ON1 Effects 2025’s well-implemented and responsive layer-based editing allows you to stack and blend multiple effects, resulting in compound effects beyond the reach of non-layer-based photo editing applications. But, as good as ON1 Effects is, many will be better off buying Effects-equipped ON1 Photo Raw instead. Jump to Conclusion | Try ON1 Effects Now – Free
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ON1 Effects Review – Contents
- What is ON1 Effects 2025
- What does ON1 Effects do?
- What is new in ON1 Effects 2025
- ON1 Effects 2025 Video Review
- How much does ON1 Effects cost
- Try ON1 Effects Free
- ON1 Effects Features
- Is ON1 Effects good to use
- Alternatives to ON1 Effects
- Conclusion
- About the Author
What is ON1 Effects 2025
ON1 Effects is a layer-based photo preset and effects application for Windows PC and Mac OS. It can be used as a standalone application or plugin for the following photo editing applications.
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Lightroom Classic
- Adobe Photoshop Elements
- Affinity Photo
- Capture One Pro
- Apple Photos
- Corel Paintshop Pro
What does ON1 Effects do?
ON1 Effects is a layer-based photo editor that enables you to apply adjustments, textures, and effects as individual layers. Then, you can blend multiple effects layers to create compound effects beyond the reach of non-layer-based photo editing applications such as Lightroom.
Furthermore, you can apply effects to your entire image or use masks to contain them in specific areas of your photos. Regarding masks, ON1 Effects is equipped with Super Select AI, which enables you to instantly mask common photographic elements such as skies, water, subjects, and backgrounds with a single click.
To make things easier, ON1 Effects includes a vast collection of Presets. These include categories such as Instant Film, Cinema, Retro, Sun Glow, and Street and will provide you with a one-click route toward your desired result. Moreover, ON1 Effects offers AI adaptive presets that fine-tune themselves to better match your image’s characteristics and a recommendation system that advises which presets may best suit your photo.
Additionally, ON1 Effects includes photo editing tools such as Crop and Healing, Clone Stamp, and Retouch brushes. Effects 2025 also introduces a Generative AI erase brush and canvas extension, a tool that uses generative AI to expand your photo’s content.
What is new in ON1 Effects 2025
New to ON1 Effects 2025 is the Generative AI erase brush, designed to remove unwanted objects from your photo seamlessly. Meanwhile, a Distraction Removal tool will swiftly erase unwanted powerlines, vehicles, and people littering your image. ON1’s Canvas Extension uses generative AI to expand your photo’s content, resulting in a larger overall picture.
Effects 2025 includes two new filters. With the Edit Color Filter, you can select a specific color and adjust its Hue, Saturation, and Lightness. Alternatively, you can use the Match Color Filter to borrow the color properties of one photo and apply them to another.
Finally, you can use the Depth mask to select areas of your photo based on how close or far they are from your camera. For example, you could use the Depth mask to select your photo’s background and apply background blur.
ON1 Effects 2025 Video Review
How much does ON1 Effects cost
You can buy ON1 Effects outright for a one-time payment of US$69.99. Alternatively, you can buy ON1 Photo Raw, a fully featured photo management and editing studio that includes ON1 Effect’s feature set, for US$99. Browse today’s prices.
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You can try ON1 Effects free for 30 days. Download ON1 Effects Now – For Free.
ON1 Effects Features
Presets
ON1 Effects includes hundreds of presets divided across 38 categories. These categories include Vivid Landscape, Golden Autumn, Ultimate Sunsets, and Black and White films. Eight of these categories contain AI adaptive presets that tune themselves to best suit the tonal characteristics of your photo. ON1 Effects also includes a recommendation system that suggests which presets best suit your photo based on your and team ON1’s historical preferences.
Once you apply a preset to your photo, you can manually adjust each of its filters and even add more. You can then save the sum of your edit as a new preset for future use.
Filters
ON1 Effects and its presets are built around 33 different filters. These filters include traditional adjustments such as tone curves, tone enhancer (exposure), edit color, and creative options such as bleach bypass, HDR look, and sunshine.
Furthermore, because each filter is contained in its own layer, you can blend multiple filters to create compound effects beyond the capabilities of non-layer-based photo editing applications. Moreover, you can apply a filter to your entire image or limit its impact to a specific area using one of ON1 Effect’s many masking tools.
Masking
ON1 Effects includes an extensive range of masking tools for adjusting specific parts of your photo. With Mask AI and Super Select AI, you can instantly mask common photographic elements, such as animals, people, sky, mountains, and many more, with a single click.
As with all automatic masking tools, Super Select AI’s effectiveness will depend on the subject’s nature and the image’s complexity. However, you can refine Super Select AI’s best effort with manual brushing. Alternatively, you can apply a mask based on a specific color or luminance range or use the depth mask to select parts of your photo based on their distance from your camera. Finally, there are the ever-popular radial and linear masking tools.
