ON1 turned 20 years old today, marking a significant milestone for the Oregon-based photo editing software company.
When Craig Keudell founded ON1 in 2005, the company, then called onOne Software, launched a series of tools designed to make powerful plug-ins for photographers that would make their lives easier.
“Photographers have always been focused on capturing great moments — not becoming software experts,” Keudell explains. “That’s where we saw a chance to help by making tools that worked the way photographers think. We saw a huge opportunity to tailor those tools for this growing photography market.”
The company’s early tools include things like Genuine Fractals, PhotoFrame, Intelligence, and pxl SmartScale. As is often the case for new companies, the path had its challenges. Still, the company experienced a breakthrough when Genuine Fractals was featured on the cover of Shutterbug Magazine.
“Getting everything off the ground was hard. There was no cloud, no remote work. We built and maintained our own servers, databases — all of it,” Keudell recalls. “We focused on one order at a time. Eventually, that turned into real momentum.”
As ON1 grew, the company transitioned from exclusively creating plug-ins to developing a more traditional, unified photo editing app. The fruit of this labor was Perfect Photo Suite. The company made the bold choice to give the entire suite of software away to Photoshop attendees at a roadshow.
“We gave the entire Suite away to everyone at a Photoshop roadshow,” says Dan Harlacher, VP of Product. “It was a $500+ product — and we just gave it away. That was a major moment for us. It put ON1 in front of a massive audience.”
In 2016, ON1 continued on its path to dethrone the photo editing giants in the space and launched the Photo RAW Project, a full-fledged RAW image editor. ON1 Photo RAW, which remains the company’s flagship product today, is a non-destructive RAW image editor with layers, effects, and robust AI tools.
As ON1 looks ahead, it remains committed to making high-quality, useful software for photographers. While the form that takes may look a lot different than it did in 2005, the mission remains the same.
“We’re still here for the same reason we started — to make great tools for photographers. And we’re just getting started,” Keudell promises.
“20 years in software is rare. 20 years with a loyal, passionate community is even rarer. It’s a huge responsibility — and a privilege — to keep building for the people who got us here,” says Patrick Smith, Senior VP and GM.
ON1 is celebrating its 20th birthday and looking ahead to the next 20 years with a 20th anniversary sale, offering up to 75% off the company’s software. ON1 Photo RAW 2025 is now $39.99, down from $99.99, and ON1 Photo RAW MAX 2025, which includes the standalone app and all ON1’s Adobe plug-ins, is $79.99, down from $199.99. The company’s plug-ins are also on sale, starting at $19.99.
The company is also celebrating 20 years with a new “Through the Years” photo contest. Submissions are open until June 30, and entered photos must be edited using ON1 software. Available prizes include Amazon gift cards, exclusive ON1 merch, and more. Complete details and rules are available on ON1’s website.
Image credits: ON1. Featured image created using an asset licensed via Depositphotos.
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