Adobe Creative Cloud Review (2026) — From a Freelancer's Perspective

Twelve months on the All Apps plan, paying out of pocket for freelance design and video work. Below are the apps I actually used, the ones I never opened, and where the discount marketplace route bends the cost math.

Apps I used daily

Photoshop and Illustrator for client design work. Premiere Pro for short-form video. After Effects for occasional motion graphics. Lightroom Classic for photo libraries. Acrobat Pro for client deliverables.

Apps I never opened

InDesign, Audition, Animate, Bridge, Dimension, Substance suite, Adobe Aero, Express. The All Apps tier includes ~25 apps; most freelancers actively use 4-7.

Where Adobe still wins

Industry-standard file formats. Photoshop's neural filters and selection tools. Premiere Pro's compatibility with editor collaboration workflows. After Effects' plugin ecosystem. The integration between apps when you stay in-suite.

Where alternatives won

Affinity Suite for one-off image and layout work (lifetime purchase, no subscription). DaVinci Resolve for color grading. Cavalry for native motion graphics. Notion for client briefs. None replace Adobe entirely; they reduce the surface area where the subscription is essential.

Wrapping up

Creative Cloud is still the right choice if you live in the Adobe ecosystem and need format compatibility with collaborators. Skip it if you can; subset it via Photography or single-app plans if you can; route through discount Adobe deals when you do buy.