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“Why Creative Cloud Gets Free Upgrades but Adobe CS6 Doesn’t”
Why Creative Cloud Gets Ongoing Upgrades and Adobe CS6 Doesn't
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It would have been nice if they had been clearer about it from the start. Faithful customers have been getting a wrong message.
Thank you for explaining this in a way that Adobe hasn’t!
Well, this is helpful, but honestly I don’t mind it too much. The way I look at it is the Cloud folks are doing the beta testing for me now with these new features… then I’ll get the chance to decide if I want to pay for them myself next year. :)
I also have a colleague who is currently a subscriber. He is happy too with how it’s working out for him with the cloud, so maybe it’s a win-win.
My explanation is much more straightforward: Adobe is mainly interested in our money! A subscription on this ‘cloud’ thing costs a lot more (euro’s) than upgrading to a newer version of a normal license in the 18 month cycle; no wonder they need to keep those cloud customers ‘happy’. And remember that one now has to upgrade every time to be eligible for an upgrade of a traditional license, no more skipping an upgrade and still be eligible like before this new ‘policy’. To further improve earnings it was a logical next step to reduce the cycle from 18 to 12 months.
Hi Dick, how does it cost more? We have clients here who used to pay US$2,600 for a one-time copy of the Master Collection… Now instead they pay $50/month and get even more tools (about $10,000 in value for the different products included in Creative Cloud), plus the upgrades are free so they will always be able to use the latest-and-greatest versions of those tools for the same price.
If you do the math, the breakeven on $50/month vs. $2,600 comes out to 52 months – meaning if you’re planning to use the software for up to four years, then you are far better off going with the Cloud. The figures are different in other currencies, but the math should be similar.
Adobe is actually making much less from these cloud sales than normal. In fact, their reported earnings the past two quarters were short of analyst estimates. What they are hoping here is that Cloud customers find good value in the offering that they want to keep subscribing. But in any event, the Creative Cloud is option and not a requirement, and you can buy/upgrade your tools the traditional perpetual way if you prefer.
When looking at just Photoshop CS6 the math I worked out is like this. An upgrade to Photoshop CS6 costs €277.09. Photoshop in ‘the cloud’ will cost €24.95 per month, that equates to €299.40 per year, €449.10 for 18 months and 598.80 for two years. (This is of course assuming Adobe does not change their subscription rates after your initial contract expires…)
Well sure, if you would only use one single tool then it works out better to not pay for over 20 of them in the Creative Cloud – so in your case, just get the one you want instead… And that won’t cost more either, since Adobe has not increased prices on the traditional licenses.
Also, it’s different for those customers coming in from scratch compared to those owning previous products, because of the availability of upgrade pricing. In other words, the calculation on whether the Creative Cloud is better versus traditional licensing changes if you already have a significant investment made into a recent perpetual version of the software. For more on this, see:
Creative Cloud vs. Creative Suite 6 – Which Is Right for You?
Thanks very much for this explanation. I wasn’t upset in the first place—unlike many others, it seems :) — but this increased my understanding of the “reasons why.”
Actually, it seems to me that Adobe has omitted a very obvious step from this change-over: the ability to subscribe to Creative Cloud at a much lower rate and ONLY have access to the Cloud-only apps. In other words — a way for the permanent-license purchasing customers to carry on with their permanent licenses, and ALSO pay a very much smaller monthly fee to get that extra functionality they need in the Cloud (Edge and Muse, specifically). Or have they in fact made that possible and I just haven’t heard about it?
Speaking of which, I do seem to recall reading somewhere on this site that it’s possible to just get the one tool you need in the Cloud for a lower rate. I recall Photoshop, definitely, being mentioned, and I don’t know what other products that applied to, if any. However, I couldn’t find this plan on Adobe’s site. IS that possible? If I, for instance, just want InDesign (not the whole Creative Cloud), can I pay a lower monthly rate to get just access to that one app?
