I review a lot of software on Life after Photoshop but I rarely talk about ACDSee. Why? On the face of it, ACDSee Photo Studio 2025 is a powerful all-in-one photo organizing, developing and editing tool that embraces the latest developments in AI and is available both as a subscription and subscription free. So what’s not to like?
Well I have in fact reviewed ACDSee Photo Studio 2025 Ultimate for Amateur Photographer and you can follow the link to see what I think of it. I’ve tried to be as fair and open-minded as possible, but it’s not software I would really recommend to anyone, which is why I rarely mention it on this site.
So what’s the problem? It’s this: ACDSee is an old-fashioned approach to image organisation which is, in my opinion, long past its sell-by-date. On paper it might appear to do everything that Lightroom and Photoshop can between them, and there are aspects to it that might appeal to people who like a more traditional workflow and aren’t, let’s say it, professional photographers.
But I find it clunky and limited. The cataloguing might be import-free but it doesn’t approach the sophistication and efficient of Lightroom or Capture One. The RAW processing is reasonable, though not in the top echelon, but its lens correction profile matching leaves a lot to be desired. Its non-destructive Develop mode crosses over confusingly with its ‘destructive’ pixel-based Edit mode, and the Edit mode offers similar-looking layer and masking tools to Photoshop, but without Photoshop’s depth, finesse and control.
What ACDSee Photo Studio 2025 lacks in particular is a library of preset effects to inspire the user. It’s a distinctly technical photo editor which will get the job done but offers little to get you started on your creative journey.
I’m sure many ACDSee Photo Studio users will disagree. That’s fine. But my impression is that ACDSee (and perhaps its users – sorry) occupy a bubble, outside of which nothing else exists. I really do think you can only be impressed by this software if you’ve not used any of its modern rivals, such as Lightroom Classic, Capture One, ON1 Photo RAW (especially ON1 Photo RAW), DxO PhotoLab, the Nik Collection… the list goes on.
ACDSee Photo Studio 2025 is, to me, an aging relic kept going with yearly injections of new on-trend features. I feel the same way about Corel PaintShop Pro and Adobe Photoshop Elements. Photo editing software shouldn’t be this complicated, this clunky.
And before anyone complains that I’m a Mac users and biased against Windows – that’s not true. I use Windows laptops and I’ve reviewed a lot of Windows software. Over my career I’ve probably spent as much time with Windows as I have with macOS. There is an ACDSee Photo Studio for Mac version, by the way, which I have reviewed on this site.
I guess my principal complaint about ACDSee Photo Studio is that it seems happy to be nearly as good as mainstream, modern rivals but mainly cheaper. It’s a pitch based on value and deals, with precious little actual quality involved. That, to me, does not seem a basis for choosing software, and if anyone asked me what photo editing software I would recommend, I can’t think of a single reason for recommending this.
