Unclaimed: Are you working at Adobe Photoshop?
Adobe Photoshop Reviews: 4.6/5 — Highly Rated
Arguably one of the best-known graphic design software tools used today, Adobe Photoshop is currently the go-to tool of many creative professionals. The software offers feature-rich tools for photo retouching, editing, and manipulation; and gives access to numerous brushes and textures. The platform is well known for having an ever-improving interface, supported by an extensive selection of tools, high customizable dashboards, collaboration options, and efficient file management options.
Adobe Photoshop is also often used as Photo Editing of choice in Marketing and UI/UX Design tech stacks.
| Capabilities |
AI
API
|
|---|---|
| Segment |
Small Business
Mid Market
Enterprise
|
| Deployment | Cloud / SaaS / Web-Based, Desktop Mac, Desktop Windows, Mobile iPad, Mobile iPhone |
| Support | 24/7 (Live rep), Chat, Email/Help Desk, FAQs/Forum, Knowledge Base, Phone Support |
| Training | Documentation |
| Languages | English |
Adobe Photoshop Pros and Cons
- Comprehensive set of tools for touch-up and retouching
- Extensive filters, brushes, and pre-sets
- Advanced color and background manipulation
- Extensive organization and image management tools
- Highly customizable
- Might present a steep learning curve for beginners
- Limited support for vector graphics
Adobe Photoshop is the industry standard for image editing, and the most useful thing a review can tell you is not whether it is good but which plan to buy. Buying Photoshop on its own costs more than buying the Photography plan, which includes Photoshop plus Lightroom and 1 TB of storage. That inversion catches people every year.
- What it is: Professional photo editing software for retouching, compositing, and digital art, available on desktop, web, and mobile.
- Best for: Photographers, designers, and retouchers who need the deepest pixel-level toolset available, and anyone working to industry file-format expectations.
- Pricing: Roughly $22.99 per month for the Photoshop single-app plan, about $19.99 for the Photography plan that includes it, and around $69.99 for Creative Cloud All Apps. See the verification note below.
- The honest catch: Adobe’s annual plans are commitments, not rolling months, and cancelling early typically incurs a fee. Buy the term you actually intend to keep.
What Is Adobe Photoshop?
Photoshop launched in 1990 and has been the default professional image editor for so long that its name became a verb. That dominance is not nostalgia. Layer-based compositing, masking, selection tooling, colour management, and non-destructive adjustment are deeper here than in any competitor, and the file format is what agencies, printers, and collaborators expect to receive.
In recent years the product has expanded well beyond the desktop application, adding web and mobile versions and a large set of generative AI tools built on Adobe Firefly. Generative fill and expand are genuinely useful for retouching work that used to take manual cloning, and Adobe’s position that Firefly is trained on licensed content matters to commercial users who need to know where their imagery came from.
The independent ratings are among the highest of any product we have reviewed, on very large samples: 4.8 out of 5 on Capterra across 2,433 reviews and 4.6 on G2 across roughly 13,210. There is no serious argument that the software is not excellent. The complaints are almost entirely about the commercial model.
How Photoshop Works
- Layers and masks. The foundation, and still the reason professionals stay. Non-destructive editing at this depth has no real equal.
- Selection tooling. Object selection, subject detection, and Select and Mask handle the hardest part of compositing, and successive AI improvements have made this dramatically faster than it was five years ago.
- Generative AI. Generative fill, generative expand, and neural filters, powered by Firefly. Useful for removal, extension, and background work.
- Camera Raw and colour management. Professional colour handling and raw processing that matters for print and commercial delivery.
- Cross-device. Desktop, web, and iPad, with cloud documents syncing between them. The web and mobile versions are capable companions rather than full replacements.
