Adobe’s Photoshop has been around for over three decades, but it seems more popular than ever in 2023.
Despite abundant competition, the app remains the go-to image editor for millions of people around the world. And it’s easy to see why: Photoshop is powerful yet familiar, offering nearly limitless options for modifying any image.
But since 2013, the full version of Photoshop requires an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription. A combo plan with Lightroom, your cheapest option, currently costs $19.99 / £9.98 per month or $239.88 / £119.21 if you can pay annually.
If you only want to do occasional photo editing, that’s a lot of money. Luckily, there are other ways to get into Photoshop to some degree – one of them might offer just what you’re looking for.
In this article, we’ll go over three free options, as well as three potential ways to get a discount. But if you’re unhappy with any of them, check out our separate article on the best free and cheap photo editing software.
1. Use Adobe Photoshop Free Trial
Adobe offers a 7-day free trial of all of its creative apps, including Photoshop. This is the full version of the software without any restrictions:
You will need to choose the subscription you will end up in after the trial and enter your payment information. Just be sure to cancel before the trial ends to avoid being charged. However, Adobe generally offers a 14-day window (from purchase) to cancel and get a full refund.
This full version of Photoshop is only available on desktop operating systems. Windows users will need to be running Windows 10 or 11 and have at least 8GB of RAM, although 16GB is recommended. ARM-based devices such as the Surface Pro X are also compatible, provided they have 8GB of RAM and 4GB of GPU RAM.
On Mac, you’ll need to be running macOS version 11.0 (Big Sur) or later – this is any software version released since November 2020. 8GB of RAM is the minimum, but 16GB is again recommended.
See more details about Windows and Mac system requirements on the Adobe website. It’s also worth reading Adobe’s FAQ at the bottom of the free trial page.
2. Get Photoshop Express for free on Android, iOS, and Windows
If you only need basic photo editing tools, Adobe offers a free application called Photoshop Express.. Formerly known as Spark, it is available on mobile devices through the App Store and Google Play, as well as Windows devices through the Microsoft Store.
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
For a free app, it’s pretty good, although it’s nothing like the full version of Photoshop. It’s much more like other quick photo editing apps like Snapseed and the one built into Google Photos. This means you can add filters, crop, transform, add masks, and adjust perspective, brightness, and saturation.
Details of the full range of Photoshop Express features are available on Adobe’s website.
What you can’t do is modify specific parts of images, except when using the red-eye reduction and spot correction tools. There is no image resizing (although you can specify the output resolution to the nearest 200 pixels wide) or support for multiple layers, as you may know from the full version.
But since the app is free and only requires an Adobe account, it’s worth trying out Photoshop Express. It can offer all the tools you need.
3. Get Photoshop Camera for free on Android and iOS
Photoshop Camera appas the name suggests, adds effects and filters when you take a photo.
It can replace your regular camera app and allows you to effectively “photoshop” your image as you take it. No tools are available once you capture the image, but it’s also free and available on the App Store and Google Play.
4. Get Photoshop Elements 2023
That might be the end of the free options, but that doesn’t mean you have to pay full price.
Elements is by far the best option for those who want “proper” Photoshop without the Creative Cloud subscription fees.
It’s essentially a more user-friendly version of full Photoshop, but retains many of its most popular features and tools. For most people, Elements offers all the features you’re looking for and more.
Build images with multiple layers, resize backgrounds without affecting subjects, and replace unwanted backgrounds and objects are all available. It’s easy to use and there are 60 guided edits for all the most popular things you’d want to do on a photo. Adjusting colors, adding artistic effects, and even turning a photo into a meme are all included.
Elements lets you create slideshows and has a useful organizer so you can keep track of all your photos. There is also an “Expert” mode which works like the full Photoshop. If this is what you are used to, it will be very familiar.
Jim Martin / Foundry
Photoshop Elements is only available on desktop devices and the hardware requirements are similar to the full version.
On Windows, you’ll need at least a 6th Gen AMD Intel processor or equivalent, 8GB of RAM, and Windows 10 (version 21H1 or later, 21H2 recommended) or Windows 11 (version 21H2 or later). On Mac, it’s at least Intel 6th Gen or Apple M1, plus 8GB of RAM and macOS 11 (Big Sur) or later.
At the time of writing, the latest version is Photoshop Elements 2023. This is a $99.99 / £86.56 one-time purchase from Adobe, but also available from Amazon US and from Amazon UK, where there are often discounts.
There are 20% off Adobe price if you’re a student or teacherAlso.
5. Get Adobe Photoshop Discounts at Amazon
Amazon is also a good place to find discounts on full versions of Photoshop and other Creative Cloud apps.
In the UK, a one-year All Apps plan is down to £378.99 from the usual £548.78 at the time of writing. A year of the Photography plan, which includes Photoshop and Lightroom, is available for £74.99 down from £119.99.
However, there are no such discounts in the US, with both the full Creative Cloud and the Photography plan currently at full price.
Adobe sometimes has its own 20% off sales, although we’ve seen up to 40% off before.
6. Get a discount on Photoshop if you’re a student or teacher
Although Adobe does not offer a student discount on Photoshop alone, students and teachers can get a big discount on the full Creative Cloud bundle. It’s over 60% off in the US and over 65% off in the UK.
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
See our complete guide to Adobe Creative Cloud student discount for more details.
Students and teachers can choose between two annual payment plans:
- Annual prepaid: $239.88 per year or £196.27 per year (VAT included)
- Annual, paid monthly: WE$19.99 per month or £16.24 per month (including VAT) or WE$19.99 per month
The student discount makes the entire the price of the suite is cheaper than the 1TB photography plan and single-app photoshop subscriptionnm
However, you will need to prove your eligibility as a student or your institutional affiliation to receive this discount. You can find all eligibility requirements here.
This not only gets you Photoshop, but also an arsenal of other powerful Adobe applications like Illustrator, Lightroom, InDesign, Premiere Pro, Acrobat Pro, Express, and Adobe XD, all at a significantly reduced price. See all the apps included with the full Creative Cloud bundle here.
Get the Adobe student discount in the US and UK.
How much does Adobe Photoshop cost?
A Creative Cloud subscription means you can either pay a monthly amount or a flat fee for a year. This promises continued access to updates at no additional cost.
Adobe’s photography plan has a few options (we’ve outlined them below) depending on how much cloud storage you need.
Single App Subscription Price
If you want only Photoshop CC without built-in Lightroom, go for Adobe CC’s single application plan. The unique app includes the latest version of Photoshop, 100 GB of cloud storage, access to premium fonts, as well as AdobeExpress (a graphic design tool for social networks) and Adobe Portfolio.
There are three payment plans:
- Monthly Annual: $20.99/$20.99 per month
- Annual, prepaid: $239.88/£238.42 (flat rate)
- Monthly Rolling: $31.49/£30.34 per month
you can see it all Adobe Photoshop blueprints.
If you want to sign up for an Adobe CC All Apps subscription, read our guide to Adobe CC.
Photo Package Price (20GB Storage)
20GB photography plan includes Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, and Photoshop with 20GB of cloud storage. But it’s only available in the UK at the time of writing:
- Monthly Annual: £9.98 per month
- Prepaid Annual: £119.21 (flat rate)
Photography plan price (1TB storage)
If you need more storage, you can opt for the 1TB photo plan. It has everything the 20GB plan has, just more storage. Here’s how much it will cost you:
- Annual monthly: $19.99/£19.97 per month
- Annual, prepaid: $239.88/£238.42 (lump sum).
We also have a guide on how to get Adobe InDesign.
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