Thinking of leaving a subscription photo editor? Here's how Sablefilm compares with Lightroom, plainly, including what Sablefilm doesn't do.
At a glance
| Sablefilm | Lightroom | |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | £9.99 once (introductory price until 30 November 2026) | Ongoing subscription through Adobe |
| Account needed | No. Works offline | Adobe account |
| Your Lightroom presets | Imports .xmp and .lrtemplate | Native |
| Fujifilm in-camera recipes | Reads the film simulation, tone and grain stored in the RAF | Camera profiles for film simulations |
| Library | Folder-based. No catalogue to import or migrate | Catalogue (Classic) or cloud library |
| Edits | Non-destructive, saved in a small file beside each photo; can write Lightroom-compatible XMP | Non-destructive |
| Masks | Subject, brush, lasso, linear, radial, range | Yes |
| AI noise reduction | Yes | Yes |
| Film looks | 173 built in, with grain, halation and bloom | Presets and grain |
| Platforms | Mac (macOS 14+). iPhone coming soon | Mac, Windows, mobile, web |
Where Sablefilm is the better fit
- You want to own your editor rather than rent it.
- You keep your photos in folders and don't want a catalogue.
- You shoot Fujifilm and want your in-camera recipe as the starting point on the RAW.
- You like a film look and want real grain, halation and bloom without buying preset packs.
Where Lightroom may suit you better
- You need cloud sync across many devices, or Windows today.
- You rely on a large plug-in ecosystem or Adobe-specific workflows.
- You manage very large catalogues with keywords, collections and print or book modules.
Switching takes minutes
Import your presets in the Looks tab, open the folder your RAWs live in, and carry on. Your originals are never changed, and you can write edits back out as Lightroom-compatible XMP if you ever need to. Here's the step-by-step.
Get Sablefilm for £9.99 · 14-day refund · one licence covers up to three Macs
Lightroom and Adobe are trademarks of Adobe. Sablefilm is not affiliated with Adobe. Comparison reflects Sablefilm's features and Lightroom's general approach as of October 2026; check Adobe's site for its current plans.