Photoshop Pricing
A verification note first. Adobe’s own pricing pages did not respond to automated requests during this review, and Adobe varies prices by region and runs frequent promotions. The figures below reflect current published US pricing as reported by multiple independent sources in July 2026, and you should confirm them on Adobe’s site for your own region before buying.
| Plan | Approximate US price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Photoshop single app | ~$22.99/month, annual plan billed monthly | Photoshop on desktop, web, and mobile, plus Adobe Express Premium |
| Photography plan | ~$19.99/month, annual plan billed monthly | Photoshop, Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, and 1 TB cloud storage |
| Creative Cloud All Apps | ~$69.99/month | Photoshop plus Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro and the rest of the suite |
The things worth knowing before you choose:
- The Photography plan costs less than Photoshop alone and includes more. At roughly $19.99 against $22.99, it bundles Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, and 1 TB of storage. Unless you specifically need Adobe Express Premium instead, this is the better buy for almost everyone who wants Photoshop, and it is the single most valuable thing to know about Adobe’s pricing.
- Annual plans are commitments. The common “annual, billed monthly” option is a twelve-month contract paid in instalments, not a rolling subscription. Cancelling early normally triggers an early termination fee. Month-to-month plans exist at a higher rate for people who genuinely need flexibility.
- There is no perpetual licence. You rent Photoshop. Reviewers who left cite this directly, and it is a legitimate objection rather than a misunderstanding.
- Storage differs sharply between plans. The Photography plan’s 1 TB is the practical difference for photographers working with raw files.
- Prices move. Adobe adjusts pricing regularly and runs student, teacher, and seasonal discounts. Check for a current offer rather than assuming list price.
A free trial is available, and Adobe also offers a free web-based Photoshop tier with limited functionality.
Who Should Use Photoshop
- Professional photographers and retouchers. The Photography plan is close to an automatic purchase: Photoshop for pixel work, Lightroom for cataloguing and raw processing, at less than Photoshop alone.
- Designers working with agencies or print. PSD is what collaborators expect, and colour management is what printers require.
- Anyone doing serious compositing. Layer and masking depth is unmatched, and no alternative comes close for complex work.
- Teams already on Creative Cloud. If you need Illustrator or Premiere too, All Apps is the sensible route.
It is a poor fit for casual users who crop and adjust holiday photos, where free tools are entirely sufficient, for people who object to subscriptions on principle, since Affinity Photo sells a perpetual licence, and for teams whose real need is quick social graphics rather than image editing, where Canva does the job faster.
Honest Pros and Cons
Strengths
- Unmatched depth. Nothing else offers this much control over pixels, layers, masks, and colour.
- The industry standard file format. Practical value when working with clients, printers, and collaborators.
- Genuinely useful AI. Generative fill and improved selection have removed hours of manual work from routine retouching.
- Excellent ratings on huge samples. 4.8 on Capterra across 2,433 reviews and 4.6 on G2 across over 13,000.
- Cross-device workflow. Desktop, web, and iPad with cloud document syncing.
- Enormous learning ecosystem. Decades of tutorials, courses, and community answers for any problem you will hit.
Limitations
- Subscription only. No perpetual licence, and reviewers cite this as the reason they stopped upgrading.
- Annual commitment with cancellation fees. The most common source of billing complaints, and easy to agree to without noticing.
- A steep learning curve. Reviewers consistently note beginners need real time and tutorial support before becoming productive.
- Demanding on hardware. Large files and heavy filters need a capable machine.
- Confusing plan structure. The Photography plan undercutting the Photoshop plan is the clearest symptom of pricing that is harder to navigate than it should be.
- Support quality is criticized. Slow replies, long holds, and inconsistent resolution appear repeatedly in reviews.
Photoshop Alternatives and How It Compares
- Affinity Photo is the strongest alternative for people who want to own their software, with a one-off purchase and roughly 80% of Photoshop’s capability for most work.
- Canva is not a competitor for editing depth but is faster and easier for social graphics, presentations, and marketing assets.
- GIMP is free and open source, capable but with a less refined interface and weaker colour management for print.
- Pixlr and similar browser tools handle quick edits without a subscription.
- Lightroom, included in the Photography plan, is the better tool for cataloguing and batch raw processing, and pairs with rather than replaces Photoshop.
For a broader view, browse our photo editing software directory.
The Verdict
Photoshop is the best image editor available and has been for three decades, and its 4.8 Capterra rating across thousands of reviews reflects software that genuinely earns its reputation. If your work involves serious compositing, retouching, or professional delivery, there is no real debate about capability.
