Will Adobe Creative Cloud price become less expensive in the future?

[jasonu17653899]

Will Adobe Creative Cloud price become less expensive in the future? At the moment $29.99 a month for a year is reasonable price for CC subscription for current suite owners. Once the $29.99 promo ends, I can't afford $49.99 a month once the year is over.

[Herbert2001]

Well, what can you expect? The 29.99 deal was exactly that: a deal to convince you to buy into the CC model. At some point we all knew Adobe was going to stop throttling the CC pricing, and they need their "normal" pricing to make the CC promise come through for their shareholders.

Remember, Adobe's management's first concern is not you the user (designer/creative folks) - it is the shareholders. They are in it for ever-increasing revenue (a physical impossibility in a world with limited resources, but try telling that to shareholders).

Adobe is hoping that once you are hooked, they can return to normal subscription rates. You can be upset with Adobe, but you knew when you subscribed a year ago the price would eventually go up 100%. You will have to either swallow the bitter pill, or switch to alternatives. Complaining about a situation you consciously chose  - "you reap what you sow". If no-one had bought into this CC model early on, Adobe would never have continued it. But you are part of why Adobe called it a "success". 

Although, having said that, I do feel your pain. It's a rotten situation, especially for freelancers trying to keep their heads above water. Man, I am glad I jumped off the Adobe band wagon 18 months ago.

I do wonder how the end of all these deals will affect CC subscription numbers, though. Time will tell.

[tashaw14862305]

Myself included. My existing Creative Suite came with my college tuition and now it is one re-install away from expiration (the software is broken/unusable and requires a reinstall, which will automatically lock me out of CS6 forever). Although I learned video editing through Premiere Pro and trained on it in college, I won't and can't purchase Adobe again. Not only are the prices extortionate, but the customer support is quite possibly the worst I have ever experienced.

I cannot even begin to count the hours I've spent trying to fix my software, only to have Adobe tell me that "with your plan you are not eligible for phone support". It was ridiculous a couple of years ago, but now it's just beyond that. I'm going elsewhere to find software that is 1.) A price that won't wipe out my savings for a house. And 2.) Reliable and backed up by customer support who actually know what they are doing.

[atxbusiness]

Our company has purchased CS1,2,3,&5.

Now with a new hire, we have to upgrade to CS6, since now CS5 serials can be purchased anymore.

To upgrade to CS6 would be roughly $3,750.

Adobe CC would be about $3,000 a year!!!!!

We typically kept the software for 3 years, so now to go to cloud, Adobe essentially tripled the cost of their software for us.

No thanks to CC. We'll stick with CS6 for now and see what other options are available in 3 years.

[KBeautiful1]

I am so glad I never bought into the CC hype. When they first announced it, it just sound so sketchy to me. All of this money people are paying to rent software. This is not hardware like; Cameras, Lighting etc.,

If you don't pay the monthly fee all of your work now belongs to them WTH?!?!?

I have CS3.3, CS5.5 and CS6 and I am quite happy with it. I own the products, they are mine and Adobe can never take that away from me

So yes you are doing the right thing by just upgrading to CS6, the features are still pretty much the same.

[fontan75]

I work for a school district and we purchased CS5 Master Suite many years ago and are still using it. That was a one time fee that has lasted five years or so. Now in order to upgrade we have to pay slightly more than we did back then, but on an annual basis. For us that is 5 to 6 times the actual price of software for our district.

I have talked to lots of districts in the same boat, Annual fees of $15K to $20K won't cut it. It is already tough to consider $15K for software that will last 3-5 years.

[Am05]

At least some people have the benefit of getting an existing-customer price for CC. What about new customers? I'm a graphic designer on a fixed low-end salary ($25K/yr) working in an environment where boss rejects the Adobe subscription model. Although we run CS6, the software starts to age fast when you are sharing stuff among vendors and agencies with up-to-date software. As a private individual, I am forced to cough up $49/mo with no guarantee of return on investment???

What in the...effing...hell???!!

[mikez93]

Yep. The fact that we have to rent and CANNOT own the latest versions makes me ill. I will jump the Adobe ship as soon as I possibly can.

[Banjoboyslim]

Right? I only want to use maybe four of the Desktop apps and so they should provide a cheaper solution. I guess I'll be using CS6 for the rest of my life or find a cheaper solution.

[bridgetteh]

Me too!!!

[mattk79]

Don't be silly, Adobe anything going down in price? This isn't the normal "price goes down with competition" economical model. Adobe, has no competitors (at least anyone who can hurt their progress). The prices will NOT surely go down, but UP! Now that the sheep have flocked to this new way of creative cloud CONTROL, you will have not choice but to pay what they demand. There are no alternatives, no competition, etc. We have fed the corporate monster and now we are seeing that it's still hungry. Investors don't care about creative anything unless it's a "creative" way for them to make money (they surely nailed it here). They have done this by using a Adobe as another conduit to fill their pockets. Rich, successful, corporate business types don't get rich by following their emotions or they creative side, they have a mission, a goal and that is to succeed at whatever the cost (in most cases). They don't care about the consumers, because that's what we are, CONSUMERS! We want more, and they give it to us. Much like a drug dealer supplying the junkie. If the price goes up and the product goes down, we still need, we still want it and will do what it take to get it or the lab rat that keeps drinking the cocaine water until it OD's. When businesses, education, careers, projects, etc are built on a platform or the use of it, it's a necessity, disposal IS NOT an option. We are slaves to the corporate "creative" world. Thanks to everyone who has made it that way!

