Adobe Photoshop Review and verdict 2026

The world standard for photo editing and compositing.

From 26.21€/mo.

Our take

Understanding Adobe Photoshop.

Photoshop is the most-used photo editing software in the world, to the point its name became a verb. Retouching, photomontage, cutouts, compositing, image manipulation: anything pixel-based goes through it, and the whole creative industry works with its files. It's an unavoidable standard once you do professional photo or visual work.

The Adobe model applies: no free version, just a trial, then the subscription. Budget around €26/month for Photoshop alone. But if you mostly do photography, the trick to know is the Photography plan (Photoshop + Lightroom), noticeably cheaper, around €10 to €15/month depending on storage. It's often the best entry point.

The alternative that changed things in 2024: Affinity Photo, now free after the Canva acquisition, covers a large part of retouching needs with no subscription. For something free in the browser, Photopea mirrors the interface. Photoshop keeps the edge on advanced features, generative AI (Generative Fill) and file compatibility, but it's no longer the obligatory path it once was.

Practical uses

Retouch and correct photographs in detail.
Composite a multi-layer image (montage, poster).
Extend or complete an imageGenerative AI.

Pros and cons

What Adobe Photoshop does especially well — and the limits to anticipate.

Pros

The reference raster image editor, extremely complete.
Powerful retouching: healing, content-aware fill, masks.
Built-in RAW processing via Camera Raw.
Built-in Generative Fill and Expand (AI).

Cons

Available via the Creative Cloud subscription, not one-off purchase.
Real learning curve to unlock its full potential.
Overkill for simple retouching.

Adobe Photoshop: when it makes sense.

Photoshop makes sense when raster image editing is core to your work; for vector work or occasional retouching, a lighter tool (or Illustrator) fits better.

Keep if

You edit, retouch or composite images regularly.. You want the reference tool, with generative AI (Firefly) built in.

Adobe Photoshop becomes worthwhile when

You use it at least once a week
The monthly cost (€26) is small next to the time it saves you

Challenge if

You only do vector work: Illustrator fits better.. Your edits are simple and occasional.

Adobe Photoshop becomes too expensive when

You use it less than once a month
Affinity Photo (free) already covers the essentials for occasional use

Our verdict on Adobe Photoshop.

Why this verdict

Very good

Adobe Photoshop is hard to replace short-term, no free tier to test before paying, clearly documented use cases.