Facet vs imagic

Facet8.2Visit imagic7.0Visit

Higher score Facet #2 in AI Photo Culling Software 8.2/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 7 of 7 features Visit Facet

vs

imagic #8 in AI Photo Culling Software 7.0/10 From €19 · 7-day trial ✓ 7 of 7 features Visit imagic

• Facet fits best

  Users wanting free, broad, self-hosted culling

• imagic fits best

  Technical users wanting broad deployment options

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Side by side

Feature	Facet 8.2/10 Visit ↗	imagic 7.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.2	7.0
Ranking	#2 in AI Photo Culling Software	#8 in AI Photo Culling Software
Best for	Users wanting free, broad, self-hosted culling	Technical users wanting broad deployment options
Pricing model	Free	Paid
Starting price	Not published	Not published
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted, Desktop	Desktop
Platforms	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Community, Docs	Email
Integrations	6 integrations	7 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market	Solo, Small business, Mid-market
Features Facet 7/7 · imagic 7/7
AI quality scoring	✓	✓
Subject detection	✓	✓
Duplicate detection	✓	✓
RAW photo support	✓	✓
Blur detection	✓	✓
Closed-eye detection	✓	✓
Lightroom export	✓	✓
Our review
Pros	Scores quality across sharpness, faces, exposure, color, and composition Detects bursts, duplicates, similar images, closed eyes, and expressions Supports RAW, Lightroom export, galleries, search, and self-hosting	Detailed AI scoring, burst grouping, and near-duplicate detection Local RAW processing with reversible keep/reject decisions MCP server, CLI, API, and Lightroom XMP handoff support
Cons	Local deployment puts hardware and maintenance responsibility on the user Its broad gallery and organization features may exceed simple culling needs Workflow setup varies across Docker, native, desktop, and web deployments	No free plan beyond the available trial options Advanced automation and semantic search require Max Editing and culling breadth may exceed focused culling needs
Our verdict	Facet is a free, open-source photo-analysis and culling engine for photographers who want processing on their own hardware. It runs across web, Windows, macOS, Linux, and self-hosted deployments, and supports RAW, JPEG, and HEIF/HEIC… Read the review →	imagic is a desktop photo culling and RAW-editing application for photographers who need more than basic keep-or-reject decisions. It analyzes sharpness, exposure, noise, composition, detail, and subject focus, while also detecting closed… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Facet — where it wins

  • Scores quality across sharpness, faces, exposure, color, and composition
  • Detects bursts, duplicates, similar images, closed eyes, and expressions
  • Supports RAW, Lightroom export, galleries, search, and self-hosting

  Where it doesn't

  • Local deployment puts hardware and maintenance responsibility on the user
  • Its broad gallery and organization features may exceed simple culling needs
  • Workflow setup varies across Docker, native, desktop, and web deployments

• imagic — where it wins

  • Detailed AI scoring, burst grouping, and near-duplicate detection
  • Local RAW processing with reversible keep/reject decisions
  • MCP server, CLI, API, and Lightroom XMP handoff support

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan beyond the available trial options
  • Advanced automation and semantic search require Max
  • Editing and culling breadth may exceed focused culling needs

• Facet8.2/10 · Free plan

  A free, open-source culling engine with broad AI analysis and local deployment.

  Visit FacetFull verdict →
• imagic7.0/10 · From €19 · 7-day trial

  A broad local culling and editing toolkit with useful automation, but no free plan.

  Visit imagicFull verdict →