This doesn't look good for Lightroom users

[Ian]

The most affordable Adobe plan is apparently disappearing very soon:

https://www.techradar.com/pro/hurry-up-adobe-will-kill-its-popular-20gb-photography-lightroom-plans-next-week-so-make-sure-you-make-the-right-move

[griffljg]

That's a silly move. It will encourage many existing users to look at alternatives and will also encourage new users to look even more critically at what other packages are available. And there are many.

[pdk42]

Seems that the price remains if you switch to the yearly plan. I'll probably do that.

But, I must say this is a dumb move and will likely lose them a chunk of users. Another example of corporate greed.

Talking of corporate greed, I've just cancelled my TeslaFi subscription (a 3rd party data logging and control app for Tesla cars) because of an approx 50% price hike caused by Tesla now charging for API access. Tesla make a fortune as it is, so I just see this as money-grabbing for the sake of it. But I can live without TeslaFi, so it's cancelled. I feel bad for TeslaFi since it's not their fault, but there comes a point when another £8 a month is just a step too far.

[Ian]

This is certainly a worry as I find Teslafi extremely useful. I'm still not sure how the policy and cost changes will pan out, but I find the data invaluable. I'm going to keep my sub for now. I really feel for the guys at Teslafi and the other similar third party providers.

[Wreckdiver]

I was considering switching to a pay yearly plan anyway, which I have just done now. I was paying £9.98 per month, now I am paying £119.09/year which is £9.92 per month.

[pdk42]

I was considering switching to a pay yearly plan anyway, which I have just done now. I was paying £9.98 per month, now I am paying £119.09/year which is £9.92 per month.

I've just switched too. No net increase in cost, so no panic just yet. Wonder if they'll jack the annual price up next year though? I might start looking for alternatives just in case. Pity really since I really like Lightroom.

[pdk42]

And to put a bit of balance on this...

The £9.98 a month monthly fee has been at this level since it was introduced in 2013. So, I guess it's not quite as onerous as it sounds.

[Phill D]

So if you buy a yearly subscription it remains the same price? I must have missed that bit. Guess I'll do that too then.

[pdk42]

Yes, that's right. The 20GB "Photography Plan" is now yearly only and open only to existing subscribers. So, the essential thing is not to let yours lapse! You can swap to yearly at renewal or you can do it at any time before. You'll get a full refund for anything left in your current month.

[jdal]

You do not get necessarily a refund, I've just switched and lost money on the deal. I had a monthly deal and last November took advantage of the Amazon cheap 1 year deal , which added on, so I wasn't due to pay until next November. I foolishly tried to switch to their new plan, it cancelled the old one and I lost out on the 9 months I had left. I've just spent 45 minutes trying to get a refund with an online "chat" agent, to no avail, they refunded my last 3 monthly payments. God knows why, I hadn't paid any.

[wornish]

My existing subscription runs out in June, so is it ok to wait until then to switch to annual?

[meach]

No, you have to do it before Jan 15.

[wornish]

Thanks, I have just done it.

[rchammer]

Good spot Ian . I checked my subscription and it stated my next payment in February was £14.99. I have switched to the annual subscription so will pay about the same but I am disappointed that I hadn’t been emailed by Adobe to inform me of this.

[MJ224]

I am OK until Mid-February. But I can't see how to change to annual from my account...?

[rchammer]

I went onto the adobe website, clicked on the icon in the very top right and a menu pops up with “manage account” option. Click on that and then under “Your Plan” is a button for “Manage Plan”, which then gives you a window to change, with one of the options being the annual subscription.

[MJ224]

Thanks...

[jdal]

BEWARE!! If you have a current monthly plan and took advantage of the "year in advance" cheap offer from Amazon that was discussed on here last November, be careful - when you move to the new yearly plan, your old one is cancelled and you lose the reaming time on it.

[Ian]

It's very confusing!

[PeterG]

I am confused (a not unusual condition for me theses days!). My renewal email stated this

Your annual subscription will renew automatically on 27-October-2024 (PT). The renewal details are outlined below.

You will be charged £9.98 (incl. tax) monthly. Your subscription will automatically renew annually until you cancel (price subject to change). Cancel anytime via Adobe Account or Customer Support.

I have just logged to my Adobe account which states:

£9.98/mo
Next payment on Jan 28, 2025
Annual plan, paid monthly

According to the Adobe website they will email me 30 days before my next renewal.

My reading of this is that I do not need to change until I am due to renew - or have I missed something (again, always a possibility).

[wornish]

Thats what I thought too. It read as if I could wait until June 25. Anyway, I didn't want to risk it so made the switch to annual now.

[MJ224]

Ditto. My subscription is £9.98, presumably until my year's subs run out?

Looking at the Adobe page, there seems to be a very substantial hike in monthly fees...We shall have to see....

[cedge]

I'm still confused about this. I'm on the Lr + Photoshop 20gb plan but I've bought cheap black friday deals from Amazon and I'm paid up until about Nov 26 so I believe that I'm going to be in a pickle come then as it sounds like switching to an annual plan now would cancel the remaining subscription. I just have to hope that something changes between then and now or a better alternative with a DAM comes along.

[Wreckdiver]

I don’t see any increased prices for UK but the US subscription is increasing by 50% and I would recon our subscription would see a similar rise. It doesn’t really bother me as an extra fiver a month is immaterial. Given that Adobe hasn’t increased its Photography package in years it’s only fair that they review it and, for me, it’s very good value for money. I really couldn’t be doing with looking to save such an amount, I have better things to do with my time and the package is what I know and very happy with.

[MJ224]

Agreed. It is a very good photo processing suite, and it continually upgrades. What's not to like???

[Bikie John]

And ... as far as I can see it gets support for new cameras before most of the others.

[Dennis Russ]

Every Year I wait for the Deals off Amazon. in November 2024 I jumped the gun and paid my yearly fee of £88. End of Nov/Dec it came down to £62. So Nov 25 I shall be a bit canny and wait.