It has a high cost for licenses.

As a working professional I find the current monthly pricing plans quite reasonable for the value of the software you're getting - and definitely an improvement from having to shell out hundreds of dollars upfront the way it used to work! As a hobbyist and casual retoucher, it's definitely a bit much. As a freelancer I don't always have guaranteed income, so when I'm not working for a bit I tend to cancel my subscription and use free programs like GIMP, Krita and Inkscape for my non-business creative projects. It definitely depends on your income situation and creative goals, but overall I feel the pricing is reasonable for a professional using the software for commercial purposes.

I agree Adobe could and should lower the price for licensing it's software, I'm sure that would attract many users that just keep getting pirated software It's strong market position is not going to last forever has other solutions are becoming available. Adobe is great but it should reconsider.

As someone who has chosen Adobe products for over 20 years I can tell you that it is worth every penny. With regards to capabilities you will not find a more robust tool for editorial quality photo editing, design and production. Now, if you’re looking to edit photos for social media or for hobby work then certainly there are programs that cost less that will give you what you need. It’s a great product that in all my years I’ve had very little issue with. Adobe is a quality company that builds quality software and it just works. I can’t say that about others so I’ll always choose Adobe products.

Sometimes you can find older versions on eBay that are legitimate. Though they don't have all the features as CC, they do get the job done. You will have to pay close attention to whether or not the keys are included.

Yes, Adobe have something of a price racket running when it comes to their own software - there isn't really any way to shortcut it, unless you purchase the software using an academic license which makes it slightly cheaper. The bundles of software provide the best value. The fact remains that using Adobe software long-term amounts to a serious outlay in terms of cost, but there is no choice if you wish to use their products.

I agree very much. While employed the $55 USD a month was no big deal, but now retired it is more of a challenge. I am a big fan of Adobe having been a early Photoshop user from back in the "Barney Scan" days. Over the years the whole CreativeSuite ecosystem grew well past my humble needs. A few years ago I tried other products and settled on Affinity Photo. Since then I have been a happy user. I miss Acrobat and Distiller very much, not having found suitable replacements.

Adobe is offering special price of US$19.99/mo (for the 1st year) for all Creative Cloud applications for students and teachers.