Adobe Photoshop is one of the most popular tools for creatives with millions of users globally, ranging from photographers to graphic designers. Some photographers use Photoshop with Adobe’s popular image-editing software – Lightroom. But, you can also use Photoshop as a standalone product.
Photoshop allows you to create and edit projects in multiple formats and dimensions, making it easier to produce the perfect output. Graphic designers love Photoshop for the multitude of color editing features, and because it’s easy to erase unwanted aspects of their creations or if they want to add new bits.
Pricing and Plans
How much you pay for Photoshop will depend on where you live. Different countries have different prices, and you might also need to pay higher value-added tax (VAT) in some areas. Another consideration is the Adobe CC plan you sign up for. If you want to purchase Photoshop as a standalone app, you can buy it for $20.99 per month.
Meanwhile, the Photography Plan, which includes Lightroom, is less expensive.
You can get Photoshop and Lightroom (both Classic and Creative Cloud) for $9.99 per month if you purchase a 20GB plan. A 1TB Photography Plan costs $19.99 per month.
If you use the suite of Adobe apps, you might want to consider purchasing the Creative Cloud All Apps subscription. For this, you’ll pay $54.99 per month.
Photoshop as a standalone app is pricey and Adobe does not offer a one-time purchase for Photoshop, forcing you to have a rolling subscription for however long you wish to use the service. This gets very expensive. However, you’ll likely find the investment worthwhile if you use the service regularly.
Recent Concerns: Privacy Issues
Many creatives around the world have been opening up Photoshop recently and getting so angry they’re refusing to log in. If you try to log in to any Creative Cloud app, you’re served a new set of terms and conditions. You are required to agree to them before Adobe will let you in. Most people will blindly scroll through without actually reading it, and click Agree at the bottom. We’ve all done it countless times on countless apps. It’s become such an automatic reaction we often don’t realize what we’re agreeing to.
However, some creatives have done the unthinkable and read what Adobe is asking us to agree to. And they’ve been so upset by it, they’ve taken to social media, called out these new Terms and Conditions, and urged people not to agree to them. Wonder what’s so bad about them?
Adobe wants you to agree to the following:
“Solely for the purposes of operating or improving the Services and Software, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free sublicensable, license, to use, reproduce, publicly display, distribute, modify, create derivative works based on, publicly perform, and translate the Content. For example, we may sublicense our right to the Content to our service providers or to other users to allow the Services and Software to operate with others, such as enabling you to share photos.”
This basically means Adobe can access any content you create using its software and do what they like with it.
We’re hoping Adobe either amends or ditches its new terms of service. In the meantime, if you’re not okay with this, you can avoid using Creative Cloud apps.
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Alternatives to Photoshop
The closest Photoshop alternative, with a similar interface and functionality, Affinity Photo is aimed at both professional photographers and designers. Fully compatible with Photoshop and other file formats, it’s available for Mac, Windows, and iPad (sold separately) for a cheap, one-off price, with no subscription needed.
No money? GIMP is the best free and open-source alternative to Photoshop. It’s available for multiple platforms and offers a wide toolset similar to Photoshop, with colour correction, cloning, and selection tools. On the downside, there’s a bit of a steep learning curve, and it is laggy at times.
The best Photoshop alternative for digital painting on iPad, artists love this tool’s intuitive layout and advanced features such as true-to-life pencils, inks, and layer compositing. It’s pretty cheap, but only for iOS.
If you’re looking to edit photos, this software is good for beginners and also has some time-saving AI tools. Available for macOS and Windows.
Here’s a nice in-browser Photoshop alternative. It has a free version with ads and features the most essential image editing tools, although it lacks some advanced features you’ll find in Photoshop.
Is Photoshop Worth it?
While Adobe Photoshop continues to be a powerful and versatile tool for creatives, recent changes to its terms and conditions have raised significant privacy concerns. If these issues are a dealbreaker for you, we’ve given you alternatives that offer similar functionality without the need for a subscription.
Photoshop is still one of the best editing tools out there. You can edit multiple areas of your photos and designs, and you’ll have plenty of options when doing so. You can also export your images in multiple formats.
Ultimately, the decision to use Photoshop in 2025 will depend on your specific needs, budget, and comfort with Adobe’s policies.
