Photoshop vs. Photoshop Elements vs. Photoshop Express Overeviews

About Adobe Photoshop

What Is Adobe Photoshop？

Adobe Photoshop is a photo editing and graphic designing solution that helps businesses edit and enhance digital images and create drawings, paintings and animations. It allows designers to create raster images in multiple layers and handle image masking and alpha compositing processes via a unified platform. 

 It offers a variety of other features such as project tracking, live streaming, offline access, data storage management and more. The application enables employees to collaborate with team members for various projects, configure workflows and render text, vector graphics and 3D graphics. Additionally, Adobe Photoshop lets professionals invite other users to edit files and create photo collages.

Using Adobe Photoshop’s pen tool, users can draw paths closely attaching the object outline for isolating them from the background. Pricing is available on a monthly subscription and support is extended via phone, email, forums and online videos.

Adobe Photoshop Specs

Advantages and Disadvantages

How Much Does Photoshop Cost?

• Starting price: $9.99 per month

• Free trial: Available，7- day free trial

• Free version: Not Available

There are several Creative Cloud plans that include Photoshop. You can purchase it as a standalone app for $20.99/month or opt for annual billing at $239.88/yr. Both options give you access to all the latest Photoshop features and updates and 100GB of cloud storage. 

You can also purchase it as part of the Creative Cloud Photography plan for $9.99/month, or as part of the Creative Cloud All Apps plan for $54.99/month ($599.88/yr prepaid).

Clik here for Photoshop Plan detail.

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How to Get Started With Photoshop?

To install the application, you first install the resident Creative Cloud helper program, which handles updates and syncs your files online. 

It's also where you find Adobe news, stock images, and the Behance creative social community (more about this later). This Creative Cloud utility also lets you browse and easily install plug-ins.

About Photoshop Elements

What Is Photoshop Elements?

Photoshop Elements is Adobe’s novice-friendly image-editing app. You buy it as a one-off purchase rather than as a subscription, and there's a new version every year, and over time it has evolved into a sophisticated piece of software.

Photoshop Elements is a great solution for performing basic manipulations with photos. Thanks to Adobe AI, automatic editing features, and step-by-step tutorials, even a beginner will easily figure out how to enhance their photos. This software for created for beginners.

While it has more handy tools for working with photos than other similar programs, its functionality is pretty limited if you compare it to Photoshop. You can make 60 types of edits and process many photos at once. Besides, it doubles as photo organizing software and allows users to sort images.

 Photoshop Elements Specs

Advantages and Disadvantages

How Much Does Photoshop Elements Cost?

• Starting price: $59.99

• Free trial: Available，30- day free trial

• Free version: Not Available

You can purchase Photoshop Elements either as a package with its enthusiast-level video-editing companion, Premiere Elements, for $89.99(Students & teachers $79.99); or you can buy it alone, for $59.99. A 30-day trial version is available.

Clik here for Photoshop Elements Plan detail.

How to Get Started With Photoshop Elements?

If you don't have your original media, you can download Photoshop Elements. You need your serial number, Adobe ID, and password to complete the installation. If you have your original discs, see Install Photoshop Elements from a DVD.

Clik here for Step-by-step Guided Edits.

Is Photoshop Elements Right For You?

For less than $100, Photoshop Elements provides a wide assortment of tools. The new guided edits and artistic effects make it easy for a novice. Whether you're new to Elements and photo editing or you're looking to upgrade your older version of Photoshop Elements. Elements 2024 is well worth your time.

It’s a one-time purchase that doesn’t require a subscription. It offers:

• Easy editing with automation and AI

• Step-by-step guidance for editing and creating

• Fun ways to make and share creations, effects, prints, and gifts

• An Organizer to easily categorize and find your photos

About Photoshop Express

What Is Photoshop Express?

Adobe Photoshop Express is a basic version of Photoshop with a stripped-down interface. You can use this free photo editing app on your mobile device or access it online via your browser. Besides, it has a version for desktop devices.

Photoshop Express has everything you might need to quickly enhance your photos and make them stand out on social networks. You can enhance your images with the help of smart tools. With them, you can crop your photos and minimize noise.

It’s worth noting that Photoshop Express is not Adobe’s only intro-level app for editing photos—far from it. Most require a Creative Cloud subscription, however, including Photoshop Fix, Photoshop Mix, and the Lightroom mobile app. Another is Photoshop Camera, which, beyond just being a replacement for your phone’s default camera app, lets you apply some zany creative effects to spice up your Instagram feed. None of those, however, offers Photoshop Express’s mix of basic adjustment and layer effects, and several require the more expensive subscription.

