The Creative Cloud is made up of many programs that are all available, at the time of publishing, is $52.99 per month.
This is expensive, about $640 per year, if paid monthly. This list is here to give you the chance to pay that price (or less) once with no compromises.
Video Editing:
I work on Macs, so Final Cut Pro is what I use to replace Premiere Pro. While I was a student, I purchased the Apple Pro Apps Bundle for Education. If you are not a student, it’s still a great deal at $300.
iMovie is a free option for Macs and iPads. The software is somewhat limiting, especially on iPad but it does the basics just fine.
Hit Film Express is available for free on MacOS and Windows. There is a paid version, Hit Film Pro, as well.
Black Magic Design makes DaVinci Resolve. There is a free version as well as a paid version. It is available for MacOS and Windows.
You could also try Magix Vegas Pro, which used to be owned by Sony. I used it years ago when I had a Windows computer. They also have a more basic editor called Movie Studio, which I also used years ago. They are only available for Windows.
Corel makes two video editors called VideoStudio Pro and VideoStudio Ultimate. Based on their previews on the website, I would skip them. It may be just what you need though, and that’s why it’s still on this list. Both are only available for Windows.
If you’re looking for something for the iPad and you want something more advanced than iMovie, look no further than LumaFusion. It has been described as “as close to Final Cut as you can get on iPad.”
–
Visual Effects and Compositing:
I have Apple Motion, which isn’t the best, but for some, it can replace After Effects. I can’t say too much about it because I haven’t used it yet, even though it’s been on my computer for almost 3 years. It comes included with the Apple Pro Apps Bundle for Education, but it’s available separately as well. It is only available for MacOS.
If you want something else, I hear good things about Blender, which is available for FREE on MacOS and Windows.
Hit Film Express also has add-ons that let you do visual effects and compositing, among other things.
The same company that makes Hit Film Express makes Action Pro. It is available for MacOS and Windows.
I have read that DaVinci Resolve can do visual effects and compositing out of the box. You could also buy their dedicated VFX software, Fusion Studio.
MotionStudio 3D is made by Corel and it’s advertised as a visual effects, compositing, and 3D effects program. It is only available for Windows.
–
Raster Graphics Design:
I have Affinity Photo to replace Photoshop and it does it quite well. It’s even available for iPad! They have a version for MacOS and Windows. The layout is very similar to Photoshop and it is very easy to pick up if you are coming from Photoshop. They also have a workbook to teach you everything about the program.
I also have Pixelmator Pro. It is a little different in the layout but it’s pretty intuitive and it works really well. They have a simplified version, Pixelmator, as well as two apps, Pixelmator and Pixelmator Photo. It is only available for MacOS.
Corel makes PaintShop Pro. The Ultimate version is the same price as Affinity Photo. They are both only available for Windows.
–
Vector Graphics Design:
I have Affinity Designer to replace Illustrator. It’s even available for iPad! They have a version for MacOS and Windows. The only feature they are missing that I used in Illustrator is Image Trace but I don’t need it often. They have mentioned on forums that they are working on the tracing tool but they won’t release it until it meets their high standards. They also have a workbook to teach you everything about the program.
Inkscape could as well, although it’s only available for Windows. There are ways to get it running on MacOS. I have used XQuartz to run Inkscape on my MacBook Pro.
You could also look at Corel DRAW. I used it back in middle school, about a million years ago, and loved it. There are versions for both MacOS and Windows. There is a subscription available but if you’re reading this, you are going to be looking to own the software, which they let you do. The subscription costs more per year than half the price to own the program.
–
Audio Editing:
I have read that DaVinci Resolve is a good software for audio editing, as it includes the Fairlight plugin.
Audacity is a fairly basic audio recording/editing program that might work for you, depending on what you need it for. It is available for MacOS and Windows. I never used it for editing back when I used it for all the dual system sound on my YouTube channel, I just recorded then exported the audio to sync in Vegas Pro.
Just DaVinci Resolve, Affinity Photo, and Affinity Designer, are $100 together. That’s much cheaper than the prepay year of Creative Cloud (currently $600). And because DaVinci Resolve covers so much, those three programs cover each category listed above.
There are more Creative Cloud programs than that. If you’re reading this article because you know by work, you probably don’t care about everything else. I have provided a list below for those of you coming from Google or something and you want one of the other programs.
Publishing for Print:
Affinity Publisher (MacOS and Windows)
Scribus (MacOS and Windows)
–
Animation:
Blender (MacOS and Windows)
–
Photo Editor:
Affinity Photo (MacOS, Windows, and iOS)
Darktable (MacOS and Windows)
Imerge Pro (MacOS and Windows)
Polarr (MacOS, Windows, iOS, Android, and ChromeOS (Chrome Extension))
Pixlr (web based)
–
Web Development:
Brackets (MacOS and Windows)
WordPress (I use this) (web based)
Affinity has an Apple TV app with video tutorials for their software.
The programs listed above should perfectly replace the Creative Cloud for most people. Did I miss anything that should be on the list? Leave a comment or let me know on Twitter.
All links to Amazon and eBay are affiliated. This means that, at no extra cost to you, you will support my work through purchasing items when clicking the links. I will make a small commission from the sale.