Adobe Lightroom is a powerful photo editor used by millions worldwide. But it is much more than that, too. It is valued for its sophisticated photo management features as well. And, of course, it integrates seamlessly with Adobe Photoshop.
It is this combination of features that has led to the product’s dominance in the photography world.
Knowing how to buy Lightroom, however, is not so simple to work out. There are two main versions of Lightroom: Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic. The main difference is that Classic is focused on a single user using Lightroom on a desktop machine and storing the files locally.
Adobe Lightroom CC stores your photos in the creative cloud. This allows you to work away from your local storage yet still access your work.
Like all of Adobe’s Creative Cloud apps, there’s no way to buy the software outright, so you will need a subscription.
| Annual Subscription |
Annual Subscription
$119.88
|
| Annual Subscription Paid Monthly |
Annual Subscription Paid Monthly
$9.99
|
| Creative Cloud Photography Annual Subscription |
Creative Cloud Photography Annual Subscription
$239.98
|
| Creative Cloud Photography Annual Subscription Billed Monthly |
Creative Cloud Photography Annual Subscription Billed Monthly
$19.99
|
| Best For |
Best For
Anyone looking for a top-level photo management app
|
You can try Adobe Lightroom for free by downloading the trial. After that, you can choose to have Lightroom and 1 TB of storage on its own. This is the CC version, keeping your photos in one place online. Or you can opt for one of the plans included in Adobe’s Creative Cloud Photography Plan.
| Annual Subscription (20 GB) |
Annual Subscription (20 GB)
$119.88
|
| Annual Subscription (20 GB) Paid Monthly |
Annual Subscription (20 GB) Paid Monthly
$9.99
|
| Annual Subscription (1 TB) |
Annual Subscription (1 TB)
$239.88
|
| Annual Subscription (1 TB) Paid Monthly |
Annual Subscription (1 TB) Paid Monthly
$19.99
|
| Best For |
Best For
Photographers who want both Lightroom and Photoshop
|
Of all the Creative Cloud offerings, the 20 GB Photography plan seems to offer the best bang for your buck. You get Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop for less than $10 a month. And that will suit many people, especially if they are happy to store their files locally. (But you’ll need a big, fast external drive—either an SSD or NAS drive—for that.)
If you want to expand beyond the photography apps, then you might want to consider the Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps option.
Adobe’s Creative Cloud brings more than 20 apps together in one place for a single subscription price. It is available with an educational plan. This will cost you less per month than a regular subscription to any one of Adobe’s apps. For everyone who isn’t a student or teacher, it makes financial sense if you need three or more of the $20.99 apps.
| Annual Subscription |
Annual Subscription
$599.98
|
| Annual Subscription Paid Monthly |
Annual Subscription Paid Monthly
$54.99
|
| Monthly Subscription |
Monthly Subscription
$82.49
|
| Education Monthly Subscription |
Education Monthly Subscription
$19.99
|
| Best For |
Best For
Saving money on three or more apps
|
If you’re one of those creative types who likes to dabble in video, podcasting, or maybe a little design work, then this might be for you. The beauty of the All Apps option is that you get access to top-quality software all the time. You might not use something like Adobe InDesign very often. And it would make no sense to pay for it for occasional use. But if you have it anyway, then it’s a bonus.
The argument seems less compelling for photographers. Even the most expensive Photography Plan is $35 per month shy of All Apps. But it’s such a comprehensive suite that it’s worth considering.
All Apps gives you first-rate video editing (Premiere Pro), web design (Dreamweaver), and even Hollywood-style special effects (After Effects).
A straightforward subscription to Adobe Lightroom CC gives you access to other things as well. First of all, there are more than 20,000 Adobe fonts ready for you to use. And they are all indexed to help you find the one you want.
You also get Adobe Portfolio. This is a website design tool specifically for photographers to showcase their work. It comes with a myportfolio.com domain name. But you can use your own custom domain (new or existing) if you prefer.
Adobe Lightroom is the dominant player in its field. And taken with Adobe Photoshop, it’s not hard to see why. It’s free to try it out with a trial. And it might be worth checking out the Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps subscription if you want more than just photo editing software.
