Adobe Creative Cloud Review

On capability there is no argument. Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, After Effects and InDesign are the reference implementations of their crafts, they pass files between each other without ceremony, their formats are what every client, printer and freelancer expects, and hiring for them is trivial because the training pipeline runs through the schools.

The generative work landed inside the applications rather than beside them, which is the right place for it. Setup is an account, a downloader and a wait, and the wait is longer than it should be. The money is where the consensus turns hostile. Prices climbed repeatedly, the single all applications plan became a Standard tier that quietly strips web and mobile access and meters generative credits, alongside a Pro tier that costs more than the old plan did, and the annual agreement charges half the remaining term to anyone who leaves early.

That last practice ended in a federal settlement in March, whose terms force the fee to be disclosed up front and cancellation to be made simple. Price sits two tiers under the overall grade for exactly that reason: the work is excellent and the commercial conduct around it is not. Rivals are taking real bites out of it now, and deservedly.