AI Erase
ON1 Effects AI Erase brush removes unwanted elements from your photo while using generative AI to fill the gap. At its best, it will appear as if the unwanted objects were never there. However, like all the AI erasing tools I have tested, ON1’s erase tool is unpredictable. In some cases, it will produce once-impossible results and, at other times, fail to make good on a basic removal.
Distraction Removal
ON1 Effects can instantly remove distractions such as Wires, People, and Vehicles from your photo. Overall, I’m pretty impressed with this tool. It’s incredibly straightforward to use and quite effective.
Canvas Extension
The Canvas Extension tool is the opposite of a crop. Instead of clipping your photo’s content to make it smaller, It uses generative AI to add new content to your image, thus making your photo bigger.
Like other generative AI tools, Canvas Extension requires you to pass your creative license to an AI. Therefore, even if you get a convincingly real-looking result, it may not be to your taste. However, taste aside, this is an immature technology, and realistic results are far from guaranteed.
Is ON1 Effects good to use
ON1 Effect’s extensive preset collection makes it a good option for newcomers or anyone looking for a quick result. Furthermore, browsing Effect’s presets is a breeze thanks to a well-presented and responsive interface. However, getting to know ON1 Effects beyond the superficial can take some time, thanks to its text-heavy interface and the complexity that comes with its outstanding capability. In other words, ON1 Effects is more complex than some because it does more than most.
Yet, it does shoot itself in the foot with some peculiar language, and some of its functionality is obscurely placed, making features such as Canvas Expand more difficult to find than they should be. Thankfully, none of these hurdles can be considered long-term problems, but they may be sufficient to scare off those unwilling to give Effects a robust trial.
Regarding performance, ON1 Effects can be broadly described as good. It responds to your inputs in real time, resulting in a pleasant workflow. While you will experience latency, it typically occurs during image loads and compute-heavy tasks such as AI erase. As always, before purchasing, I recommend you test ON1 Effects on your PC/Mac hardware. Try ON1 Effects Now – Free
Alternatives to ON1 Effects
ON1 Effects vs ON1 Photo Raw
ON1 Photo Raw is an absurdly feature-rich photo management and editing studio with perks such as AI upscaling, one of the best noise reduction tools on the market, focus stacking, portrait enhancement, sky replacement, timelapse, and, of course, Effects. Therefore, if you have Photo Raw, there is no need to buy Effects as you already have it.
Critically, ON1 Photo Raw doesn’t cost much more than buying ON1 Effects separately. Therefore, if you are looking for an all-in-one photo studio, ON1 Photo Raw is a far better buy. However, if you want to supplement your existing photo editing application with a layer-based editor, ON1 Effects is a great option.
Read my ON1 Photo Raw Review for more information
ON1 Effects vs Nik Color Efex
Both ON1 Effects and Nik Color Efex enable you to bury your image under multiple effects layers. However, Nik Color Efex is incompatible with Raw files and lacks features such as AI masking, AI erase, and Canvas Expansion.
However, Nik Color Efex is only one-seventh of the Nik Collection. Therefore, whether Nik Efex is a good buy depends on how much you want Nik HDR Efex, Nik Sharpener, and the rest. But, if you are only looking for the best Effects layer tool, ON1 Effects is more capable and the better buy overall.
Read my Nik Color Efex Review for more information
ON1 Effects vs DxO Filmpack
Unlike ON1 Effects, DxO Filmpack is not a layer-based effects tool. However, thanks to its massive collection of film simulations, it can produce results faithful to classic film stock such as Fujifilm Velvia, Lomography Redscale, and Kodak Tri-X.
DxO FilmPack also serves as a museum, presenting a brief history of classic films and the famous photos taken with them. It even features a half-decent photo editing tool if you want to manually craft your image’s appearance.
Overall, ON1 Effects is more capable and practical. But if you’re looking for a quick route toward the classic film aesthetic, DxO Filmpack is an excellent and unique alternative.
Read my DxO Filmpack Review for more information.
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Conclusion
In isolation, ON1 Effects is a home run. It’s responsive, competent, feature-rich, and well-priced. While mastering ON1 Effects demands patience, its well-implemented preset collection offers newcomers attractive results quickly and easily.
However, ON1 Effects has some minor problems. For instance, its interface could be easier to use, and features such as AI Erase and Canvas Extension feel somewhat underdeveloped. Yet, regardless of their shortcomings, their inclusion feels generous, given Effect’s modest price tag.
Overall, ON1 Effects soundly beats its rivals—except one. For a little more money, you can buy ON1 Photo Raw. Not only does Photo Raw have Effects built in, but it also has a whole lot more besides. So, if you are looking for an all-in-one photo studio, buy ON1 Photo Raw. But, if you’re happy with your existing photo editing application and merely wish to supplement it with a layer-based editor – ON1 Effects is a great choice. Try ON1 Effects Now – For Free
GET ON1 EFFECTS
ON SALE! WAS $75
US$35
LIFETIME LICENSE
About the Author
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