5 Best DxO PhotoLab Alternatives [iOS, Android, PC & Mac]

DxO PhotoLab has long held one of the top spots in the world of professional photo editing software. The latest version of this non-destructive editor boasts a wide selection of powerful tools, like lens correction, noise reduction, and superior RAW processing. 

However, all those fancy features come with a sky-high price tag and learning curve. So, we’ve researched and reviewed five of the best DxO PhotoLab Alternatives, including PhotoDirector 365, Adobe Photoshop, ON1 Photo Raw, Exposure X7, and Affinity Photo. 

• Snapshot of Our Top 3 Best DxO PhotoLab Alternatives
• How to Choose the Best DxO PhotoLab Alternative
• 5 Best DxO PhotoLab Alternatives
1. PhotoDirector 365 – Best Overall
2. Adobe Photoshop – Best for Professionals
3. ON1 Photo Raw – Best for Filters
4. Exposure X7 – Best for Novice Editors
5. Affinity Photo – Best for Editors on a Budget
• Best DxO PhotoLab Alternatives Comparison Chart
• How to Edit with the Best Alternative to DxO PhotoLab
• Download the Best DxO PhotoLab Alternatives for Free
• DxO PhotoLab Alternatives FAQ

Snapshot of Our Top 3 Best DxO PhotoLab Alternatives

How to Choose the Best DxO PhotoLab Alternative

The software you choose as a photo editor significantly impacts the speed, ease, quality, and artistry of your workflow and images. We spent hours comparing dozens of the best DxO PhotoLab alternatives, narrowing down our choices one by one. We considered several critical factors:

• Speed
• AI-Enabled tools
• User-friendliness
• Price
• Customer reviews
• File support
• Effects and tools
• Compatibility

When we completed our research, the top choice was clear: PhotoDirector 365. 

5 Best DxO PhotoLab Alternatives

1. PhotoDirector 365 – Best Overall

Compatibility: Windows, Mac

Photo Workout Rating: 4.7/5

Professional photo editing suite with intelligent, AI-powered tools

Key Features:

1. Lightning-fast speed and RAW processing
2. Suitable for all experience levels and skill ranges

Who It’s For

PhotoDirector 365 surpassed the gold standard of photo editing – Photoshop – to earn the top spot as the best overall DxO PhotoLab alternative. This powerful editing software has the innovation, versatility, and capabilities to suit any editor, whether a first-time novice or an experienced professional. Sophisticated AI technology powers intelligent, one-touch photo correction and precision layer editing. Plus, it has fantastic graphic design tools, thousands of unique effects, and an enormous Shutterstock and Getty Images stock library with millions of images.   

Why We Picked It

For a DxO PhotoLab alternative that features exceptional RAW support and processing, you can’t beat PhotoDirector 365. It offers a remarkable workflow module, including layer editing and color management, which are both areas where DxO PhotoLab could use some improvement. 

Bottom Line

PhotoDirector 365 already has a feature-rich toolbar with guided editing. However, it still has new updates every month, ensuring the software remains state-of-the-art and offers a dynamic user experience. With its powerful tools, efficient workflow, and the latest RAW support, PhotoDirector easily earned the “Best Overall” ranking for a DxO PhotoLab alternative.

2. Adobe Photoshop – Best for Professionals

Compatibility: Windows, Mac

PCMag Rating: 5/5

Industry-leading photo editing software with a vast array of tools

Key Features:

1. Advanced layer editing
2. Offers tools for drawing and typography

Who It’s For

Over two decades ago, Adobe revolutionized digital photo editing and image manipulation with its flagship software Photoshop. It’s so well-known that “Photoshop” is a noun and a verb. The software features enough professional-level capabilities to satisfy even the most experienced photo editor, such as AI-powered neural filters, a content-aware crop tool, and much more.

Why We Picked It

The name “Photoshop” will always be synonymous with excellence in photo editing software, and all it takes is a few minutes with the editor to see why. The immense range of tools, features, and effects allows finely detailed editing and precise work. We also like its selection and quality of drawing and typography tools.  

Bottom Line

Adobe Photoshop is our second pick as a DxO PhotoLab alternative because of its superior capabilities for editing, manipulating, correcting, and adjusting images. For experienced professionals and career photographers, it’s an excellent choice. However, it requires a Creative Cloud subscription and has a staggering price tag. PhotoDirector is a comparable and much more affordable option.

3. ON1 Photo Raw – Best for Filters

Image from Digital Camera World.

