Adobe Express vs. Adobe PhotoShop

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Adobe Express
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
The vendor states Adobe Spark allows users to create beautiful graphics, web pages, and video stories in minutes, offering free themes, fonts, and images, as well as editing. Imagery assembled or created can be presented through Spark Post, Spark Page, and Spark Video. Adobe Spark is available through a Creative Cloud subscription, free with the Starter Plan, or on a single product license via the Team or Individual plan.
$0
Adobe PhotoShop
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Adobe Photoshop is the best known graphics product on the market.
$20
per month
Pricing
Adobe ExpressAdobe PhotoShop
Editions & Modules
Free
$0.00
Premium
$9.99 / $99.99
Monthly / Annual, prepaid
Single App
$20.00
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe ExpressAdobe PhotoShop
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe ExpressAdobe PhotoShop
Considered Both Products
Adobe Express
Chose Adobe Express
They both have great ease of use. More recently, Adobe changed something in its interface that created a small but consistently aggravating inconvenience, so Canva may be better in that aspect. The platform for Canva has great UX in my opinion. Adobe Creative Cloud Express …
Chose Adobe Express
Adobe Creative Cloud Express was chosen for us by somebody else in the organization, but I still really like it. Though I do like Canva, I'm so used to Adobe Creative Cloud Express now I'd never go back. We used to use Animoto (free version) and I do miss some of the …
Chose Adobe Express
Adobe Creative Cloud Express is easier to use than almost every other graphics program I’ve used. Those that are as simple, or simpler, do not produce creations with as professional and creative looks as Adobe Creative Cloud Express does.
Chose Adobe Express
We use Adobe Creative Cloud Express in addition to all of the above, depending on the project. It stacks up extremely well against all other products, except Premiere Pro on the video side (obviously). In the area that we use it most - for the on the fly social media - it is …
Adobe PhotoShop
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
[Adobe] Photoshop offers the best photo editing as well as content creation. The layer-by-layer approach of [Adobe] Photoshop helps to work between two apps or even two PCs of entirely different Creative Cloud apps seamlessly. The stability and the speed of the tools in …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Canva and Adobe Spark are two programs that are able to accomplish similar tasks as [Adobe] Photoshop. However, Canva and Spark are extremely simplistic when compared to Photoshop. These two apps are perfect for beginners who want to create simple graphics and want help with …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
Adobe ExpressAdobe PhotoShop
Small Businesses
Descript
Descript
Score 9.0 out of 10
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 9.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
iMovie
iMovie
Score 9.1 out of 10
Canva
Canva
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe Premiere Pro
Score 9.0 out of 10
GIMP
GIMP
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Adobe ExpressAdobe PhotoShop
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(29 ratings)
8.7
(189 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
8.4
(30 ratings)
Usability
9.4
(10 ratings)
9.8
(14 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
Support Rating
7.9
(10 ratings)
10.0
(54 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(6 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
9.5
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
4.0
(1 ratings)
Professional Services
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe ExpressAdobe PhotoShop
Likelihood to Recommend
Adobe
I would recommend Adobe CC Express, especially if the colleague were an established Adobe user. The interface is designed so that anyone familiar with Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, or any other Adobe software products, will be familiar. This is a product that competes with Canva, but it's great to have the simplicity of Canva with an interface that feels familiar from day one.
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Adobe
I use Adobe PhotoShop to do practically all of my business from my home in Turkey. Many customers find the cost of Adobe PhotoShop to be prohibitive, thus they turn to substitute alternatives and illegally downloaded pirated software. Regulations like torrents, sales, and price increases lead to a number of financial issues. Change can be advantageous.
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Pros
Adobe
  • Out-of-the-box templates save a lot of time and effort for designers and new users.
  • Collaboration to share resources and monitor task status centrally.
  • Great design elements bring a wow factor to digital content.
  • Single design tool for all types of content design.
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Adobe
  • Brush customization. There are many available brushes for illustration, and each can be customized to fit the needs of your specific style.
  • Integration with other Adobe products. It is essential that the images I create be accessible in Adobe Indesign and Illustrator, and [Adobe] Photoshop can be placed and edited easily within those programs.
  • Advanced editing. The possibilities for editing photos [are] endless, with new features being added constantly.
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Cons
Adobe
  • Adobe Creative Cloud Express's video possibilities could be improved - I'd really like to see more options for animating text. Animoto is a great example of this. But the video is already improving, so perhaps these options are coming!
  • Sometimes images don't download properly from the web app and I have to download using the phone app and then transfer to my desktop for scheduling.
  • It would be cool if there was an approve / feedback option, so you could request feedback from a team member without having to share a link and send a separate email.
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Adobe
  • Expensive - It is too expensive to buy Photoshop alone, and hence leading the user to purchase the entire Creative Cloud Package though he/she is not even aware of half of those apps.
  • High System Spec - Requires high system specifications to run the application smoothly, and to use it at its best.
  • Process lag - When it comes to large-sized files, the application becomes laggy taking much time even to render a single layer.
