Nitro vs RawTherapee

Nitro is a photo editor and manager for photographers on macOS and iOS. It works with Apple Photos and iCloud Photos, plus files in Finder, Files.app, and external storage. Editing includes 16 precision adjustments, AI subject and background masks, gradients, brushes, cloning, and spot removal. Supported RAW formats include Apple-supported formats, DNG, iPhone ProRAW, compressed Fujifilm, Nikon HE and HE*, GoPro RAW, and additional camera formats, using Apple’s RAW engine. Nitro reads and writes XMP sidecars and exports JPEG, TIFF, HEIF, and PNG. The macOS app adds ExifTool integration, metadata search, GPS maps, and comparison of up to 16 images with synchronized pan and zoom; iPad comparison supports up to four. A Photos editing extension can sync changes through iCloud Photos. A lifetime purchase costs $99.99 as a one-time purchase and includes macOS, iOS, and future updates; a seven-day trial is available.

RawTherapee is a free desktop program for developing raw images on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Its non-destructive, 32-bit floating-point engine handles raw files from many digital cameras, including HDR DNG, as well as JPEG, TIFF, and PNG images. Photographers can control demosaicing and development with multiple algorithms, use masking tools, and batch process images. Editing parameters can be copied or pasted across files, and the program can also be used from a command line. RawTherapee can open raw images from GIMP as a plugin and return edited images there, or send processed images to GIMP or another editor. It is libre software under the GNU General Public License version 3, with RawPedia documentation and a community forum for help. The project says it does not include digital asset management, printing, or uploading features. The macOS 5.13 build has different minimum system requirements for Apple Silicon and Intel, and must be installed in /Applications to start.