Luminar Neo vs Photopea
Two of the top three photo editors, compared rule by rule on published facts.
In short
- Luminar Neo has 71 points and Photopea 66, 5 apart on our photo editing software rules.
- Luminar Neo earns more on systems, AI tools and workflow; Photopea earns more on editing tools and price and licence.
- Price per month: Luminar Neo $12.02/mo, Photopea $4.66/mo.
- Only Luminar Neo meets: HDR and panorama merge, AI noise reduction or upscaling, built-in photo library, batch editing and export and free trial.
- Only Photopea meets: opens and saves PSD and free version.
Luminar Neo71/100 #2 of 9
Best for: Photographers who want AI tools and a licence with no monthly fee for the editor.
Photopea66/100 #3 of 9
Best for: People who want a layered, Photoshop-style editor in a browser without paying.
Points by group
| Group | Luminar Neo | Photopea |
|---|---|---|
| Systems of 12 | 8 | 2 |
| Editing tools of 34 | 31 | 32 |
| AI tools of 13 | 13 | 10 |
| Workflow of 11 | 9 | 0 |
| Price and licence of 30 | 10 | 22 |
| Total | 71 | 66 |
Rule by rule
What each vendor publishes, and the points it earns. Sources are on each product page.
| Rule (points) | Luminar Neo | Photopea |
|---|---|---|
| Systems (12) | Windows, macOS, iPhone/iPad, Android 8 | Web 2 |
| Camera raw editing (10) | Yes 10 | Yes 10 |
| Layers and masks (8) | Yes 8 | Yes 8 |
| Non-destructive editing (6) | Yes 6 | Yes 6 |
| Local adjustments (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| Opens and saves PSD (3) | Not published 0 | Yes 3 |
| HDR and panorama merge (2) | Yes 2 | Not published 0 |
| AI subject and sky selection (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| AI object removal (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| AI noise reduction or upscaling (3) | Yes 3 | Not published 0 |
| Built-in photo library (5) | Yes 5 | Not published 0 |
| Batch editing and export (4) | Yes 4 | Not published 0 |
| Soft proofing (2) | Not published 0 | Not published 0 |
| Open source (3) | Not published 0 | No 0 |
| Free trial (2) | Yes 2 | Not published 0 |
| Free version (8) | Not published 0 | Yes 8 |
| No subscription needed (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| Price per month (12) | $12.02/mo 3 | $4.66/mo 9 |
Luminar Neo
Luminar Neo suits people who want AI masking, erase and noise tools without a monthly fee for the editor itself. Desktop Only is €129 once, and a 7-day trial needs no card. The catch: the AI and generative tools need paid Prime after the first 365 days, and the file types page does not say whether PSD layers are kept.
Photopea
Photopea suits people who want layers, masks, PSD files and raw opening for free, in a browser. Its Learn pages document adjustment layers, local brushes and AI healing tools. The catch: it is web only, its repository says it is not fully open source, and no photo library, HDR or panorama merge, batch run or AI noise tool is documented.
Both products are scored by the same rules: how we score photo editors.