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Design · head to head

Adobe Creative Cloud vs Visual Studio

Adobe Creative Cloud logo

Adobe Creative Cloud

Design

Creativity for all

From
$20.99/month
Free plan
No
Visit Adobe Creative CloudFull review
Visual Studio logo

Visual Studio

Developer Tools

IDE for .NET and C++ development on Windows

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit Visual StudioFull review

The short version

  • Visual Studio is free; Adobe Creative Cloud starts at $20.99/mo.
  • Where Visual Studio falls short: A standalone perpetually licensed Visual Studio Professional 2022 costs $499 as a one-time purchase, separate from the subscription tiers.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Adobe Creative Cloud and Visual Studio differ
AttributeAdobe Creative CloudVisual Studio
Starting price$20.99/monthFree
Pricing modelSubscriptionFreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, macOS, iOS, Android, WebWeb
CategoryDesignDeveloper Tools

Not yet recorded: founded for Visual Studio.

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 Visual Studio

Nothing recorded that Adobe Creative Cloud does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Adobe Creative Cloud

  • Graphic designnot Visual Studio
  • Photo editingnot Visual Studio
  • Video productionnot Visual Studio
  • Web designnot Visual Studio
  • Digital artnot Visual Studio

Visual Studio

  • Managing complex, large-scale projects across multiple platformsnot Adobe Creative Cloud
  • Commercial development in small businessesnot Adobe Creative Cloud
  • DevOps and automated deployment workflowsnot Adobe Creative Cloud
  • Windows/SQL Server developer and tester rolesnot Adobe Creative Cloud
  • Short-term or month-to-month IDE access needsnot 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

Visual Studio

  • Community edition is free only for individual developers, classroom use, academic research and open-source contribution, not general commercial use
  • Monthly subscriptions are $45 per user per month for Professional and $250 per user per month for Enterprise, and do not include perpetual use rights the way annual Standard subscriptions do
  • A standalone perpetually licensed Visual Studio Professional 2022 costs $499 as a one-time purchase, separate from the subscription tiers

Pricing, plan by plan

Adobe Creative Cloud

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

Visual Studio

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Visual Studio 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 Visual Studio if

  • You want to start without paying.
Visual Studio review

Questions people ask

Is Adobe Creative Cloud or Visual Studio better?
Neither clearly leads. Adobe Creative Cloud starts at $20.99/month and Visual Studio at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Adobe Creative Cloud or Visual Studio?
Visual Studio has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $20.99/month for Adobe Creative Cloud and Free for Visual Studio.
Does Adobe Creative Cloud or Visual Studio run on more platforms?
Adobe Creative Cloud runs on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Web. Visual Studio runs on Web.
Can I use Visual Studio for free?
Yes. Visual Studio 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 Visual Studio is typically brought in for.
What can Adobe Creative Cloud do that Visual Studio cannot?
Adobe Creative Cloud covers Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Visual Studio: What are the pricing differences between subscription types?

Standard subscriptions include access to more benefits, such as Azure dev/test pricing, monthly Azure individual credit, software and download access, services, training, and support. Monthly subscriptions offer flexibility but fewer benefits.

Source
Visual Studio: Are discounts available for startups?

There aren't any discounts available to start-ups, however an unlimited number of users within an organization can use Visual Studio Community for specific scenarios like open source work.

Source
Visual Studio: Who can use Visual Studio Community for free?

In non-enterprise organizations, up to five users can use it. Enterprise organizations (greater than 250 PCs or greater than $1M annual revenue) cannot use it beyond academic/open-source scenarios.

Source
Visual Studio: What's the renewal pricing structure?

Enterprise standard renews at $214.09/month (after initial $499.92); Professional at $66.59/month (after $99.99).

Source
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