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Likelihood to Renew
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Adobe
We get a lot of use out of this software. It's vital for work with production in our industry and has a lot of cross-functionality - creating social media images, retouching photos, editing photos, creating gradients, and more. It's pretty fuss-free in that we haven't had to reach out to support and the program hasn't crashed on us. We are trained on the software (so again, this isn't for beginners), but for detail-oriented designers and creatives like ourselves - it's a no-brainer.
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Usability
Adobe
The overall usability of the software was strong. The application, especially relative to other Adobe services like Photoshop that can demand a lot of knowledge and skill, was highly easy to use. At the same time, that also speaks to the somewhat limited amount of customization opportunities that allow content designers to truly create content that is dynamic, engaging, and different than the standard stuff that floods our vision every day.
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Adobe
I've used it for a long time and would consider myself a Pro user at this point. I know where everything I need is, have custom actions set up to make common actions faster, and have my workflows automated so much that everything is easy. Occasionally, a new version of Photoshop will change a common usability feature which will slow things down for a short time before I'm able to adjust, but generally I really like my setup. However, if you're new to Photoshop, it is likely going to take you a while to figure out how you can best use the features.
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Reliability and Availability
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Adobe
Adobe Photoshop is very reliable, but is never 100%. There have been times when Adobe Photoshop has had trouble opening, but nothing a little computer restart couldn't fix. I use Adobe Photoshop on a Mac for both work and at home on a daily basis, and I would be lost without it.
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Performance
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Adobe
Speed can be an issue when you are dealing with large files for large format printing or billboards. When working on web images, speed is not an issue.
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Support Rating
Adobe
Because adobe is so widespread the community support is amazing. I have never actually used adobe support short of their website, but I go to youtube a lot to get my questions answered. You can google any problem you have and not have any issues finding an answer. In my opinion, community support is much more meaningful and helpful than support directly from the company
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Adobe
While I never contacted Adobe directly, there is so much content out there in the form of YouTube videos, Lynda/LinkedIn learning that almost any issue, including bugs, can be worked around (and this method is generally faster as there's no turnaround time involved).
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In-Person Training
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Adobe
So, I received the training at the HQ and it was train the trainer training. A good time, I spent a week at their campus
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Implementation Rating
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Adobe
I took a course so it really helped. I didn’t take the course until much later after beginning to use it, so I wish work would have sent me right off the bat. It would have alleviated a lot of frustratinon
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Alternatives Considered
Adobe
I used Canva for a long time, but since we already had the Adobe Creative Suite and Adobe Creative Cloud Express was included, I went ahead and started using Adobe Creative Cloud Express, as it was more cost-effective. Unfortunately, Adobe Creative Cloud Express doesn't offer any content calendar and scheduling, so it was a difficult choice.
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Adobe
Canva is a great tool for creating infographics and it's free with limited options. Adobe Illustrator CC and Adobe InDesign are much more suited for creating infographics, however, I still selected Adobe PhotoShop primarily because of my familiarity with all of the tools and hotkeys. There are always workarounds from with Adobe PhotoShop, and I just haven't taken the time to learn how to use Adobe Illustrator CC as effectively.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Adobe
Adobe Creative Cloud Express is included with an Adobe Creative Cloud account. Our company has a corporate team membership so it is nice to have a professional and powerful tool that anyone on our team can use for free. The pricing structure of giving the tool away for free will be fundamental to users utilizing the tool. Similar tools, such as Canva, cost significantly more but do not offer the same features
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Adobe
No answers on this topic
Scalability
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Adobe
It seems expensive compared to the free/cheap programs now available
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Professional Services
Adobe
The professional services for Adobe Creative Cloud Express is top notch and should be highly commended. I am thoroughly impressed with how far Adobe has come. In the past, I had several issues with how something were handled, but in the past few years things have been better than ever and they get no complaints from me
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Adobe
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Adobe
  • I started with the free version, but I soon found that I was unable to save my custom templates.
  • With the paid plan, The number of templates and art work are greatly increased.
  • Using this subscription was a timesaver, thus saving in creative time.
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Adobe
  • Saved our company thousands of dollars by editing in house.
  • Has given us the ability to do things on the fly and get projects done faster.
  • Having the original .psd files saved has given us the ability to go back and reuse and update photos and graphics instead of starting all over again.
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ScreenShots

Adobe Express Screenshots

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