If so, is that possible for ANY Adobe product — to just get access to the one instead of Creative Cloud — or just a couple? Is it possible for Muse or Edge? Is there a list somewhere, with rates?
Thanks for all your work to clarify and communicate Adobe’s policies and products.
Thanks Mike, those are really good points and questions actually, appreciate that. Here are some answers for you:
First off, anyone at all (traditional owner or not) can sign up for a completely free (for life) level of membership to the Creative Cloud – which includes some of those tools and services you mention (actually about 10 in all) – see this article for more details (and how to get it):
How to Join Adobe’s Creative Cloud for Free
AND, included in those free Cloud tools is in fact, Adobe Edge 1.0 – the full permanent and perpetual license – get it now while it lasts:
Download FREE Adobe Edge Animate 1.0 + 500 Free Web Fonts
As to your other questions, about single product subscriptions. Yes, this is in fact very possible – for any of those Adobe programs, including Photoshop, InDesign, Muse, etc. – the offer is called Single-App Membership, and it typically runs $19/month for a subscription to the latest version, with all upgrades included… Here is the complete price list for all tools as well as more details:
Creative Suite Subscription Editions Now Available
Thanks again for your feedback Mike, and hope this helps! Feel free to post back if you have any further questions.
Well, if these guys want me to upgrade every two years, then they better make sure there are some DAMN GOOD new features. I’m talking to you, Flash.
I was just checking the reviews for Creative Cloud, I wanted to see what people thought of it compared to CS6. I found this page on Adobe’s site and it seemed pretty glowing:
http://www.adobe.com/products/creativecloud/reviews.html
What has your experience been? Is that accurate?
Welcome Arthur, thanks for your comments. We use Creative Cloud every day of course and love it, wouldn’t want to go back… We’ve seen the page you posted with all the CC reviews (all from real customers BTW) and guess they are feeling the same way – almost 5 stars out of 5!
If you’re looking for more information on making a decision between getting the Creative Cloud over CS6 traditional, check out our guide:
Adobe CS6 vs. Creative Cloud: Which Should You Get?
Hope this helps! Just post back if you have any additional questions.
What guarantee do we have that Adobe is not going to raise the cost of the monthly payments for Creative Cloud? They may say they are not going to, but they can if they want to.
It may sound like it cost less with promotions etc, but it can actually cost more if you don’t use all the products or if Adobe raises the prices later – which they will in the future [even if Adobe says is not going to] if they get enough people to sign up for the cloud.
It’s simple, Adobe wants to make the cloud monthly payments attractive now so that they can do whatever they want later. Adobe wants everyone to go on the cloud. This will make them more money down the road.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Willie, but you actually have the equation backwards… See Myth #6 here:
The 10 Most Common Myths About Adobe’s Creative Cloud
I had some of the same concerns at the outset, because these facts were not clearly delineated. I have now been on “The Cloud” for 10 months and I would not go back to the old model of software. I have had nothing but joy, delight and rock -n- roll with this model of software delivery. And we ain’t beta testing, we are getting software already beta tested, and if a bug comes up, it gets squashed.
This is the way it should be :)
P.S. the cost model saves me money over the 18-month traditional model.
A very satisfied customer
That’s really great to hear Kevin, and thanks for weighing in.
Generally, the Creative Cloud has been getting near-5-star reviews from customers, so it sounds like your experience is not unusual.
Currently have CS5.1. It was recently corrupted and I am having difficulties restoring it’s essential daily operation/utility on my newly installed Mountain Lion OSX system, partially because there was a recommendation from Adobe help site to uninstall and then re-install it.
As I understand it, a subscription to CC for the reduced cost @ $19, will enable the download of the latest Photoshop release, as well as LightRoom which is also a part of my installation… Will I also have the opportunity to use Illustrator…or that require the purchase of Illustrator license?
Also will it be possible to use these apps on Windows 7 unit that meets app spec requirements?