 Photoshop Express Spece

Advantages and Disadvantages

How Much Does Photoshop Express Cost?

As mentioned just above, Photoshop Express is free to download, but you do need an Adobe account (it can be a free account). You can sign up with your Facebook or Google account if you don’t already have an Adobe account. 

Using some of the product’s more charming features requires paying for a Premium subscription, which costs $4.99 per month, $34.99 per year, with a first-year offer of $9.99.

How to Get Started With Photoshop Express?

Adobe Photoshop Express is available on iOS in App Store. Download and install the app by clicking the badge below:

• Download on iOS devices

• Download on Android devices

Is Adobe Photoshop Express Right For You?

Yes, it's definitely worth downloading.

Adobe Photoshop Express is an excellent free photo editor for desktops and mobile devices, and Adobe Photoshop Express Editor(opens in new tab) makes all of its tools available from the convenience of your web browser.

It's well designed, and unlike Photoshop itself, everything's immediately accessible, even if you've never used a photo editor before.

Photoshop vs. Photoshop Elements vs. Photoshop Express: What are the Differences? 

1.Pricing and Plans

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop has 2 subscription plans:

• Photography Plan (100GB): Includes Lightroom, Lightroom CC, and Photoshop, plus 20GB of cloud storage at $9.99 per month.

• Photography Plan (1TB): Includes Lightroom, Lightroom CC, and Photoshop, plus 1TB of cloud storage at $19.99 per month.

Photoshop Elements

Adobe Photoshop Elements also has 2 subscription plans:

• Adobe Photoshop Elements - $99.99. This subscription plan includes powerful tools for organizing and enhancing images. If you have one of the previous versions, you can get an update by paying $79.99.

• Adobe Photoshop Elements & Premiere Elements - $149.99. This plan covers all the features of Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements. To update it, you will need to pay $119.99. Students and teachers can buy it at a discount price of $79.99.

Photoshop Express 

Adobe Photoshop Express offers 2 plans:

• Adobe Photoshop Express - $0. This plan includes tools for quick manipulation with photo. To use some extra features, you will need to pay $4.99/monthly for the Photoshop Express Premium subscription.

• Creative Cloud All Apps - $52.99. It includes more than 20 Creative Cloud apps, such as Adobe Photoshop Express, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, and Acrobat Pro.

2.Tools

Adobe Photoshop

Photoshop comes with almost all the tools that Photoshop Elements offers. Here are a few options only available in Photoshop:

• Lasso (includes the magnetic lasso tool)

• Magic eraser

• Magic wand

• Clone

• Masking

• 3D text support

• Layer options

• Blending

• Subject selection

• Dodge tool

Photoshop Elements

Photoshop Elements is designed to simplify editing; hence, you have many edits requiring just one click. Here is the list of features that you find in both programs:

• Layers

• PSD file

• Crop tool

• Healing brush

• Text

• Smart brush

• Blur

• Pencil

• Recompose

• Straighten tool

• Effects

• Gradients

• Custom shape

• Filters

• Image and canvas size

• Moving photos with animations

• Adjust facial features

• Duotone effect

• Colourise photos

Photoshop Express

Tools are split into two categories: Edit and Decorate. The first of these includes standard options like saturation adjustment, cropping, resizing and white balance. 

There are also some more advanced and unusual tools that you won't find in most online photo editors, including an excellent fill light option for reducing harsh shadows and an auto correct setting that suggests various quick adjustments to your image's colors, which you can apply with a single click.

Here are a few options only available in Photoshop Express：

• Auto-Enhance Tool

• Adjustment Tools

• Spot Removal Tool

• Crop, Rotate & Transform

• Eye Tool

• Text, Stickers & Borders

•  Collage Tool

3.Image Editing Capabilities

Adobe Photoshop

With the full version of Photoshop, you will find several helpful tools, including the lasso tool, which allows you to select part of your image and drag it elsewhere. You can also alter colors with the paint bucket feature, and much more.

Photoshop Elements

All edits are non-destructive, and you can revert to the original image any time.

Once you've finished, Photoshop Express Editor lets you save the edited photo to your device. The only format available is JPG, and it's a pity there's no option to send the file directly to Twitter or Facebook – particularly since the decorations seem to lend themselves to use on social media – but you can choose a file name and destination, and the editor lets you know the size of the exported file before you commit to saving it.

Photoshop Express 

Photoshop Express has many similar features that you’ll find in Photoshop. However, it’s more about retouching than making in-depth edits. You can adjust exposure and HSL sliders, along with adding special effects and text to your pictures.

4.Video Editing

Adobe Photoshop

Photoshop’s video editing tools are pretty limited. You probably wouldn’t rely on it for the entire post-production process, but it’s a handy solution for making minor tweaks.

