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.

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
- Both programs offer Creative Cloud photography membership for just $9.99 per month, and 7 days free trial opportunity is also the same.
- 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.
- 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.
- Individual photos can be rated and flagged using tools in both versions of Lightroom.
- Both offer tools of the same capacity for sharpening, noise reduction, vignetting, lens correction, cropping, chromatic aberration, and straightening images as well.
- You can import and use presets or templates for fast and professional editing in Lightroom CC as well as in Lightroom Classic.
What’s the Difference Between Lightroom and Lightroom Classic?
Features | Lightroom Classic | Lightroom CC |
---|---|---|
Supported Operating Systems | Desktop (Windows & Mac) | All Operating Systems |
Creation of custom automatic collections due to Smart Collections | Yes | No |
Usage of Sensei ( AI) to search through numerous photos | No | Yes |
Images are stored and accessed on: | Computer and hard drive | Cloud storage |
Works in modules like library, develop , and more | Yes | No |
Importing & exporting opportunities | Advanced level | Basic level |
Printing options | Yes | No |
Automatic backup of files | No | Yes |
Availability of geotagging map | No | Yes |
Mobile app version | No | Yes |
Exposure control | No | No |
More suitable for professional photo editors | Yes | No |
Helps to excel photo editing skills of hobbyist photographers | No | Yes |
Importing, exporting, and editing speed | Medium | Fast |
What is Better, Lightroom or Lightroom Classic?
Lightroom CC is also called Lightroom, which we often use on our mobile devices, and we can also download and use Lightroom Mod APK for our Android devices. So here Lightroom is used for Lightroom CC. Would you like to find out which version suits you best, Lightroom Classic vs Lightroom CC? Don’t worry. In this section, you’ll get a fine answer for it. If you’re confused about the selection of Photoshop and Lightroom, you must visit our website page “ Photoshop vs. Lightroom.”
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
It gives you different tools to do many tasks, like making books, creating slideshows, and printing your work. You can use keyboard shortcuts to move quickly between these tools and set things the way you like. It helps you edit photos and videos quickly and easily. This makes your work quicker and also saves you time. If you have a lot of photos or videos to work on, this tool makes the job easier without any stress. If you have a lot of work, Lightroom is the best option.
Interface of Prior Versions
If you have used Lightroom for a long time and like the old version because it is easy and comfortable, then Lightroom Classic is best for you. I also use Lightroom Classic because I am used to it. It has an import dialogue feature that lets me import presets very easily. I can also change file names quickly. Besides that, I can buy, download, and export presets without any stress. I like this a lot. That is why I sometimes use Lightroom Classic for editing many photos at once.
Expand Storage Space Without Paying
Lightroom Classic is made for desktop users. It saves files on your computer’s hard drive or local storage. So, you can easily import and export many files without any problem. You don’t have to pay for storage like Lightroom CC. You can create many collections of edited photos and videos and organize them in separate folders and files. Another benefit is you can access your data anytime without the internet because it is saved locally.
Classic Plugins & Presets
One special thing about Lightroom Classic is that it allows you to use plugins (small programs) made by third-party companies. These plugins make photo and video editing easier and give you new and creative ways to work. They also provide ready-made filters (presets) that are not available in the original version of Lightroom Classic. Some of the commonly used plugins with Lightroom Classic are listed below. DNG Flat Field Plugin
- ON1 Photo RAW 2020
- Topaz Studio 2
- LR Backup Plugin – Matt Dawson
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
You can quickly add it presets and make basic edits like colour grading, brightness, contrast, vibrance, white balance, and more , all with just a few taps. What makes it even better is its touchscreen-friendly design. You can move sliders fast and tap buttons easily without needing a mouse, trackpad, or stylus. And guess what? If you want to remove the watermark, you can download the Lightroom Mod APK without the watermark right here from this website fast and free!
Sophisticated Masking Tools
Another great feature of Lightroom CC that makes people love this video editing app is its smart masking tool. With this tool, you can hide anything in any photo or video using mask editing. You can also change the background of any scene by adding a mask and giving iany colour you like.All the things that usually need third-party plugins in Lightroom Classic can now be done easily in Lightroom CC with the help of different masks without stress or extra tools.
Advanced Level Editing
Lightroom CC makes learning very easy because it gives us many advanced editing tools. It has helpful sliders to control effects like colour, brightness, and more.With its strong editing tools and user-friendly design, we never feel the need for third-party plugins because we can easily adjust everything ourselves using these advanced tools.
AI-Based Browsing Tool
If you have a huge collection of photos in Lightroom CC cloud storage, its image recognition and AI-based keyword search tool will really help you filter a specific photo. AI-based object browsing and face recognition are two separate and different features which are controlled by different algorithms. But they have a strong connection and work together to make the process of browsing pictures in folders and albums very easy.
Synchronisation to Cloud
Lightroom is synchronized to the cloud server, which means our images, metadata, and edits are automatically stored in cloud storage. It is accessible through different devices, such as computers, mobile devices, and tablets. Thus, we can easily access our images and videos through any device without manually sharing our files across different platforms.
Non-destructive Image Editing
Non-destructive image editing means all your editing work is automatically saved in the cloud server, even if you close Lightroom after half the editing. If you have done half the editing on your mobile, you can continue the rest of the work on your computer without any loss or problem because your computer is synced with your mobile. This change will not harm your previous work. Also, you can learn to install and use Lightroom free from our website and use it separately on your PC without any worry.
Lightroom vs Lightroom Classic: Easy Price Comparison
Lightroom Classic Plans | Lightroom 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
Cons
Pros & Cons of Lightroom cc
Pors
Cons
Frequently Asked Questions
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.