Editor's note: Adobe no longer offers the Creative Cloud Photography Plan as of October 13, 2017.
Trying to decide if you need the streamlined simplicity of Photoshop Elements or the comprehensive collection of Photoshop CC? This guide can help you decide,
What's in Common
Both Photoshop Elements and Photoshop CC allow you to manipulate photos in all the basic ways.
- Manipulate color
- Crop images
- Fix flaws (red eye, dust on the lens, and so forth)
- Draw with pen or pencil
- Add text
- Move people or objects within the image
Photoshop CC has these features and many more, including support for more color modes and image formats, 3D images, vector images, and motion graphics.
Which One Do I Need?
If you need to perform basic image editing, organize your photos for quick access, and post them online, Photoshop Elements will likely have everything you need.
If you need to work with very high-resolution images, have granular control over how you edit them, and prepare them for use online and in print, Photoshop CC has you covered.
Comparison
Check out the table below for a one-to-one comparison of the features and support in each product.
| Photoshop Elements 15 | Photoshop CC (2017) All Apps plan | Photoshop CC (2017) Photography plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost through TechSoup | $27 one-time admin fee | $5 admin fee plus $239.88 for the first year, $359.88 every year after | $5 admin fee plus $7.99 each month for the first year, retail rates every year after |
| Availability through TechSoup | Part of the Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements bundle | Part of the Creative Cloud All Apps plan | |
| License | Expires November 30, 2021 | Subscription | |
| OS support | Windows and Mac (both included in same product) | Windows and Mac (choice of which to install in application manager) | |
| Image organizer | Elements Organizer | Bridge CC | None |
| Color modes supported | Bitmap, grayscale, indexed, RGB | Bitmap, grayscale, duotone, indexed, RGB, CMYK, Lab, multichannel | |
| 16-bit support | Open 16-bit images; no layers support with 16-bit images; most tools and filters do not work with 16-bit images | Convert to and from 16-bit; full layers support; all tools and filters work with 16-bit images | |
| 32-bit support | No | Yes | |
| Scripting support | No | Yes | |
| Tools | Blur, Brush, Clone Stamp, Color Picker (Eyedropper), Color Squares, Content-Aware Move, Crop, Custom Shape, Eraser, Eyedropper (Color Picker), Gradient, Hand, Lasso, Marquee, Move, Paint Bucket, Pencil, Quick Selection, Recompose, Red Eye, Smart Brush, Sponge, Spot Healing Brush, Straighten, Text (Horizontal Type), Zoom | 3D Material Drop, 3D Material Eyedropper, Add Anchor Point, Art History Background Eraser, Blur, Brush, Burn, Clone Stamp, Color Picker (Eyedropper), Color Sampler, Color Squares, Content-Aware Move, Color Replacement, Convert Anchor Point, Crop, Count, Custom Shape, Delete Anchor Point, Direct Selection, Dodge, Ellipse, Elliptical Marquee, Eraser, Eyedropper (Color Picker), Freeform Pen, Gradient, Hand, Healing Brush, History Brush, Horizontal Type (Text), Horizontal Type Mask, Lasso, Line, Magic Eraser, Magic Wand, Magnetic Lasso, Mixer Brush, Move, Note, Paint Bucket, Patch, Path Selection, Pattern Stamp, Pen, Pencil, Perspective Crop, Polygon, Polygonal Lasso, Quick Mask, Quick Selection, Recompose, Rectangle, Rectangular Marquee, Red Eye, Rotate View, Rounded Rectangle, Ruler, Sharpen, Single-Column Marquee, Single-Row Marquee, Slice, Slice Select, Smart Brush, Smudge, Sponge, Spot Healing Brush, Straighten, Text, Vertical Type, Vertical Type Mask, Zoom | |
| Extensions | No | Yes | |
| Smart Objects support | Open files with Smart Objects layers | Open files with Smart Objects layers; create Smart Objects; open files embedded as Smart Objects | |
| Channels support | Does not include Channels panel or Channel Mixer Adjustment and Enhancement | Does include Channels panel and Channel Mixer Adjustment and Enhancement | |
| HDR support | Can't merge multiple or bracketed photo exposures into HDR image; includes Photomerge Exposure | Can merge multiple and bracketed photo exposures into HDR image | |
| Content-Aware functionality | Spot Healing Brush, Content-Aware Fill (Photomerge Panorama only) | Spot Healing Brush, Content-Aware Fill, Content-Aware Scale, Content-Aware Extend and Move | |
| Vector tools | Shape tools (vector points cannot be edited individually) | Pen tool, Shape tools, Paths panel | |
| Blending modes | Normal, Dissolve, Darken, Multiply, Color Burn, Linear Burn, Darker Color, Lighten, Screen, Color Dodge, Linear Dodge (Add), Lighter Color, Overlay, Soft Light, Hard Light, Vivid Light, Linear Light, Pin Light, Hard Mix, Difference, Exclusion, Hue, Saturation, Color, Luminosity | Normal, Dissolve, Darken, Multiply, Color Burn, Linear Burn, Darker Color, Lighten, Screen, Color Dodge, Linear Dodge (Add), Lighter Color, Overlay, Soft Light, Hard Light, Vivid Light, Linear Light, Pin Light, Hard Mix, Difference, Exclusion, Subtract, Divide, Hue, Saturation, Color, Luminosity | |
| Transform tools | Scale, Rotate, Skew, Distort, Perspective | Scale, Rotate, Skew, Distort, Perspective, Warp | |
| Color Picker tool options | HSB color values, RGB color values, hexadecimal color values, Color field, Color slider, Only Web Colors option | HSB color values, RGB color values, Lab color values, CMYK color values, hexadecimal color values, Color field, Color slider, Only Web Colors option, Not Web-Safe Color alert icon, Add to Swatches button, Color Libraries button | |
| Panels | Effects, Favorites, Graphics, Histogram, Layers | 3D, Actions, Adjustments, Brush, Brush Presets, Channels, Character, Character Styles, Clone Source, Color, Histogram, History, Info, Layer Comps, Layers, Libraries, Measurement Log, Navigator, Notes, Paragraph, Paragraph Styles, Paths, Properties, Styles, Swatches, Timeline, Tool Presets | |
| Camera Raw tools | Crop, Hand, Image Rotation, Radial Filter, Red Eye Removal, Straighten, White Balance, Zoom | Adjustment Brush, Color Sampler, Crop, Graduated Filter, Hand, Image Rotation, Radial Filter, Red Eye Removal, Spot Removal, Straighten, Targeted Adjustment, White Balance, Zoom | |
| Camera Raw image adjustments | Basic, Camera Calibration, Detail, Effects | Basic, Camera Calibration, Detail, Effects, HSL / Grayscale, Lens Corrections, Presets, Snapshots, Split Toning, Tone Curve | |
More Information
Check out the product pages for Photoshop Elements (part of the Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements bundle) and Photoshop CC (part of the Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps plan).
