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“What’s the Difference Between Adobe Student Editions vs. Regular?”
What Are the Limitations of the Adobe Student & Teacher Versions?
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Does the student version CS6 expire after one year?
Hi Kimberly, there are two answers to your question depending on which option you’re talking about:
The traditional (perpetual) Adobe CS6 Student Editions as described above do not expire, and will continue to work on your private computer after graduation etc.
The affordable new $19 Creative Cloud Student Edition (which includes all major Adobe tools, the CS6 Master Suite and more) is term-based and renews annually at the lower price based on revalidation of education status.
I am a Web Design student and am trying to decide which would be best for me: CS6 Design & Web Premium Pkg or Creative Cloud. My goaI is to be a Web Designer and edit images. I will obtain an Associate’s Degree by October 2013, what will be the price per month to renew the Cloud if I am not a student next year?
Also, if I buy CS6 Design & Web Premium Pkg, what is your estimated price of upgrading later down the road, and me not being a student? Thank you for your help!
Welcome Courtney, thanks for those questions. For the Creative Cloud, it sounds like you would definitely qualify for the Creative Cloud Student Edition this year (which is currently on special for $19), and then next year you would renew at the regular rate, which is currently $49 in the US.
Don’t worry too much about prices going higher from there – folks who say that are largely perpetuating one the Creative Cloud Myths, and we think it’s likely Adobe’s cloud and subscription rates will continue to fall.
If you were to get a traditional CS6 suite instead then you could upgrade when CS7 comes out but we can’t say what the upgrade pricing will be at that time, Adobe does not pre-announce those sorts of things. Your best bet would be to see what it costs to upgrade to CS6 from older versions now, and then go with that as an approximate estimate.
All product upgrades and early access to new features are included in the Creative Cloud, as you probably already know… It sounds like on the whole, this guide may be useful to you:
Compare Creative Cloud vs. Adobe CS6: Which Is Right for You?
Anyway, hope this helps! If you have any further (or follow-up) questions, just post back.
Thank you for the great information!
Sure Courtney, glad to help – and thanks for your comment.
I have a desktop and a laptop, can I install the cs6 student edition on both… my laptop is for me traveling my desktop is my work area?
Hey there Curtis, you should be able to do that – see:
How Many Machines Can You Install and Use Adobe Products On?
Hi there,
I’m a teacher and just signed up for Adobe’s Creative Cloud subscription, but heck…a lot of questions.
Now, I did tons of search and posts on the Cloud Forum for a question, contacted their online support with effort in a week and yet no real tech solution. I came across your site, and realized you also cover Creative Cloud. So here’s what my real concern is:
If I cancel the Creative Cloud Membership in time, will Adobe’s system remember my computer’s IP and won’t even let me install the CS6 trial anymore? Because I tried to download the CS5.5 trial from your posted link and it denied my access, so no download could be done.
**** Then if I opt to just buy the Adobe educational version of the entire CS6 Master Collection instead, will that be any installation problem later on OR it will be good to go since I’ll have a legitimate serial number? (I signed up with Adobe with my CS4 version, and it simply won’t install on my new MacBook pro, so then I decided to give the Creative Cloud a try, now it’s giving me a headache and wasting lots of time for downloading, installation & not working smoothly – some apps just won’t launch. Thank you very much.)
Hello Georgie, just follow the instructions and list of suggestions on those trial download pages and you should be fine – any problems you were having there are nothing at all to do with the Creative Cloud.
You should definitely be able to install and run the Creative Cloud together on the same computer with earlier CS versions.
If you uninstall the Cloud, then any CS6 applications you have on your machine will revert to trial mode. You get 30 days of free trial mode in total.
Lastly, for the standard CS6 tools, you should be able to later reactivate them with the serial number from a traditional license purchase (like the Master Collection as you said), if you so choose. That’s because you’re just changing the licensing, really.
Hi,
It would be impractical for me to download Adobe products. Is there a disk kit still available and at what cost?
