should you choose from, Lightroom Classic and Lightroom CC? Excluding display settings, both versions offer the same capacity for basic and advanced editing. 

Lightroom Classic vs Lightroom CC

You’ll get the same results if you desire to set exposure, tone, saturation, contrast, and brightness or want to do localized editing through painting brushes, spot removal tools, cropping tools and many more. But the final decision in the selection of Lightroom Classic and Lightroom CC depends on your photo editing goals, your editing skills, and the project’s nature as well. 

Similarities in Lightroom CC & Lightroom Classic

  1. Both programs offer Creative Cloud photography membership for just $9.99 per month, and 7 days free trial opportunity is also the same.
  2. Using Cloud Creative features in both editing tools, we can integrate them with other software as well as other devices and can handle projects quickly.
  3. In the case of post-production and editing tools, no one can beat the other because both serve as powerful editing tools for basic as well as advanced edits.
  4. Individual photos can be rated and flagged using tools in both versions of Lightroom.
  5. Both offer tools of the same capacity for sharpening, noise reduction, vignetting, lens correction, cropping, chromatic aberration, and straightening images as well.

What’s the Difference Between Lightroom and Lightroom Classic?

FeaturesLightroom ClassicLightroom CC
Supported Operating SystemsDesktop (Windows & Mac)All Operating Systems
Creation of custom automatic collections due to Smart Collections Yes No 
Usage of Sensei ( AI) to search through numerous photosNo Yes 
Images are stored and accessed on:Computer and hard driveCloud storage 
Works in modules like library, develop , and moreYes No 
Importing & exporting opportunitiesAdvanced levelBasic level
Printing optionsYes No 
Automatic backup of filesNo Yes 
Availability of geotagging mapNo Yes 
Mobile app versionNo Yes 
Exposure controlNo No 
More suitable for professional photo editorsYes No 
Helps to excel photo editing skills of hobbyist photographersNo Yes 
Importing, exporting, and editing speedMedium Fast 

What is Better, Lightroom or Lightroom Classic?

I’ve described some differences in both versions in the above table. However, still, it isn’t easy to support anyone because I’ve been using both versions for almost 10 years, and both are performing well but for different purposes. I use both to handle different projects and choose anyone from them for specific projects based on the project’s nature or its end goals. That’s why I want to share which should be preferred for which purpose.

Why Lightroom Classic?

Lightroom Classic will allow you to manage, organize, curate, and label images in bulk, and you can also adjust metadata like stamps and locations effortlessly. It’ll not hurt you in the exportation, creation, customization, and purchasing of presets. You don’t need to pay for increasing storage space because all images will be stored on local storage of your computer or hard drive. 

If you’re a professional photographer and want to design photographs for branding a large business by creating posters and flexes and desire to print them, then you must choose Lightroom Classic. It’ll offer you a separate Library Module where you can organise and can do a smart collection of images. You can easily jump between different modules using keyboard shortcuts. In its Develop Module, you can access different high-level editing tools to fully customize your images. But you’ve to keep in mind that you must have a desktop because it’s designed for desktop users.

Top Features of  Lightroom Classic

To make your choice easier, we are sharing some important features of Lightroom Classic. These features help you decide without any confusion or stress. Because of these, we choose Lightroom Classic for photo and video editing. It is a reliable and easy to use tool that saves time and effort.

Fast Editing Process 

Interface of Prior Versions 

Expand Storage Space Without Paying 

Classic Plugins & Presets 

Why Lightroom CC?

Lightroom offers all basic tools for adjusting color, contrast, brightness, vibrance, white balance, and many more in a very intuitive interface. You can access your images on different devices because they’re stored in the cloud so that you can integrate them on different devices. Suppose you’ve started editing a project on its web version, and your laptop turns off. You can complete it on your mobile app using the same login information.

If you want to edit your photos using a smartphone, then you’ve to go with Lightroom Classic because it’s more suitable for mobile devices. It’s the perfect selection for editing your personal as well as family and friends’ photographs to share on different social media handles after basic edits. Everyone wants to get maximum reach on social media by posting beautiful photos but doesn’t know the interface of Lightroom Classic desktop version, so they must choose Lightroom CC to do editing on their mobile using a very intuitive interface.

Top Features of Lightroom CC

Lightroom CC has some amazing features that make everyone want to use it. Let’s explore these features clearly.

Streamlined Interface

Sophisticated Masking Tools

Advanced Level Editing

AI-Based Browsing Tool

Synchronisation to Cloud

Non-destructive Image Editing

Lightroom vs Lightroom Classic: Easy Price Comparison

Lightroom Classic PlansLightroom Plans
Monthly Plan: US$19.99 (with Adobe Photography + Cloud package)Monthly Plan: US$9.99 per month
Yearly Plan: US$119.88 per year

Advantages and Disadvantages of Lightroom Classic

Pors

  • You can easily create, buy, and export presets.
  • Photos are saved on your computer, so there is no need to pay for extra storage.
  • The app works even without the internet.
  • You can do printing, slideshows, watermarking, and more without any problem.
  • Best for big editing projects because it runs fast and smoothly.
  • Helps you keep your photos neat and organiz

Cons

  • Not easy for beginners
  • Editing and sync are less smooth
  • No setting sync feature
  • Only works on a PC
  • No mobile app like Lightroom Cloud

Pros & Cons of Lightroom cc

Pors

  • Very easy to use
  • Making and using presets is super simple
  • Great tool to remove noise from photos
  • Connects to the cloud and syncs everything automatically

Cons

  • You have to pay for more cloud storage.
  • There are fewer ways to import and export files.
  • You can’t use plugins.
  • Sometimes, the software runs slow.
  • You can’t use it on mobile phones.

Frequently Asked Questions

Lightroom is cloud-based and is suitable for both mobile and computer devices. On the other hand, Lightroom Classic is desktop-focused photo editing software.

Lightroom CC is the best for casual photo editors due to its easy learning curves and user-friendly interface.

Lightroom Classic is the best for editing business-related photographs due to its advanced-level editing tools.

Lightroom Classic vs Lightroom CC – Final Verdict

As a beginner, you can excel in your photo editing skills via Lightroom CC due to its straightforward learning curve. On the other hand, if you’re a professional and want to shine your editing skills to the pro level, then you must try Lightroom Classic because it’ll not just boost your skill but will also boost your capability to learn complex things due to its deep learning curves. In the end, both programs are designed for different objectives, and both are useful to fulfill different goals for various projects. If you’re still confused about the selection of Lightroom Classic vs Lightroom CC, you can send us a query using the comment section.

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