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“Compare Your Options: Creative Cloud (CC) vs. Creative Suite (CS6)”
Adobe Creative Cloud (CC) vs. Creative Suite (CS6): The Pros & Cons
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I use CS6 for Windows on a desktop at work. I am starting to travel more and looking into getting a laptop as well. Will CC work for business on two Windows computers? Do you think that CC is a better option for me in a corporate setting?
Hi Adrienne,
Yes – as a CC customer you could install and run the software on up to two of your computers, including two PCs, two Macs, or one of each… If you’re upgrading from CS3-CS6, then you would also get a 40% discount on your first year.
If you’re looking for more than one user (i.e., multiple people or seats using CC in your office), then we would recommend the Creative Cloud for Teams product.
Either way, you would have all 15 of the new CC apps, which should be everything you need to create anything you want… You’d also receive full access to the Learn Creative Cloud library with over 200 exclusive tutorial videos from the industry’s best trainers.
Hi,
I heard about the new bundle of CC Photoshop plus Lightroom and I would be greatly interested.
However, something just bothers me.
I live now in the countryside in Europe, and I have a very wacky internet connection. I think this is OK, if I go to some place else to download my software it’s all right, but I wonder if the software needs daily updates or actually requires an internet connection on a permanent basis? As weird as it is, it’s not a broadband connection.
Let me know if it would be possible to get the offer, or if it’s preferable for me to wait until have a broadband connection.
Many thanks,
Sandrine.
PS: BTW, a simple explanation of the internet use of all the features including the Creative Cloud and everything in the package would be very much appreciated!
Salut Sandrine, great to hear from you again!
You ask some good questions. And in fact it’s a common myth that Creative Cloud requires a constant Internet connection…
In fact, for annual memberships the CC applications (like Photoshop and Lightroom) only need to revalidate their licensing online once every 4 months, and it’s very quick and does not require high bandwidth.
So the only time a strong/fast Internet connection is helpful is for the initial download and install of the applications… However, even so, you can still instead request a CC disc/DVD from Adobe and skip the initial download entirely.
And as for the ongoing product upgrades and updates that are included? They are never mandatory, nor are they downloaded/installed without your permission… In other words, you control when/if you upgrade your installed products. In any event, these tools are not updated daily but typically only every 2-3 months.
Bottom line, it should not be a problem for you, even with a slow or sometimes unreliable Internet connection.
Hope that helps, and if you have any other questions then feel free to post back!
This is a very comprehensive comparison list – thank you!
With Adobe CC, are my project files, images, clips, etc on my desktop computer or in the Cloud?
Hey there Bronson, thanks for your question. With CC, your work and data files are on your local disk drive, unless or until you want to put them into your CC folder on the Cloud – where they will be synced with your local copy, and you can also share them with others as desired…
In other words, using the cloud storage is completely optional, and you choose how you want to work with or share your files.
Hello,
I do feel that this comparison downplays the major advantage of CS6, which is something I’ve noticed in Adobe’s own promotion. However, I wasn’t expecting to see a third party comparison look so slanted in the same way.
Your list includes “Buy at a higher price to own a static version” and “Apps continue to run if subscription ends”. These are the only items included that show CS6 to advantage. But even then, the wording is slanted.
“Higher price” is entirely relative—if you DON’T need cutting edge all the time, you will likely be happy with CS6 for years and years to come. Even if you eventually subscribe to Creative Cloud, it will only take a few years of use of CS6 for it to pay for itself in terms of the savings from NOT using CC. So instead you might say “Pay a one-time price for permanent ownership and use of the software.”
Including the phrase “static version” in that line is just adding in a negative from another comparison (the one about updates). You could just as easily do the same thing in reverse and say, “Ongoing product updates included as long as you pay monthly.”
The wording on the latter point (re subscription ending) is such that “N/A” is the entry under CS6. Instead, you might say “Apps are permanently available and running on your machine without additional payments.” Then CS6 would say “YES” rather than the more neutral “N/A”.
I do know that most people are going with CC, and especially most big companies in the industry are going with it. I just wanted to point up the benefits of CS6 a bit more for the casual user. (I may be slightly biased myself as I got one of the very last education-priced copies of CS6 at $450! At that price, of course, I would have to have a major need for the latest cutting edge to want CC instead.) :)
Hey Mike, thanks for weighing in. We don’t have quite enough space in the chart for the length of the phrases you suggest, but basically tried to sum up each key factor in about 40 characters for brevity. Probably there are different ways to put each one of the attributes, and we could bandy about the phraseology of them all. But hopefully most people know already how CS6 pricing works because it’s been around for a while, and likewise hopefully it’s clear that CC is subscription-based.