Oh, and for CS6, it is only supported for now. Adobe has made no comment when or IF it will be supported on new operating systems for Microsoft or Apple. I mean, why would they when they can force everyone to the CLOUD??? I guess it will have to do for the next couple of years on OSX Mountain Lion until I'm forced to do a complete upgrade and walk the plank like everyone else. FED UP AND TOTALLY DISGUSTED WITH ADOBE!!! I can see why people bootleg software, what a rip off!!

[ProDesignTools]

Matt Kornegay wrote:

Don't be silly, Adobe anything going down in price? This isn't the normal "price goes down with competition" economical model. Adobe, has no competitors (at least anyone who can hurt their progress). The prices will NOT surely go down, but UP!

Well, so far this notion hasn't proven out historically with Adobe's subscription offerings.  Since they first introduced a subscription option for Creative Suite over seven years ago (yes, CS was being sold by sub well before CC even existed), Adobe's subscription pricing has only gone down...

Of course, anybody can speculate about the future changing – but as more customers continue to adopt CC (it's somewhere over 4M subs now), the company can spread fixed costs over a larger base, and that actually tends to allow lower prices over time, which further boosts adoption (as we see in the App Store model with apps costing a few dollars).  We'll see.

[SteveIsHere]

$599/year is more than I spend on all other software per year! I'm a one-man software company and I simply cannot afford this. Yes, I spend ~30 minutes a day using Adobe products (Ps, Ai, Id). And I'd pay $99/year or maybe $149/year for the Adobe suite, but never in my wildest dreams would I spend $599/year. The Photography plan ($119/year) almost makes sense, but not for only Photoshop. And adding Illustrator via the "single app" plan would cost $239 additional per year! Insane, indeed. I'm sticking with CS6 and in line with others to jump the Adobe ship as soon as I find a viable option.

[Sterphy]

Personally I find the pricing ridiculous. I only want After Effects and Premiere Pro... maybe Audition if it came in a package, but I don't need it. If I only get those three apps it's £9 pm more expensive than the whole suite... they seem to think that I'd obviously opt for the whole suite, but I'm not paying for the whole thing for the sake of 2-3 apps. Even just the two apps is 87% of the cost of the whole suite for less than 18% of the available apps.  This is ridiculous! If they bundled Audition, Premiere and AE for about £25, that's still 55% of the current price for 27% of the whole suite, so then if I did want the whole bundle for £45 in my mind I'm saving money. It's a win for me and a win for adobe. Right now it's just impossible to justify. I can't believe they don't have more options for what people actually do. I do video, I DON'T CARE about Dreamweaver or Illustrator!

If I go to buy a car from a dealership I don't expect to be forced into renting it for more than it's worth because I get a bicycle and a set of waterskis with it.  This is insane.

[bitm07]

Gibsonsg88 wrote:

Personally I find the pricing ridiculous. I only want After Effects and Premiere Pro... maybe Audition if it came in a package, but I don't need it. If I only get those three apps it's £9 pm more expensive than the whole suite...

Totally agree, Adobe's current pricing structure defies belief.  Take Photoshop, as a single app it's $19.99 a month, but it also comes bundled with Lightroom (as part of the Creative Cloud Photography plan) for $9.99 a month !. 

[bridgetteh]

Just be careful.  These monthly plans are the worst thing in the history of the universe.  After one year, you get a renewal for the monthly rate, but it really means you are signing a 1 year contract.  Don't even try to get out of it, they are JUST MEAN and won't budge and inch.  They say you should have read the terms and agreements (THE FINE PRINT).  Why not make it extremely obvious that when you renew at a monthly rate, you are committing to an ANNUAL agreement.  I will never buy another adobe product. 

[ProDesignTools]

ANDREW RAY wrote:

Totally agree, Adobe's current pricing structure defies belief.  Take Photoshop, as a single app it's $19.99 a month, but it also comes bundled with Lightroom (as part of the Creative Cloud Photography plan) for $9.99 a month !.

Note that different features are included in each plan...  For example, with the $19.99 Photoshop, you also get a Behance ProSite - which is worth $100/year just by itself.  You also get a Typekit Portfolio Plan, which is worth another $50/year.  Plus 10x more cloud storage, and Creative Cloud Market.

This page compares the two options for Photoshop CC:

Differences between Photoshop and Creative Cloud Photography Programs

[bitm07]

ProDesignTools wrote:

ANDREW RAY wrote:

Totally agree, Adobe's current pricing structure defies belief.  Take Photoshop, as a single app it's $19.99 a month, but it also comes bundled with Lightroom (as part of the Creative Cloud Photography plan) for $9.99 a month !.

