Adobe Lightroom 6: How to Upgrade from LR4/LR5 for Only $79

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6 was released today. It has a whole host of new features including face recognition, HDR and panorama processing, and use of the GPU for faster image editing. A worthwhile upgrade from LR4 or LR5.

If you haven’t purchased Lightroom before, you can purchase a full edition from B&H for $149 (Download) or $149 (DVD). Or, consider a Creative Cloud Subscription for only $9.99 / month.

If you already own a previous version of Lightroom, you may want to instead upgrade to the latest version for only $79 (no pesky monthly fees.) It’s only available direct from Adobe, and well-hidden on Adobe’s site (it’s clear they want you to purchase the Creative Cloud subscription instead.) Here’s how to find it:

  • Go to Adobe.com.
  • Click “Buy” under “Lightroom 6 – $149”.
  • Next to “I want to buy:”, change it from “Full” to “Upgrade”.
  • In “I own” pulldown, select the version of Lightroom you own.
  • Check-out at $79 and download!

If you took part in one of the great LR5 bundle deals, this puts you at a copy of LR6 for less than the full retail $150 price, plus a free printer as a bonus!


If you purchase something through a link on our site, we may get a small share of the sale (at no cost to you). Please read our disclosure for more info.

46 comments on “Adobe Lightroom 6: How to Upgrade from LR4/LR5 for Only $79

  1. Joe
    April 21, 2015 at 9:35 pm EDT

    Thank you for the effort put forth to find the upgrade @ $79

  2. Scott
    April 22, 2015 at 7:49 am EDT

    thank you!

  3. venkat
    April 22, 2015 at 10:02 am EDT

    Is there any Student discount on upgrade ?

  4. Leo
    April 22, 2015 at 4:01 pm EDT

    LR 4 is the only version I’ve ever had, I think I’m due for an upgrade. I have VSCO presets installed, will those automatically crossover if I upgrade LR?

    1. August 21, 2015 at 6:06 pm EDT

      I did a trial of LR6 and had VSCO 01 presents for LR4. They actually pulled right up in the software! If they don’t show up, I’m fairly sure you can still just re-install them because they list their newest presets as “for CC, LR6 LR5, and LR4.”

  5. April 22, 2015 at 10:10 pm EDT

    yesss! Downloading now!!!

  6. nkagar2
    April 23, 2015 at 10:48 am EDT

    I have LR 5 in three machines. Do I have to pay $79 thrice to upgrade all three or the same installation/ download file work for all? Thanks!

  7. Trevor
    April 27, 2015 at 9:24 am EDT

    Thanks! I upgraded successfully from Lightroom 4 to 6 without an issue! I did have to get the serial number from the lightroom 4 install which is somewhere in the help menu or you can contact Adobe.

  8. Henchard
    April 30, 2015 at 10:37 pm EDT

    The “upgrade” option was ‘grayed’ out when I checked the page. Just love Adobe (NOT).

    1. CanonPriceWatch
      April 30, 2015 at 11:06 pm EDT

      Works for me. You have to select the product you already own in the pulldown (LR4 or LR5, or perhaps even an older one.)

      1. l
        January 25, 2016 at 10:01 pm EDT

        I have an older version on my mac computer but just bought a laptop. Can I get the upgrade version but use it on my laptop?

  9. May 5, 2015 at 7:32 pm EDT

    Thanks! I spent a long time one night searching for it!

  10. Luigi Borrelli
    May 11, 2015 at 3:24 pm EDT

    Didn’t work a couple of weeks ago and it still won’t work.

  11. Dow Jones
    May 27, 2015 at 3:01 pm EDT

    I purchased LR 5 upgrade in March 2015, Can I receive a free upgrade to 6?

  12. Randy
    June 17, 2015 at 10:58 pm EDT

    Option not there. Still looking for it.

    1. CanonPriceWatch
      June 17, 2015 at 11:02 pm EDT

      Still works for me.

      Visual proof: http://i.imgur.com/gOG7lc6.png

  13. July 14, 2015 at 4:58 pm EDT

    Buried in a different spot – go to https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-lightroom.html and scroll down to the very bottom right of the page – you’ll see a box for Lightroom 6. Click on ‘buy now’ and you should be good to go from there.

    1. judmacd
      September 7, 2015 at 10:40 am EDT

      Two months later, the upgrade option isn’t there. At least it doesn’t show up anywhere for me.

      1. CanonPriceWatch
        September 7, 2015 at 10:41 am EDT

        Still works for me. Works just like this screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/gOG7lc6.png

  14. BobR
    July 16, 2015 at 7:36 am EDT

    I own a disk with LR4 and an upgrade to LR5. Which version should I list in the “I own” drop down menu

    1. CanonPriceWatch
      July 16, 2015 at 9:39 am EDT

      It doesn’t matter. Either one will probably work okay.

  15. BobR
    July 16, 2015 at 7:00 pm EDT

    When I cancel my CC subscription and d/l LR6 do I need to uninstall CC for LR6 to work? If if I do, should I uninstall CC before I install LR6?

  16. July 28, 2015 at 3:16 pm EDT

    I purchased Adobe Lightroom 6 as an update, but my screen says I’m on a 30 day trail. I tried to contact Adobe to ask why, but all I get is a confusing phone tree. Can someone tell me if at the end of 30days I just enter my serial number or do I need to have the purchase canceled through my credit card company?

