Article ID = 97
Article Title = Alternative Products To Adobe Creative Suite/Creative Cloud
Article Author(s) = Graham Needham (BH)
Article Created On = 21st May 2013
Article Last Updated = 25th August 2020
Article URL = https://www.macstrategy.com/article.php?97
Article Brief Description:
A list of alternative software products to and a source of information for leaving Adobe Creative Cloud and/or abandoning Adobe Creative Suite

Alternatives To Adobe Creative Suite/Creative Cloud

Based on our 17th May 2013 blog post about Adobe Creative Cloud we have produced this article with a list of alternative products to the Adobe versions. This article will be updated as frequently as possible so do bookmark it and come back regularly if you want. Always check operating system compatibility and your feature requirements versus what the alternative application actually supports before making any purchases - most products do have trial versions available. If you have come across additional products not listed here but that you think should be, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Adobe Creative Suite/Creative Cloud Products

Download: (Free Trial, $49.99) / (Get it from the Mac App Store – $3.99/month) 5. UltraEdit is one of the best and most versatile text editors for Mac out there. For starters, UltraEdit supports a ton of different languages including C, Objective C, Javascript, XML, PHP, Perl, Python, and more. Just like BBEdit, UltraEdit has been. Kompozer is a visual webpage editor based on NVU that uses Gecko, the same graphics engine as Mozilla. It's similar to Dreamweaver, allowing you to create webpages and modify the source code. This application contains a project manager with a built-in FTP client, so you can easily browse the files stored on the server. MacOS 10.15 Catalina. InDesign is available on the MacHow2 web site along with information on working with Microsoft Publisher files on a Mac.

• Fireworks (discontinued 5th May 2013)

Support Communities / Mac OS & System Software / Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard Announcement: Get Ready for macOS Catalina Experience dedicated apps for music, TV, and podcasts, plus smart new features like Sidecar. Aptana Studio 3 The world’s most powerful open-source web development IDE just got better. Rebuilt from the ground-up. It's now much faster, customizable and includes new features to help you be more productive. For Mac OS X 10.4.8 or above and equipped with an Intel chipset. A visual webpage editor based on NVU.

Alternative Software

Acrobat Pro [PDF editing / manipulation]

Large feature set products:

• Smile PDFpen
• Cisdem PDFManagerUltimate
• iSkysoft PDFelement Pro for Mac
• Coherent Graphics Proview

Basic products:

• Preview (included with OS X) [FREE]
• Infix PDF Editor
• Online PDF Editor by FormSwift
• Online PDF to Word Converter by FormSwift
• Online JPG to PDF Converter by FormSwift

Windows only products:

Photoshop (Extended) [photo editors / bitmap painters]

Large feature set products:

• Graphic Converter (some Photoshop PSD file support)
NOTE: Photoline supports 16 bits/pixel, CMYK & Lab colour modesNOTE: Pixelmator Pro has basic Photoshop PSD file support and now also supports CMYK Proofing
NOTE: You can turn Pixelmator into 'Vectormator' with this free built-in facilityhttps://apps.apple.com/gb/?mt=12
• On1 Photo 10 (standalone version)
• Manga Studio Buy it now at
• Corel Painter 2017 Buy it now at
• Corel Painter 2016 Buy it now at
• Corel Painter 2015 Buy it now at

Basic products:

• Acorn (some Photoshop PSD file support)
• Gimp (some Photoshop PSD file support) [FREE - open source]
• Adobe Photoshop Elements
  2021
  2020
NOTE: Elements supports a RGB colour space only - no CMYK!
• ArtRage Buy it now at
• Clip Studio Paint Pro/EX
• Photopea (online editor)

Windows only products:

• PaintShop Pro X8 Ultimate Buy it now at
• Serif PhotoPlus X8 Buy it now at

Illustrator [vector graphics / computer aided design {CAD}]

Large feature set products:

NOTE: You can turn Pixelmator into 'Vectormator' with this free built-in facility
• Microspot MacDraft Pro

Basic products:

• Vectr (online editor)
• Microspot MacDraft P.E. (Personal Edition)

Windows only products:NOTE: See also, MacHow2's Best CAD Software For Mac.

