Adobe Photoshop vs Photoshop Elements

by Gralio Feb 08, 2025

Photoshop and Photoshop Elements cater to different skill levels and needs. Photoshop offers professional-grade features and control for complex projects, while Photoshop Elements focuses on simplicity and ease of use for everyday photo enhancements.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 5335 reviews and 60 websites, saving 1 day, 6 hours, 8 minutes of reading.

Logo of Adobe Photoshop
Logo of Photoshop Elements

About

Adobe Photoshop is the industry standard software for editing and manipulating images. Photoshop offers advanced features like layers, masks, and filters that give you fine-grained control over your visuals. While powerful, it's also accessible for beginners who want to make quick edits. Photoshop promises professional-quality results for print and digital media.
Photoshop Elements is photo editing software designed for non-professionals. It offers a range of tools for enhancing, organizing, and sharing photos, balancing ease of use with powerful features. It's ideal for individuals who want to improve their photos without needing advanced design skills. Photoshop Elements helps you achieve professional-looking results with automated options and guided edits.

Summary

Main difference
Adobe Photoshop is a robust, industry-standard image editing software for professionals seeking advanced features and control. Photoshop Elements caters to non-professionals and hobbyists, prioritizing ease of use and guided edits for achieving quick enhancements.

Relative strengths of Adobe Photoshop (compared to Photoshop Elements)

  • Offers professional-grade tools like CMYK color space support, advanced layer management, and a wider range of filters and effects.

  • Provides extensive RAW photo processing capabilities through Adobe Camera Raw.

  • Integrates seamlessly with other Adobe Creative Cloud applications for a streamlined workflow.

Relative weaknesses of Adobe Photoshop (compared to Photoshop Elements)

  • Higher cost and subscription-based pricing model.

  • Steeper learning curve and more complex interface.

  • Resource-intensive, requiring a powerful computer for optimal performance.

Who is using Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements?

Linus Sebastian
Linus Tech Tips YouTuber - 16M subs
Michael Janda
Creative director and YouTuber - 42K subs
Mr Beast
YouTube Megastar - 383M subscribers
No data

Who should use Adobe Photoshop VS. Photoshop Elements

Adobe Photoshop is the industry-standard image editing software for businesses of all sizes. Users praise its innovative AI features like Generative Fill, extensive tools, and professional-quality output. However, some find the subscription model expensive. Photoshop is ideal for enhancing images, creating marketing materials, and achieving high-quality visuals.

Photoshop Elements is user-friendly photo editing software ideal for individuals and businesses looking to enhance photos without advanced design skills. It offers guided edits and automated options for achieving professional results. Users praise its intuitive interface and helpful tutorials, while some note occasional performance issues with larger files.

  • Best for small, medium, and large businesses seeking professional image editing.

  • Ideal for various sectors, including marketing, e-commerce, media, and more.

  • Ideal for small to medium-sized businesses seeking user-friendly photo editing software.

  • A good fit for various industries, including marketing, e-commerce, and media, where high-quality visuals are essential.

Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements features

Supported
Partially supported
Not supported
Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

  • Filters and Effects
    Supported

    Adobe Photoshop offers a wide range of built-in filters and effects, confirmed by multiple sources.

    Supported

    Photoshop Elements offers various built-in filters for enhancing and stylizing images.

  • PSD Support
    Supported

    Adobe Photoshop natively supports importing and exporting PSD files.

    Supported

    Photoshop Elements supports importing and exporting PSD files, but with limitations on advanced features and layers.

  • Color Grading
    Supported

    Adobe Photoshop offers extensive color grading tools like Hue/Saturation, Photo Filters, Curves, and Selective Color, enabling users to create specific moods and cinematic effects.

    Partially supported

    Photoshop Elements offers basic color adjustments. Advanced color grading is possible via third-party plugins.

  • RAW Photo Processing
    Supported

    Adobe Photoshop fully supports importing, editing, and processing RAW image files via its integrated Adobe Camera Raw plugin.

    Supported

    Photoshop Elements supports RAW photo processing using the built-in Camera Raw editor.

  • Color Space Support
    Supported

    Adobe Photoshop supports editing and exporting in both RGB and CMYK color spaces.

    Not supported

    Photoshop Elements supports RGB (sRGB and Adobe RGB), but not CMYK.

  • Smudge Tool
    Supported

    Adobe Photoshop does support the "Smudge Tool" for blending and smudging colors, as confirmed by multiple sources.

    Supported

    Photoshop Elements supports the Smudge tool for blending and smudging colors.