We didn’t use “one-time” or “pay once” or “permanently” for CS6 because no software will run forever, technology evolves and most useful products eventually need upgrades. So in practice that is really not as big of an advantage as some people imagine, because several years down the road say your laptop crashes and the newer operating system doesn’t support CS6. You may not be thinking that now, but it happens – and forking over $2,000 upfront for a CS6 suite is a big investment to be unprotected going forward.
Also note we never used the term “updates” in the table, but rather “upgrades.” That’s because CS6 may still get occasional updates in terms of bug fixes, but not ongoing product upgrades and new features like with Creative Cloud.
So bottom line if you look at the overall balance of the chart above, the new/modern model sizes up better than the old/traditional one in almost all ways. In the age of instant software App Stores and rapid technology changes, it just makes sense. Yes, some folks are vocal and say they won’t move to CC until Adobe provides long-term file access after a subscription ends, and that will come. But in the meantime, the Creative Cloud is growing fast with 30 million paying customers having joined already.
The list is very biased towards CC. One example: “Hundreds of new features added since CS6” CC Yes CS6 No. Of course CS6 will be a no because of your wording. I will not go line by line, however, because it is futile and pointless. And one of the posters here said that this is one of the most comprehensive lists they’ve ever seen. Wow. Dennis, please. ProDesign, your reply to Mike is a bit more on the side of how biased your list is. Most definitely, CS6 will be behind in terms of technology in 5 years time. But I can see CS6 living for another good 2 to 3 years until a suitable alternative arrives on the market. Many people are waiting for this! This pricing model Adobe has adopted is a tremendous negative. If you don’t believe me, start Googling. The pricing model is far more expensive long-term than the old model, which the majority of software vendors still use. It’s a suck-me-dry model, and it’s right in your face. There’s no denying it. And I’ve used Photoshop CC, and there are very few enhancements that I find helpful vs CS6 for my photo retouching needs, web development needs, and others. And these enhancements by no means makes up for the bloated cost that comes with having a CC license. In fact, CS5.5 or even CS5 is worthy of being suitable for people to do most of their work for years to come. From video effects, 3d texturing, web design, photo retouching and many more, PS CS6 is phenomenal, and putting a spit shine on Photoshop and calling it CC with a rental model is not going to make it any better. What I see Adobe eventually doing is adding as many features not supported in previous versions that you will eventually not even be able to open a CC PSD in CS6. This will happen, and is perhaps only a couple years off. By then, I’m sure a suitable alternative will have arrived on the market.
Wow, that’s a pretty slanted view Daniel and one could even say biased, to use your phrase… Did you find any factual errors in the long comparison list in the article?
You say that you can see “CS6 living for another good 2 to 3 years,” so then is that worth paying $1900 for? (e.g., CS6 Design & Web Premium suite)
So over that three-year window until your suggested alternative appears, the math actually works out better for Creative Cloud – and you get to benefit from complete access to more and newer tools with better features in the meantime…
Like it or not, this is what Adobe says the future is – and most of the 30 million CC customers to date actually do seem to like it (a lot; Creative Cloud is the highest-rated product in their history receiving nearly five stars from users). For those who don’t like it (and don’t mind not having the latest release), Adobe is continuing to sell last-year’s CS6.
Lastly, as to file compatibility between versions – almost all the new CC tools have the built-in ability to save or export back to the CS6 file formats… For example with Photoshop, Adobe says they’ve worked hard over the years to keep the openly-published PSD format as backwards compatible as possible, and in fact someone recently tested saving a complex file in Photoshop CC and had it open in 2010’s Photoshop CS5 without surprises.
So no offense, but we won’t be holding our breath on all those negative statements/predictions.
I was very upset when I purchased CS6 so I could continue to purchase and upgrade into the future only to find out a few short months later that Adobe was discontinuing support for standalone licenses. This was an expensive choice, I feel like I could have been given warning so I could have saved my money.
Hi Morgan, Adobe is continuing to both sell and support CS6 right now and indefinitely into the future, including technical support and bug/security fixes.
You’re right that you won’t be able to upgrade to CS7 because there isn’t a CS7, but if you want to keep your products upgraded going forward then that’s why the company offers an upgrade discount from CS3, CS4, CS5, and CS6 to Creative Cloud – which will always remain up to date.
