darktable review

darktable is the best free answer for Mac users who shoot RAW and want something closer to Lightroom than a layer editor. Its site describes it as an open source digital lighttable and darkroom: a database-backed library with a zoomable lighttable for browsing and rating, plus a darkroom for developing RAW files with a flexible, stack-based, scene-referred approach. It is released under the GNU General Public License version 3 or later and has no paid tier. The install page lists version 5.6.2 with a macOS arm64 disk image. The limits matter on Mac: the bundles support macOS 13.5 and later, and the project says there are currently no official releases for Intel Macs. The scene-referred workflow also asks more of new users than Apple Photos or Pixelmator Pro. If you have an Apple silicon Mac and time to learn, it covers cataloging and RAW development at no cost. We compared documented features and published prices.

Who it is for

RAW shooters who want a free Lightroom-style workflow

Price

Free and open source.

darktable is an open source digital lighttable and darkroom.
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 11, 2026.

Key features

• Scene-referred, stack-based RAW processing
• Library features for digital asset management
• Zoomable lighttable for browsing a photo database
• macOS build for Apple silicon (arm64)
• Released under GNU GPL version 3 or later

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Free with no paid tier
• Strength: Catalog plus RAW editing in one app
• Strength: Active releases, with version 5.6.2 on the install page
• Weakness: No official release for Intel Macs
• Weakness: Needs macOS 13.5 or later
• Weakness: Scene-referred workflow takes time to learn

Key facts

• Price: Free
• License: GNU GPL version 3 or later
• Latest version listed: 5.6.2
• Mac support: macOS 13.5 or later, Apple silicon only

Where it ranks

darktable is No. 7 in our Best Photo Editing Apps for Mac verdict.