RawTherapee
Worth it
Confidence: High
RawTherapee is a genuinely powerful, completely free RAW processor that competes with paid tools.
New check
Comparison
RawTherapee vs darktable
RawTherapee and darktable both land on Worth it.
darktable
Worth it
Confidence: Medium
Enthusiast RAW photographers who want pro-level editing for $0 should absolutely use it.
| Compare | RawTherapee | darktable |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Worth it | Worth it |
| Best for | Hobbyist and pro photographers on a $0 budget | Enthusiast RAW photographers |
| Who it's not for | Beginners wanting quick, one-slider edits | Casual phone-photo shooters |
| Privacy | One 2026 integer overflow CVE (CVE-2026-24808); no breach reports found.⁷ | Open source with distro security patching; several CVEs reported including code-execution fixes; no vendor security page. |
| Support quality | No support-quality evidence found | Community forums only; no vendor support |
| Public sentiment | Hobbyists and pros praise the free, deep RAW controls while flagging RAM use, a learning curve, and finishing edits in other apps.⁸ | Users praise darktable's powerful, free raw editing but repeatedly cite a steep learning curve and occasional workflow frustration. |
| Biggest gotcha | Flatpak sandbox blocks secondary drive access | Windows installer flagged by some antivirus tools; verify downloads before installing |
Pick RawTherapee when
- Hobbyist and pro photographers on a $0 budget
- Fine-control RAW processing fans
- Windows, macOS, and Linux desktop users
- Lightroom refugees OK with a learning curve
When RawTherapee is not a fit
- Beginners wanting quick, one-slider edits
- Anyone needing a photo library/catalog . RawTherapee has none
- Mobile or web-based editors
- Businesses needing vendor support SLAs
Pick darktable when
- Enthusiast RAW photographers
- Linux users
- Budget editors ditching subscriptions
- Tinkerers who want deep control
When darktable is not a fit
- Casual phone-photo shooters
- Anyone wanting one-click quick edits
- Teams needing managed software or SLAs
- Library-first organizers; digiKam fits better
Sources
- RawTherapee review: powerful Raw processing softwaredigitalcameraworld.comreview
- RawTherapee Review: A Free Lightroom Alternativehavecamerawilltravel.comreview
- RawTherapee Crowned Best Free RAW Editor of 2024marcrphoto.wordpress.comreview
- Stop Overpaying: 120 Reasons to Switch to RawTherapeemarcrphoto.wordpress.comreview
- RawTherapee GitHub repositorygithub.comofficial
- RawTherapee home pagerawtherapee.comofficial
- CVE-2026-24808 . integer overflow in RawTherapeebugzilla.redhat.comsecurity
review
- darktable.org (official site)darktable.orgofficial
- OpenAlternative: darktableopenalternative.coreview
- Reddit: complete newcomer to RAWreddit.comreview
- Reddit: I am sick of DarkTablereddit.comreview
- Why digiKam beats darktable (photo management)marcrphoto.wordpress.comreview
- Have Camera Will Travel: darktable reviewhavecamerawilltravel.comreview
- Lightroom vs Darktable (Imagen AI)imagen-ai.comreview