InDesign [page layout]

Large feature set products:

• Serif Affinity Publisher

Basic products:

• Apple Pages
• VIVA Designer (Desktop)
• Scribus [FREE - open source]
• Lucidpress [subscription required]
• FlippingBook [subscription required]

NOTE: More information about third party alternatives to Adobe InDesign is available on the MacHow2 web site along with information on working with Microsoft Publisher files on a Mac.
Windows only products:

• Serif PagePlus X9 Buy it now at

Flash Professional

+ Edge

HTML 5 animation products:Windows only products:

• Microsoft Blend / Visual Studio (Microsoft Silverlight - an alternative to Flash)

Fireworks

Kompozer For Mac Catalina 10.15

Large feature set products:Basic products:

Dreamweaver [HTML/web site coding]

Kompozer For Mac Catalina Installer

+ Muse

Large feature set products:

• Panic Coda
• Realmac Rapidweaver
• Karelia Software Sandvox
• KompoZer [FREE - open source] (stable version PPC only current beta version Universal)
• Taco HTML Edit (discontinued in 2015)

Basic products:

• Softpress Freeway Express

Windows only products:

• CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X8 Buy it now at
• CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X7 Buy it now at
• CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X6 Buy it now at
• Serif WebPlus X8 Buy it now at

Lightroom [photo processing / management]

Large feature set products:

• Corel AfterShot Pro Buy it now at
• Apple Aperture (discontinued 27/06/2014)

RAW Processing Apps:

• RawTherapee [FREE - open source]
• Nikon CaptureNX2 (Nikon products only)

Basic products:

• Apple Photos [FREE - included with OS X 10.10.3 or later]
• Lightzone [FREE - open source]

Windows only products:

• Grass Valley Edius (formerly Canopus)

Premiere Pro [video editing]

Large feature set products:

• Apple Final Cut Pro X
• Avid Media Composer Buy it now at

Basic products:

• Apple iMovie
• Adobe Premiere Elements
  2021
  2020

Windows only products:

• Sony Vegas Pro 13 Buy it now at
• Grass Valley Edius (formerly Canopus)

NOTE: See also, MacHow2's Best Video Editing Software For Mac.

After Effects [video processing]

Large feature set products:

• Apple Motion
• Jahshaka [FREE - open source]

Windows only products:

SpeedGrade

Large feature set products:Basic products:

Audition

Large feature set products:

• Apple Logic Pro X

Basic products:

• Apple GarageBand
• Audacity [FREE - open source]

Windows only products:

Prelude

Generic project management related products:

• Post Haste [FREE]

Encore

Products including menu creation:

• Adobe Premiere Elements
  2021
  2020
• Burn [FREE - open source]

DVD burner products:

• Roxio Toast Titanium 19 (64-bit compatible)
• Roxio Toast Titanium 18 (64-bit compatible)
• Roxio Toast Titanium 17 (64-bit compatible)
• Corel Toast Burn
• NTI Dragon Burn
• Burn (FREE - Open Source)
• NCH Express Burn (FREE for home use or US$34.99)
• Disco (FREE) - 32-bit software so not compatible with macOS 10.15 or later!
• SimplyBurns (FREE) - 32-bit software so not compatible with macOS 10.15 or later!

Windows only products:

• Roxio easyCD&DVD burning Buy it now at
• Sony DVD Architect Studio Buy it now at

NOTE: Apple has pretty much abandoned the optical disc format so their iDVD and DVD Studio Products are now, unfortunately, discontinued.

Notes and Considerations

The above listed alternatives are similar to their Adobe counterparts in terms of classification but are not necessarily the same in workflow or interoperability. We therefore strongly advise strenuous product testing before rollout/large purchases in business environments but it is better to start this testing

Kompozer For Mac Catalina Os

now before you get stuck between a rock (testing) and a hard place (forced Adobe subscription)! You should also consider the following:

1. Licence / upgrade costs
2. Licensing options e.g. is easy volume licensing available for larger businesses
3. Purchasing options appropriate to your requirements - is software available as boxed, download and/or via the Mac App Store
4. Software that requires activation
5. Software rollout/update management
6. Asset management

Additions, Omissions and/or Errors

If you have any additions or comments regarding the above products please use our Contact Form to inform us.

Authorised/Activated Software and/or Services

• Apple software and related services
• Adobe Creative Suite/Creative Cloud and other products/services
• Microsoft Office 2011/2016/2019/365 for Mac but not Office 2004 or 2008
• Microsoft Windows and other products/services
• Enfocus Pitstop Pro
• Mathworks MATLAB and Simulink Student Version
• Unity Technologies Unity 3D
• OnOne Software Perfect Photo Suite and other products

NOTE: If you know of any other Macintosh software that requires activation please contact us.

Article Keywords: alternative alternatives options crossgrade cross-grade cross grade migrate change move to abandon leave Adobe Creative Suite CS CS1 CS2 CS3 CS4 CS5 CS5.5 CS6 Creative Cloud CC Acrobat Pro Photoshop Extended Illustrator InDesign Flash Professional Fireworks Dreamweaver Muse Edge Lightroom Premiere Pro After Effects Audition SpeedGrade Prelude Encore open convert files third party solutions free freeware open source opensource edit editing image graphic PDF portable document format EPS encapsulated postscript desktop publishing page layout author authorware authoring HTML HTML5 5 CSS CSS2 CSS3 animation internet web development developer WYSIWYG template RGB CMYK photo photographic asset management manipulation video non linear non-linear high definition HD menu CD CDR DVD DVDR DVD-R BD blu-ray disc colour color correction balance project manage manager management software

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