Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Best Adobe Photoshop deals: Get the photo-editing software for free

Being in the creative field essentially means that you’re likely going to be using Adobe Photoshop and other Adobe products, considering they are some of the most popular and widely used. Unfortunately, they are quite expensive, and while there are some great Photoshop alternatives, a lot of folks aren’t used to them, and they don’t always have all the features you may need. Also unfortunate is how expensive Adobe products can get, which is why we’ve collected some of our favorite Adobe Photoshop deals below to help save you at least a little bit extra.

You may also want to consider grabbing yourself one of these laptop deals or desktop deals to upgrade your PC to handle the latest Adobe Photoshop features more smoothly, and this is a good step if you’re moving to a more professional setup.

Adobe Photoshop free 7-day trial

Photoshop on iPad
Adobe

If you’ve never used the tool before or you just need to do something quick and don’t want permanent access, you can always utilize Adobe’s free trial offer. You’ll get access to Photoshop on desktop and iPad, including Adobe Express, and you can take advantage of free tutorials, fonts, templates, and much more. Plus, for the trial period you’ll get up to 100GB of cloud storage. After the trial, it’s $23 per month to retain access if you want it — that’s just Photoshop.

Adobe Creative Cloud: All Apps students & teachers discount — $20 per month, was $60

Adobe Creative Cloud Suite apps list
Adobe

While it’s pretty tricky to get Adobe to discount its subscription services, students and teachers are always eligible for a discount with Adobe. Adobe offers cloud access to most of its excellent photo-editing and creative apps, which allows you to utilize the tools across platforms like the iPad, desktop, and mobile. Cloud specifically comes with all Adobe apps such as Illustrator on iPad, InCopy, Adobe Lightroom Classic, Prelude, Animate, After Effects, Photoshop on the iPad, Audition, Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro, InDesign, Dreamweaver, Adobe Dimension, and much more. Plus, with your subscription you get 100GB of cloud storage. You’re billed monthly and you can cancel anytime. Right now, Adobe’s students and teachers discount for its All Apps subscription is just $20 per month for the first year and $30 per month thereafter. You can take advantage of a free 7-day trial for the Creative Cloud All Apps access as well.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2024 — $100, or upgrade for $80

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2023 PC and Mac box art
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Designed for everyone, meaning you don’t have to be adept with photo editing software to use it, Adobe Photoshop Elements makes image and photo manipulation a cinch. You can utilize 61 fully-guided edit tools, craft personalized creations from scratch, or leverage the Abode Sensei AI tech to do the heavy lifting — like adding animated overlays. This bundle does not include a DVD or physical copy but a prepaid card with a redemption code for digital access. It works with both PC and Mac computers. It’s one-time use providing local access with no need for a subscription. Licensed Elements users can also access the web companion app, and get 2GB of cloud storage.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2024 & Premiere Elements 2024 digital bundle — $150, was $200

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2023 and Premiere Elements 2023 bundle box art
Image used with permission by copyright holder

This digital bundle, for Windows computers, offers two Adobe Photoshop products, including Photoshop Elements 2024, and Premiere Elements 2024. Both tools make photo editing easier for everyone, with Premiere Elements offering more advanced solutions. You can take advantage of one-click subject selection, to manipulate photo content quickly, erase distractions, quickly touch up facial features, create collages, and much, much more. Plus, the companion app is included, with web editing access for licensed users, and up to 2GB of cloud storage.

A beginner’s guide to Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop has been around for decades and has evolved a lot during that time. The popular, full-featured Photoshop program that most of us think of when we think of this software is now part of the Creative Cloud suite, which is a larger bundle of Adobe programs designed for professionals. That said, you can still get Photoshop by itself if you wish, or Photoshop with some other Creative Cloud apps, without paying for the whole bundle (although although at about $20 per month for Photoshop alone, buying one of the above Photoshop bundle deals is a much better value overall). Just bear in mind that these programs, including the standard Photoshop app, are subscription-based.

For those after something a bit more pared-down, however, as well as for casual users who don’t want to be tied to a monthly or yearly payment plan, there is Adobe Photoshop Elements. Originally released with Adobe Photoshop 6, Photoshop Elements is a simpler software suite that’s more geared toward photo editing and simple graphic design tasks rather than for serious professional work. It’s naturally cheaper and it doesn’t follow a subscription-based payment model. Like pretty much all Adobe software, both Adobe Photoshop Elements and the Creative Cloud software packages are available for both Windows and Mac.

Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe Creative Cloud is a suite of multiple editing apps — think something akin to Microsoft Office, except even more expansive — that contains the full-featured Adobe Photoshop graphic design program along with a bundle of other software. The full Creative Cloud umbrella covers apps like Lightroom, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, and Premiere, to name only a few of the most popular, and follows a subscription-based structure where you pay a monthly or yearly fee (a yearly plan is arguably the best way to score an Adobe Photoshop deal here). There are different plans available as well, so you don’t necessarily have to pay for the whole thing if you don’t need it. Adobe Creative Cloud is premium software with a price tag to match, but it contains the full-featured version of Photoshop and is far and away the best choice for professionals and other serious users. One of the above Photoshop deals may also help you save some money on it, too.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2024

The latest 2024 revision of Adobe Photoshop Elements succeeded the 2023 version as Adobe’s entry-level raster graphics editor and is the best choice for amateur and casual users. The standard Photoshop Elements 2024 package is more focused on photography and photo editing than on 2D graphic design, making it less useful than Creative Cloud (which features the standard full-featured Photoshop program) for professional use. Nonetheless, it’s a great pick for hobbyists and general users, especially when you consider that it’s considerably cheaper than Adobe Creative Cloud and doesn’t tether you to a monthly or yearly payment plan.

