Adobe Extends 40% Discount on Creative Cloud for Education Users

[UPDATE (May 2013) – The 60%-70% discount is back! Get the CC Student & Teacher Edition for just $19.99/£15.88/€19,99/A$14.99 a month, with no coupon code required.]

The regular pricing for Adobe’s new Creative Cloud all-in-one offering is US$50/month with an annual membership. Recently, the company extended their introductory offer for existing CS customers, which gives a 40% discount off that price…

How about for education customers? On price, the offer is similar – all students and teachers can now pay just US$29.99/month with an annual plan (under $1/day) – but importantly, no previous ownership of any Adobe product is required and no coupon code is necessary.  Outside of North America, it’s an even greater level of reduction at £22.46 or €30,74 or A$24.99 per month (including VAT), which is up to 52% off.

Get every CS6 tool — everything in the entire CS6 Master Collection — plus more, including exclusive new products and features whenever they’re released — at a special rate for students and teachers… Just $29.99 a month.

The alternative for academic customers is to get the traditional Student & Teacher Editions of CS6, which are offered at up to 75% off the normal commercial prices – and these run from $119 to $999 for a perpetual license depending on the product. These editions require academic validation once up front at the time of purchase, and then can be used indefinitely. Outside of that, there are a few restrictions.

So which route is best for you? In terms of features and functionality, there is no difference between the education version of the Creative Cloud and the regular one. The only distinction is that academic eligibility verification is required at the time of of purchase and again at your yearly renewals to retain the school discount.

If you’re trying to decide which path to choose, there are different pros and cons to consider for each option. For example, the Creative Cloud can be installed on both Windows and Mac OS and in multiple languages, whereas the traditional software is locked to one of each. If you prefer to go with the standard CS licensing, that’s fine as it works the same way it always has. If instead you’d like to jump in with the full Creative Cloud (or even just with a free level of membership), Adobe has been adding excellent value there.

Here’s a guide to help compare:

Adobe CS6 Traditional vs. Creative Cloud – Which Should You Choose?

While Adobe continues to offer standard CS licensing as before, many customers are signing up to use more of the latest applications through the Creative Cloud.  The Cloud already includes all the Creative Suite 6 desktop programs plus many other useful tools and services. Adobe Muse, Business Catalyst, and Behance ProSite are in there for easily creating and hosting your websites, as well as Lightroom 4 (for photo­graphy) and the Digital Publishing Suite (for creating unlimited iPad apps) at no extra cost to members, plus a newer version of Acrobat Pro (version XI released in October).

In addition, members get many hours of free training from industry leaders, plus exclusive access to some newer application features before they ship in the next CS release, including some great new features for Photoshop unavailable in CS6. And recently they announced the surprising move of making the full permanent version of new Adobe Edge 1.5 completely gratis for all members, even free members – and everybody can download that today.

Which path is right for you? If you go with the perpetual licensing, you pay a higher cost upfront for a static version of the software. If you go with the Creative Cloud, there’s a world of the latest/greatest tools you can use – all the best Adobe has to offer now and in the future – plus other benefits at an affordable monthly price point.

Check this helpful FAQ for 90 frequent questions about the Creative Cloud, including about managing your membership and more:

The Adobe Creative Cloud FAQ – Your Top Questions Answered