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Design · head to head

Adobe Creative Cloud vs Krita

Adobe Creative Cloud logo

Adobe Creative Cloud

Design

Creativity for all

From
$20.99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Krita logo

Krita

Design

Free and open-source digital painting software

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Krita has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Adobe Creative Cloud the vendor's own Plans and Pricing page as captured by the Internet Archive on 1 January 2022 listed, in US dollars per month: Photography (20GB) at $9.99, Photography (1TB) at $19.99, Creative Cloud All Apps at $52.99, Acrobat Pro at $14.99, and single apps such as Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Illustrator, and InDesign each at $20.99, all with a 30 day free trial and a separate Adobe Stock add-on; Krita not portable across Windows/macOS/Linux with consistent performance
  • They diverge on capability: Adobe Creative Cloud covers Photoshop, Krita covers Digital painting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Adobe Creative Cloud and Krita actually diverge.

Attributes where Adobe Creative Cloud and Krita differ
AttributeAdobe Creative CloudKrita
Starting price$20.99/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, Macos, Ios, Android, WebWindows, macOS, Linux
Founded19821999

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Design).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Adobe Creative Cloud

  • Photoshop
  • Illustrator
  • InDesign
  • Premiere Pro
  • After Effects
  • Lightroom
  • XD
  • Creative Cloud Libraries

Only in Krita

  • Digital painting
  • Brush engines
  • Layer management
  • Animation
  • Vector tools
  • OpenEXR
  • PSD files
  • Graphics tablets

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Adobe Creative Cloud

  • Graphic designnot Krita
  • Photo editingnot Krita
  • Video productionnot Krita
  • Web designnot Krita
  • Digital artnot Krita

Krita

  • Digital paintingnot Adobe Creative Cloud
  • Concept artnot Adobe Creative Cloud
  • Character designnot Adobe Creative Cloud
  • 2D animationnot Adobe Creative Cloud
  • Texture paintingnot Adobe Creative Cloud

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Adobe Creative Cloud

  • The vendor's own Plans and Pricing page as captured by the Internet Archive on 1 January 2022 listed, in US dollars per month: Photography (20GB) at $9.99, Photography (1TB) at $19.99, Creative Cloud All Apps at $52.99, Acrobat Pro at $14.99, and single apps such as Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Illustrator, and InDesign each at $20.99, all with a 30 day free trial and a separate Adobe Stock add-on

Krita

  • Not portable across Windows/macOS/Linux with consistent performance
  • Performance limits on large projects with many layers compared to professional software
  • Requires system administrator privileges for installation on managed systems
  • Limited professional support compared to commercial alternatives

Pricing, plan by plan

Adobe Creative Cloud

$20.99/month
  • Photography$20.99/month
    • Lightroom
    • Lightroom Classic
    • Photoshop
  • Single App$22.99/month
    • One app of your choice
    • 100GB cloud storage
    • Portfolio website
  • All Apps$59.99/month
    • 20+ Creative Cloud apps
    • 100GB cloud storage
    • Portfolio website
  • Teams$89.99/month
    • Everything in All Apps
    • 1TB cloud storage
    • Advanced admin console

Krita

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Krita review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Adobe Creative Cloud if

  • You need photoshop.
  • You work on Windows, Macos, Ios, Android, Web.
  • You also want illustrator.
Adobe Creative Cloud review

Choose Krita if

  • You need digital painting.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want brush engines.
Krita review

Questions people ask

Is Adobe Creative Cloud or Krita better?
Neither clearly leads. Adobe Creative Cloud starts at $20.99/month and Krita at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Adobe Creative Cloud or Krita?
Krita has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $20.99/month for Adobe Creative Cloud and Free for Krita.
Does Adobe Creative Cloud or Krita run on more platforms?
Adobe Creative Cloud runs on Windows, Macos, Ios, Android, Web. Krita runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
Can I use Krita for free?
Yes. Krita has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Adobe Creative Cloud starts at $20.99/month.
What is Adobe Creative Cloud best used for?
Adobe Creative Cloud is most often used for graphic design, photo editing, video production, web design. Of those, graphic design and photo editing are not what Krita is typically brought in for.
What can Adobe Creative Cloud do that Krita cannot?
Adobe Creative Cloud covers Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro. Krita covers Digital painting, Brush engines, Layer management, Animation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Krita: Is Krita free and open source?

Yes, Krita is completely free and open source software developed by the KDE community. It is distributed under the LGPL license with no licensing fees.

Source
Krita: What platforms does Krita support?

Krita is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It can be downloaded from krita.org or installed via package managers on Linux distributions.

Source
Krita: What animation capabilities does Krita have?

Krita supports frame-by-frame animation with onion skin view, timeline management, and export to video formats for creating animated sequences.

Source
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