Selekt vs ON1 Photo RAW
ON1 Photo RAW is an all-in-one photo editor positioned as the Lightroom + Photoshop alternative. Selekt is a purpose-built culling app focused purely on the selection workflow. One tries to do everything; the other does one thing exceptionally well.
At a glance
Selekt
- • Purpose-built for photo culling
- • Scene-based workflow with side-by-side
- • Lightweight Tauri/Rust app (~50MB)
- • iOS and Android companion apps coming soon
- • Free tier with unlimited culling, Pro at $8/month
- • Exports to any editor (XMP sidecars)
ON1 Photo RAW
- • All-in-one: RAW processing, editing, effects
- • Browse module for photo management
- • Advanced AI tools (NoNoise, Sky Swap, Resize)
- • Layer-based editing like Photoshop
- • Desktop + limited mobile (ON1 Photo Mobile)
- • $99-149 perpetual or $89/year subscription
The real difference
ON1 Photo RAW wants to be your entire photo workflow — browsing, culling, RAW processing, retouching, effects, and export all in one app. It's ambitious and genuinely capable, with AI tools that rival what you'd get in Lightroom and Photoshop combined. For photographers who want one app to rule them all, ON1 delivers.
Selekt does exactly one thing: helps you decide which photos to keep. Scene-based organization, keyboard-driven rating, side-by-side comparison, and auto-advance on rate. Then you export to whatever editor you prefer. That's it.
The trade-off is clear: ON1 gives you everything but asks for more of your time to learn and navigate. Selekt gives you speed at the culling stage, then gets out of your way.
When to choose each
Choose ON1 Photo RAW if...
- • You want one app to replace Lightroom + Photoshop
- • RAW processing and editing matter more than culling speed
- • You need AI tools (noise reduction, sky swap, masking)
- • Perpetual licensing is important to you
- • You want effects, presets, and creative filters
- • Layer-based editing is part of your workflow
Choose Selekt if...
- • Culling speed is your bottleneck
- • You already have an editor you like
- • You want to cull on mobile (iPad, iPhone) — coming soon
- • Scene-based organization fits your workflow
- • You prefer lightweight, focused tools
- • Free tier to try before committing
Browsing isn't culling
ON1's Browse module is solid for photo management — you can tag, rate, stack, and organize large libraries. But “browsing” and “culling” are fundamentally different workflows.
Browsing is about finding and organizing photos in your library. You're working with images you've already decided to keep.
Culling is about making rapid keep/reject decisions on a fresh shoot. Speed matters. Context matters. You need to see similar shots side-by-side, move quickly through groups, and never touch the mouse if you can help it.
ON1's Browse module handles the first job well. Selekt is purpose-built for the second. If you find yourself dreading the post-shoot selection process, that's the problem Selekt solves.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Selekt | ON1 |
|---|---|---|
| Photo culling workflow | ||
| Keyboard-driven culling (P/M/X/U) | ||
| Auto-advance on rate | ||
| Scene-based grouping | ||
| Side-by-side comparison | ||
| RAW file support (400+ cameras) | ||
| Non-destructive RAW editing | ||
| Layer-based editing (like Photoshop) | ||
| AI noise reduction (NoNoise AI) | ||
| AI sky replacement | ||
| AI masking and selections | ||
| Effects and presets library | ||
| Lightweight desktop app | ||
| iOS and Android apps | ||
| Free tier available | ||
| Works fully offline | ||
| Perpetual license option | ||
| Plugin for Lightroom/Photoshop | ||
| AI smart crop for social | ||
| Social export presets (IG, TikTok) | ||
| Lightroom XMP export |
Pricing comparison
Selekt
- Free tier: Unlimited culling, full workflow
- Pro: $8/month ($12 AUD) — AI tagging, cloud features
ON1 Photo RAW
- Perpetual license: $99-149 (own it forever)
- Subscription: $89/year (MAX edition with extras)
- Free trial: 30 days, full features
ON1's perpetual license is appealing if you dislike subscriptions. Both apps are priced similarly for annual use, but ON1 gives you far more features while Selekt focuses purely on culling speed.
Can you use them together?
Yes — and it might be the best of both worlds. Selekt exports XMP sidecar files containing your ratings and flags. ON1 Photo RAW can read these sidecars, so your picks and rejects appear automatically when you import the shoot.
The workflow looks like this:
- Import shoot into Selekt
- Cull with keyboard shortcuts and scene-based workflow
- Export XMP sidecars to the shoot folder
- Open the folder in ON1 Photo RAW
- Your picks are flagged, rejects are marked — start editing immediately
You get Selekt's culling speed and ON1's editing power without having to choose between them.
Try Selekt free — no credit card required
See if scene-based culling fits your workflow. Import a shoot, cull it with keyboard shortcuts, and export to ON1 (or any editor) in minutes.
Download Selekt