Adobe Photoshop Elements 13 vs. Adobe Photoshop CC

The right image can make all the difference when you're telling your story.

When it comes to bringing your subjects to life, Adobe has all the tools to help you. But do you need Adobe Photoshop Elements, with just Photoshop's most useful tools, or Adobe Photoshop CC, the robust image editor with a tool for every need?

The Basics

Both Photoshop Elements and Photoshop CC allow you to manipulate photos in all the basic ways.

Manipulate color
Crop images
Fix flaws (red eye, dust on the lens, and so forth)
Draw with pen or pencil
Add text
Move people or objects within the image

Photoshop CC has these features and many more, including support for more color modes and image formats, 3D images, vector images, and motion graphics.

Which One Do I Need?

If you need to perform basic image editing, organize your photos for quick access, and post them online, Photoshop Elements will likely have everything you need.

If you need to work with very high-resolution images, have granular control over how you edit them, and prepare them for use online and in print, Photoshop CC has you covered.

Comparison

Check out the table below for a one-to-one comparison of the features and support in each product.

	Photoshop Elements 13	Photoshop CC (2015) All Apps plan	Photoshop CC (2015) Photography plan
Cost through TechSoup	$27 one-time admin fee	$5 admin fee plus $239.88 for the first year, $359.88 every year after	$5 admin fee plus $7.99 each month for the first year, retail rates every year after
Availability through TechSoup	Part of the Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements bundle	Part of the Creative Cloud All Apps plan	Part of the Creative Cloud Photography plan
License	In perpetuity	Subscription
OS support	Windows and Mac (both included in same product)	Windows and Mac (choice of which to install in application manager)
Image organizer	Elements Organizer	Bridge CC	None
Color modes supported	Bitmap, grayscale, indexed, RGB	Bitmap, grayscale, duotone, indexed, RGB, CMYK, Lab, multichannel
16-bit support	Open 16-bit images; no layers support with 16-bit images; most tools and filters do not work with 16-bit images	Convert to and from 16-bit; full layers support; all tools and filters work with 16-bit images
32-bit support	No	Yes
Scripting support	No	Yes
Tools	Blur, Brush, Clone Stamp, Color Picker (Eyedropper), Color Squares, Content-Aware Move, Crop, Custom Shape, Eraser, Eyedropper (Color Picker), Gradient, Hand, Lasso, Marquee, Move, Paint Bucket, Pencil, Quick Selection, Recompose, Red Eye, Smart Brush, Sponge, Spot Healing Brush, Straighten, Text (Horizontal Type), Zoom	3D Material Drop, 3D Material Eyedropper, Add Anchor Point, Art History Background Eraser, Blur, Brush, Burn, Clone Stamp, Color Picker (Eyedropper), Color Sampler, Color Squares, Content-Aware Move, Color Replacement, Convert Anchor Point, Crop, Count, Custom Shape, Delete Anchor Point, Direct Selection, Dodge, Ellipse, Elliptical Marquee, Eraser, Eyedropper (Color Picker), Freeform Pen, Gradient, Hand, Healing Brush, History Brush, Horizontal Type (Text), Horizontal Type Mask, Lasso, Line, Magic Eraser, Magic Wand, Magnetic Lasso, Mixer Brush, Move, Note, Paint Bucket, Patch, Path Selection, Pattern Stamp, Pen, Pencil, Perspective Crop, Polygon, Polygonal Lasso, Quick Mask, Quick Selection, Recompose, Rectangle, Rectangular Marquee, Red Eye, Rotate View, Rounded Rectangle, Ruler, Sharpen, Single-Column Marquee, Single-Row Marquee, Slice, Slice Select, Smart Brush, Smudge, Sponge, Spot Healing Brush, Straighten, Text, Vertical Type, Vertical Type Mask, Zoom
Extensions	No	Yes
Smart Objects support	Open files with Smart Objects layers	Open files with Smart Objects layers; create Smart Objects; open files embedded as Smart Objects
Channels support	Does not include Channels panel or Channel Mixer Adjustment and Enhancement	Does include Channels panel and Channel Mixer Adjustment and Enhancement
HDR support	Can't merge multiple or bracketed photo exposures into HDR image; includes Photomerge Exposure	Can merge multiple and bracketed photo exposures into HDR image
Content-Aware functionality	Spot Healing Brush, Content-Aware Fill (Photomerge Panorama only)	Spot Healing Brush, Content-Aware Fill, Content-Aware Scale, Content-Aware Extend and Move
Vector tools	Shape tools (vector points cannot be edited individually)	Pen tool, Shape tools, Paths panel
Blending modes	Normal, Dissolve, Darken, Multiply, Color Burn, Linear Burn, Darker Color, Lighten, Screen, Color Dodge, Linear Dodge (Add), Lighter Color, Overlay, Soft Light, Hard Light, Vivid Light, Linear Light, Pin Light, Hard Mix, Difference, Exclusion, Hue, Saturation, Color, Luminosity	Normal, Dissolve, Darken, Multiply, Color Burn, Linear Burn, Darker Color, Lighten, Screen, Color Dodge, Linear Dodge (Add), Lighter Color, Overlay, Soft Light, Hard Light, Vivid Light, Linear Light, Pin Light, Hard Mix, Difference, Exclusion, Subtract, Divide, Hue, Saturation, Color, Luminosity
Transform tools	Scale, Rotate, Skew, Distort, Perspective	Scale, Rotate, Skew, Distort, Perspective, Warp
Color Picker tool options	HSB color values, RGB color values, hexadecimal color values, Color field, Color slider, Only Web Colors option	HSB color values, RGB color values, Lab color values, CMYK color values, hexadecimal color values, Color field, Color slider, Only Web Colors option, Not Web-Safe Color alert icon, Add to Swatches button, Color Libraries button
Panels	Effects, Favorites, Graphics, Histogram, Layers	3D, Actions, Adjustments, Brush, Brush Presets, Channels, Character, Character Styles, Clone Source, Color, Histogram, History, Info, Layer Comps, Layers, Libraries, Measurement Log, Navigator, Notes, Paragraph, Paragraph Styles, Paths, Properties, Styles, Swatches, Timeline, Tool Presets
Camera Raw tools	Crop, Hand, Image Rotation, Radial Filter, Red Eye Removal, Straighten, White Balance, Zoom	Adjustment Brush, Color Sampler, Crop, Graduated Filter, Hand, Image Rotation, Radial Filter, Red Eye Removal, Spot Removal, Straighten, Targeted Adjustment, White Balance, Zoom
Camera Raw image adjustments	Basic, Camera Calibration, Detail, Effects	Basic, Camera Calibration, Detail, Effects, HSL / Grayscale, Lens Corrections, Presets, Snapshots, Split Toning, Tone Curve

More Information

Check out the product pages for Photoshop Elements (part of the Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements bundle) and Photoshop CC (part of the Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps plan and Photography plan).

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Wes is a Web Content Developer at TechSoup.

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Adobe Photoshop Elements 13 vs. Adobe Photoshop CC

Adobe Photoshop Elements 13 vs. Adobe Photoshop CC

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