Photoshop is a key tool for most creative pursuits. However, with Adobe’s aggressive subscription pricing model, and the fact that permanent licenses are no longer available, it’s a bit out of budget for many. Photoshop alone costs about $22 per month, and the cost skyrockets if you want other apps on the Adobe suite. Thankfully, there are ways you can get past it and access Photoshop for cheaper and completely free.
Get a Free Trial
Like most subscription services, Photoshop offers a free trial to new users. Unfortunately, the trial is only 7 days, so it’s only really worth using this method to get Photoshop for free if you have a super-quick project you only need a few days for.
Of course, be sure to cancel your subscription before the 7 days are up, or you’ll be in for a shock to the bank account. One way to get around this is by using a virtual credit card service to ensure Adobe don’t have access to your personal bank info.
Share the Cost
If you have an Individual plan, you’re not supposed to share passwords with friends, and Adobe makes it quite hard to do so. You won’t be able to use the account on different devices at the same time, for example, and if Adobe finds out you’re breaking their terms of use, you may be subject to extra charges.
For larger organisations, you can upgrade to a team plan, which gives admin access and connects the team’s accounts, but is often more expensive overall.
Find a Deal
Licenses to Adobe products can be found on sites like Newegg, G2A, and Amazon for lower prices. You’ll have to keep your eyes on the prices - I recommend downloading the Keepa browser extension to track price history on Amazon to ensure you’re actually getting the best deal.
Be careful you don’t accidentally spend money on Adobe Photoshop Elements if you’re looking for the fully-fledged app. It’s not quite as feature-rich as the classic, but more on that later.
Be a Student and Get a Discount
Adobe Creative Cloud for Students and Teachers is one of the best deals you can get if you can prove your affiliation to an academic institution, but it doesn’t mean you’ll only be paying a few dollars for Photoshop access. At the moment, the 1-year student and teacher deal offers 66% off for the Creative Cloud All Apps subscription.
For $19.99 a month, you get everything in the Creative Cloud suite, including Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Illustrator, Lightroom, and InDesign, along with 100GB of cloud storage. It’s great if you’re looking to level up your creative output across the board, but not so much if you’re specifically interested in using Photoshop.
If you decide to be billed annually, you’ll need to pay $239.88 up-front. Further, when the subscription renews you’ll automatically pay $419.88. Be careful, and don’t allow the subscription to renew without knowing the cost. Adobe also reserves the right to change the pricing without notice.