The decision that actually matters is which plan to buy, and here the answer is counterintuitive: the Photography plan at roughly $19.99 costs less than the Photoshop single-app plan at roughly $22.99, while adding Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, and 1 TB of storage. Unless you specifically want Adobe Express Premium, choosing the Photoshop-only plan means paying more for less. Check both before subscribing.
Then read the commitment terms. Adobe’s headline monthly prices usually describe an annual contract billed monthly, and leaving early carries a fee. That is the source of most billing complaints, and it is avoidable by choosing the term deliberately. If you object to renting software altogether, Affinity Photo is a credible one-off purchase, and for casual editing free tools will serve you perfectly well.
FAQ
How much does Photoshop cost in 2026?
US pricing is approximately $22.99 per month for the Photoshop single-app plan on an annual plan billed monthly, about $19.99 per month for the Photography plan, and around $69.99 per month for Creative Cloud All Apps. Adobe varies pricing by region and runs frequent promotions, so confirm current rates on Adobe’s site. Our automated checks could not reach Adobe’s pricing pages directly, so these figures come from current independent sources.
Is the Photography plan really cheaper than the Photoshop plan?
Yes, and it includes more. The Photography plan is typically around $19.99 per month against roughly $22.99 for Photoshop alone, and it bundles Photoshop, Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, and 1 TB of cloud storage. The single-app plan includes Adobe Express Premium instead. For most people who want Photoshop, the Photography plan is the better purchase.
Can you buy Photoshop outright instead of subscribing?
No. Adobe discontinued perpetual licences for Photoshop, and the software is subscription-only. This is the most common complaint from long-time users. If owning your software matters, Affinity Photo offers a one-off purchase that covers most of the same ground.
Can you cancel a Photoshop subscription at any time?
Not without cost on annual plans. Adobe’s common “annual, billed monthly” option is a twelve-month commitment paid in instalments, and cancelling early normally incurs an early termination fee. A genuine month-to-month plan is available at a higher rate. Choose deliberately, because this is where most billing disputes originate.
What is Photoshop best for?
Professional image editing: retouching, compositing, masking, and colour-managed output for print and commercial delivery. It is the right tool when depth of control matters, and considerable overkill for cropping holiday photos or making social media graphics.
Compare Adobe Photoshop with other popular tools in the same category.
It does anything: layout, typography etc
I dont like that it can be expensive. You do get a lot of features but if all you need is photoshop it can be pricey
I use it for almost every design/video editing project
It has an immense amount of design features that I use on a daily basis
Price could be better, while as a company it’s reasonable I remember being a student needing it and not affording it
It’s literally my most used software, my business would not exist without it
I like the flexibility of the tools, how you are able to customize them according to your preference and needs. Being able to adjust your screen layout is useful and the wide range of options makes it unique in my opinion.
The new pricing stucture for purchasing a per-year/month cloud download instead of buying the products outright as we did in the past. It seems as if they're nickle & diming us for continued use instead of rewarding loyalty to long time users who want to upgrade their current program to the latest editions.
It helps me create graphics needed for my job and I'm able to touch up person family photos as well. There are many freeware options out there that streamline a lot of the processes you can do in Photoshop, but none give the quality and pinpoint design abilities that it can do.
It allows for quality products and better photos to give to my customers. I can use at work or in my personal life. It can be accessed easily on my computer and never had issues loading the software.
It can be difficult to find certain functions to edit the photo. The use of the software is sometimes not the most user friendly and you need to have a training to take advantage of all the features in this software. I luckily had a friend that showed me the features provided to get the most out of it.
Photo editing. The benefits are definitely the type of product at the end because the photos look very professional without using a professional photographer
Once you learn it, it's pretty intuitive. And enough people use it that help is easily accessible online. You can logically figure out a work flow for achieving just about anything with a little patience. Great program for editing images but also for generating your own from scratch.
I say it's intuitive, but sometimes tools or commands don't always make sense with what they do and some are similar or named the same but perform differently. The only way to figure out exactly what they do is to test it.
I've introduced to my office a more involved usage of Photoshop for rendering buildings and spaces. I've learned the quick benefits of being able to alter or quickly highlight documents when edited as a PDF in Photoshop, and the ease of access between Adobe programs in general.
