ChobialChobial vs Lightroom mobile: a fair comparison
Lightroom is one of the best photo editors there is, and on iPhone it comes with a capable camera that shoots DNG. If you want one library on your phone, iPad and computer, it's hard to beat. Chobial is for a different wish: to see your film live while you frame, make that film yourself, and use it on any photo you've ever taken.
| Chobial | Lightroom mobile | |
|---|---|---|
| Shoots RAW | Yes, incl. ProRAW | Yes (DNG), plus HDR merged to a 32-bit DNG |
| Manual shutter, ISO, white balance, focus | Yes | Yes, in Professional mode |
| Look live while you frame | Yes, any film, including your own | Partly: you can pick a preset to apply as you shoot |
| Re-develop a photo with another look later | Yes, with any film | Yes, with any preset or profile |
| Make your own look | Yes: curves, 8-band colour mixer, split toning, grain modelled on real stocks, halation | Yes, presets from your edits |
Import / export .cube LUTs | Yes / Yes | Partly: as a profile made on a computer / No |
| Share a look | QR code or .chobial file | Yes, presets as DNG files |
| Masks | Subject, sky, background, people, drawn and range | Subject, sky, background, brush, gradients, colour and luminance range (paid) |
| Remove spots and objects | Heal and clone | Heal, clone and Generative Remove (paid) |
| Open other cameras' RAW | Yes | Yes, with a paid plan |
| Video | No | Yes, editing |
| iPad, desktop and web | No, iPhone only | Yes, with sync on a paid plan |
| Generative AI | None | Yes: Generative Remove (Adobe Firefly) |
| Account | None | Adobe ID |
| How you pay | Free to shoot, develop and make films; pay to export | Free core; Premium in the app, or a Lightroom plan from US$11.99/mo |
Where Lightroom is ahead
- One library everywhere. Lightroom runs on iPhone, iPad, Android, desktop and the web, and a Creative Cloud plan keeps photos, edits, presets and profiles in sync between them. Chobial is iPhone only.
- A deeper editor. Years of development, masks by colour and luminance as well as by subject and sky, batch editing, video, and Generative Remove for taking out large objects like people or bins.
- HDR capture. Lightroom's camera can merge several exposures into one 32-bit DNG, with alignment and deghosting done for you.
- Presets and a community. Import presets and profiles from anyone, and browse edits shared by other photographers in the app.
- Track record. Over 330,000 App Store ratings. Chobial is new.
Where Chobial is ahead
- The film is in the viewfinder. Chobial is built as a film camera: you frame and expose through the finished look, including films you make yourself. See making your own film.
- Film controls, not just sliders. Tone and highlight rolloff, grain modelled on real stocks, halation and bloom, made for film looks.
- LUTs on the phone. Start a film from any
.cube, and export yours for Lightroom or Resolve, all on the iPhone. See shooting through a LUT. - No account and no generative AI. Nothing to sign up for. Films, settings and photos sync through your own iCloud.
- Editing isn't the paid part. In Lightroom, masking, healing and raw editing are Premium features. In Chobial, you pay only to export.
Pick Lightroom
You edit on a computer or iPad too, want one synced library, generative remove and video, and don't need the look live while you shoot.
Pick Chobial
You want to see your own film in the viewfinder, with no account, and keep every RAW open to it, forever.
Sources, opened on 12 October 2026: Lightroom's App Store listing, Adobe's Lightroom plans, and Adobe's help pages on the camera, Pro mode, HDR capture, making presets, importing and exporting presets, profiles, masking, Generative Remove, signing in, Premium and free features. See all apps on the comparison page. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Questions
Is Lightroom mobile free?
The app is free to download, and Adobe says capture, organising, sharing and most editing are free. Masking, healing, raw editing, Generative Remove and sync need a paid plan: Premium in the app, or a Lightroom plan from US$11.99 a month (annual, billed monthly). Lightroom asks you to sign in with an Adobe ID or create one.
Can Lightroom mobile use a .cube LUT?
Not directly. Lightroom takes presets and profiles. A LUT can be wrapped in a profile with Camera Raw on a computer, and the profile then syncs to your phone. Here's how. Chobial imports and exports .cube files on the iPhone itself.
Can I use both?
Yes. Lightroom's camera shoots DNG, a standard RAW file, and Chobial opens RAW files from other apps and cameras. You can develop the same photo with a Chobial film and in Lightroom, and Chobial can export a film as a .cube LUT to turn into a Lightroom profile.