Thanks
John
Yes, absolutely John… Complete boxes and discs are still available for all Adobe products – just see their online store and select “Ship the box to me” instead of “Download.” Prices are the same, although shipping may cost extra.
For those that prefer to download their software instantly (and the majority do), Adobe keeps the programs available in your online account for three years. Still, it’s a good idea to burn or back up the installation files somewhere so you always have them available should you need to reinstall or move the products to a different computer.
@ ProDesignTools
Thank you for clearing things up.
Now just a dumb question…… how do I clear all Adobe cookies on my browser, clear the browser cache too??
Because I followed the suggested steps and still my access is denied for any download at all. Something strange here is happening.
I’m not a guru in the computer system area, a lot of times it’s a simple route to get rid of hidden junk or changing internet settings…but I guess it’s something else this time. I was at 95% of the big download and the internet froze again, and dropped the master collection download and it just denied my access when I start all over again. This happened several times now. What’s your guess?
Thanks.
Georgie, see this list of download tips if you’re still having an issue with downloading your trials… And for how to clear cache/cookies – it depends on which browser and version you have, so just google it for whatever you’ve got.
I am still using Photoshop 6 which worked fine on Windows XP but when I switched over to Windows 7 Home Edition, Photoshop 6 failed to install and I received an error message saying that I need a 64-bit version of Photoshop. How do I go about getting a 64-bit version of Photoshop 6 ?
Thanks, Jon
Hi Jon, do you mean Photoshop 6 (very old) or Photoshop CS6 (new and latest)?
If the former, that would be a 13-year-old program – which was before the advent of modern 64-bit personal computers… Sorry, no such thing exists.
If the latter, then Photoshop CS6 comes in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions – and both should be installed your computer automatically.
If you need to upgrade, students can now get the entire CS6 collection (including Photoshop CS6) for just $19/month if you want.
Hello,
I want to purchase the CS6 Design & Web Premium student edition. My question is, years later when I’m no longer a student, how would I go about upgrading this?
Hey Mags, good question. You can upgrade the student/teacher editions to a newer commercial release just like you can the regular editions – there is absolutely no difference in the procedure or pricing… That’s true whether you’re still a student or not when that happens.
See here for the current pricing of what you might expect to pay.
Do you have a download link for PSE7 Educational version? I tried downloading the regular PSE7 and it did not work…:(
Actually Jessica, we do still have the direct links for Elements 7…
As with all Adobe software, there is no difference in the actual download itself for education – the difference is coded in the serial number and licensing.
@ ProDesignTools
So when I’m no longer a student, I would still be eligible for student upgrades?
As described in the article, there is no such thing as “student upgrades.” There are simply “upgrades,” which are available to everyone – and the price is the same no matter what type of customer you are.
But yes, you would be eligible to upgrade from your student edition after you graduated (or at any time).
Hope that’s clear!
Okay, much clear.
Thanks!
I have 3 children in school. 2 in high school and 1 in middle school. We have 4 Macs in the household and want to get CS6 Master Collection or Cloud.
What would you recommend as the most cost effective way to purchase?
Thanks…
Greetings Tyler, thanks for your question. Each copy of either CS6 or the Creative Cloud can be activated on up to two machines, so long as they are not used at the same time.
The Cloud can also run on both Windows and Mac OS, whereas with CS6 customers can only use a single operating system platform.
As for which one to get, there are different aspects to consider in making a choice… This guide should help you in deciding which path to take:
Compare Adobe CS6 vs. Creative Cloud: Which Is Right for You?
Also note that right now (and into April), Adobe is offering 60%-70% off the regular price of the Creative Cloud Student Edition, which could make a big difference.
Hope this helps!
Hi, I no longer use, or intend to use, my student edition of Dreamweaver CS4. Can I sell on to someone else if I give them the serial number. I have uninstalled it from my machine.
Sorry Michelle – as detailed in the article above, the Adobe student editions are non-transferable.
