---
title: "Photo management software: Which brands are most popular in search?"
description: "Compare the software used to organise photo libraries. Share of Search among Google Photos, Adobe Lightroom, Apple Photos, Photo Mechanic and Excire, the photo management software Brandwave compares worldwide, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time."
canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/photo-management-software"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Photo management software: Which brands are most popular in search?

Compare the software used to organise photo libraries. Share of Search among Google Photos, Adobe Lightroom, Apple Photos, Photo Mechanic and Excire, the photo management software Brandwave compares worldwide, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

## Key facts

- **Competitive set**: Photo management software
- **Market**: Global
- **Brands compared**: 5
- **Month measured**: Aug 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: Google Photos, 93.9%

## Which brand is most popular in search among photo management software worldwide?

- In August 2026, Google Photos was the most searched among photo management software worldwide, with an estimated 20.4M branded searches and 93.9% estimated Share of Search within this set.
- Adobe Lightroom is in 2nd place, 88.3 percentage points behind at 5.6% Share of Search.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Google Photos’ estimated Share of Search among photo management software worldwide increased from 91.9% to 93.9%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Adobe Lightroom’s estimated Share of Search among photo management software worldwide decreased from 7.3% to 5.6%.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Google Photos’ estimated Share of Search among photo management software worldwide peaked at 93.9% in May 2026 and was lowest at 91.9% in October 2025.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Adobe Lightroom’s estimated Share of Search among photo management software worldwide peaked at 7.3% in October 2025 and was lowest at 5.6% in May 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Apple Photos, Photo Mechanic and Excire held steady: their estimated Share of Search among photo management software worldwide each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

## Compare search popularity between leading brands

- [Google Photos vs Adobe Lightroom: compare search popularity](/demand/global-en/compare/adobe-lightroom-vs-google-photos): 93.9% against 5.6% Share of Search.

## How did search popularity change for photo management software worldwide in August 2026?

- Estimated monthly branded searches for Google Photos worldwide rose 22.9% over 11 measured months, from 16.6M to 20.4M in August 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Apple Photos worldwide fell 33% over 11 measured months, from 135K to 90.5K in August 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Photo Mechanic worldwide fell 28.6% over 11 measured months, from 24.7K to 17.6K in August 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Excire worldwide fell 20.8% over 11 measured months, from 2.4K to 1.9K in August 2026.

