Adobe Photoshop
Adobe's raster image editor for photo retouching, compositing and digital painting.
HN commenters see Photoshop as the capable industry standard,123 citing its smooth brushes, layers and one-click AI subject cutouts.456 The most common complaint is its costly subscription model,789 followed by reports that it has grown slower and buggier over time.101112
Why people recommend it
Industry standard · 3
Commenters call it the industry standard and more capable than free alternatives.
“I use Adobe products because the dirty secret is they are without equal in many areas”
“It isn't as capable as Photoshop, but it isn't a rental”
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“the photoshop I used in the late 90s/early 2000s”
Familiar workflow · 3
Long-time users rely on its interface and muscle memory, and some say they were more productive in it than in GIMP.
“I pirated photoshop when I was 12 and kept using that for image editing my entire life.”
“having got quite good at it in the '90s”
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“when I used to use Photoshop twenty-five years ago I was a lot more productive than I'm able to be in GIMP”
AI selection tools · 2
One-click subject cutouts and similar tools are called game-changing for daily portrait work.
“Since they added it a year or so ago it has been game-changing.”
“I used to make Photoshop tutorials before YouTube”
Brushes and responsiveness · 1
A professional artist praises its smooth brushes and instant text input compared with a clone.
“Trying to type text, takes like 1second per character just to type (photoshop is instant).”
Layers model · 1
Its layers are held up as a UX model that makes users productive.
“I want more apps to expose UX like PhotoShop layers, where users are more productive manipulating a recipe”
Caveats and dissent
Subscription cost · 3
Many object to the subscription, calling it extortionate or predatory, with a reported cancellation penalty.
“I used to pay for Photoshop and I was very happy until they started with the subscription business.”
“Photoshop that costs $275/year in a predatory subscription where you cant cancel without a $200 penalty”
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“A UI that has rotted out over time. No way I'm paying the extortionate rental prices for current-gen Adobe tools.”
Slower over time · 3
Long-time users say each release gets slower, with one reporting a 30-second startup.
“every time CPUs have gotten faster, it's gotten slower.”
“It was getting slower and slower with every release.”
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“Photoshop and Illustrator CS6 were the last good versions.”
UI decline · 3
Users describe the UI as rotted or less responsive than older versions, and one rolled back to a 2020 release over the select-and-mask tool.
“A UI that has rotted out over time. No way I'm paying the extortionate rental prices for current-gen Adobe tools.”
“before they switched to the branded-UI mess”
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“I can't tell you how frustrating the select and mask tool is to actually use. I've rolled back to 2020 version”
Creative Cloud bugs · 3
Commenters report problems with Creative Cloud apps on Windows 11 and with Creative Cloud sync.
“Lots of problems in Adobe Creative Cloud on Win 11 (primarily Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator)”
“They only supported local copy and Creative Cloud sync.”
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“Photoshop and Illustrator CS6 were the last good versions.”
Unwanted AI features · 1
One user says constant updates added AI features they did not want or need.
“It was getting slower and slower with every release.”
Often compared with
1 moved from Adobe Photoshop to GIMP
2 moved from Adobe Photoshop to Photopea
2 moved from Adobe Photoshop to KritaPixelmator Pro3 comments mention both
1 moved from Adobe Photoshop to Pixelmator ProAdobe Lightroom5 comments mention both
1 moved from Adobe Photoshop to Photocraft
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- An Infuriating Goodbye to Photoshop 6 mentions
- GIMP Development Update 4 mentions
- Nikon photography contest winner loses title after scientists spot signs of AI 2 mentions
- Attack of the Vibe Coded Photoshop Clones 2 mentions
- ArtCraft Apps – open-source Adobe compatible suite written in Rust 2 mentions
- Photoshop's challenges with focus, pt. 2 2 mentions
Also written as Adobe Photoshop. Data: adobe-photoshop.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 41
“I used to make Photoshop tutorials before YouTube”
“processing them once again in either Lightroom or Photoshop”
“add some Photoshop magic”
“I don't need Photoshop anymore”
“I pirated photoshop when I was 12 and kept using that for image editing my entire life.”
“I use Adobe products because the dirty secret is they are without equal in many areas”
“I used to pay for Photoshop and I was very happy until they started with the subscription business.”
“Trying to type text, takes like 1second per character just to type (photoshop is instant).”
“A UI that has rotted out over time. No way I'm paying the extortionate rental prices for current-gen Adobe tools.”
“My own feeling is that there are serious cracks in the way Photoshop works.”
“It isn't as capable as Photoshop, but it isn't a rental”
“Photoshop that costs $275/year in a predatory subscription where you cant cancel without a $200 penalty”
“The most expensive apps I use (Lightroom, Resolve, Photoshop), are available for Windows too”
“I use both the base M4 Mac mini and an M4 MacBook Air for Final Cut Pro, Photoshop, and Fusion”
“before that it was Photoshop”
“the photoshop I used in the late 90s/early 2000s”
“having got quite good at it in the '90s”
“I loathe photoshop”
“when I used to use Photoshop twenty-five years ago I was a lot more productive than I'm able to be in GIMP”
“Photoshop has gotten worse”
“I scanned those and cleaned them up in Photoshop”
“Photoshop is like that too”
“Lots of problems in Adobe Creative Cloud on Win 11 (primarily Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator)”
“I use PS weekly and I've never seen it (or anything else) touch my hosts file on Windows.”
“It was getting slower and slower with every release.”
“I use PS daily”
“Photoshop and Illustrator CS6 were the last good versions.”
“every time CPUs have gotten faster, it's gotten slower.”
“They only supported local copy and Creative Cloud sync.”
“before they switched to the branded-UI mess”
“exported from art I did in Photoshop”
“drew a depth map in Photoshop”
“Photoshop has a history palette, but it just does not do (easily) what this lets you do”
“I deeply disagree that Photoshop has better UI than GIMP”
“I need Photoshop for an almost vanishingly small subset of all the things it is capable of”
“None of it lost functionality like this, which looks like they used an entirely new UI framework under the good.”
“a stepped curve in Photoshop”
“I can't tell you how frustrating the select and mask tool is to actually use. I've rolled back to 2020 version”
“it'll be much more efficient to just do it in Photoshop than to describe the change in English”
“Since they added it a year or so ago it has been game-changing.”
“I want more apps to expose UX like PhotoShop layers, where users are more productive manipulating a recipe”