I tried downloading the CS5 with the link you provided (I had a Student/Teacher version but lost the disc and had to replace my computer’s hard drive). When I put in my Serial Number I get an error message that it’s not valid for this product. Is there a different download link for the Student/Teacher edition?
Is there anything else I can do? I’m hoping you can help!
Hi Kerry, the Adobe software direct download links we post are for all editions of the software, including the education versions… As mentioned in the article above, the only difference is in the licensing determined by the serial number, rather than in the functionality of the program itself.
You didn’t specify the exact product or version number so if you’re getting that error message, it’s possible it may not be the identical version as what you own – perhaps you downloaded CS5.1 or CS5.5 instead of CS5.0 (or vice versa).
@ ProDesignTools
Thank you so much. It was precisely that I needed to download the correct version, which I was able to suss out after contacting Adobe directly to query the version. I might have had to spend a fortune trying to purchase a new one if it weren’t for your informative site. Thank you!
Glad to help Satya, and thanks for your comment letting us know!
Hi, I have just started a 6 weeks course at a big university that offers degrees etc, and from what I have read here and elsewhere this entitles me to the student discount if I was to buy Creative Suite, which is great.
What I am wondering though is whether this is also the case with Creative Cloud, I would like to subscribe to Creative Cloud using the 60%-off student educational pricing. I’ve checked in the signup process and it asks you fill out some details including when your course ends (graduation date). It also says that Adobe may at any time check your eligibility and suspend your account if you don’t meet the criteria (blocking the apps presumably).
The contract is 1 year, so surely you simply need to be a student at the time of sign up but it doesn’t make this clear.
I would be very grateful if anybody knows if I would need to be a student for the whole 1 year or just when I sign up to the annual contract.
Thanks,
Paul
Welcome Paul, and thanks for your question – we’d be happy to definitively clear that up for you. Based on Adobe’s plan requirements, you will receive a 12-month contract and as long as your academic status was valid at the time of initial purchase, you qualify and you’re good.
When Adobe says, “We may verify your academic status at any time and if we find that you don’t qualify, we may suspend your account,” what they mean is that if your student/teacher eligibility was not legitimate when you signed up, then you wouldn’t qualify – and they would reserve the right to not grant you the deep education discounts.
But as long as your school is on the list and you are enrolled there for your class or course, then you’ll be fine with your reduced-price plan no matter what happens from here.
Thanks a lot for your quick answer! …really helpful.
@ ProDesignTools
What if it is unregistered? Is there a way it can be sold if you never activated the original serial number? For example I had the CS5.5 version for 64-bit PC and never opened it or even used it. Could I sell it in that condition and expect the buyer to have use of it?
Hello, the educations products are heavily discounted and for that reason Adobe is quite clear that they cannot be transferred…
For recent purchases, an exchange or refund might be possible.
@squintz
I would suggest you call Adobe on that one. I do know that you can upgrade from that version to an non-student version. Maybe Adobe might, MIGHT. allow you to return it to them. But your best bet would be to contact them directly for the answer to that. Sometimes they do make exceptions but is it VERY VERY Rare and you’d have to be communicating directly to them.
Hi, I’m curious about the listing of a ‘store’ online at ebay that is selling what is billed as the ‘Full Version of Adobe 5.5 Creative Suite Premium for Windows’ (no mention of ‘teacher’s edition’ in ad at top or in details of product on page) from a discount software store that claims it is brand-new, in box with full registration and serial numbers, etc. What’s odd is that there’s absolutely no mention of it being a ‘Student and Teacher’s Edition’, nor is it labeled with any special yellow strip denoting it as such. It retails, apparently, for 1800 bucks, which is about the right price for the full version, (1899.00 when released). It retailed from them for about 550.00, which for older software isn’t out of the question, but was one helluva good deal. I haven’t received it yet, but it’s on the way. I’m not about to open it or register/activate it until I see the box.
I’m a freelancer, home animator, so I’m not about to use it on any computers other than the one I’ve got, which is custom-built and is 64-bit with tons of RAM, so I don’t need to upgrade anytime soon. If if does turn out to be the student/teacher version, should I be concerned that I can’t use it to create web-based content for myself commercially? I’m not about to buy any new software for about a year or two. If it works, and stays working, I’m happy.
