--- title: "Adobe Lightroom vs GIMP: Which is searched more?" description: "Is Adobe Lightroom or GIMP more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Image editing software set worldwide. 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/compare/adobe-lightroom-vs-gimp" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Adobe Lightroom vs GIMP: Which is searched more? Is Adobe Lightroom or GIMP more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Image editing software set worldwide. 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 - **Compared**: Adobe Lightroom and GIMP - **Competitive set**: Image editing software - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Adobe Lightroom Share of Search**: 10% - **GIMP Share of Search**: 7.6% ## Is Adobe Lightroom or GIMP more popular in search? - In September 2026, Adobe Lightroom had more branded searches than GIMP among image editing software worldwide. Adobe Lightroom had about 1.2 million branded searches, while GIMP had 880,000. Adobe Lightroom made up 10% of all image editing software searches we track, and GIMP accounted for 7.6%. - Adobe Lightroom was ahead of GIMP in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Adobe Lightroom’s share of searches among image editing software worldwide moved from 8.2% to 10%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 1.2M. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, GIMP’s share of searches among image editing software worldwide moved from 7.4% to 7.6%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 1.1M to 880K. ## Top image editing software in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Adobe Lightroom and GIMP were each mentioned in four out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers and in both Google AI Overviews. Adobe Lightroom was listed before GIMP in four out of five answers. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Adobe Photoshop | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Adobe Lightroom | 2nd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Affinity | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Luminar Neo | 4th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | GIMP | 5th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Photopea | 6th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Pixlr | 7th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Picsart | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Fotor | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Paint.NET | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | PhotoScape | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Pixelmator | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | PaintShop Pro | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Xara | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Acorn | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about image editing software - Asked ChatGPT "Which image editor should I use?": 1. Adobe Photoshop, 2. Affinity, 3. Photopea, 4. GIMP - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best image editing software?": 1. Adobe Photoshop, 2. Adobe Lightroom, 3. Affinity, 4. GIMP, 5. Photopea, 6. Luminar Neo - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best image editor for photo retouching?": 1. Adobe Photoshop, 2. Adobe Lightroom, 3. Affinity, 4. Luminar Neo - Searched Google, AI Overview "image editing software": 1. Adobe Photoshop, 2. Adobe Lightroom, 3. Luminar Neo, 4. Affinity, 5. GIMP, 6. Photopea, 7. Pixlr - Searched Google, AI Overview "photo editing software": 1. Adobe Lightroom, 2. Adobe Photoshop, 3. Luminar Neo, 4. Affinity, 5. GIMP Not named in any answer: Picsart, Fotor, Paint.NET, PhotoScape, Pixelmator, PaintShop Pro, Xara and Acorn. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 19, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for image editing software worldwide in September 2026? - In September 2026, GIMP gained share of searches among image editing software worldwide, from 6.3% to 7.6%. ## Month by month | Month | Adobe Lightroom estimated searches | Adobe Lightroom Share of Search | Adobe Lightroom rank | GIMP estimated searches | GIMP Share of Search | GIMP rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 1.2M | 8.2% | 5 | 1.1M | 7.4% | 6 | | Nov 2025 | 1.2M | 7.9% | 5 | 1.1M | 7.5% | 6 | | Dec 2025 | 1.2M | 8.8% | 5 | 931K | 6.9% | 6 | | Jan 2026 | 1.2M | 9.1% | 5 | 1.1M | 8.2% | 6 | | Feb 2026 | 1.2M | 9.3% | 4 | 919K | 7.3% | 6 | | Mar 2026 | 1.2M | 9.5% | 5 | 929K | 7.1% | 6 | | Apr 2026 | 1.2M | 9.5% | 4 | 898K | 6.9% | 6 | | May 2026 | 1.2M | 9.5% | 4 | 743K | 6% | 6 | | Jun 2026 | 1.2M | 9.9% | 4 | 749K | 6.4% | 6 | | Jul 2026 | 991K | 8.6% | 4 | 751K | 6.5% | 6 | | Aug 2026 | 1.2M | 9.9% | 4 | 742K | 6.3% | 6 | | Sep 2026 | 1.2M | 10% | 4 | 880K | 7.6% | 6 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Adobe Lightroom’s and GIMP’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Adobe Lightroom**: Measured on the search terms “adobe lightroom”, “lightroom”, “lightroom app”, “lightroom classic”, “lightroom mobile” and “lightroom presets”, summed into one figure. - **GIMP**: Measured on the search terms “gimp”, “gimp ai”, “gimp android”, “gimp app”, “gimp design software”, “gimp graphic design”, “gimp image editor”, “gimp ipad”, “gimp linux”, “gimp mac”, “gimp photo editor”, “gimp pro”, “gimp program”, “gimp software”, “gimp vector editor”, “gimp vector graphics” and “gimp windows”, summed into one figure. - [Adobe Lightroom profile](/demand/global-en/brands/adobe-lightroom) - [GIMP profile](/demand/global-en/brands/gimp) - [All image editing software worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/image-editing-software): The set both shares are measured inside, 15 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Adobe Lightroom or GIMP more popular in search? In September 2026, Adobe Lightroom had more branded searches than GIMP among image editing software worldwide. Adobe Lightroom had about 1.2 million branded searches, while GIMP had 880,000. Adobe Lightroom made up 10% of all image editing software searches we track, and GIMP accounted for 7.6%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Adobe Lightroom vs GIMP: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/adobe-lightroom-vs-gimp This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/adobe-lightroom-vs-gimp. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.