Photoshop pricing, explained 2023

We review all Photoshop buying options, from the cheapest to the most expensive

By Matic Broz, editor-in-chief of Photutorial covering stock media, Adobe, and design. He founded Photutorial while finishing his PhD in computational biosciences.

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Photoshop pricing

How much does Photoshop cost?
Adobe Photoshop costs $239.88 when prepaid annually or $20.99 monthly. You can also test Photoshop with a 7-day free trial and add additional cloud storage to your plan starting from $9.99 per 1TB.

For most people, the most popular Photoshop Plan might not be the best option to purchase Photoshop. As a photographer, I personally prefer the two Photography Plans that include Lightroom and cost $9.99 and $19.99 per month, respectively, based on the amount of cloud storage.

Adobe Photoshop plans compared

Photoshop Plan
(US$20.99/mo)
Photography Plan (1TB)
(US$19.99/mo)*
All Apps Plan
(US$54.99/mo)
photoshoplightroomphotoshopmnemonic cc rainbow
Photoshop for desktop and iPad
Lightroom and Lightroom Classic 
Adobe Express with premium features for web and mobile 
Adobe Fresco with premium features for drawing and painting 
Cloud storage100GB 1TB*100GB
20+ Creative Cloud apps  
Free trialBuy nowFree trialBuy nowFree trialBuy now
* You can also get Photography Plan (20GB) for $9.99 per month.

What’s the difference between the plans?

All three plans grant you access to Photoshop for desktop and iPad, but they differ in price, cloud storage, and the additional apps you get with it. All three plans also come with a 7-day free trial.

If you’re not a photographer and need only Photoshop (and other graphic design tools), the Photoshop Plan is the best choice. You can get it with a monthly commitment of $31.49/month or cheaper when you buy it for a full year. In addition, you get Adobe Express, which is Adobe’s online graphic design tool, and Adobe Fresco, as well as 100GB of cloud storage.

For photographers, the Photography Plan (1TB) is definitely the best solution because you also get Lightroom and 1TB of cloud storage instead of just 100GB. You can also get a cheaper version for $9.99 instead of $19.99 with the Photography Plan (20GB), but it’s not a great choice if you depend on cloud storage.

Finally, the All Apps Plan grants you access to all Adobe Creative Cloud apps, including Photoshop. It’s the most cost-efficient option if you need 3 or more apps.

How to buy Photoshop?

Photoshop is available only through a Creative Cloud subscription that you pay for either monthly or annually. Follow these steps to buy Photoshop:

  1. Go to the Photoshop page on Adobe.
  2. Pick one of the three plans.
  3. Start a Free trial or Buy now.
  4. Pick a subscription (Monthly, Yearly, Yearly billed upfront)
  5. Create an Adobe account.
  6. Enter your payment information.
  7. Download and Install Creative Cloud.
  8. Download Photoshop through Creative Cloud.

Is it worth paying for Photoshop in 2023?

Photoshop remains the most popular image editing software in 2023. Over the past few years, there have been certain programs that tried to substitute some of Photoshop’s features. For example, Photoshop (and now even Lightroom) just recently introduced a fully automatic way of selecting subjects, sky, and background, while we have seen numerous automatic background removers.

Object selection in Photoshop
Object selection in Photoshop

With this feature that also works better than any other, there doesn’t seem to be a reason to use other software, especially considering how cheap (just $9.99/mo) Photoshop is.

Yet, Photoshop is not a great tool for everyone for several reasons. For one, it doesn’t support working with vector files, for which you need Adobe Illustrator. Due to its complexity, Photoshop also takes longer to learn, which intimidates new users, who prefer a simpler tool that they can master quickly. Many designers who need a simple tool for graphics pick Canva, which doesn’t come just with an intuitive editor but also a huge library of free stock images (and a 30-day free trial).

But it’s also worth mentioning that with Photoshop and All Apps plans you get access to Adobe Express, which is a great Canva alternative but not as powerful. Yet, it lets you browse and use over 160 million Adobe Stock assets.

Should you get Adobe Stock with Photoshop?

Adobe Stock is one of the best stock photo sites, second only to Shutterstock. Many graphic designers and other creatives love to use it because it’s natively integrated into Creative Cloud. This means you can browse images and other assets within your Adobe apps, including Photoshop. While it’s very convenient, it speeds up your workflow and makes it overall more enjoyable.

Adobe offers a 1-month free trial of Adobe Stock at every checkout (at Step 2 of 4), including Photoshop plans. If you sign up for the free trial, you can download 10 standard assets for free in the first month. If you don’t cancel the free trial, you will be charged $29.99/month in addition to your Photoshop subscription.

Adobe Stock free trial at Photoshop checkout
Adobe Stock free trial at Photoshop checkout

FAQs

What is the cheapest way to get Photoshop?

The cheapest way to get Photoshop is with the Photography Plan (20GB), which costs $9.99/month or $119.88/year. With it, you get Photoshop for desktop and iPad, Lightroom and Lightroom Class, and 20GB of cloud storage. You also get access to Adobe Fonts, Adobe Portfolio, Step-by-step tutorials, Behance, Creative Cloud Libraries, and access the latest features.

Can I just buy Photoshop?

No, you cannot just buy Photoshop. You must subscribe to Photoshop through a Creative Cloud subscription, which you can pay monthly or annually. With this subscription, you have access to Photoshop, as well as other apps.

How much does lifetime Photoshop cost?

You cannot get Photoshop for a lifetime because it’s only available with the Creative Cloud subscription, meaning you pay a monthly fee to use Photoshop. When you cancel the plan, you also lose access to Photoshop.

How much does Photoshop cost per month?

Photoshop costs $9.99–$19.99 per month when bought with the Photography Plan or $19.99—$31.49 per month when bought with the Photoshop Plan. You can also get Photoshop with the All Apps Plan, which costs $49.99–$82.49 per month.

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