Compatibility: Windows, Mac

PCMag Rating: 3.5/5

Professional photo editing software with a vast selection of filters

Key Features:

1. High-quality tools for portrait retouching and face-tuning
2. Improved AI-powered noise reduction and auto lens correction

Who It’s For

ON1 Photo RAW is another software that features top-notch RAW processing, non-destructive editing, and an impressive range of filters. ON1 Photo RAW is a superior choice if you love getting creative with filters. You can customize filters in layers to create unique effects and get a sneak peek of their appearance before applying them.

Why We Picked It

We picked ON1 Photo RAW because it offers similar capabilities and image editing tools that make it a feasible alternative to Photoshop, PhotoDirecotr, and DxO PhotoLab. However, unlike the previous version of ON1, you get improved NoNoise and Resize AI tools, automatic lens correction, and support for new cameras.

Bottom Line

For photographers who love to experiment with filters and retouching, ON1 Photo RAW is an excellent choice. However, it does have some drawbacks. Its interface isn’t as smooth as it could be and can have slow or laggy performance. However, it’s a suitable alternative to DxO PhotoLab.  

4. Exposure X7 – Best for Novice Editors

Compatibility: Windows, Mac

PCMag Rating: 3.5/5

RAW photo editing software available as a plug-in or standalone software

Key Features:

1. Smooth and intuitive interface with an extensive range of manipulation tools
2. Professional-level software with beginner-friendly features

Who It’s For

Exposure X7 (previously Alien Skin) can work as standalone software or a Photoshop plug-in. While the software has enough advanced tools and capabilities to create bright, beautiful photos, it also has a slick interface suitable for novice editors. If you’re a beginner to professional photo editing, Exposure 7 is an excellent choice.

Why We Picked It

Although Exposure X7 is the perfect starting point for beginners, experienced editors will also find its tools and capabilities reasonably impressive. Its interface allows for a fast, efficient workflow, and it has features like masking, defective pixel removal, and improved color management. Plus, you can add fine texture noise after a widespread noise reduction application.

Bottom Line

Unlike Lightroom and Photoshop, Exposure X7 offers the photo editing tools of a professional but without the complex and overwhelming interface. Unfortunately, while it has customization options and an efficient digital asset management system, its lens-profile corrections are poor, and it doesn’t offer geo- or face-tagging.

5. Affinity Photo – Best for Editors on a Budget

Compatibility: Windows, Mac

PCMag Rating: 3/5

Low-cost alternative to DxO PhotoLab with average-quality tools and capabilities

Key Features:

1. Lens-based profile correction tools
2. Layer editing and capabilities for raster and vector images

Who It’s For

If you’re searching for a DxO PhotoLab alternative software because you can’t afford the high price tag, consider Serif Affinity Photo. This RAW photo editor is much more affordable than its competitors. Still, there’s a reason for that: it lacks the polish and advanced capabilities, although it can undeniably hold its own.

Why We Picked It

Affinity Photo is affordable yet powerful enough to be a contender as a DxO PhotoLab alternative. Its interface is customizable, and we also like its hardware acceleration features. Editors will enjoy its layer-editing capabilities and the choice between raster or vector images.

Bottom Line

While Affinity Photo is a relatively new photo editing software, it’s still capable enough to offer most editors the tools they need to express their creativity. It has drawing and painting tools, but its speed and responsiveness are somewhat lacking, particularly for RAW editing.

Best DxO PhotoLab Alternatives Comparison Chart

How To Edit With the Best Alternative to DxO PhotoLab

Here’s how you can edit photos with the best DxO PhotoLab alternative – PhotoDirector 365. Follow along with these steps:

1. Download for free and install PhotoDirector.
2. Import your image or select a picture from the stock library.
3. Select the Adjustments tab. Choose Manual to change the tone, color, etc., or Presets for auto-set adjustments.

4. Select the Guided editing tab to experiment with effects and editing tools, like Face Tools, Skin Tools, Body Shaper, Sky Replacement, AI-Style Transfer, Photo Animation, Light Rays, and more.

5. Save to apply your edits and export your work.

Download the Best DxO PhotoLab Alternatives for Free

DxO PhotoLab is undoubtedly a leader among the world’s best RAW processing and photo editing software. However, for editors who need a more affordable yet just as capable alternative, we researched, compared, and reviewed the top five choices. Our best overall pick was PhotoDirector 365.

PhotoDirector has everything DxO PhotoLab offers, including RAW processing, layer editing, masking, AI-powered tools (i.e., sky replacement, transfer, etc.), and thousands of effects. Although software like Photoshop and ON1 Photo RAW were top picks, PhotoDirector 365 outperformed them. 

Download the best DxO PhotoLab alternative today and let your creativity shine through with help from PhotoDreictor 365.