Updated 2023-12-06
If you are working remotely for classes or prefer to use your own computer to do work that you would normally do in our Labs, here is how you can obtain your own copy of common Lab software and the associated cost if applicable.
Adobe Products (Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, Premiere Pro)
TL;DR: $130 for 3 months of any app; Photoshop/Lightroom $156/year or $97.50 for 3 months
Platforms: macOS, Windows
Free Trial: 7 days
Student Discount Price: $312 per year for entire Creative Cloud suite ($468/year after the first year); a regular price option may be better if you only need Photoshop or Lightroom (see below)
Regular Price:
$840 per year for Creative Cloud suite [Price increases Nov. 1, 2023]
$156 per year for CC Photography plan (Photoshop + Lightroom)
$312 per year for Illustrator or Premiere Pro only [Price increases Nov. 1, 2023]
$40.99 per month for any one app (no annual commitment required) [Price increases Nov. 1, 2023]
License: Subscription (only)
Adobe offers all of its products as subscriptions; you must pay Adobe a monthly or annual fee (billed monthly) to continue to use the software. Which app or combination of apps you need and for how long will determine which option is the most cost-effective for you — the student discount may not be the best deal for you if you only need one app or only need three months of use. Adobe now offers pricing in Canadian Dollars.
All of Adobe’s annual subscriptions can be billed on a monthly basis, but if you cancel early, you pay a 50% penalty for each month you cancel. For example, if you only needed to use Photoshop or Lightroom for three months for a Fall or Winter class, your best choices would be Adobe’s regular offers, not the student offer:
- $156 for a one-year subscription to the CC Photography plan ($12.99/month × 12 months; no student discount)
- $97.50 for 3 months of CC Photography plan subscription ($12.99 × 3 months + $6.50 × 9 month penalty for early cancellation)
For an app like Illustrator or Premiere, your best choices would be:
- $312 for a one-year subscription to the Creative Cloud suite ($25.99/month × 12 months after student discount)
- $195 for 3 months of the CC student discount subscription ($25.99 × 3 months + $13 × 9 month penalty for early cancellation)
- $123 for 3 months use of the app ($40.99/month × 3 months, no student discount)
Once you need two or more Adobe apps (other than Photoshop + Lightroom), you are almost certainly better off subscribing to the full Creative Cloud plan for students. Note that the price increases by 50% after the first year of your subscription if you choose to use the software long term.
If you do not wish to subscribe to Adobe’s software, there are now excellent alternative apps that can accomplish much of what Adobe’s products do and even export to Adobe’s file formats. For example, perpetual licenses for Affinity Photo (similar to Photoshop) and Affinity Designer (similar to Illustrator) are available for $100 each, which includes an iPad license. Check with your instructor to see if such alternatives would be suitable for your particular class.
Final Cut Pro
TL;DR: 90 day free trial
Platform: macOS and iPadOS (limited)
Free Trial: 90 days (macOS), 30 days (iPadOS)
Student Discount Price: $260 as part of a bundle for macOS (no Education price for iPadOS)
Regular Price: $400 (no bundle) for macOS, $6.99/month or $69/year for iPadOS
License: Perpetual (one-time payment) for macOS, Subscription for iPadOS
Apple extended their normal 30 day trial on Final Cut Pro during the pandemic, so tactical use of the macOS trial could get you through a Term without needing to purchase the app. If you wish to use the app longer than that, the best value for dollar is Apple’s “Pro Apps for Education” bundle, which includes apps like Compressor and Logic Pro (Apple’s digital audio workstation app — think GarageBand on steroids). Note that the iPadOS version of Final Cut Pro cannot exchange projects with the macOS version — you can import your work from iPad to Mac but not the other direction.
Logic Pro
TL;DR: 90 day free trial
Platform: macOS and iPadOS
Free Trial: 90 days (macOS), 30 days (iPadOS)
Student Discount Price: $260 as part of a bundle for macOS (no Education price for iPadOS)
Regular Price: $280 (no bundle) for macOS, $6.99/month or $69/year for iPadOS
License: Perpetual (one-time payment) for macOS, Subscription for iPadOS
Apple didn’t have a trial version of Logic Pro prior to the pandemic, as most people’s needs were met with GarageBand. Tactical use of this new trial option could get you through a Term without needing to purchase the app. If you wish to use the app longer than that, a small discount comes by purchasing Apple’s “Pro Apps for Education” bundle, but you also receive Final Cut Pro video editing software (normally $400 itself — think iMovie on steroids). The new version for iPad can exchange projects back and forth between itself and the macOS version.
ZBrush
TL;DR: USD$20 for one year via Kivuto/OnTheHub
Platform: macOS, Windows
Free Trial: 14 days (as part of the Maxon One bundle)
Student Discount Price: Maxon One bundle (including Cinema 4D and other apps) USD$20 per year via Kivuto/OnTheHub
Regular Price: $1149 (commercial perpetual) or subscribe for $38.25-51/month
License: Perpetual or Subscription
We know that ZBrush is quite costly — it’s a professional tool used in the industry and it is priced accordingly. The Student pricing is very attractive but expect to pay a high subscription price once you graduate (much like with Adobe software). Due to a recent change in ownership of the company that makes ZBrush, the old perpetual license model is (intentionally) being made more expensive.
Vectorworks
TL;DR: Free student licence
Platform: macOS, Windows
Student Offer: Free student license
Regular Price: $4200 (!!) for perpetual license or $175-210 per month for subscription
License: Perpetual or Subscription
Here’s another professional-grade tool that students can not reasonably afford themselves. Luckily, it is now offered for free to Education users. Use the link above to download a copy for your own computer.