Note that different features are included in each plan...  For example, with the $19.99 Photoshop, you also get a Behance ProSite - which is worth $100/year just by itself.  You also get a Typekit Portfolio Plan, which is worth another $50/year.  Plus 10x more cloud storage, and Creative Cloud Market.

This page compares the two options for Photoshop CC:

Differences between Photoshop and Creative Cloud Photography Programs

Those of us who subscribed over a year ago, have the Behance Pro Site and the additional cloud storage included our $9.99 Photoshop/Lightroom plans.

IMO they were removed from the plan a year ago, in a vane attempt by Adobe to differentiate between the $9.99 plan and the $19.99 single app.

Do you truly believe that the single app price of $19.99, for Photoshop CC, Behance ProSite, Type Kit, Creative Cloud Market and 20GB of storage, is truly better value than Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, Lightroom Mobile and 2GB of cloud storage for just $9.99 a month ?.  I would opt for the latter deal, even if they were priced the same !.

[Third_i]

I'm a full time designer and do freelance on the side. Adobe just gave me notice that the monthly fee will go up to $49.99 a month plus tax/vat which will be well ofter $50. I do have the cloud at work and at home and I own CS5.5 and CS6. Quite frankly, working in InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Bridge, Acrobat and Dreamweaver primarily I have to say there has not been one update since the 2012 release of CS6 that would have convinced me to upgrade. The cloud subscription has made Adobe lazy, prior they would have to present improvements to convince you to upgrade, now they there's a ton of upgrades that don't give me any workflow improvement but just clog up my download speed. Very sad, I wish apple would buy Adobe. I will certainly not pay over $50 a month. Now I will have to prepare and down-save all my files for CS6 (monumental task). Please don't buy into to the cloud, don't support this madness.

Thanks

[pierBover]

30$ per month was already above what I expected to pay for CC considering my use. 50$? No way Adobe. I'm not paying 600$ per year for software I don't own. I use 2 applications from CC regularly, 4 at most. It doesn't make sense to pay 50$ a month perpetually for a ton of software I don't use. And the 20$ per software is simply ridiculous considering nobody uses only 1 software, and the photographer kit costs 10$.

For comparison, Affinity software costs less than 1 month of the CC subscription. And it's yours forever with updates. Autodesk offers a 20$ per month plan for their new game dev kit, and you get 3 massive software (Stringray, Scaleform Studio, Maya LT). Unity3D offers a free license for people making less than 100,000$ per year. Even Microsoft Office costs 10$ per month and you get all their suite.

50$ per month could make sense for someone using all the Adobe applications, but that is a niche case, and we are forced to pay for that if we want to use more than 2 applications. Even 40$ per month for 2 applications is ridiculous.

To add more wood to the fire, Adobe continually ignores the needs of their customers and adds gimmicks we don't need. How many feature requests have been sitting for years in those forums ignored by Adobe? Cloud services and iPad apps? I have not seen even 1 professional using those. Flash Pro is dead, Dreamweaver is useless compared to other real coding tools like Sublime Text, and the new GPU rendering in Illustrator is simply terrible for graphic designers that work with text all the time.

Unless Adobe offers more flexible options and more competitive prices I'm out of CC too. I will not renew my subscription that ends next month.

[pierBover]

So I contacted customer support and they gave me a one year "exception" with a monthly price of 30$ for my anual subscription. Although it's reasonable for all it's suite of products, I still think it's too much for someone that only uses a fraction of their applications.

If Adobe are granting these "exceptions" they must be aware of the unsatisfaction of their customers, and hopefully will have better plans coming up in the next months. If not, unless it's a permanent "exception" I'll be out of CC by next year. Affinity will have ironed their wrinkles by that time.

[Herbert2001]

It only really demonstrates how unfair this digital serfdom's business model is: if they can offer such a deal to you, why not to all users? Do all CC customers have to contact customer support to beg for such an 'exception'? If anything, it sort-of shows that Adobe is using similar tactics as a drug dealer: risk losing your client? Keep the client hooked at all costs: even by providing the product for "free" or at a "discount".

I am aware this type of deal is quite common in regards to subscription type services - but I do not like it. Just a personal opinion.

[Mr_dig_dig]

I received the same offer via email after I didn't renew my cc subscription for 4 months.

[Herbert2001]

Interesting... Adobe must be trying to hold on to each and every CC subscriber - which makes sense, of course: they must prove themselves to the shareholders.

[cakeobear]

Ah, I just sent you a private message, but I could post a message here... Anyway, I was so looking forward to get a second year subscription at $29.99. Looks like there is no more deal for that? I chatted an agent just now and told me to cancel the subscription instead of renewing my existing one. So I can still apply for $39.99. But I really want that sweet deal. Please let me know about the trick to get an exception. Thanks.

[ProDesignTools]

cakeobear wrote:

I chatted an agent just now and told me to cancel the subscription instead of renewing my existing one. So I can still apply for $39.99.

Hi Cakeobear,

By the $39.99 price, are you referring to the Black Friday offer?

So did the rep advise you to cancel and resubscribe with that?

Thanks