I love the versatility of Photoshop and how intuitive the navigation around the program is. You can start from scratch and build your way up through practice. The things you can do here are limitless when it comes to design. Wether it's an agency job, at a startup or even a fashion magazine, you are able to find all the tools you need to edit, create, diagram, sketch, and build all in one program. I must also say that the new update comes already with several web and printing presets, so that you won't be at a loss when starting up.
A downside of photoshop is that sometimes the updates don't work well with graphic tablets, and you have to install patches to solve them. Also the business license is pricey.
With Photoshop we currently solve our web design department, as we do the UI/UX mockups in the program, and also we use it for regular ad design for google, Facebook and other tech sites. I've realized that it's very easy too use, that's why I highly recommend it.
Photoshop is a staple for all designers. I've been using it for over 8 years and it's intersected in nearly every design project I've come across, from print to web, to film and motion graphics. It's flexible, powerful, and widely customizable to an artists needs.
Can have a sharp learning curve. Takes time and training to fully understand. However there is an unlimited supply of training and tutorials available online or in print.
Powerful and efficient design, photo editing, and compositing tool. Extremely flexible and works for many applications. I've used it for nearly every work related project so far.
It's versatile and can be used for a variety of use cases.
It can be very slow to use when you're working with a large file.
It covers some of our design needs, but we rely on Illustrator and InDesign more.
I love the control over how your end product is. I used to flat and color comic books and now I design ads for my mothers newspaper. I still love coloring and hope to go back to it. The various painting tools and selection tools make my life possible
I wish you could flip the canvas easily like Corel painter. It would make some jobs much easier. The price is very expensive. I got lucky and bought photoshop used on ebay.
It allows for the speedy processing of graphics.
I love the vastness of the software. I have yet to come across something I cant do to an image.
There really isn't much that I dislike about it.
I handle the media and graphic design at our church and having the ability to hop in photoshop and create anything within seconds is a game changer.
I like the color editing and being able to access it from my phone as well.
I wish you could do In Design features in photoshop.
We are using photoshop when something doesn’t look clean to clean it up or make designs more cohesive with color
I love the flexibility of the tools in photoshop– that one tool can be used for multiple different things. The Auto features tend to be more accurate than other photo editing softwares. Editing in Raw is incredibly easy and intuitive in Photoshop.
Photoshop does take up a lot of space on my scratch discs when editing.
I use Photoshop to edit, color correct, and prepare images for print and digital publication.
Photoshop is great goto for specific projects. Designers can quickly go in and create thumbnails, touch up photos, and even embark on more creative works.
I don't really have many issues with the software.
Touching up profile photos, creating thumbnails, unifying website photos.
The best part is that you can control what part of the photo you want to edit
The file sizes should be controlled. If we work by compiling to many files the size of the final image becomes very large and creates issues at some points to share with people
The provide bundles for office PCs. However I have never been on a managerial position so I haven't got a chance to explore other benefits
Some may disagree with me here, but I find it mostly intuitive, and if I don’t know something, it’s very easy learn. Layers are not something one typically thinks they need/want until you’ve used them.
The abundance of features and tools can be overwhelming in the beginning, but you learn to appreciate them. That or ignore the ones you don't use.
Enhanced photos for quality promotional material. The benefits are within the endless ways of altering each facet. The layers allow you to quickly toggle from one to the other for easy decision making on visuals.
I love Photoshop's easy to navigate system and how it feels anything can be created — nothing is impossible — with this software. I use it for everything: photo editing, graphic design, retouching in any degree. On the day to day, we use it to edit the images that run in print and online. Personally, I use it in congruence with Adobe Illustrator to create the house ads and fillers we publish in print, as well as to work with advertisers to create their content that runs alongside ours. I recommend all of my employees use Photoshop, though they're encouraged to use whatever they like best. Most of them do use Photoshop. I love the flexibility and diversity of the software.
It's hard to find something to dislike about Photoshop. I would say that the only thing that initially turned me off is the cost, but after using and experiencing Photoshop, time and time again it proves that it is worth the price.
