Toe to toe
with the big names.
Price, privacy and features, side by side. Where they're ahead, we say so.
| Pixl PlayroomAt 1.0 | Lightroom ClassicAdobe Lightroom plan | Capture One ProPerpetual or subscription | DarkroomDarkroom+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price and ownership | ||||
| Three years of use | $69.99, once | $431.64 ($11.99 a month) | $349 once, or $648 by subscription | $99.99 once, or $119.97 by the year |
| Buy it once, keep it | Yes, with every 1.x update | Subscription only | Yes, but new features are paid upgrades | Yes, with future features |
| Computers | 3 at a time | Active on 2 | 3 activations | Your Apple devices |
| Platforms | macOS and Windows | macOS and Windows | macOS and Windows | Apple only: Mac, iPhone, iPad |
| Free trial | 14 days, no card. Free beta now | 7 days | 7 days, card required | Edit free; export needs Darkroom+ |
| Your files | ||||
| Works on your folders, no import | Yes, no catalog | Imports into a catalog | Yes in Sessions; Catalogs import | Apple Photos library only |
| Where your edits live | One .pixl file beside each photo | A catalog database | Session sidecars or a catalog | Darkroom's database, on each device |
| Privacy | ||||
| AI runs on your computer | All of it | Not Generative Remove or Firefly: cloud | Masks yes; some add-ons are cloud | All of it |
| Usage analytics | None. Crash reports only if you opt in | Usage data, with an opt-out | Not documented | Anonymous analytics |
| Account and sign-in | PIXL account; 30 days offline | Adobe ID; 30 to 99 days offline | Capture One account; checks every 30 days | No account |
| AI and editing | ||||
| AI masks | Subject, background, objects, sky. People soon | Subject, sky, background, objects, people | Subject, background, objects, people. No sky | Subject, background, depth; sky on some photos |
| Presets that make their own masks | Smart looks, among 300+ looks | Adaptive presets | Styles with AI masks | Presets can carry masks |
| AI noise reduction | On your computer | On your computer | Bayer RAW files only | No |
| AI upscaling | ×2 and ×4, on your computer | ×2 only | No | No |
| Generative remove | Planned. Heal, clone and fill now | Yes, in the cloud | No | No |
| Automatic lens correction | About 1,500 lenses, offline, and defish | Yes | Yes | No |
| Colour grading wheels | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| HDR editing and export | RAW to HDR, gain maps, PQ and HLG. You set white and peak | Yes | No | No |
| Beyond the edit | ||||
| AI agents in control | Planned before 1.0: any MCP agent, every control, on your own files | Adobe's agents work in its cloud, not in Classic | No. AppleScript, and cloud Actions on Studio | No. Apple Shortcuts |
| Tethered shooting | No | Yes | Yes, 550+ cameras | No |
| Layers beyond masks | Not yet | No | Yes | No |
| HDR and panorama merge | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| No | Print, book, slideshow and web | No | ||
The other apps' columns were checked on October 2, 2026 against each vendor's own pages: Lightroom Classic 15.6 on Adobe's Lightroom plan, Capture One Pro 16.8 and Darkroom 7.4. Playroom's column is 0.3.0-beta, as of October 5, 2026. Prices in USD before tax. Playroom's price and trial start at 1.0; until then the beta is free. Plans and features change, so check before you buy. Lightroom is a trademark of Adobe, Capture One of Capture One A/S and Darkroom of Bergen Co.; PIXL is not affiliated with any of them.