Used For

• +**Your GIMP keeps crashing on 500MB files with 100+ layers** → Photoshop handles complex projects without breaking, saves hours of lost work
• +Auto-sync across all devices means your phone edits show up on desktop instantly
• +**You're manually editing 500 product photos one by one** → Lightroom's batch AI adjustments let you touch only 50 photos instead of all 500
• +**Your team emails 15 PSD versions back and forth daily** → One shared cloud link replaces version chaos, everyone edits the same file
• +AI generates images from text in 10 seconds - type "cat in space" and get usable results without stock photo hunting

Best For

• >Design agencies cranking out daily content who need the full professional toolkit
• >Video editors working with 4K footage that crashes free alternatives
• >Photographers managing thousands of RAW files across multiple devices

Not For

• -Solo hobbyists or small teams under 10 people — you're paying $720/year for features you'll touch once
• -Anyone wanting to avoid subscriptions — no one-time purchase option, you pay forever or lose access to your files
• -Artists concerned about AI ethics — Adobe trains their AI on user content even when you opt out

Pairs With

• *Figma (for wireframes and UI design before jumping to Photoshop for final polish)
• *Slack (where your team shares design previews and complains about subscription renewal charges)
• *Google Drive (for backing up project files because cloud sync isn't bulletproof)
• *Canva (for quick social media mockups before doing serious edits in the Adobe apps)
• *Dropbox (for client file sharing since Adobe's sharing links confuse non-creative clients)
• *YouTube (where you'll spend 20+ hours learning keyboard shortcuts and advanced techniques)

The Catch

• !AI generative credits cap at 25/month on basic plans — hit the limit making 5 logos, then pay $10 for extra packs
• !Stock photos auto-charge $30/image if you forget to cancel the trial, and storage overages add $10/100GB
• !The February 2024 sync discontinuation broke phone-to-desktop workflows, adding 30 minutes of manual exports daily for many users

Bottom Line

The 800-pound gorilla of creative software — does everything, costs everything, and you're locked into paying forever.