FastStone Image Viewer vs PhotoTaken

FastStone Image Viewer9.1Visit PhotoTaken6.4Visit

Higher score FastStone Image Viewer #2 in Photo Viewer Software 9.1/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit FastStone

vs

PhotoTaken #22 in Photo Viewer Software 6.4/10 14-day trial Free trial✓ 5 of 5 features Visit PhotoTaken

• FastStone Image Viewer fits best

  Windows users wanting a free all-round viewer

• PhotoTaken fits best

  Paid users needing ingest and catalog workflows

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Side by side

Feature	FastStone Image Viewer 9.1/10 Visit ↗	PhotoTaken 6.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	6.4
Ranking	#2 in Photo Viewer Software	#22 in Photo Viewer Software
Best for	Windows users wanting a free all-round viewer	Paid users needing ingest and catalog workflows
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	—	$69 one-time
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	—	14 days
Deployment	Desktop	Desktop
Platforms	Windows	Windows, macOS
Support	Email, Docs	Email
Built for	Solo, Small business, Enterprise	Solo, Small business
Features FastStone Image Viewer 5/5 · PhotoTaken 5/5
RAW image support	✓	✓
Side-by-side compare	✓	✓
Contact sheets	✓	✓
Color management	✓	✓
Metadata viewer	✓	✓
Specs
Supported platforms	Windows	Windows, macOS
Our review
Pros	Supports camera RAW formats and EXIF metadata viewing Compares up to four images and creates configurable contact sheets Adds batch conversion, renaming, scanning, editing, slideshows, and portability	Supports browsing across 26 RAW formats plus common image and video types Combines contact sheets, comparison, ratings, tags, and metadata tools Adds card ingest, batch workflows, and Lightroom, Bridge, and Photo Mechanic integrations
Cons	Commercial use requires a paid lifetime license Available for Windows rather than multiple desktop platforms Its broad toolset may be more than casual viewers need	No free plan; paid licenses start at $69 Available only on Windows and Apple Silicon Macs The vendor's company page describes the product as being in beta
Our verdict	FastStone Image Viewer is a Windows desktop application for browsing, viewing, organizing, comparing, editing, converting, and presenting digital images. It suits Windows users who want more than a basic viewer, particularly photographers… Read the review →	PhotoTaken is a native desktop photo workflow application for photographers who need to browse, cull, rate, tag, compare, and organize large folders of images. It supports 26 RAW formats alongside JPEG, TIFF, PNG, HEIC/HEIF, video clips,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• FastStone Image Viewer — where it wins

  • Supports camera RAW formats and EXIF metadata viewing
  • Compares up to four images and creates configurable contact sheets
  • Adds batch conversion, renaming, scanning, editing, slideshows, and portability

  Where it doesn't

  • Commercial use requires a paid lifetime license
  • Available for Windows rather than multiple desktop platforms
  • Its broad toolset may be more than casual viewers need

• PhotoTaken — where it wins

  • Supports browsing across 26 RAW formats plus common image and video types
  • Combines contact sheets, comparison, ratings, tags, and metadata tools
  • Adds card ingest, batch workflows, and Lightroom, Bridge, and Photo Mechanic integrations

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan; paid licenses start at $69
  • Available only on Windows and Apple Silicon Macs
  • The vendor's company page describes the product as being in beta

• FastStone Image Viewer9.1/10 · Free plan

  A free Windows viewer with RAW support, comparison, batch tools, editing, and scanning.

  Visit FastStoneFull verdict →
• PhotoTaken6.4/10 · 14-day trial

  A paid desktop viewer for photographers who need structured ingest and catalog tools.

  Visit PhotoTakenFull verdict →