ColorForge vs PhotomatixCL

ColorForge is a browser-based RAW and HDR photo editor that processes images on the device. It supports camera RAW files including CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, DNG, RAF, ORF and RW2, with controls for exposure, tone curves, HSL adjustments, LUTs and presets. For HDR images, it can combine bracketed exposures, including RAW brackets, using GPU processing. Exports are available at full native sensor resolution as JPEG, PNG or TIFF, without watermarks; HDR output also includes 16-bit TIFF. ColorForge says photos stay local and are not uploaded to its servers. Editing, RAW decoding, HDR merging and exporting do not require an account. After the web app loads into the browser cache, it can continue working offline. It supports Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari, and the maker lists Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, iOS and Android availability. ColorForge is free: free, with no installation required. Presets are stored in an account database when signed in, or local browser storage when signed out.

PhotomatixCL is a command-line interface for adding HDR image processing to automated imaging workflows on Linux, macOS, and Windows. It merges exposure-bracketed photos into HDR images and processes them with tone mapping or exposure fusion. Image alignment, ghost removal, HDR presets, and JPG, TIFF, or EXR output are included. Inputs can come from a computer or local network, or be downloaded from a web server. Each run handles one bracketed set; the bundled PhotomatixCL-Driver can process folders of sets in batches. The CLI is designed for automated workflows on cloud or local servers and does not require API integration code. Linux downloads include Ubuntu, a statically linked universal build, and an ARM build for Debian; the universal build omits lens correction. Free-plan tracking requires internet access, and the CLI fails during outages unless used in trial mode. Trial runs do not use credits but add a Photomatix watermark to output images. The listed plans include free use and paid options; paid pricing is listed from $39 one-time.