The upfront prices for Adobe’s products have seemed expensive in the past, especially on a student’s budget. The last perpetual version, Creative Suite 6 from 2012, historically had full prices ranging from $399 for Dreamweaver through $999 for Photoshop Extended and on up to $2,599 upfront for the Master Collection suite, which contained all major applications. As good as that software was, it was hard to afford in school – even after the student and teacher discount.
Adobe stopped selling CS6 over eight years ago, as the version reached EOL and end of support – but fortunately the company still offers deep discounts for education customers on the latest Creative Cloud release. Several years ago, in fact, they increased the discount on Creative Cloud to up to 75% off the regular prices. And while there are a lot of misconceptions about CC and “the cloud,” the main products like Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, etc., all still download and run on your computer desktop as normal.
Get All Tools with the New 2025 Release
So if you want it all – and all in one complete package – then Adobe offers full Creative Cloud membership at a 65-75% discount for students and teachers (at just $19.99 or £16.24 or €19,50 or A$23.99 a month for your first year, or less than $1/day)… This gives you the entire “Master Suite” and much more – essentially, the new 2025 versions of all the latest and greatest products that Adobe makes, with thousands of new features and improvements compared to CS6 – plus ongoing upgrades included at no additional cost, so your tools are always up to date with current technology and innovations.
Adobe offers an education discount only on the Creative Cloud “All Apps” subscription – meaning you get all CC tools and services for one (reduced) price. A single CC tool could instead be purchased by itself via a Single-App Subscription – but there is no academic discount on that plan, meaning it could work out to be more expensive than just getting everything for a student or teacher. So, basically you get 20+ apps for the price of a single app.
The academic editions work the same as the regular versions – the tools and services are identical – and you can continue to use the products after you graduate or whenever you leave your current school or term of study, for a limited time. You can also use the software for commercial purposes or paid projects if you so desire. The sole limitations are one discounted membership per education customer, and the products may be used on your own computers only.
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How to Get the Student/Teacher Discount
All of this software is available via instant download at the Adobe Education Store for both Windows and macOS. Adobe’s education discounts are available internationally as well – in many other countries and currencies (for example, Europe/euro, UK/pound, Australia/dollar), where the percentage reductions are similar or greater.
To get these lower prices, essentially all you have to do is prove your academic status at a qualified school. Most students and teachers of most grades and institutions can qualify, from primary school through university levels. Importantly, even part-time students or folks who enroll for a class at their local community college can be eligible – there is no upper age limit. Online colleges are on Adobe’s list too, and there is even a path for homeschoolers. If you think about it, sometimes going back to school could even pay for itself in such cases.
You can validate your status with proof of enrollment such as your school ID card, report card, transcript, tuition bill or statement, etc. Any documents dated within the last six months are considered current for these purposes. The verification all happens online so takes only 1-2 days. In the meantime, you’ll be able to download and install your products as a fully-functional free trials to get going right away, start learning with free tutorials, and so on.
Recently, Adobe added an even simpler option – now if you just provide a school-issued email address during purchase (like ending in “.edu” or “.k12”), then your institutional affiliation will be instantly verified and you’ll automatically receive the student & teacher discount pricing.
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You can install the software on up to two computers and move it between them anytime. If for some reason you change your mind after buying Creative Cloud, you can easily return the product within 14 days for a full refund.
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A Word on Software Piracy – “If It Sounds Too Good To Be True…”
Some folks think they might be able to do better by trying to find and download Adobe software for free or cheap using torrents, cracks, keygens, untrusted sources, unfamiliar sellers, old or used versions, no-name websites, auction sites, links posted on Reddit, and so on. The first thing to say is any electronic download or serial number delivery from anywhere besides Adobe is inauthentic, so it’s illegal. The second thing is that it’s very risky – but not only because it’s illegal…
Increasingly, the desire to save money on software by getting it from sources or sites you’ve never heard of leads to identity theft, credit card fraud, virus infections, email spamming, and more. A great deal of the hacked and illegitimate Adobe software out there now is embedded with malware. This malware includes viruses, worms, and trojans that can do significant harm to your computer, data, and privacy (like quietly taking your sensitive information such as logins, passwords, and credit card numbers). And now there is new ransomware that can hold your entire hard disk hostage with no fix available.
Cracked and hacked copies are easily manipulated and infected. For example, the Asia-Pacific region has a very high piracy rate of 60%, and correspondingly the highest rate of infection in the world – nearly 70% of the computers in these countries are riddled with malware. There is a direct correlation.
In other words, the hackers that create and distribute these “free” or “cheap” copies are receiving payback in other ways (e.g., silent backdoors) – meaning in the end, you can do far worse damage to your computer and yourself than to Adobe. Why install unknown and untrusted software onto your valuable system? Why give a stranger control of your machine, or your financial credentials?
Further, law enforcement agencies have really been cracking down on download theft in recent years – in one case, the authorities were able to obtain the locations and contact information on 23,000 illegal BitTorrent users and the fines paid are $3,000 per download!
Lastly, stay away from deals or “bargains” on eBay or Reddit or Craigslist, or any seller you’ve never heard of (including on Amazon Marketplace), or anything that seems too good to be true – because it probably is… there are authentic-looking fakes everywhere. Reputation means everything in this area – because you don’t want to end up in regret, like so many there do, after their money has left their hands permanently and the software or their computer has stopped working.
Read more details on why you shouldn’t buy from eBay, Craigslist, Amazon Marketplace, or similar sites.
So all in all, it’s not something for nothing – and really the only sensible and safe choice is getting the real deal straight from Adobe at up to 75% off the regular prices.
Here’s a helpful Adobe Education Eligibility Guide & FAQ that should answer any other questions you may have…
