Which Adobe Photography Plan Do I Need?

Adobe recently announced the first changes to its photography plans since 2013. Most photographers won’t notice the difference as long as they follow the steps in this article and upgrade their Adobe Photography Plan to an annual subscription. The details are below, but first let’s take a look at the different versions of Lightroom that are available. You’ll find this information useful if you’re new to Adobe’s Lightroom apps.

Lightroom Classic

Lightroom Classic is the desktop app that most photographers use. It’s fully featured and regularly updated with new features. Lightroom Classic is paid for on a subscription basis that currently costs $9.99 per month in the United States (for the Lightroom 1TB plan paid annually), and a similar amount in other countries, depending on exchange rates and local taxes.

For that, you get the following:

• Lightroom Classic.
• Full use of Adobe Lightroom for Mobile and other Adobe apps, such as Adobe Express.
• Lightroom for web.
• Adobe Portfolio.
• The Lightroom desktop app (see below).
• 1TB of cloud storage space for storing photo files.

Tip: If you’re thinking about using Lightroom Classic you need to make sure your computer meets the minimum system requirements to run it. This Adobe help page lists the requirements for Windows and Mac OS computers.

Verdict: If you’re new to Lightroom then Lightroom Classic is the version you need. The only reason not to choose Lightroom Classic is if you use a smartphone for ALL of your photography (in which case Lightroom might suit you better).

Lightroom

Lightroom is another desktop application that has many, but not all, of Lightroom Classic’s features. More importantly, in the long run it’s more expensive. That’s because to use it as it’s intended you need to upload your photos to Adobe’s servers rather than save them on a hard drive. Once your storage requirements exceed 1TB you have to pay extra for more storage space.

The following point is important so please pay attention – Lightroom is aimed at photographers who use smartphone cameras. If you’re a Lightroom Classic user don’t migrate your Catalog to Lightroom unless you understand all the implications. There’s no need to upload your photos to Adobe’s servers unless you have a compelling reason and don’t mind paying for the storage space (which currently costs $10 per TB per month in the US). You also need a good internet connection as Lightroom continually communicates with Adobe’s servers to synchronize your photos.

Limitations of Lightroom

It’s also important to understand that, compared to Lightroom Classic, Lightroom has limitations. Here are a few.

• Limited export functionality. You can save your photos as JPEGs, and you can save Raw files as DNG files, but that’s it.
• There’s no Map, Print, Book, Slideshow or Web module.
• You can’t print photos from Lightroom.
• You can’t install plugins to extend its functionality.

Verdict: Try it out – you might find a place for Lightroom in your workflow. It comes with the Lightroom 1TB plan along with Lightroom Classic. But don’t use it instead of Lightroom Classic unless you (a) take all your photos using a smartphone camera and / or (b) understand the financial implications of paying for cloud storage space.

New subscribers: Which Adobe Photography Plan do I need?

If you’re subscribing to Lightroom Classic for the first time go to Adobe’s Photography Plan page, read the details carefully and sign up for the plan that suits you best.

Here’s a summary of the main features of each one. I’ve included prices for the US and the UK, prices are similar in other countries, depending on local taxes and exchange rates.

Lightroom (1TB) Plan (best option for new subscribers if you don’t need Photoshop)

• Apps: Lightroom Classic, Lightroom, Lightroom for mobile
• Cloud storage: 1TB
• US price: $12 per month, $120 annually
• UK price: £12 per month, £120 annually

Photography (1TB) Plan (consider if you need Photoshop)

• Apps: Lightroom Classic, Lightroom, Lightroom for mobile, Photoshop
• Cloud storage: 1TB
• US price: $20 per month, $240 annually
• UK price: £20 per month, £240 annually

Creative Cloud All Apps (best value if you use other Adobe apps)

• Apps: Just about every Adobe app including Lightroom Classic, Lightroom and Lightroom for mobile
• Cloud storage: 100GB
• US price: $59.99 per month, $659.88 annually
• UK price: Normal price £56.98 per month (first three months £27.98), £656.21 annually

Note: Even if you chose to pay monthly, you’re still locked into an annual contract. If, for example, you cancel your subscription after three months then Adobe charges you a cancellation fee. If you want to try before you buy then use the free trial option.

Which plan do you recommend?

Personally, I recommend the Lightroom (1TB) plan. That’s because most photographers can do everything they need to in Lightroom Classic and don’t require Photoshop.

If you’d like Photoshop for techniques you can’t do in Lightroom Classic, like compositing, then you can either subscribe to the Photography (1TB) plan or go for the Lightroom (1TB) plan and buy a license for Affinity Photo, a great Photoshop replacement. You can also consider Photoshop Elements and (if you’re a Mac user) Pixelmator Pro. Download the trials and test them out before making a decision.

If you want to get creative then forget about Photoshop, it’s more for graphic designers and artists than photographers. Go for the Lightroom (1TB) plan and buy a plugin that lets you express your creativity, like DxO FilmPack, Exposure X or ON1 Photo Raw. Again, download the trials and see which works best for you.

What about the Photography Plan (20GB)?

Adobe withdrew the Photography Plan (20GB) for new subscribers in January 2025. But if you’re already on the plan you can continue to use it for as long as you want. Here’s what you need to know.

If you’re subscribed to the Photography Plan (20GB) then you don’t need to do anything at the moment. Your monthly payments stay the same until your annual contract expires. Adobe will contact you by email 30 days before it expires to let you know that your monthly payments will increase to $15 / £15 per month. At this point you can switch to the annual plan and avoid the price increases by paying for the whole year up front. In other words, the amount you pay doesn’t go up if you pay annually.

Tip: Go to your Adobe account to check the expiration date of your current plan. To switch, click on Manage Plan. There should be an Update Subscription button, contact Adobe Support if you don’t see it.

If you’re subscribed to the Lightroom (1TB) plan the same applies. You don’t need to do anything until Adobe contacts you to let you know that your annual contract is ending. Then you can switch to the annual plan to avoid the price increase. This plan now includes Lightroom Classic.

If you’re subscribed to the Photography Plan (1TB) then nothing changes.

Hopefully that clears things up, if you have any questions about the changes to plans and prices then please ask in the comments below.