arvath3112 Loc: Lyndhurst, Ohio

What pp program do you believe is equal to or better than Lightroom (with cost not being a factor)?

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

I don't know if the term "better" is an apt description when comparing programs. I think there are many programs that are equal to Lightroom in one way or another. Affinity, ON1, MacPhun are a few. It really depends on what your needs and expectations are with a post processing program. I've processed, to date, just over 9,200 images using Lightroom and I find that it meets about 95% of my processing needs. I also use Photoshop, On1, MacPhun, and Topaz, plus a few more minor programs. I love the way Lightroom works and it makes my "photo life" so much easier. So, it works well for me but perhaps not for you or others. You might consider simply trying different programs using the 30-day free trial that most companies have.

dirtpusher Loc: tulsa oklahoma

Go utube watch a few tutorials. See which you prefer

Racmanaz Loc: Sunny Tucson!

I don't care much for Lightroom, I would recommend ON1 Raw and ACDsee Photo Studio Professional 2018.

https://www.acdsee.com/en/products/photo-studio-professional

https://www.on1.com/products/photo-raw/

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

None. Lightroom is the gold standard, besides the native tools, you have access to thousands of presets and tutorials from users both amateur and Professional.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

I am only using the full bodied trial copy, but ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate is fantastic. It's worth a look.
If you are interested: https://www.acdsee.com/en/products
Mark

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Whatever one turns you on... "equal to or better than Lightroom?" For what? For whom? The answer, as in all of photography (and life) is that it depends on what you need or want to do.

Different software has different uses. I use many applications in my work. Lightroom is a mainstay. It is my hub for GLOBAL still image editing, organization, developing, exporting, printing, and more. I use Photoshop for pixel level editing. I use Graphic Converter X for lots of utility tasks. I sometimes use SilkyPix Developer Studio to process Panasonic Lumix images. I use Canon DPP for old Canon images.

Every piece of software has its own uses, advantages, and disadvantages. You have to find what YOU need. The needs of the moment may send you to one app or another.

About a decade ago, when both Lightroom and Apple Aperture were on version 2, I took a half day seminar on each of them from the top Adobe and Apple trainers. I came away with the understanding that (at that time) Aperture was a slicker, easier to use program, but that Lightroom was so much better connected that it would eventually win out. I was right.

Plenty of folks swear by Capture One Pro 10, PaintShop Pro 2018 Ultimate, GIMP, and the new kid on the block, Affinity Photo. If you're looking for an alternative to Lightroom and Photoshop CC Bundle, those are the apps I'd look at first, in no particular order. GIMP is free, but not well documented, and it can seem a bit clunky. Affinity is new, slick, and winning lots of awards and minds. I have never used Capture One or PaintShop Pro, so I won't comment on them.

Hank Radt

There are a lot of reviews online, such as this one: http://www.techradar.com/news/photography-video-capture/cameras/best-photo-editing-software-1284627 - as burkphoto wrote, research several of the programs and see which ones come closest to helping you do what you want to do.

I chose Capture One for no other reason than because it has a deal with Sony (free Express version, $50 to upgrade to the full Pro version) and because the reviews suggested it was a powerful contender to anything out there. I find I can do an awful lot with it, particularly since I'm new to digital photography (not to photography though) - while I've yet to reach the limits to what it can do, I'm aware that I eventually will and am slowly gathering info on the advanced image editors. Lightroom can do the same, as can the others mentioned. Also, I liked the idea of a one-time price than a subscription every month (for LR and PS together, though you can download LR for a one-time price), which means I'm not locked in - there is an argument that if you buy each upgrade, that the total cost will be approximately the same over time, but by buying the license, I can skip an upgrade if I choose. You may want to look at Photoshop Elements which includes 'elements' of both Lightroom and Photoshop, and doesn't require a subscription.

Recognize that whichever you buy, unless you are a professional or a really, really dedicated hobbyest (who may have multiple programs because each has some advantages), you're most likely going to use it only - the time investment in learning the program is not insubstantial. That said, most of the cataloging programs work with the higher-end editing software for retouching and complex, multi-step imaging processes (e.g., Photoshop, Printshop), so you can do a lot of your basic work and then transfer the images for final finishing and then back for the catalog, when/if you decide to get one of those.

ejrmaine Loc: South Carolina

In my opinion you won't find a better Photo Organizer than Lightroom. There are post processor's that work well, but Lightroom has the total package.

Spiney Loc: Reading, PA

I use LR & PS because it's the standard and very powerful for $10/month. I have no experience with it but I believe ON1 received Rangefinder Magazine's nod for best editor just this month.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

Not sure why you posted this to me, as you are "preaching to the choir." Perhaps you meant to post it to the original questioner. I, too, am a fan of Lightroom but I do understand that it may not work for everyone.

Oldspice668 Loc: Somerset UK

It really depends on what you want. For me the two front runners for Organising, tethered capture and post capture processing would be Lightroom and Capture 1.
I use both and find that Capture 1 better for Tethered capture whilst Lightroom's tone mapping seems to be more intuitive, but they are both excellent processing tools for Raw conversion, but that's just my opinion. We all have our own way of doing things

cthahn

None. They have a 30 day trial period.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

Lightroom is all about image organization. That's it's strength. For image editing, it uses Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), which is the same as the ACR filter in Photoshop. It is intended to be used in conjunction with PS, but many find the ACR editor sufficient for what they do.

d3200prime

I like GIMP. It's FREE and so are the updates. Also, it can be setup to mimic PS.