Adobe Creative Cloud Review – Pros, Cons, Pricing, FAQs & More

Without a doubt, Adobe Creative Cloud is the go-to software for all things creative. 

It covers almost everything you need to build an online course from video and photo editing tasks to the optimization of workflow within the cloud team services.

In this review, we will discuss what makes Adobe programs so great, their pros and cons, as well as some alternatives.

Quick Summary of the Main Product

As mentioned earlier, Adobe Creative Suite has become one of the most trusted software to enable creativity and collaboration. 

It comprises 20 desktop and mobile apps that help you create, source, and publish content. In addition to that, it also consists of templates, cloud services, assets, and tutorials. 

The apps included within the Creative Suite are: 

• Photoshop
• InDesign 
• Illustrator 
• Lightroom
• XD
• Premiere Rush 
• After Effects 
• Audition 
• Spark 
• Character animator 
• Dimension 
• Acrobat Pro 
• Dreamweaver 
• Animate 
• ClassicBridge 
• Media Encoder
• InCopy
• Prelude 
• Fuse (Beta)

Features and Benefits

Responsive Website Layouts

If you are a new online course creator, responsive websites are important. They automatically adjust the size of the course to the screen it is being viewed on.

You can achieve this through Creative Cloud apps like Dreamweaver and Adobe Portfolio.

Furthermore, apps like Adobe XD, InDesign, and Adobe Photoshop let you apply wireframing and prototyping techniques to design your site. 

Creative Cloud Assets 

We believe such a huge collection of assets are valuable to you, as they can be used to make your lectures more engaging with images and objects.

You will also have access to over 14,000 high-quality fonts for the web design of your course with Adobe Fonts. The watermarked assets are free to use.

The Adobe Cloud Storage

Another big perk that comes with Adobe Suite is 20GB of free storage. 

This way all your in-progress lectures and files are stored externally. It also synchronizes the latest version of your files to your cloud to ensure the safekeeping of important documents. 

Real-time Content Review

Real-time content review is a popular feature among Adobe CC users. It is a part of a free Photoshop plugin called LiveShare PS.

You can receive real-time reviews and feedback from your colleagues on written content, photos, and videos within seconds through the software. 

This will improve and enrich your course before it is uploaded. 

Hundreds of Free Tutorials 

The Adobe Suite may be overwhelming to you if you are a novice. But, we assure you it is extremely easy to understand and caters to users of all levels. 

Adobe offers plenty of free resources to help you with the simplest surface-level problems to complicated roadblocks, like Adobe Creative Cloud Tutorials. 

So, if you want to learn Photoshop you can take a quick beginner’s course on Adobe’s website to get started with the application. 

Other resources include: 

• Adobe CC forums 
• Adobe CC blog
• Adobe YouTube Channel

Factors to Consider Before you Decide to Buy Adobe Creative Cloud

Before you choose to purchase Adobe Creative Cloud, here are some factors you need to consider: 

Pricing 

Even though Adobe CC is very expensive, the amount you pay will depend on your needs as an online course creator.  

There are four different subscriptions you can choose from:

• Photography plan: $9.98/mo 

Includes Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, and storage of either 20GB or 1TB.

• Single app plan: $4.99/mo 

Popular apps like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Stock are at a higher price bracket of $19.97-$20.99/mo. However, you’ll be able to get Adobe InCopy for as low as $4.99/mo.

• All apps plan: $52.99/mo 

Gain access to 20+ apps including Adobe Photoshop,  Adobe Illustrator, After Effects, and other software that is included in the Suite. 

• Business plan: $33.99/mo for a single app and $79.99/mo for all apps 

Gives you access to Photoshop and Illustrator, and other creative apps for your business, plus a management console and instant access to sync across devices. 

You also have the option to opt for a monthly subscription or an annual subscription based on the plan you choose. 

Ease of use

Since Adobe CC is primarily designed for professional use, the interface may seem a little complex for new users. 

However, it is very easy to use once you get familiar with its main elements. We found that you can customize the environment of most of the apps to make them more intuitive. 

It is also constantly updated for a greater user experience.

Collaborations

If you want to work on your online course as part of a team, you should consider this feature.

You can install Adobe software on three computers and use it on two simultaneously. If you want to use the 3rd computer you’ll have to log out from one of the other two. 

Through the Creative Cloud Libraries, you can easily access and edit content from folders shared by your colleagues and other designers. 

This helps you stay on the same page about your projects and expand your developments to new heights. 

