ON1 Effects 2026 review

If you have ON1 Photo RAW 2026 you already have ON1 Effects 2026 built into the Effects panel in the right sidebar, and if you get the MAX edition, ON1 Effects also installs as a Lightroom/Photoshop plug-in.

I think, though, that if you don’t have ON1 Photo RAW, there’s a strong case for getting ON1 Effects 2026 on its own, because this is where all of ON1’s creative presets, filters and tools are concentrated. The full ON1 Photo RAW program includes image browsing/cataloguing, HDR merge, layering tools, RAW development and more, but this means making a swap from your regular editing workflow to a new one, and if you’re already comfortable with Lightroom you probably won’t want to change. This is where ON1 Effects fits right in.

ON1 updates its products on an annual cycle, and ON1 Effects 2026 gets a number of new features over the 2025 version, including four new filters:

• Depth Lighting Filter: This estimates depth and distance in the image to adjust the lighting progressively for highlighting foreground subjects, for example.
• Split Field Filter: An interesting addition for landscape photographers, this splits a scene so that backgrounds can be made larger and more impressive.
• Double Exposure Filter: Normally you would need to create double exposures with image layers, but now you can do it right within ON1 Effects.
• Motion Filter: This lets you add panning, zooming or twist effects to images to create or enhance a sense of movement.

There’s also a new Mask Layers feature which offers much more powerful masking options for individual filters.

Features

ON1 Effects 2026 is built around 37 different photographic and effects filters which can be used individually or combined for more complex effects. Each filter has in-built sliders and drop-downs for adjusting the effect. On top of that, each filter can have its own mask, and this is where ON1’s AI masking tools come to the fore. You don’t have to use them, but when you add a new filter you are offered the opportunity to apply it to the whole image or to AI-selected subjects or regions.

You can also add masks to individual filters later, using the same AI tools or more conventional brush and gradient masking tools. In ON1 Effects 2026, these masks are added as layers for each filter, offering you a LOT of control over filters and how they combine.

If this all sounds too much, you can start from a preset effect and adjust only what you need to. These presets are found in the left sidebar and organized into categories – and I think these are the star of the show. Some are a little over the top, but overall the scope and quality of the preset photographic looks available is both eye-opening and inspiring.

If you’ve been looking at the DxO Nik Collection but been put off by the cost, look at ON1 Effects instead. It matches or exceeds the scope of the Nik Collection and all its effects are rolled into one plug-in instead of being spread across several.

Interface

ON1’s interface design does take a little getting used to. It uses a lot of small text in a lot of different panels, and while you do gradually learn your way around, for new users accustomed to the directness and clarity of Lightroom, for example, it can take quite a while to work out where stuff is. You’ve been told what ON1 Effects can do, but that’s not always the same as working out how.

For example, there are masking tools in the left tools panel and on the top toolbar, but the ones you actually want, including all the AI mask and mask layers, are in a Masking panel in the right sidebar. And the filters themselves often come with multiple drop-down sections that have additional options to explore and figure out.

Make no mistake, ON1 Effects 2026 is a powerful photo editing and effects tool. The catalog of presets gives you an easy starting point, but it’s more than just a collection of instant effects. These filters are often very sophisticated and will go as deep as you want – perhaps even deeper.

It does take some learning, but it’s worth it. And, of course, when you’ve put all the work into creating a ‘look’, you can save it as your own custom user preset for use again and again in the future.

Results

The images that ON1 Effects 2026 can produce are sometimes amazing, generally great and only occasionally disapointing. The quality of the preset effects is very high, and you might find they give you everything you need without having to dip into individual filter adjustments. But if you do, you’ll discover that ON1 Effects is impressive on a whole new level, through the control it offers, the way filters can be made to interact and the power of the individual filter masking tools.

Is it as good as the Nik Collection? Not in every respect, though In some areas it goes further, with a wider choice of image borders and texture effects, for example. ON1 also offers free assets like LUTs, textures and more that you can download and install. You get a lot of very good tools for not very much money.

Verdict

ON1 Effects 2026 already is built into ON1 Photo RAW 2026, but I think Effects 2026 is the much better option for anyone already happy with their digital workflow. You get all the excellent presets, filters and masking tools of ON1 Effects 2026 without having to swap completely to ON1 Photo RAW’s cataloguing and RAW development. 

It would be easy to be put off by ON1’s interface design, which does have a somewhat complex and dated look about it. It doesn’t look like a serious photographic tool. That’s just a personal opinion. However, its presets, its filters and its in-depth controls are simply stellar. That’s another personal opinion. You won’t use all the filters (some are a bit weak) and you won’t like all the presets, but the images that ON1 Effects 2026 can create will surely win over even the most sceptical and serious of photographers.

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