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.

Adobe Photoshop

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Photoshop Elements

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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 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

-0.78

Strongly negative sentiment

+0.45

Rather positive sentiment
Customer Service

+0.26

Neutral sentiment

No data
Ease of Use

+0.38

Rather positive sentiment

+0.5

Rather positive sentiment
Reliability and Performance

+0.31

Rather positive sentiment

+0

Neutral sentiment
Ease of Implementation

-0.41

Rather negative sentiment

+0.2

Neutral sentiment
Scalability

-0.17

Neutral sentiment

-0.33

Rather negative sentiment

Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements Pricing

No data

User sentiment

Strongly negative

-0.78

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

Glassdoor

4.3/5

(10097)

Glassdoor

4.3/5

(10097)

Company health

Employee growth

4% increase in the last year

Web traffic

1% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

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

Fotor Photo Editor

Fotor is an all-in-one visual content platform that caters to various editing needs, from basic photo touch-ups to designing marketing materials. It offers a range of features, including pre-designed templates for social media and ad campaigns, as well as AI-powered tools for image generation. Fotor is accessible online and through its desktop and mobile apps (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android). It aims to simplify visual content creation for both individual and business users.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a communication and collaboration platform designed for businesses. It offers chat, video conferencing, file sharing, and integration with other Microsoft Office apps. Aimed at improving teamwork and productivity, Teams centralizes communication and provides a hub for all work-related activities.

Capture One Pro

Capture One Pro is professional photo editing software developed for photographers who demand the highest quality results. This powerful tool offers advanced color editing, precise image adjustments, and efficient file management. Capture One Pro is known for its exceptional color accuracy and its ability to handle large, complex photo shoots, making it ideal for professional photographers and studios.

ACDSee

ACDSee offers photo editing and management software for individual users and businesses. It provides tools for organizing, editing, and sharing images, with features like AI-powered tagging and RAW image editing. ACDSee aims to be a comprehensive solution for photographers of all levels, from hobbyists to professionals. It stands out for its long history in the field and continuous development of new features.

Figma

Figma is an online design platform that helps teams design and build digital products. It allows for real-time collaboration between designers, developers and others, making it easier to create and test designs, gather feedback, and ensure everyone is working from the same information. Figma streamlines the design process, from wireframing and prototyping to handing off designs to developers. It's used by various sizes and types of companies for web design, app design, and more.

Adobe Photoshop Express

Adobe Photoshop Express is a free mobile app for editing and sharing images. It offers easy-to-use tools for quick enhancements, like color adjustments, blemish removal, and applying filters. You can also create collages and instantly share your edited photos on social media. While not as powerful as the full Photoshop desktop software, Photoshop Express provides a convenient way to enhance images on the go.

Page co-authored by

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.

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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