Hey Bob, yes – with Creative Cloud you get everything: all the new CC applications including Photoshop and Illustrator, plus Lightroom, InDesign, Premiere, Muse, Acrobat Pro, online storage, web hosting, and many more.
See what all subscribers get contained in Creative Cloud.
If you want, you can join the Cloud for free to get 30-day full access to these new tools, and then decide if you want to purchase after that.
We also have the CC direct links if you just want to quickly download & try any one or two of the products.
Finally, yes – Adobe CC should definitely support your Windows 7 platform… per the complete minimum system requirements.
I also have used CS6 and Lr for a number of years – and could not live without it. HOWEVER, considering the strategic change to Cloud:
What happens if ADOBE were involved in mergers, bankruptcies, changes of ownership or strategies, is “run over by a bus”? Or, simply brought down, either accidentally or malicious intruders, for a period of time longer than the 90 days confirmation time?
CC subscribers would be left hanging – since there exists no assured way of securing the actual the software for a user, independent from what may or may not happen on the ADOBE master side.
There is no reason to question ADOBE’s integrity, however, our general economic reality of late has been “Que sera, Que sera,” as the song goes.
I would appreciate it if ADOBE would comment, please.
Well Dietrich, if something like that were to happen to the Internet, then our guess is we’d have much bigger problems on hand than to worry about how our Photoshop ran…
But if it helps, Adobe will be extending the revalidation period to up to 180 days, or six full months that all the CC tools can run on your desktop without any disturbance or online connection.
Thanks for your reply.
However, that does not address my question, namely, what happens if ADOBE, beyond its control, is unable to deliver CC even after 180 days? I can run CS6 and Lr5 at any time from my DVDs completely offline, unconnected and independent from the Internet. CC would not allow me to do this. Has ADOBE provided for any contingency plan for such case at all?
No, we haven’t heard of one – but if the Internet being down for 180 days straight keeps you up at night, then sorry there’s nothing we can say here to help you…
We will say that this type of fear is not shared by most people, as we just heard today that 30 million customers have already signed up for Creative Cloud.
Obviously, you are not addressing my question. I do not worry about the Internet being down. And certainly, that idea does not keep me up all night. Please read the question. The question I am raising has nothing to do with the Internet. It has to do with ADOBE and situations where / if ADOBE should be unable to continue supporting CC.
For good reasons are the US DND’s, etc. switching to LINUX, so as to control software and systems they depend on – regardless and independent from the worldwide net. Similarly, as it stands, a user has not control over the applications if ADOBE were unable, for some reasons whatever, to support CC.
I would really appreciate it, if I would be able to receive a concise reply to a straight question, as opposed to navigating round it without any relevance. Thank you.
We did read the question. Your precise question was, “what happens if ADOBE, beyond its control, is unable to deliver CC even after 180 days?”
So clearly you seem to be worried about some infrastructure not being able to provide any service or revalidate CC for six full months. Sorry, but such a thing has never happened to a major company in the history of computing, and is extremely unlikely to ever happen – so honestly it’s not really worth our time entertaining idle, trolling questions such as this one.
For anything else, please refer back to the “myths” link in our first response – thanks.
@ProDesignTools
How is “what happens if Adobe goes out of business?” a “trolling question”? No “major company in the history of computing” has ever gone out of business? NeXT, Sun, Claris, Macromedia, and other significant software companies have disappeared, sometimes with someone else taking over support for their software, sometimes without. And many, many smaller companies have disappeared and left customers holding the bag when it comes to software support, or even rendered software useless because it needed to talk to servers. Is Adobe /likely/ to go out of business any time soon? No, Is it /possible/? Yes. If they were still releasing perpetual-license products, we’d at least be able to use whatever the last version was until an OS update broke it.
This is by far the most successful and widely-adopted creative software in the world, ever… Sorry, there are a lot of things in the world we worry about, but the notion of Adobe going out of business with no future for Photoshop is not one we lose sleep over.