We wish that upgrade discount were a little larger to adjust for what earlier CS customers might have paid, but it is what it is. There is some fantastic news out for photographers using an older version of Photoshop with the new Photoshop CC + Lightroom 5 Bundle offer available worldwide for only US$9.99 a month.
So i have been weighing my options over the past week and even talked with an Adobe sales rep about going for the cloud. I have been searching the internet for the pros and cons about getting cc or cs6, and i found this website useful on the matter.
I have been using cs5 student/teacher licensing because that is what i was provided with when i was going to school. I graduated over a year ago and i have been looking to go from cs5 to cs6, but of course i cant afford cs6 as much as i want it. So i came across the cloud but i’m still a bit torn between which to get. I do have some concerns such as what will happen to my work if i wouldn’t be able to keep the subscription? are all or most of the programs besides photoshop backwards compatible? i think that if they are backwards compatible that would be great seeing how i have cs5 and can open them or modify them that way. are the prices of the subscription subject to change?
Either way as a graphic designer, i have to stay on top of the latest software and cc seems the way to go for that – and at the same time owning cs6 as a back up wouldn’t hurt in the event that paying a monthly subscription can no longer be done due to financial issues… any suggestions would help.
Thanks in advance
Hello Denise, thank you for your comment and sorry for the delay in response…
In order to answer your good questions completely, we actually wrote a new guide on this exact subject:
Are Creative Cloud (CC) Files Compatible w/ CS6, CS5, CS4 & CS3?
Hope that helps!
@Mike
I quite agree.
I can’t afford either at the minute. But once I can, I will be buying CS6. Then I will have it forever.
As it is, because I’m not currently paying a subscription, I can’t open my files. (This is not a problem, but it could be)
Be careful, just because you “own” it forever, doesn’t mean you can run it forever… Hardware and operating systems evolve, then old programs aren’t supported – so for most people, static software has a usable lifetime.
That will never happen with CC obviously because it will always be updated and upgraded for the latest platforms and with the best new features and evolving technologies.
About opening your files? Well, the free level of Cloud membership (which you retain permanently) will always open all your files.
So will third-party applications like XnView (and others) because formats like PSD are published specifications.
Similarly, you can use the preview and display capabilities of Adobe Bridge CC, which is free for everyone, for life.
Adobe will also be resetting a new round of free CC trials every year that will work fully and open your files for 30 days (or even 60 days). And there’s always a month-to-month membership if you need to do more work.
I was told by a mac-book dealer that one can only get about 10% production using cs6 on the latest mac-pro laptop or Imac because of the operating system or Haskell processor? In other words cs6 operates 90% slower than the cloud, on these new apple computers, for some technical reasons???? Would you know about this???
No, never heard anything like that before and not even sure what it’s talking about because both the CS6 and CC versions are standard desktop applications installed locally on your computer, not “running online” in the Cloud…
See: The 10 Most Common Myths About Adobe’s Creative Cloud
There are some tools in CC that are definitely faster than in CS6 – InDesign and Flash Pro are two notable ones:
What’s New in Adobe CC? The Differences Compared to CS6
Lack of Fireworks is my essential CON !! Adobe doesn’t understand Fireworks at all. They don’t see the difference between FW, PS and AI – they want their tools to do everything. I have a saying – a jack of all trades is master of none.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Bartek. While Adobe isn’t doing major new development on Fireworks, here is what the company says about the future of the product…
Importantly, the latest version Fireworks CS6 continues to fully work and be available for download and use by Creative Cloud members.
To ProDesign,
Adobe could offer CS6 license users who are subscribing to the Creative Cloud the option to upgrade any CS6 Suite and offer them an up-to-date version release when they stop subscribing to the CC service say after a two-year contract term, this could be linked into the serial number of the software purchased by its owner.
Well, last year the company said they were looking at this:
“With regards to file access, Adobe completely agrees that customers should have access to their files if they choose to stop their Creative Cloud membership. Our job is to delight our customers with innovation, but there are a number of options open to us here …”
So whether they ever offer any sort of buy-out option, or some other kind of mechanism to continually open/view files (besides the Cloud itself), we’ll see.
But importantly, it isn’t stopping the adoption of the CC release.
With the CC membership for $9.99/month can you use the silhouette tool?
Yes Beth, those are the standard, latest, fully-functional desktop versions, and you can use all tools and functions.
I subscribed to the monthly creative cloud in Dec. I am paying $29.99 per month. I noticed it is now down to $19.99 per month. How do I get my monthly charge changed?
Thanks,
Joy
Hi Joy, are you a student or teacher? The current CC special of $19.99 a month is available only for education customers.
