Faster photo editing

Luminar Neo Review (2026): My Honest Opinion and What Could Be Improved

A practical look at Luminar Neo’s AI tools, presets, and whether it’s worth buying alongside Lightroom

Image by author

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Out of all the photography software I have tested, Luminar Neo is the easiest to use, which actually produces decent results. Sure, there’s Apple and Microsoft Photos, which are easier to use. Though they can do basic edits, but they don’t produce strong results that photographers have come to admire.

In this review, I’ll explain why you might want to buy Luminar Neo. I’m not going to discuss all the bells and whistles. Just what matters to photographers.

Let’s get one thing straight: Luminar Neo isn’t an alternative to Lightroom Classic, Capture One, or any other image management software, for that matter. It’s not meant for that. It’s primarily used as a creative AI-assisted photo editor.

Luminar Neo Catalog | Screenshot by author

Luminar Neo does have some image management tools, such as albums, star ratings, and tagging favorites. But it’s very limited. The catalog (image library) is so uncomplicated that it’s meant to get you editing immediately.

Even the generative tools are in the catalog section: GenErase, GenSwap, GenExpand. These are similar to Photoshop’s generative expand, fill, and retouching.

The most interesting aspect of Luminar Neo is its intelligent preset recommendations. This software wants you to finish your edits in a minute or two.

The RAW image below, a bland landscape, was taken in the Argentine side of Patagonia. You can see Luminar Neo suggest the Easy Landscape preset pack. It does this by analyzing the photo with AI. The software includes a set of built-in presets.

Luminar Neo Presets | Screenshot by author

I’m not a big preset guy, and one thing I’m not a fan of is how Luminar Neo upsells quite a few preset packs on its interface. It’s an eyesore for the UI. Photoshop does the same with its Adobe Stock photos, but at least they are more subtle.

The edit section is where the software excels.

Luminar Neo Enhance AI | Screenshot by author

For example, Enhance AI uses a single slider that automatically analyzes your image and adjusts multiple core photo attributes — such as shadows, highlights, contrast, exposure, saturation, tone, and detail — simultaneously without going overboard. It essentially replaces a dozen traditional adjustments with a single intuitive control. It’s noticeably better than the auto tools in other photography software.

Landscape photographers, there are tools dedicated just for you. Portrait photographers, you got some.

Dedicated tools for landscape and portrait photographers | Screenshot by author

With all the great features Luminar Neo has, one thing that drives me crazy is the edits history section, where you can adjust previous settings. If you want to see the before-and-after or edit one tool without affecting the others (similar to temporarily deactivating a Lightroom tool), there is no way to do so.

The only way around it is to use layers, which is counterintuitive to the fast editing Luminar Neo is known for. Hopefully, this gets fixed in a future adjustment.

Another pitfall of Luminar Neo is that it doesn’t have camera or lens profiles.

If you want top-of-the-line RAW file rendering, you’re not going to get it. But its Noiseless and Supersharp AI works wonders on grainy or soft images, respectively.

Lens distortion corrections will have to be done manually with the optics tool. The good thing is Luminar Neo has a Lightroom Classic plug-in. So, you can use Lightroom’s lens corrections if you have a Creative Cloud subscription.

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So, is Luminar Neo worth it? I used it often enough to say it is. It saves me time by letting me make creative edits or retouch faces with just a few sliders. The fact that you can buy a perpetual license for $119 makes it more economical than subscription models. You can save an additional $10 by using the coupon code aperlust.

As I mentioned earlier, it won’t replace Lightroom or Capture One; Luminar Neo is more of a complement to a photo editor or for hobbyist photographers.

If you like, you can follow my photography on Instagram. Furthermore, this article contains affiliate links that support reviews of photography software.