Adobe Creative Suite 6 vs Creative Cloud – Which is Right for Me?

adobe creative suite 6 vs creative cloud

Adobe launched Creative Suite 6 back in 2012. The bad thing is that the tools inside the suite are out of reach for most people because of their prices. Even though Adobe offers discounts for people who upgrade from older releases and its software costs a lot less for some segments in the market such as teachers or students they are still quite steep. So, we wanted to examine cheaper alternatives such as Creative cloud. But what are the differences between Adobe Creative Suite 6 vs Creative Cloud?

When Adobe introduced cc, it was received with a little uncertainty. Since then, CC saw a lot of success and a lot of people started using it. Adobe Creative Suite is still sold but most people now prefer the Cloud alternative. Cloud from Adobe contains the latest and greatest toolset and is generally high rated by customers. If you’re interested in purchasing Creative Cloud, check it out here on Amazon.

Adobe CC is only available via subscription and it is, in some ways, cloud based. However, don’t let the name fool you. It’s a very powerful piece of software and the applications inside it are not web-based or online. Adobe made it clear that Photoshop and other powerful tools might add numerous online features but the software will never completely run in the cloud.

Adobe Creative Suite 6 vs Creative Cloud – What is in Creative Cloud?

Adobe Creative Cloud comes with newer versions of all the tools in the older cs6 as well as others such as Lightroom, Adobe Edge and more. Most of these applications don’t rely on the Internet to run as you will download them and install them locally as you would with CS6. However, you will have to connect to the Internet once every 4 months for revalidation of your annual subscription.

Adobe CS6 vs CC – Which is the right one for you?

Before comparing prices, it’s quite important to know that it’s not all about the cost. Adobe supports CS6 for the existing Mac OS and Windows releases but they don’t have any plans to support the suite on the next operating systems from Apple and Microsoft. This means that it’s very likely that the Creative Suite 6 won’t be supported on newer versions of Mac OS and Windows. Creative Cloud, however, is a product as well as a service so it will always be updated and supported for the newest technologies, devices and platforms.

Adobe Creative Suite

The cost of Adobe’s Creative Cloud is $49.99 per month on a yearly plan and $74.99 when bought month-to-month. For the people who are upgrading from the previous Creative Suite costs $29.99 per month and teachers and students will pay $19.99 a month for the product. This means that the toolset costs around 1 to 2 dollars a day to use.

Adobe Creative Suite

The CS6 Master Collection costs $2,600 when bought full and $1,050 when upgrading from CS5. Keep in mind that this price is for a static, older version of the suite that will never improve or evolve. It seems like Creative Cloud is the better deal here.

You also have the possibility to opt for what tools you want from the complete cc package. There are bundles such as the Photoshop Photography Bundle which comes with Photoshop and Lightroom and costs $9.99 a month. However, if you only use Photoshop or After Effects you can also buy standalone apps.

Single App Membership

If you think that the complete cc suite is a little too much for you, then you will be happy to know that you can buy a membership to use a single tool. This option is not known by many people but you can actually subscribe for just a single app such as Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere, InDesign, Acrobat Pro and many others for just $14.99 to $19.99 a month. The download and sign-up are made online so you can do so whenever you want. On top of this, all the upgrades for your software are included in the package so you will always be running the most recent version.

All the new tools in the old software are available on a month-to-month as well as an annual subscription in all the languages for both Windows and Mac OS, so this is quite flexible. If you later decide that you wish to upgrade to the complete package and have access to all the applications, Adobe will refund the remaining amount on your account on your membership plan.

Comparing the $19 a month versus $1,000 to buy, let’s say, After Effects, you will see that it is at least worth your consideration.

It’s also a known fact that Adobe won’t launch a new cs number 7 so the Creative Cloud might be your only chance of getting newer, more evolved tools to work with.

Images source: amazonaws.com, adobe.com, techjobsla.com

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About Dave Hughes

Computer Science graduate, Dave Hughes is the pragmatic guy of our team. No wonder he likes to call himself a ‘cool nerd’. His brightness and attention to detail are reflected into his new tech-inspired articles and reviews. He loves writing about new tools and useful resources designed to ease your effort.