Regardless, we don’t know if you can change your monthly price once you’ve made your annual commitment… You can try contacting Adobe (via live online chat is usually the easiest) to see what they say about it, if you like.
The software cost and evolving enhancements sound like a fair advantage.
What would really help me decide would be the hardware requirements from moderate to optimal performance.
I am currently the gatekeeper for the computer purchases and software approvals.
I did see a comparison yet it left me wondering if the specs would differ depending on CC or CS6 based on a ease-of-functionality point of view.
Please advise.
Hey there Steve, from time to time we help users with older machines and so go back to using older versions like CS6… We can definitely say that both the performance and ease-of-use for virtually every product has improved since CS6.
Adobe has generally streamlined and improved the user interfaces and continues to increase deep GPU support within the CC products. The applications are smoother, faster, and better-looking. You also benefit from regular upgrades included in the price, keeping your tools fresh, relevant and useful.
So on the whole, we would not want to go back to using the older releases if we had a choice.
Finally, on hardware requirements, here are Adobe’s official system specs for CC 2014.
Hope that addresses your question – if not then just post back!
So CC will have all the tools and features of CS6?
Yes, absolutely – and much more.
Hi! So I recently had a conversation with one of my brothers’ friends about my associates degree I’m currently working towards (Fine Arts/Animation) and he told me about this CC and CS6 program. He said if I plan on going into those fields then I should become familiar with CC or CS6. My question is if I’m studying to be a animation/graphic design student, would this be the right program to purchase?
Yes Rosie, probably Adobe tools are going to figure large in your future… Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign – these are the industry-leading programs in graphic design. And After Effects, Edge Animate, Flash Pro – these are the leading programs in animation.
So you might want to download a free trial of the Adobe CC (Creative Cloud) release and see what it’s all about. Here also is a quick list of all applications included in the bundle.
This introductory article should help as well:
The New Adobe CC 2014 Release Is Here – What You Need to Know
Good luck in your studies and degree!
I see that purchasing a monthly subscription allows you to put the software on two computers… If one of those computers quits working or you get a new one, can you easily transfer a subscription to another machine (CPU or Laptop)?
Yes, definitely Vic – see this guide for instructions on how to do that:
How to Move Adobe CC or CS6 Between Computers, or from PC to Mac
Hi, I have a valid NHS card and need to purchase Adobe Creative Suite (Mainly Photoshop, Indesign & Illustrator).
I was just wondering if I can buy a version (doesn’t have to be the latest) without having to make monthly installments (as I can’t afford this right now).
Thanks
Yes, if you prefer it then Adobe still sells the old standalone perpetual licenses for CS6, which came out in 2012…
You can buy the CS6 products direct either for regular customers or for student/teacher (education).
Hope that helps!
I am only looking to use photoshop for making T-shirt design graphics. From a novice approach, which option would be best for me: the standalone solo program or out-of-the-box software?
Well Shan, there are many factors involved – so the answer really depends on all the different options outlined in the article above: which are right for you?
You can still buy Photoshop CS6 from Adobe, but can you manage the upfront cost of it? And do you mind having software that is over 3 years old now?
Or would you prefer a subscription to the latest-and-greatest versions of both Photoshop and Lightroom, included with the new CC Photography Plan that costs US$9.99 a month?
As stated in the table above, with CS6 you own a static version that does not expire. With CC instead, the software continues to run so long as you maintain your subscription, and you get ongoing product upgrades included at no extra cost.
For more pros and cons, review the various attributes in the table and please feel free to ask any follow-up questions.
I was wondering if retired teachers still qualify for the educators discount?
Hello Lydia, thank you for sharing your thoughts. At this time, Adobe does not offer special pricing for seniors or retirees – most discounts are extended only to students and teachers (within six months).
However, if you wanted to consider enrolling for a class at your local community college or similar institution, then you could well qualify to buy these products at the much lower education rates, which can be 60-70% off the regular prices.
Sorry there isn’t a direct answer for you at the moment, but trying a solution like that could even pay for itself… Or if you just need Photoshop and Lightroom, you could go with the CC Photography Bundle, which has a standard price of just $9.99/month.
Thanks for asking and sharing your feedback!
So CC is better than Cs6 in all products?
Hi Keval, CS6 came out in 2012. CC 2015 is now the third major release past CS6, and has since added thousands of new features and advancements all across the product line… See this page for more details:
What’s the Difference Between Adobe CC 2015 vs. CS6, CS5, CS4, CS3?
If you want to see for yourself, feel free to download a free CC trial and install it on your desktop computer. The trial versions are fully-functional for up to 30 days (or possibly longer).
