Moving Away from Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe has been under fire for several issues, including making it increasingly difficult to cancel their subscription plans, their ethics regarding artificial intelligence, and their confusing terms and conditions related to training their models on customers’ work.

My issue with Adobe stems from before all these criticisms. The original complaint is the fact that I must spend nearly $90 Canadian dollars a month (paid annually) for the Creative Cloud suite when I only need a few apps. Even their à la carte options are too expensive.

I don’t mind subscriptions. As a matter of fact, I understand why Adobe went down that path. I would be okay with the annual pricing if it could be canceled. I even factor my rates based on Adobe’s pricing.

However, major software should always offer a perpetual license. The fact that after five years, I would have spent over five grand, and not own a single piece of software really grinds my gears.

As a freelancer, there are times when work is slow, or my clients don’t require anything for a few months. Other times, I am coding, and there is no need for Adobe’s software. At this point, they basically pocket my money despite me not using their applications.

Now, with the more recent controversies, I figured it was time to move on to other alternatives. I will say this: other apps do not come close to Adobe’s offerings. They are simply the industry standard and for good reason. Regardless, I am able to complete my work while saving money.

Here are my suggestions.

Affinity Suite

The most popular option for those seeking an alternative to Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Publisher. They offer a one-time payment option. With that being said, they did just get acquired by Canva, so I am weary that they will move to a subscription plan.

I personally use Affinity Designer the most. I much prefer Illustrator, but I am able to get work done with minimal friction so far.

Amadine

An alternative to Adobe Illustrator while also offering a one-time purchase. However, it is not a universal purchase, and you’ll need to purchase the desktop version separately. I mostly use the iPad version.

Its simplistic nature actually allows me to get work done quickly sometimes. Though I do miss the advance features available on Illustrator.

Nevertheless, the iPad version is far easier to use than Affinity’s app.

Pixelmator Pro

In my opinion, the best Photoshop alternative. It’s macOS only, and one of the few apps that have me locked into the Apple-ecosystem. It’s fast, brilliant, and features a beautiful user-interface design.

Procreate

For art, I used to draw in Photoshop with a huge drawing tablet on my desk. Since moving to iPad Pro, I no longer need Photoshop anymore. I can also touch up my work using Pixelmator Pro.

Photomator

The best alternative to Lightroom. I actually prefer it over Adobe’s offering. I do most of my retouching on iPad over my Mac, but I purchased the macOS version anyway as it is simply best in class.

Rive

As a motion designer, After Effects is king in terms of flexibility and what you can do with it. However, with Rive, I no longer have to deal with the strenuous workflow of Lottie files. Rive is still very much in its early stages, but I have created some motion graphics and I am overall pleased with the workflow and results.

Plus, it generates a smaller footprint than Lottie.

Final Cut Pro

To be honest, Final Cut has always been my go-to video editing software, so it wasn’t that difficult to replace Adobe Premiere.

Conclusion

All of the apps I mentioned above, apart from Rive, offer a one-time purchase option. I am able to complete my work without any hiccups since transitioning.

Make no mistake, I did and still do have to jump through hoops or do things manually, but I am pleased with my new workflow and hope to adapt as quickly as possible.