Nik Collection is a one-time-purchase suite of eight creative photo-editing plugins that work standalone or inside Photoshop, Lightroom Classic and Affinity Photo.
Nik Collection bundles eight specialized plugins (Color Efex, Silver Efex, Analog Efex, Viveza, HDR Efex and others) for creative photo styling, from black-and-white conversions to HDR and analog film looks, plus AI-assisted masking added in version 9 for GPU-equipped machines. It runs as a standalone app or as a plugin inside Photoshop, Lightroom Classic and Affinity Photo.
There's no subscription: a new license is $179.99 (or $99.99 to upgrade from version 7 or 8), activated on up to 3 computers, with no lower-priced entry plan. It fits a solo photographer who already owns a host editor and wants permanent creative filters instead of another monthly tool, though no free trial is confirmed.
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Average
A one-time $179.99 purchase (or $99.99 to upgrade) with no recurring fee costs less over time than a subscription photo plugin, as long as it's used beyond the first year.
Neutral score: first-use onboarding time is not covered by the collected sources.
It works as advertised, either standalone or as a plugin inside Photoshop, Lightroom Classic and Affinity Photo, without needing extra third-party tools.
Eight specialized plugins covering color grading, black and white, HDR and analog looks, plus AI masking added in version 9, is a wide creative range for the category.
Neutral score: export formats and portability of edits if the plugin is abandoned are not covered by the collected sources.