This list seems kinda… biased. No, nevermind, this list IS biased, very very biased. The choice in words, categories, everything is written to make CC look strong and Suite weak. A complete Strawman argument.
Anyway, it doesn’t convince me that I need CC even now. My school uses suite and I’ve done a lot of things in suite, it doesn’t feel like anything is rally lacking and the few problems I do come across can be looked up on youtube. I still don’t understand why people would choose another bill over a finished product, I mean if I could buy a lifetime of tv without exception rather then pay month to month I totally would.
The list is completely factual. If you find anything incorrect or inaccurate, please let us know. But the reality is that CC offers a lot of advantages over CS, which are outlined specifically in that table, point by point.
Creative Suite is history – Adobe ceased selling CS6 standalone on their website last year. The reason is because it’s over 4 years old now (from spring 2012) and increasingly unsupported; they stopped releasing updates for it last summer as the newer CC rapidly grew and took over. With the CS6 software EOL and end of support, there are no updates, no bug fixes, and no guarantees it will run on future operating systems. So at this point we’ve stopped recommending it as a good or viable option going forward.
By contrast, with CC all ongoing upgrades, compatibility updates and product additions are always included – so becoming obsolete will never happen. The monthly payments are also more budget-friendly in the new model than in the old CS model – where the software used to cost many hundreds or often thousands of dollars upfront, and never evolved.
As for why choose Creative Cloud over the old Creative Suite programs, one important reason is because there are countless new time-saving features and performance improvements added to later versions of CS and then now CC. For most professionals, it doesn’t make sense to use 5+ year old software when the latest products do so much more – and better/faster. Time is money, after all.
@Ron
I have to agree with Ron here. The list is biased, flatly. Whether that is a bad or a good thing depends on your point of view, but please don’t pretend it is unslanted objective comparison.
Some examples of rephrased categories that would slant the other way would be:
App will never stop working due to a missed payment or payment issues.
Works on an internal system (intranet) without ANY internet connection needed, ever.
Use is not dependent upon another company’s future decisions about pricing models or changes in prices.
Application doesn’t need to “phone home” to continue to work.
Benefit from the old long-tested and proven greatest release, CS 6.
The last point is obviously ludicrous, right? But, so is “Benefit from the latest/greatest release, CC.” Talk about “begging the question” (in the formal logical sense). Any list that includes THAT as a bullet point for comparison rather forfeits any pretense at objectivity.
A REAL comparison should assume the reader understands the difference in *purchase model* between CS 6 and CC, and should stick to describing some of the “Over 1,000 new features added since CS 6.”
Are there ANY removed features? (There must be some, right? No matter how unimportant or useless they may seem to you.)
How many of the new features actually enable something that was flatly impossible in CS 6, instead of just a little more difficult?
These are questions that a REAL comparison of CS 6 and CC should answer.
In fact, Adobe does also offer solutions for Creative Cloud if you have machines that are offline permanently, or offline for extended periods (such as six months or longer).
This article may help dispel any other misconceptions about CC:
The 10 Most Common Myths About Adobe’s Creative Cloud
Overall, by virtually any measure, Creative Cloud has been a remarkable success – even exceeding Adobe’s own expectations.
Never before has the company had 30 million customers all using the exact same release of their creative products – not even with any version of Creative Suite (ever). And all CC customers receive ongoing upgrades moving forward, so this version unity will continue – and is extremely powerful.
There have now been three major releases of CC since CS6 (in 2012), and all were sold side-by-side against CS6 on Adobe’s website. Customers overwhelmingly (by large margins) chose CC over CS6.
As for new features and tool improvements, there have been thousands. We use CC 2015 every day here and would never want to have to go back or live without all the great capabilities that have been added since CS6 in many of the key applications.
Finally, because of the low cost of entry, CC has been able to introduce significant numbers of new customers to Adobe, as well as reduce piracy. Adobe CFO Mark Garrett recently said this at the 2015 Global Technology Conference:
All in all, looking at the actual facts and figures, CC has been a huge success – much bigger than some wanted to believe – and is poised to grow still larger as Adobe continues to expand the countries it is offered and available in.
So I’ll be able to open and edit all my CS6 files (mainly PSD and InDesign) in CC?
Then, would I just need to “Save Down” to CS6 when I need to work on my other office computer?
Hey Toby, it varies somewhat for each Adobe tool so this guide should answer all your questions:
Can You Open/Use/Export/Save Adobe CS6 Files on CC – and Back?
Hope that helps.