Photoshop is my go-to software for every job task. It allows me to create beautiful images or graphics quickly and support the company's endeavors with advertisers effortlessly and beautifully. The benefits are endless. Unlike a lot of other editing softwares, Photoshop is so easy to use and functions perfectly across multiple platforms and can export image documents for use across any platform: web, print, etc. We rely on Photoshop and other Adobe systems for everything our production team does. There is no other one software that we can use to achieve all of our business needs.
I love the option to use Creative Cloud for a small monthly fee!
I don't really dislike anything. This is a great product with many great features!
I can make several things myself instead if buying or paying for design
I like the endless possibilities. From print to digital, 3d or motion graphics, Photoshop provides an option to create professional projects in a non-destructive platform.
Photoshop takes a while to learn and has a big learning curve for new users. I wish photoshop came with more fonts and brushes.
Photoshop allows me to create professional marketing material. Adobe provides endless support and access to additional tools and tutorials.
When I can add effects by choosing the area and add text in it, it looks amazing.
It is very heavy and slow when you use online. Sometimes I think I have made a change on an image but it turns out that the change is not made and I notice it when I leave the project.
I create posters for conferences and announcements for department issues.
Best for basic editing of photogarphs, Illustrations and various other image formats.
Cannot handle multiple projects at once and crashes if there is too much to process.
I use photoshop for all my business needs in regards to designing and editing original content.
The best thing about photoshop for web development is the speed and capabilities of creating photo realistic designs quickly. I do a lot of Importing from Illustrator and photos taken to give unique photo realistic effects on designs. I like the brushes and non destructive filters and adjustments.
Some of the advanced filters tie deeply into video drivers and I discover that I need special configuration to use when I am in the middle of things. Turnaround time is fast so I need to find different approaches. Since I use multiple machines it would be nice to know where my hardware is not compatible up front.
I use photoshop from every from UI to PowerPoint presentations. Using photoshop on graphs give presentations a unique pop that other presentations typically do not have.
I use Photoshop for my photography business and I love how easy it is to use! The tutorials are very helpful and its all around a great product. The new update is fantastic. There are plenty of tools for mobile and web design as well!
I dislike the multi-payments vs the one time payment. It stinks that its not cheaper to pay the one time fee rather instead of monthly payments. Also, it lacks support for HEIC.
It solves my lighting issues and I can easily make photos look more appealing to the eye.
There’s nothing like this tool. It’s a great foundation to have for editing projects.
It is quite hard to learn at first. But it does get easier
Once you know all the basics it’s a great tool to navigate through your projects and ideas.
Easy to use, easy to learn, forever upgrading.
No Spell check, besides that I like everything.
Retouching
Easy to use tool that could be used for most photos or signs.
Sometimes it’s hard to navigate how to use all the products
Great for creating new signs or new cards
Intuitive - I like that the adobe suite keeps things constant across all their products
I don’t like that the layers/artboards aren’t the same across indesign/photoshop/illustrator
I’m able to adjust logos and photos for training materials
I love the stamp clone tool! it is the best and easy to use, but you have to be careful not to over do it in order to make things look seamless.
Typing anything and clicking sometimes created an unwanted text box which is annoying.
Creating ads, editing photos, and creating gifs
What I like best about Adobe Photoshop is how many photo-editing features exist within this program. I use it in conjunction with Camera Raw, and it works wonderfully! I also particularly love the History palette, which makes back tracking and undo-ing so easy!
The thing I dislike most about Adobe Photoshop is the fact that some tools are aren't intuitive or self-explanatory as I'd like them to be. I've been using Photoshop for around 7 years now and there are still some tools I have yet to figure out how to use or when to use them.
The main business problem I am solving with Adobe Photoshop is making mockups of our products. It's very easy to switch out different elements within our product mockups thanks to the many blending, cropping, skewing, etc. tools within Photoshop.
Photoshop isn't just about photos. It's a great tool to create full graphics.
Their new pay as you go creative cloud is too expensive.
I am able to do creative work without outsourcing
There are a variety of options and skills to edit photos and graphics
Photoshop is difficult to just walk into, so either training or research is needed to use it properly.
Simple photo correction and size adjustment for media and projects.