Long question shortened, can I use it, or should I return it right away if it is what I think it is and get my dough back from ebay/seller before opening?
Incidently, I’ve never made a dime on anything, I’m out of school for about 3 years now . . . was a truck driver, needed to make a change. Can’t get a job in Vancouver, Canada, so I’m just going to try and see what the ‘net can do for me . . . I’m aspiring to be a political animator a la Mark Fiore in Canada like a zillion other wanna-be’s. On a limited budget, so I can’t be affording to join any ‘Creative Cloud of the Month’ club for now, and prefer to get comfortable with a program and own it. Old school, I am.
Hey Jeff. If a student & teacher edition is legitimate, then it can be used for business or commercial purposes by the owner on their own private computer.
However, as described in the article above, the education editions are non-transferrable – so you could get yourself into trouble with that if the vendor is trying to resell something they purchased for themselves.
Don’t forget that all academic purchases have to be validated through Adobe for approval so they will see what’s going on.
But most importantly, it is highly dangerous to try to purchase any Adobe software off of eBay and we strongly advise against it…
So to answer your “long question shortened,” you should return it for a refund untouched if you still are able to – otherwise it could be a complete loss for you.
Hi, I have a few questions I hope you can answer. If I buy a single product from the CS5 or CS6 range and decide at a later date that I want to upgrade to a suite product is that a valid upgrade path?
What are the current upgrade paths available for CS6?
Adobe say they are going to continue to sell perpetual licenses via their site but I can only see the new CC products on theirweb site. They are pushing this very heavily and it is difficult to navigate away from this and find the perpetual license products to purchase. Do you have any links to these on their site?
I want to start learning Photoshop and Illustrator for my own interest. As I am not a business and do not expect to earn any revenue from my endeavours cost is a big factor. I do not want to use the CC path and am not eligible for student & teacher products which leaves me with the ‘full fat’ pricing option. Am I better off buying just the two individual products or a suite? Is it better to go with PS or PS Extended and where would be the most economical place to purchase my software?
Thanks
Wow, those are a lot of questions. Here are some answers;
It generally isn’t economical to purchase single products instead of a suite, because the discounting with a suite is so large… See the relative prices and discounts here.
You also cannot upgrade from an individual CS6 tool to a suite, so it’s best to make the complete/correct choice upfront.
If you want to buy or upgrade to CS6 instead of the new CC release, then CS6 is definitely still available for purchase direct from Adobe here.
The free CS6 trials are also still downloadable for all, in addition to the free Creative Cloud membership.
As far as upgrade paths: Adobe is only offering a discounted upgrade to CC (Creative Cloud) from CS6 or earlier Creative Suite versions – any product from CS3 through CS6.
By the way, we strongly advise against trying to buy older versions of Adobe software that the company no longer sells – it is extremely risky.
Finally, to start learning the tools we’d recommend these free e-books and/or these free video tutorials.
Hope that helps!
I recently finished my last class and do not graduate for aother few weeks – can I still purchase the Student Adobe?
Yes, you should be able to Marvin. To purchase their discounted student editions, Adobe says to your qualifying education status documentation must be current – however, “current” means within the last six months…
So you should be good. Congrats on your degree!
@ProDesignTools
Thanks very much for the useful information and the links to the tutorials :)
Is it better to get PS or PS Extended with its native 3D capabilities? If I just get PS, will Illustrator allow me to do the same things as PSE – or am I getting my wires crossed?
Thanks
Sure, glad to help. As whether to buy the Standard or Extended version of Photoshop, see this comparison:
What’s the Difference Between Photoshop CS6 vs. CS6 Extended?
The 3D features in Photoshop are really cool, and work so much better and faster in CS6 and CC than they did in CS5 or CS4.
Note that with Photoshop CC, all users will receive the Extended/3D edition – there is no longer a distinction or separation.