Is Adobe Photoshop a subscription?

Adobe Photoshop Elements is a one-time purchase, so when you buy it, you own that license for life with no subscription fees. The more full-featured and professional-grade Adobe Creative Cloud apps and bundles, on the other hand, are subscription-based (not unlike Microsoft’s Office 365 suite), but you don’t have to pay for the whole thing to get Photoshop. Packages like the Creative Cloud Photography Plan, which bundles Photoshop with Lightroom, represent some cheaper options for those who only need particular apps. Also, a good way to score an Adobe Photoshop deal on these subscription-based plans is to look for discounts on a yearly license paid in advance rather than month to month.

Does Adobe Photoshop work on Chromebook?

As of now, Adobe Photoshop and other Creative Cloud apps are only available for Windows and MacOS. However, those of you who work on a Chromebook aren’t without some options: Chrome OS users can download Photoshop Express, the mobile version of Photoshop which works on a Chromebook thanks to the operating system’s compatibility with Android apps. Chrome OS also allows for remote desktop control, meaning you can use your Chromebook to remotely access a PC or Mac that’s running Adobe Photoshop and use it that way.

More Unmissable Deals

Lucas Coll
Deals and News Writer
Lucas Coll has been a freelance writer for almost a decade and has penned articles on tech, video games, travel, cars, and…
Adobe Photoshop free trial: Get a month of editing for free
Close up of Adobe Photoshop app icon being chosen from among other Adobe apps on a laptop screen.

For most people, the premier graphics and visual editing tool is Adobe Photoshop. It is also the most popular and widely used graphical design software suite among professionals and amateurs alike, and for good reason. Even people who have never in their lives used Photoshop know the name, which has become synonymous with any kind of digital image editing. Photoshop is professional-grade paid software, though, and it's not exactly cheap even with some of the best Adobe Photoshop deals out there. Maybe you’ve never used it before and want to give a try before buying a license? That's likely why you're here looking for an Adobe Photoshop free trial (and perhaps other ways to save on this software if and when you decide to buy it). Whether you're an amateur graphic designer or an aspiring professional, we've got everything you need to know right here.
Is there an Adobe Photoshop free trial?

There is actually more than one Adobe Photoshop free trial available, depending on which version you're looking at. For the uninitiated, there are two main Photoshop packages. Adobe Creative Cloud is subscription-based, meaning you have to pay a monthly or annual fee for the license in order to use it. This is the most comprehensive Photoshop suite that gives you everything the software has to offer, with more than 20 design apps as part of the package, including Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Premiere Pro, and typically costs $60 per month. There is a free trial available for Creative Cloud, although it only lasts for seven days. That's not a lot of time to explore and spend hands-on time with the full set of Creative Cloud apps. You also have to enter your credit card information in order to sign up and download the software; it's on you to cancel your subscription before the trial period ends, or you'll be charged.

Read more
The 5 best laptops for photo editing and photographers

Photo editing is a complex discipline, and it's not just for those who like to take pictures and process them after the fact; instead, many people have a need for some form of photo editing, whether professional or not. That's especially the case with the rise of social media and the overall quality of images these days, especially with how easy some apps make it. But, if you're starting out on your photo editing journey or are already on that path, having a solid photo editing laptop can make a big difference.

Whether you want to run Lightroom or Capture One, you need the equipment that's fit for purpose. As such, we've done our best to pick a selection of laptops for various budgets and needs to help save you the trouble of weeding through the currently saturated laptop market. So, be sure to check out all the options and take a look at our quick guide on how we made these picks to get a better sense of what to look for.
The Best Laptops for Photo Editing

Read more
This McAfee deal is your best chance at cheap antivirus software
Two women video calling on their laptop with dog nearby protected by McAfee.

In an increasingly digital world, data security is something everybody has to consider. Laptop and desktop PC users will be glad to hear there’s a great discount on McAfee’s award-winning antivirus software taking place, which drops the price of the McAfee Plus plan from $110 all the way down to just $40 for your first year of service. This is a savings of $70, and a free trial is even available to test it out before you purchase.

Almost since the dawn of computers, McAfee has made award-winning antivirus software that protects you against identity theft, hacking, and more. Anyone with a computer can benefit from having the software working in the background, and as we accumulate devices that make our lives more convenient, this McAfee Plus plan makes more and more sense. With the McAfee Plus plan, the software covers up to five devices, ensuring the safety of your data and identity whether you use a desktop computer, laptop, smartphone, or tablet. With coverage of up to five devices, the McAfee Plus plan also makes a great option for families.

Read more