Adobe Photography vs. Photoshop Subscriptions: I've been a PS user for years. My last version is 5.5. Recently, I bought a new desktop with Win11. My version of PS won't work on the...

CKAlbion Loc: Mendocino, CA

I've been a PS user for years. My last version is 5.5. Recently, I bought a new desktop with Win11. My version of PS won't work on the new desktop. I tried downloading Gimp, but Win11 wouldn't let me run the install. I purchased a copy of PSE 2022 in hopes that its features would be enough for what I needed, but there are problems that I haven't sussed out yet.

Adobe has two subscriptions that include PS. One is the photography plan at $9.99 a month; the other, PS that's $20.99 a month. Is the PS that's part of the PS/LR photography plan the same PS as the PS only plan? I use PS for images and for creating posters for events.

I'd like to to regain some desk space and get rid of the old machine, but if I absolutely have to, I can keep it and sneakernet between the two.

Thank you,
Catherine
Canon 7D and Sony RX10 when my husband lets me use it.

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

CKAlbion wrote:

I've been a PS user for years. My last version is... (show quote)

Yes.

CKAlbion wrote:

I use PS for images and for creating posters for events.

I'd like to to regain some desk space and get rid of the old machine, but if I absolutely have to, I can keep it and sneakernet between the two.

Thank you,
Catherine
Canon 7D and Sony RX10 when my husband lets me use it.

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

CKAlbion wrote:

I've been a PS user for years. My last version is... (show quote)

You probably want the $9.99/mo plan. That gives you full Photoshop, Lightroom Classic, Lightroom - Cloud Based (if you want it; many photographers prefer Classic). It also gives you a nice "free" web site (free meaning it's included in the monthly charge). The other plan provides more on-line storage. But, if you're like me, I store my photos locally, not in the cloud.

MDI Mainer

DWU2 wrote:

You probably want the $9.99/mo plan. That gives you full Photoshop, Lightroom Classic, Lightroom - Cloud Based (if you want it; many photographers prefer Classic). It also gives you a nice "free" web site (free meaning it's included in the monthly charge). The other plan provides more on-line storage. But, if you're like me, I store my photos locally, not in the cloud.

You definitely want the $9.99 plan. Some (who never understood that all software is merely licensed, not really sold) object to the monthly fee, but considering that the software will never expire like your old PS did it is a good deal even if there might be a future price increase.

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

MDI Mainer wrote:

You definitely want the $9.99 plan. Some (who never understood that all software is merely licensed, not really sold) object to the monthly fee, but considering that the software will never expire like your old PS did it is a good deal even if there might be a future price increase.

The software will expire (stop working) as soon as you stop paying. That is different than the perpetual license model. I'm not a PS user (I only teach it) and so the last time I paid for PS was back in 2012 when I bought a copy of CS6 for I believe about $150.00. It's installed on this laptop right now and works fine. Let's compare total costs:

CS6 for ten years on this laptop still working total cost = $150.00.
Adobe LR/PS subscription for ten years total cost = $1198.80

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

YES, both are the same. As someone who does posters you might be interested in knowing that the subscription plan includes, at no additional cost, access to hundreds of fonts, as well as a way for users to create something using the Adobe server and then send it out via a link to an email so no bother with trying to get something small enough in size to email it. I use the Photography Plan as I use LrC and PS.

CKAlbion Loc: Mendocino, CA

Thank you all for the information. I couldn't believe that the PS offered on the photography plan was the same as the PS all by its lonesome.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

CKAlbion wrote:

Thank you all for the information. I couldn't believe that the PS offered on the photography plan was the same as the PS all by its lonesome.

The 'all by its lonesome' version comes with larger and unnecessary cloud-based storage you don't need. It's intended for the really hip and cutting edge who don't have desktop computers.

CKAlbion Loc: Mendocino, CA

I'm not, nor have ever been, really hip or cutting edge, but I do have a desktop computer.

You all helped me spec out the machine I needed when my old one started getting cranky. This is such a great site. Now, back to lurking and learning.

MDI Mainer

Ysarex wrote:

The software will expire (stop working) as soon as you stop paying. That is different than the perpetual license model. I'm not a PS user (I only teach it) and so the last time I paid for PS was back in 2012 when I bought a copy of CS6 for I believe about $150.00. It's installed on this laptop right now and works fine. Let's compare total costs:

CS6 for ten years on this laptop still working total cost = $150.00.
Adobe LR/PS subscription for ten years total cost = $1198.80

A "perpetual" license for software that stops working because no longer supported on current operating systems might be cheaper (though not routinely updated) but is hardly perpetual!

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

MDI Mainer wrote:

A "perpetual" license for software that stops working because no longer supported on current operating systems might be cheaper (though not routinely updated) but is hardly perpetual!

Of course not -- eventually, after you've saved $1000.00 maybe $2000.00 an OS or computer hardware update will come along and break it for you. Then you may have to spend a few hundred more on something current and get to work saving another $1000.00 or more. Right now that 10 year old copy of CS6 that I have runs great under Windows 11 and shows no sign of stopping.

The point is there is a difference of consequence between a license copy and a subscription. When you stop paying the subscription the software stops working right then and there. It could be a decade before an OS upgrade comes along and breaks a license copy. It's going to be more than a decade before my copy of CS6 gets broken.

The Adobe subscription model is appropriate for a lot of people and it's a reasonable price (I pay more). However it's understandable that some folks don't like the subscription model for various reasons. One, that you mentioned is the uncertainty of a price increase once you're committed.

MDI Mainer

Ysarex wrote:

Of course not -- eventually, after you've saved $1... (show quote)

The comparison is not between $150 and $1,000 for the same product. In one case you have progressively outdated -- if still functional -- software; in the other a continuously updated and more robust tool. But it is a choice, and I agree some may not want or need the latter. I personally think playing with 10-year old software is a waste of time.

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

MDI Mainer wrote:

The comparison is not between $150 and $1,000 for the same product.

It is and it isn't. That depends on the user's needs. If the older license version of the software does all that the user requires then the comparison is between $150 for what's needed versus $1,000 wasted on whatever it is that makes the new version run so much slower.

MDI Mainer wrote:

In one case you have progressively outdated -- if still functional -- software; in the other a continuously updated and more robust tool.

That's double edged. I had the Adobe subscription software on two computers until I removed it last year. It was regularly updated including with bugs that on a few occasions crashed computers. My copy of CS6 (loads twice as fast) is 10 years rock stable.

MDI Mainer wrote:

But it is a choice, and I agree some may not want or need the latter. I personally think playing with 10-year old software is a waste of time.

Did the OP say she'd been playing with old software? I believe she said she used PS and referenced an older version CS 5.5. Her problem is that after 11 years of use it will not run on her new computer. We've acknowledged that happens. In those 11 years she may have saved enough to pay for that new computer. It's rather rude to suggest she was wasting her time playing. You don't know that CS 5.5 wasn't entirely adequate for her use over those 11 years.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

MDI Mainer wrote:

You definitely want the $9.99 plan. Some (who never understood that all software is merely licensed, not really sold) object to the monthly fee, but considering that the software will never expire like your old PS did it is a good deal even if there might be a future price increase.

It is a great deal for many people, especially considering the very high combined priced of Lightroom and PhotoShop when they were still being sold as standalone software The problem for some people is that it not a perpetual license and if they stop paying the annual subscription fee the software stops working.

Tronjo Loc: Canada, BC

JIMP installs and works on my Win 11. Try to run the installer as Administrator.