    1. Robert
      July 28, 2015 at 3:58 pm EDT

      You should have been emailed a sn for your update. When the program asks for a sn you enter the new sn. If it does not find an old version of LR, you may have to enter that sn.

      1. Samuel Lubman
        July 28, 2015 at 6:48 pm EDT

        Thanks. I’ve done both and LR6 shows as having been downloaded. My sincere thanks for responding to my question.

  17. Robert Fuller
    August 15, 2015 at 9:30 am EDT

    Unfortunately I can’t download the upgrade due to being on satellite – very slow downloads, constant breaks, and download data limits by HighesNet. Is there a way to get an upgrade from LR5 and get a DVD copy?

    1. CanonPriceWatch
      August 15, 2015 at 9:32 am EDT

      No, Adobe discontinued DVD-based Upgrade Editions as of this version. Perhaps ask someone to burn you a DVD with the download and mail it to you?

  18. September 7, 2015 at 7:46 pm EDT

    Thank you SO much! How ridiculously difficult to find this – I really appreciate your help 🙂

  19. JAV
    September 14, 2015 at 12:09 am EDT

    Thank you ! I save 50% of list price.!

  20. Ruben Burgos
    September 30, 2015 at 10:00 pm EDT

    Hi I have problem (from Chile) when I check out ready to pay show me an error regarding Country and ID are not the same. And Adobe tell me that it have to work but it not. And in country stores I just find full version web store is the only place to buy upgrade version. Any clue to idea? I spend days trying it and my need camera D7200 NEF is just supported by LR6

  21. Ruben Burgos
    September 30, 2015 at 10:04 pm EDT

    This is the error showed me:

    ====
    Error in Your Order
    The account was registered for a different country. Please sign out and sign in using an existing account for this country.
    ====

    And I check the account several times and all is ok

  22. Kat
    November 28, 2015 at 10:55 am EDT

    I was excited to be able to upgrade to Lightroom 6, but when I go to adobe.com and click BUY-Upgrade, Version 5 is the highest available.

    1. Kat
      November 28, 2015 at 3:26 pm EDT

      Never mind. I’m an idiot. I figured it out.

  23. Ian
    November 29, 2015 at 4:41 am EDT

    Anyone please have any guidance on the ‘different country’ issue. How does one cancel the previous Adobe ID and recreate a new ID that is recognized in the ‘different country’? I keep getting the same error message as Rubens (post above) and have created a new ID but this keeps being recognized as the old ID. Consequently, it won’t let me proceed to purchase.

    It might work if I could cancel all previous IDs and start again but again it’s not clear how to do this. I’ve called the Adobe help line about 5 times and spent at least an hour (collectively) on hold before giving up. They offer a call back option but only within the USA.

    Any tips on how to proceed very much appreciated! Am upgrading from LR4 to LR6 and don’t want to use the CC option.

    1. Ian
      November 30, 2015 at 8:38 am EDT

      I finally reached Adobe on their chatline. It turns out the standalone upgrade to LR6 is available only in a few countries. One has to buy the full package where this option is not available.

  24. Nadine Eversley
    March 30, 2016 at 1:55 pm EDT

    I had lightroom 4 and I purchased the upgrade to 6, but lightroom is extremly slow since I upgraded. What have I done wrong?

  25. Jerome golafaie
    April 12, 2016 at 8:48 pm EDT

    I bought the up grade option but I am having problem upgrading from the 5 to the 6. What am I doing wrong? I am mad . No phone contact help.

  26. April 19, 2016 at 8:47 pm EDT

    Like many others… thank you very much for you effort to simplify Adobe’s confusion…

  27. August 30, 2016 at 2:23 pm EDT

    I had a ton of problems trying to upgrade – the website will not work even if you manage to get the product into your shopping cart. They know it doesn’t work: Call if you are in the US – Please call our Sales Support at 1-800-585-0774 and from Monday–Friday 9am–5pm (Pacific Time) . That worked for me.

  28. Cora
    October 26, 2016 at 7:10 am EDT

    Living in Switzerland and upgrading to an version in English is impossible. Only French and German are available. Changing my location UK showed the download icon greyed out.

  29. david shuttleworth
    October 27, 2016 at 11:23 am EDT

    very helpful- thanks

  30. Pau
    December 21, 2016 at 8:26 am EDT

    Need to install upgrade on 1 Mac and 2 PCs. Will I have to pay 3xs???

  31. William
    September 4, 2017 at 10:33 am EDT

    Had to contact Adobe via “chat” to get to the upgrade link, but it worked.

    1. John
      September 10, 2017 at 8:11 pm EDT

      I was just “chatting” with Adobe today and Priscilla says that I cannot upgrade without subscribing to their Creative Cloud. Were you able to upgrade without subscribing?

  32. September 18, 2017 at 10:53 am EDT

    Shockingly, I just did this today with success. Here is an actual document on Adobe’s site with instructions: https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/help/download-install-single-app-Lightroom-6.html Ultimitaly I clicked on “Download and installation Help” and found it listed. And then on this link to go straight to it: http://www.adobe.com/products/catalog.html?filters=cd_252Fphotography&page=2#

    I upgraded from Lightroom 4.x and it worked just fine.

    Enjoy!

  33. NotMyCupOfTea
    September 4, 2018 at 2:37 am EDT

    Do you know if it requires the serial prior to purchasing? I have my serial written down, but I’m not sure it’s correct. I don’t want to purchase a upgrade won’t work.

Leave a Reply to NotMyCupOfTea Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *