# RapidRAW

7 Hacker News commenters recommended RapidRAW and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** A free raw photo editor, recommended as a Lightroom alternative and for Linux users, with frequent updates. Critics say it still trails Lightroom and has colour problems on Linux.

## Why people recommend it

- Frequent updates and new features (2 comments): "the developer is super active and releases new features every couple of weeks" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49102294)) "The recent updates list is so impressive. Good steady stream of updates." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47825278))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Photopea](https://hackerapproved.com/p/photopea.md): 84 recommend
- [Adobe Lightroom](https://hackerapproved.com/p/adobe-lightroom.md): 68 recommend
- [Pixelmator Pro](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pixelmator-pro.md): 29 recommend
- [DaVinci Resolve Photo Editor](https://hackerapproved.com/p/davinci-resolve-photo-editor.md): 23 recommend
- [PhotoCraft](https://hackerapproved.com/p/photocraft.md): 22 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "RapidRAW", https://hackerapproved.com/p/rapidraw/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).