Pros and Cons

What we liked	What we didn’t like
• Competitive entry price • Free updates • Can access your plan anywhere • Interactive • Easy to use  • Free resources	• No guarantee of consistent pricing • All apps do not upgrade at the same rate • Downloads are not portable from computer to computer

Social Proof

Now let’s go through some Adobe Creative Cloud reviews to fully understand what people think of the software.

Since Adobe is such an industry standard, we found no shortage of praises and positive reviews. 

Many graphic designers and other users raved about Illustrator, Photoshop, and Lightrooms functionalities and easy-to-use interface. 

Similar to Adobe Creative Cloud (Recommendations)

#1: Best Free Alternative to Adobe Creative Cloud  – DaVinci Resolve Review 

DaVinci Resolve is a long-time favorite for professional editing and post-production features like motion graphics, visual effects, and sound design.

Its unique features will aid you to film and edit your online course with ease. 

Moreover, it has some excellent tools for color corrections like the color grading and auto-balance feature to produce better quality videos.

It is up to par with some pro-level apps like Apple Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro. 

Factors to Consider Before you Decide to Buy DaVinci Resolve

Pricing

The standard version of DaVinci Resolve is free to use. 

However, if you wish to upgrade it, the studio editing version is only $299. This is a one-time payment and after that, all new upgrades are free.

Ease of use 

Although Premiere and DaVinci both have a steep learning curve, DaVince is designed for a slightly higher expertise level. So, if you’re an amateur at video editing this is something to keep in mind.

Collaborations

Resolve works well when you move your projects between devices but it is not up to par with Premiere. 

When we tested out its collaboration feature, our team found that only one person can make the edits while the other collaborator can only view a read-only version of the projects. 

There was no indication of a second editor. 

What we liked	What we didn’t like
• Free • Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux • Modest hardware requirement  • Excellent support resources • Free Updates	• Intimidating for beginners • No integration with internal software • Shortcuts can be clunky

The Best Free Video Editing App

A free alternative to Adobe Creative Cloud is DaVinci Resolve. It has color grading, audio editing, and other tools to make professional edits all in one program. 

#2: Best User-Friendly Alternative to Adobe Creative Cloud – Affinity Publisher Review 

Affinity Publisher is a professional design software package.

Moreover, it is quite popular among graphic designers and allows you to work with images, graphics, and text to create endless layout possibilities and boost workflow.  

It is also a great budget-friendly option. You can use it to create templates and typography for your online course. 

Factors to Consider Before you Decide to Buy Affinity Publisher

Pricing 

Affinity Publisher has excellent value. You can get it for $49.99 with a free trial. This is a one-time payment in contrast to InDesign’s monthly subscription fee. 

Ease of use

We found Affinity Publisher extremely easy to use due to its smooth UX design.

The dockable panels presented all the information we needed with a complete list of the available tools. 

The built-in tips and tutorials also helped us learn the software more quickly.  

Collaborations

When we tested out this feature, Affinity Publisher allowed for easy collaboration between remote users. 

The package feature allowed us to bundle all the images and fonts from a project into a folder, which were then easily transferred to another system for collaboration. In addition, the IDML imports were also faster.

What we liked	What we didn’t like
• Low cost • Intuitive feel • Widespread support community • Supports iPads • Live preview	• Different terminology for similar terms • Doesn’t handle footnotes • Doesn’t support tagged accessible PDF

The Best User-Friendly Designing Software

The best user-friendly designing app is Affinity Publisher thanks to its easy-to-follow user interface that is frequently updated and is extremely cheap for what it does. 

Guide to Buy

Pricing

We realize you won’t have a big budget to work with if you are a new online course creator. So, you should avoid expensive software initially.

We suggest you either opt for a free option or invest in software with a one-time payment instead of a monthly subscription fee. 

Ease of use 

How easy an application is to use should be your top priority so you can work efficiently. If you constantly run into issues and the software seems clunky, it will only waste your time.

Collaborations

If you are a single person working on your online course, this shouldn’t be a problem.

But, if you want to create an online course with a team, it is a good idea to opt for software that allows for easy collaboration with your colleagues.

This way you will be able to work more efficiently and without interruptions. 

Wrapping Things Up…

With that, we’re at the end of our review.

Overall, the Adobe Suite is industry-standard in a lot of areas. The pros and cons we highlighted above clearly show that all creative apps included are worthwhile. 

Let us know in the comments below which apps you’ll use to create your online course.