Qualities

  • Value and Pricing Transparency
    -0.79
    Strongly negative sentiment
    +0.11
    Neutral sentiment
  • Customer Service
    -0.25
    Neutral sentiment
    No data
  • Ease of Use
    +0.39
    Rather positive sentiment
    +0.55
    Rather positive sentiment
  • Reliability and Performance
    +0.34
    Rather positive sentiment
    +0.4
    Rather positive sentiment
  • Ease of Implementation
    -0.7
    Strongly negative sentiment
    +0.5
    Rather positive sentiment
  • Scalability
    +0.25
    Neutral sentiment
    -0.33
    Rather negative sentiment

Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements Pricing

Adobe Photoshop offers several subscription plans for individuals. All plans include Photoshop, Adobe Fresco, Photoshop Express, Adobe Express, Adobe Firefly, 100GB of cloud storage, step-by-step tutorials, Adobe Portfolio, Adobe Fonts, Behance, Creative Cloud Libraries, access to the latest features, and 500 monthly generative credits. A 30-day free trial of Adobe Stock is also available.
Plans

User sentiment

Strongly negative
-0.79

See full Pricing page

No data

User sentiment

Rather positive
+0.45
We couldn't find a pricing page for Photoshop Elements.

Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements review insights

5335 reviews analysed from and

Users love

  • Generative fill is a game-changing feature
  • The "AI features are getting increasingly more useful and innovative."
  • Industry-standard software for image manipulation
  • Offers advanced features for professional-quality results
  • User-friendly interface and ease of use for basic photo editing
  • Guided Edits provide step-by-step instructions for beginners
  • One-time purchase, no subscription needed
  • Powerful features for photo enhancement and organization

Users dislike

  • The subscription model is expensive and not ideal for those who want a one-time purchase
  • New features are not always intuitive and can be difficult to learn
  • Can be slow and resource-intensive, especially on older computers
  • The mobile app has limited functionality
  • Difficult to find specific tools or features
  • Performance issues and occasional crashes, especially with larger files
  • Limited export options, particularly the lack of CMYK support for printing
  • Some users find the interface cluttered and overwhelming

Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements Ratings

  • G2
    4.6/5
    (2496)
  • Capterra
    4.8/5
    (2088)
  • Glassdoor
    4.3/5
    (10097)
  • G2
    4.3/5
    (766)
  • Glassdoor
    4.3/5
    (10097)

Company health

Employee growth

4% increase in the last year
4% increase in the last year

Web traffic

1% decrease in the last quarter
1% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

June 1984 - $3M
June 1984 - $3M

How important is full PSD support with advanced layers?

Full PSD support with advanced layers is crucial for users who require the full range of Photoshop's editing capabilities. While Photoshop Elements offers basic PSD support, its limitations on advanced features and layers make it unsuitable for complex projects that require fine-grained control over individual elements within a design. Therefore, the importance of full PSD support depends entirely on the user's needs and the complexity of their projects. For professional users or complex projects, it is essential. For basic photo editing and touch-ups, the limited support in Photoshop Elements might suffice.

Which product offers better performance for large files?

Adobe Photoshop (Product A) offers better performance for large files. While Photoshop Elements (Product B) users report performance issues and crashes with larger files, Photoshop is known as the industry standard and is built to handle the demands of professional workflows, including large, high-resolution images.

What are the advantages of Adobe Photoshop?

Adobe Photoshop offers advanced features like layers, masks, and filters, providing fine-grained control over images for professional-quality results. It supports CMYK color space for print media, offers extensive color grading tools, and includes a wide range of brushes and filters. Furthermore, Photoshop's native PSD support ensures seamless workflows and its innovative AI features like Generative Fill are highly praised.

What are the disadvantages of Adobe Photoshop?

Adobe Photoshop's subscription model is a common complaint, being expensive compared to one-time purchase options. Some users find new features difficult to learn, and the software can be resource-intensive, potentially causing slow performance on older machines. The mobile app's limited functionality is also a drawback for those needing robust editing on the go.

Alternatives to Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements

Logo of Affinity Photo
Affinity Photo
Pro photo editing, powerful tools, one-time purchase.
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Logo of Luminar Neo
Luminar Neo
AI-powered photo editor for stunning images, effortlessly.
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Logo of Pixlr
Pixlr
Easy online photo editor with powerful tools, free to use.
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Logo of GIMP
GIMP
Free, powerful image editor for pros and beginners.
Read more
Logo of AfterShoot
AfterShoot
AI culls, edits, and delivers photos faster, freeing photographers' time.
Read more
Logo of Magic Studio
Magic Studio
AI image editing: remove objects, change backgrounds, create from text.
Read more
Page co-authored by
MK
Michal Kaczor
CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

TT
Tymon Terlikiewicz
CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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