Lightroom Presets are created by companies and individuals, all with their own reasons and incentives. Therefore, there are some free Lightroom Presets, and there are many paid Lightroom Presets in the market.

Why would someone create free Lightroom Presets?

Free Lightroom Presets are typically used by a businesses as a marketing tool. For example, the free version could be a free sample of a complete, paid set of presets, used to give the user a taste of the paid product.

The free Lightroom Preset could also be used as a lead magnet, with access to the preset available only when the user submits contact information, such as an email address.

Free Lightroom Presets could also be used to simply build up good will in a community, to provide something of value for community building and brand equity.

Are free Lightroom Presets any good?

In our research, we’ve tested many free Lightroom Presets, and we have yet to find a set that is constantly updated and maintained. Some will give you a cool or interesting effect, but none provide complete photo editing solutions.

This makes complete sense and falls in line with many other free products. Anything that takes time and effort to create and maintain is difficult to upkeep without resources. So many simply serve their marketing purpose and then, over time, become obsolete.