## Share of Search ranking

| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Google Photos | 93.9% | 20.4M | +22.9% | Google Photos |
| 2 | Adobe Lightroom | 5.6% | 1.2M | +15.6% | Adobe |
| 3 | Apple Photos | 0.42% | 90.5K | 0.0% | Apple Photos |
| 4 | Photo Mechanic | 0.08% | 17.6K | -19.1% | Camera Bits |
| 5 | Excire | <0.01% | 1.9K | 0.0% | Excire |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | Google Photos | 16.6M | 91.9% | 1 |
| Oct 2025 | Adobe Lightroom | 1.3M | 7.3% | 2 |
| Oct 2025 | Apple Photos | 135K | 0.75% | 3 |
| Oct 2025 | Photo Mechanic | 24.7K | 0.14% | 4 |
| Oct 2025 | Excire | 2.4K | 0.01% | 5 |
| Nov 2025 | Google Photos | 20.4M | 93.6% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | Adobe Lightroom | 1.3M | 5.8% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | Apple Photos | 110K | 0.5% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | Photo Mechanic | 20.6K | 0.09% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | Excire | 2.9K | 0.01% | 5 |
| Dec 2025 | Google Photos | 16.6M | 92.5% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | Adobe Lightroom | 1.2M | 6.7% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | Apple Photos | 110K | 0.61% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | Photo Mechanic | 20.4K | 0.11% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | Excire | 2.9K | 0.02% | 5 |
| Jan 2026 | Google Photos | 20.4M | 93.8% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | Adobe Lightroom | 1.2M | 5.6% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | Apple Photos | 90.5K | 0.42% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | Photo Mechanic | 20.2K | 0.09% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | Excire | 2.9K | 0.01% | 5 |
| Feb 2026 | Google Photos | 16.6M | 92.4% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | Adobe Lightroom | 1.3M | 7% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | Apple Photos | 90.5K | 0.5% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | Photo Mechanic | 20.2K | 0.11% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | Excire | 2.4K | 0.01% | 5 |
| Mar 2026 | Google Photos | 20.4M | 93.4% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | Adobe Lightroom | 1.3M | 6.1% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | Apple Photos | 90.5K | 0.41% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | Photo Mechanic | 21K | 0.1% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | Excire | 2.9K | 0.01% | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | Google Photos | 20.4M | 93.6% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | Adobe Lightroom | 1.3M | 5.9% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | Apple Photos | 90.5K | 0.42% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | Photo Mechanic | 20.9K | 0.1% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | Excire | 2.4K | 0.01% | 5 |
| May 2026 | Google Photos | 20.4M | 93.9% | 1 |
| May 2026 | Adobe Lightroom | 1.2M | 5.6% | 2 |
| May 2026 | Apple Photos | 90.5K | 0.42% | 3 |
| May 2026 | Photo Mechanic | 21.7K | 0.1% | 4 |
| May 2026 | Excire | 2.4K | 0.01% | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | Google Photos | 16.6M | 92.8% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | Adobe Lightroom | 1.2M | 6.6% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | Apple Photos | 90.5K | 0.51% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | Photo Mechanic | 21.9K | 0.12% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | Excire | 2.9K | 0.02% | 5 |
| Jul 2026 | Google Photos | 16.6M | 93.4% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | Adobe Lightroom | 1.1M | 5.9% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | Apple Photos | 90.5K | 0.51% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | Photo Mechanic | 21.8K | 0.12% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | Excire | 1.9K | 0.01% | 5 |
| Aug 2026 | Google Photos | 20.4M | 93.9% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | Adobe Lightroom | 1.2M | 5.6% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | Apple Photos | 90.5K | 0.42% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | Photo Mechanic | 17.6K | 0.08% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | Excire | 1.9K | <0.01% | 5 |
| Sep 2026 | Adobe Lightroom | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Apple Photos | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Excire | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Google Photos | — | — | — |
| Sep 2026 | Photo Mechanic | — | — | — |

## What is being compared

- **Adobe Lightroom**: Measured on the search terms “adobe lightroom”, “adobe lightroom photo editor”, “lightroom”, “lightroom app”, “lightroom classic”, “lightroom mobile” and “lightroom presets”, summed into one figure.
- **Apple Photos**: Measured on the search term “apple photos”.
- **Excire**: Measured on the search term “excire”.
- **Google Photos**: Measured on the search term “google photos”.
- **Photo Mechanic**: Measured on the search terms “camera bits photo mechanic”, “photo mechanic”, “photo mechanic 5”, “photo mechanic 6”, “photo mechanic 6.0”, “photo mechanic 7”, “photo mechanic app”, “photo mechanic culling”, “photo mechanic for windows”, “photo mechanic mac”, “photo mechanic plus”, “photo mechanic pro”, “photo mechanic program”, “photo mechanic software”, “photomechanic”, “photomechanics mac” and “photomechanics plus”, summed into one figure.

- [Adobe Lightroom](/demand/global-en/brands/adobe-lightroom)
- [Apple Photos](/demand/global-en/brands/apple-photos)
- [Excire](/demand/global-en/brands/excire)
- [Google Photos](/demand/global-en/brands/google-photos)
- [Photo Mechanic](/demand/global-en/brands/photo-mechanic)

## Methodology

- [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which brand is most popular in search among photo management software worldwide?

In August 2026, Google Photos was the most searched among photo management software worldwide, with an estimated 20.4M branded searches and 93.9% estimated Share of Search within this set. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Photo management software: Which brands are most popular in search?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/photo-management-software

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/photo-management-software. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.