Summary

• Photoshop is renowned for image manipulation and raster-based imagery, ideal for composites and filters.
• Adobe Express is suitable for quick editing, social media content, and easy-to-use tools for beginners.
• Photoshop requires a subscription starting from $20/month, while Express offers a Premium upgrade for $10/month.

Since Photoshop’s inception, it has gone from strength to strength, both in its tools and price. Photoshop isn’t the only great photo and image editing software Adobe has, of course, and you can even access many Adobe tools without a subscription. Adobe Express was released in 2015 (initially named Adobe Post, then Adobe Spark, before Adobe Express in 2023) and has some similar features to Photoshop, but a smaller barrier to entry due to the price, platform accessibility, and overall ease of use. Let’s delve into the real differences between Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Express.

Photoshop vs. Express

If you haven't used Adobe's Photoshop or Express, you might not know what they should be used for. They each have their pros and cons, and also their own unique features.

What Photoshop is best for

Adobe Photoshop is renowned for being the best image manipulation and photo editing software. You can edit photos in Photoshop, but for most professional photographers, they might prefer to use Lightroom purely for photo editing.

Photoshop is great for creating composites and manipulating images, including adding text and filters. Even before the introduction of AI tools and smart filters, it was possible to create incredible imagery beyond the limits of your imagination using its tools. It’s the best tool for raster-based imagery, and it's worth noting that you can’t create or edit vectors in Photoshop. Although there are some animation tools, they’re not comprehensive.

What Express is best for

Adobe Express is great for quick image editing and creating compositions. It’s best used for content images and video for social media, digital marketing, and traditional marketing. While it has plenty of features that are similar to Photoshop, Express offers easier-to-use tools for users who are not experienced in graphic design software.

Express works similarly to Canva and Microsoft Designer, but it has the benefit of connecting to your Creative Cloud assets and integrating with other Adobe tools for a seamless workflow.

You can create videos and animations with Express, but nothing too comprehensive. It’s great for short-form use and collaboration with others.

How much do Photoshop and Express cost?

You can’t access Photoshop without an Adobe subscription, and the price can be a high barrier to entry for many. Photoshop can be subscribed to as part of three different subscription plans:

• Photoshop (individual) from $23 per month
• Photography plan (Lightroom and Photoshop) from $20 per month
• Creative Cloud All Apps plan (with over 20 Adobe programs) from $60 per month.

You’re not locked into a paid subscription to use Adobe Express, but there is a Premium upgrade option to access to more tools and features than the free plan for just $10 per month. Notably, unlike other Adobe subscriptions, you can subscribe month-to-month and end at any time, or there’s an annual plan option if you prefer. Most Adobe subscription plans come with Adobe Express Premium included.

Accessing Photoshop or Express

You can install Photoshop on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It’s also available for the iPad. You can access Photoshop online from the browser, but you still need a subscription to access it. Although there’s no phone or Android app for Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Express is a similarly compatible app.

Adobe Express is a browser-based tool for desktop use and isn’t something you can download and install on a computer system. But for mobile and tablet use — for both iPad and Android devices — you can download the apps. They all work seamlessly together so you can access your files from anywhere you’re logged in.

User interface and learning curve

Which is easier to navigate?

Photoshop has a much higher learning curve, but since it’s been on the market much longer, you’re likely familiar with the terminology, layout, and many of its tools. Many Photoshop alternatives use Photoshop as the base to replicate, such as Photopea, so the layout is often used elsewhere, too.

Adobe Express’ layout isn’t much like most Adobe software, but everything is well labeled and easy to navigate. The layout and tools are similar to Canva’s. There aren’t many convoluted tools here that require any intense knowledge to use. Most Express tools are drag-and-drop or click-to-apply, such as adding text, uploading images, or applying your brand assets.

Photoshop has countless online tutorials, including here on XDA, to teach you the ins and outs of the software. While Adobe Express is newer, there are still lots of available tutorials to follow if you feel you need them.

Traditional design tools

What can you do without AI?

Each software has traditional design tools without AI. Even with the addition of AI to both software, there’s no lack of traditional tools to use.

With Photoshop, you can (and should) utilize the layers panel for creating photo composites, along with the blend options. There are a handful of different selection tools, including shapes, manual selection, or magic selection for time-saving. You can edit or adjust colors and visual appearances, both on the photo directly or as a new layer to edit non-destructively, and you can use a variety of filters like blurring, sharpening, or stylizing, to name a few.

Adobe Express’s traditional tools are simpler, largely focusing on pre-designed and editable template options for designing quickly. It also has a Brands feature, so you can upload your brand’s colors, fonts, assets, and general style guide for harmonious designs. Express has a basic layer panel and three blend modes, plus an opacity slider.

Text can be added both manually by typing, then choosing the font, color, and style, or by choosing a pre-designed editable text layout. The media library provides free and premium stock images, video footage, and audio; you can also upload your own and create designs using any media type.

AI editing features

Adobe Firefly integration in Photoshop and Express

With the introduction of Adobe Firefly to most Adobe software, you’ll find some similar AI tools in both Express and Photoshop, as well as some that are unique to each. Most, but not all, of the AI tools in Express are only available on the Premium plan.

Both software programs include Firefly’s generative fill tool, for seamless replacement of unwanted elements in your photos. In Photoshop, this extends to the Generative Expand tool. Both tools also feature text-to-image tools, so you can add new imagination to your designs.

Adobe Express benefits from the generative text effects tool — letting you create stylized lettering. This takes your flat text into new territory with 3D dynamic results. There are also a handful of native AI tools in Express: remove background, erase, generate image, remove object, and insert object.

Photoshop’s AI tools are more integrated into the software and not always obvious. While the AI contextual task bar appears when using selection and crop tools for generative fill and generative expand, most other AI features are naturally placed within menus.

The Object Selection tool uses AI to identify the boundaries of your subjects for quick and precise selection. The Match Font tool can identify text in an image and provide a matching or similar font to recreate the text in your project. The Spot Healing brush lets you remove distractions without obvious residue. The Neural Filters — which use AI and machine learning (ML) — provide intelligent ways to restore, improve, and edit your images in one fell swoop.

Extra Features

Yep, there’s even more

Along with being able to access your Creative Cloud assets in both Photoshop and Express for cross-platform editing, each software also has third-party integration.

In Photoshop, you can download Photoshop plugins to apply new tools, filters, and more to your Photoshop workflow. These are often for-purchase plugins by developers or businesses. You can also create and run Photoshop Scripts to automate repetitive techniques.

In Adobe Express, you’ll benefit from its Add-Ons tab, which includes dozens of third-party integrations. These range from image organization tools like Google Photos to social media help like TikTok Symphony Assistant, as well as third-party creative and AI tools. All Add-Ons are free to use within Express.

Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Express should be part of your workflow

There isn’t a winner in the comparison between Photoshop versus Express — they both offer unique tools and features for different uses. When considering price, it may make more sense to use Adobe Express, especially since so many tools are free. Photoshop is an investment tool that should really be purchased to get value from its use. Adobe Express can be used as a hobby tool, perhaps for fun or professional social media posts and digital marketing, but it doesn’t have the same image manipulation and artistry you can enjoy with Photoshop.

• Adobe Photoshop

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• Adobe Express

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