Photoshop Elements

Photoshop Elements has Easy video editing software.Whether you want to make quick fixes or add eye-catching effects, transitions and animations, it's easy to grow your skills with Guided Edits.

Photoshop Express

Compared to the full version of Photoshop, Photoshop Express is very limited in its video editing capabilities. It’s more geared toward still images, so you should stick with that.

5.Ease of use

In Photoshop, the toolbox is on the left, while the colour, swatches, patterns, etc., are to the right. The window menu on the top shows all the sections available in Photoshop.

Photoshop Elements separates the workspace into Quick, Guided, and Expert modes. The quick mode comes with simple tools, while on the guided screen, you see the guided tutorials to help you apply certain edits.

Adobe Photoshop Express takes nowhere near as long for most people to learn. You will find many of the same tools as you would in Lightroom, some of which we’ll discuss later. Resizing is also relatively straightforward, and you have plenty of templates to choose from.

6.Mobile Apps

This round goes to Photoshop because it comes as a mobile app for Android and iOS devices. You can sign in with your account to get the premium tools. The iOS (iPhone and iPad) app is more advanced than Android, but some features are only available in the subscription.

The Android app does not come with any advanced tools, but the app is free to use

• Adobe Photoshop：Android and iOS

• Photoshop Elements：Android and iOS

• Photoshop Express：Android and iOS

Adobe Photoshop vs. Photoshop Elements vs. Photoshop Express Comparison Chart

Let’s look at the top comparison–

Overview

Pricing & Plans

Which One Should You Choose?

Adobe Photoshop is for those who want total control and turn photography and photo editing into their careers. PS Elements is for users who like to edit photos and upload them to social media. I suggest signing up for the free trial and experiencing both yourself if you are starting.

Photoshop Elements is a perfect option for enhancing photos that is suitable for novices and professionals alike. It has a set of powerful photo organization tools and allows you to search pictures by tags. This solution will come in handy for those who don’t want to pay for a subscription and study complex Photoshop techniques.

Adobe Photoshop Express has a convenient interface that makes it easier even for beginner designers and photographers to figure out how to use its filters, tools, and effects. It allows creating collages and processing photos. However, to use most of its features, you need to pay for the Creative Cloud subscription.

When to use Photoshop?

Photoshop is the world’s leading image editing app. It’s used by creative professionals like photographers, designers, architects, and artists. The desktop version can handle large, complex files that contain multiple layers and a lot of information. 

Photoshop has many more tools and features than Express, and a skilled photo editor can perform extensive, comprehensive transformations in Photoshop. Express can enhance a photo, but Photoshop can completely transform it.

When to use Photoshop Elements?

If you’re looking for a robust image-editing app and don’t want to subscribe to the Photographer’s Bundle, this is a great choice. While there's nothing here aimed specifically at astrophotographers, there's a lot of competition in this sector, and the Adobe name carries a lot of weight. 

When to use Photoshop Express?

Photoshop Express is a mobile app for iOS and Android and is available in various app stores. It works with your mobile device’s camera roll. The app is built for smartphone photography, and its editing tools are made for fast changes on your phone. It’s ideal for applying quick edits like filters and overlays and effects like text and light leaks. 

Users can change opacity and tonal coloring, as well as edit exposure, shadows, brightness, saturation, and more.

FAQs

1.Is Photoshop Elements good for beginners?

Designed for beginners, Photoshop Elements is really more of an entry-level image editing program than a fully fledged professional editing tool. For those who plan to capture lots of photos and want a simple, automated way of processing images with minimal technical knowledge, Elements is a good bet.

2.How does Photoshop Elements differ from subscription version of Photoshop?

• Photoshop Elements is designed for consumers who are just getting started with photo editing and want an easy way to organize, edit, create, and share their photos. 

• Photoshop is the professional standard for creating compelling images and graphic designs.

3.Can I buy Photoshop outright?

No. Photoshop is available only through a Creative Cloud subscription that you pay for either monthly or annually. You can subscribe to Photoshop alone or choose a plan with multlple apps.

4.Do I need a subscription to purchase Photoshop Elements?

No, it’s a one-time purchase. A subscription is not required.

5.Which is better Photoshop or Photoshop Elements?

Photoshop Elements is usually designed for simple photo editing, for people who are not experts and for fast edits, whereas Photoshop is a bit difficult software in comparison and is also used by experts.

6.Is Photoshop Elements a one time purchase?

Photoshop Elements is offered as a one-time purchase — no subscription required. Photoshop is the professional standard for creating compelling images, and designs.

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