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Final days: Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements are on sale for $60 each

Get them for Mac or Windows, or bundled together for $90 -- now through Sept. 3.

John Falcone Senior Editorial Director, Shopping
John P. Falcone is the senior director of commerce content at CNET, where he coordinates coverage of the site's buying recommendations alongside the CNET Advice team (where he previously headed the consumer electronics reviews section). He's been a CNET editor since 2003.
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John Falcone
3 min read
elements
Adobe

Once upon a time, software and apps were a one-shot deal: You went to CompUSA, paid your $50 or $100 (or $500) and walked out with a shrinkwrapped box full of CDs or DVDs. All that, of course, is ancient history: Nowadays, nearly everything is cloud-based, meaning you always have access to the latest version and features, be they Office 365 or Adobe Creative Cloud. Indeed, Adobe's cloud suite delivers always-on access to 20-some apps for $20 to $52 per month -- it was on sale through Friday, August 30 (the deal is still showing up on Adobe's page). And if you're looking for "just Photoshop," the company offers a very reasonable Photography Plan (Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, Photoshop and 20GB of cloud storage) for just $10 per month or $120 per year.

But as attractive as those deals are, they're still subscriptions that you'll need to pay "forever" -- or at least as long as long as you want access to the apps. That's why it's nice to see that one-and-done software purchases are still available. No, these aren't standalone versions of the pro-level Creative Cloud apps. Instead, they're Adobe's stripped-down Elements software -- but both are currently on sale. Photoshop Elements for image editing and Premiere Elements for video editing are discounted by 40% each from now through Sept. 3. They don't have all the features of the full, pro-level Creative Cloud software, but many users will find these perfectly suitable for casual use. You can even download 30-day trial versions so you can try before you buy. 

Here's a quick overview of each -- along with some notable alternatives. Note that CNET may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.

The stripped-down version of Adobe's image editing tool is available for 40% off. If you want to make sure that Elements is right for you, you can download the trial version at Adobe, or through the Windows App Store.

Windows alternatives worth considering (free to $80): Affinity Photo, Corel PaintShop Pro, Skylum Luminar, GIMP

Mac alternatives worth considering (free to $80): Pixelmator/Pixelmator ProAffinity PhotoSkylum LuminarGIMP

Photoshop Elements is also available at Adobe and the Windows App Store at the same price. (For reasons unknown, it's still priced the usual $100 at the Mac App Store.) The Amazon link below offers Mac or Windows download codes or a CD disc version.

Premiere Elements gives you a slice of Adobe's pro-level Premiere video editing tool at a much lower price. 

If you want to make sure that Elements is right for you, you can download the trial version at Adobe.

Windows alternatives worth considering ($54 to $80): CyberLink Powerdirector, Corel VideoStudio, Pinnacle Studio

Mac alternatives worth considering (free to $300): iMovie, Final Cut Pro X

Premiere Elements is also available at Adobe. The Amazon link below offers Mac or Windows download codes or a CD disc version. 

Need both Elements programs? The bundle including both usually costs $150, but that's also on sale for $90. That's $60 off the list price, and a $30 savings versus buying both discounted apps above.

Senior Editor Lori Grunin contributed to this story.

Posted earlier, republished after verifying that sale prices were still in effect.