Top 10 Adobe Tools Every Designer, Marketer, and Business Should Use in 2025
The creative and digital landscape is evolving at lightning speed, and Adobe continues to lead the charge with powerful tools designed for designers, marketers, and businesses of all sizes. In 2025, Adobe Creative Cloud continues to be the industry-standard suite for all things creative and content-driven.
Whether you’re building brand identities, crafting viral campaigns, or streamlining business workflows, Adobe's ecosystem offers something for everyone. These tools are widely used by designers, photographers, students, businesses, and individuals to elevate their creativity.
This comprehensive guide explores the top 10 Adobe tools you should be using in 2025 and how each one can elevate your creative and business strategies.
Top 10 Adobe Tools You Should Use in 2025
Adobe Tool | Feature | Usage | Price (Starting From) | Deal |
Photoshop | Generative Fill and Expand | Image editing and AI-enhanced design | $22.99/month | |
Creative Cloud Pro | Cloud storage and Adobe Stock Pro | Unified apps and team collaboration | $69.99/month | |
Illustrator | Text-to-vector generation | Vector graphics and scalable design | $22.99/month | |
Premiere Pro | Speech-to-text captions | Video editing and AI automation | $22.99/month | |
Acrobat Pro | AI-powered PDF editing | PDF management and collaboration | $19.99/month | |
Express | Pre-designed templates | Quick visuals and social media content | $9.99/month | |
Lightroom | AI masking & background replacement | Photo editing and AI-powered presets | $11.99/month | |
Firefly | Text-to-image and style transfer | AI generative image and vector design | $9.99/month | |
Indesign | Dynamic layouts and data merge | Publishing and responsive layouts | $22.99/month | |
Incopy | Real-time collaboration | Editorial writing and collaboration | $4.99/month |
Key Features of Best Adobe Tools 2025
Adobe Photoshop - Best for Image Generation and Editing
Adobe Photoshop 2025, still reigning at the top, has transformed into an AI-enhanced design studio. With Adobe Firefly fully integrated, Photoshop allows you to generate images, remove objects, change backgrounds, and even expand photos with simple text prompts. Even after years, it is the most used and recognised product by Adobe and is used by photographers, designers, and digital artists worldwide for creating and editing beautiful images, graphics, and art on mobile devices, desktops, iPhones, or tablets.
Key Features:
Generative Fill & Expand - This feature helps to expand and create imagery based on the context.
Smart Object Replacement - Helps to automatically update content across a wide range of designs.
Content-Aware Fill 2.0 - This feature helps in edge detection and removing distractions with high accuracy.
One-click background removal - Remove the background of any picture and get improved subject detection.
Efficiency - Its AI tools reduce manual tasks and boost productivity.
Pricing - Create beautiful graphics, photos, and art on desktop, web, and mobile with plans starting from $22.99.
Pro Tip: Use the "Generate" tool to create multiple versions of your artwork in seconds, perfect for A/B testing your marketing creatives.
Adobe Firefly - Create High-Quality Content
Adobe Firefly has become the centrepiece of Adobe’s AI transformation in 2025. Designed for creators, designers, marketers, and storytellers, Firefly brings the magic of generative AI directly into your workflow. Firefly empowers anyone to create high-quality content from scratch, fast. It’s the creative companion of the future, especially for businesses needing scalable visual production.
Key Features:
Text-to-image generation turns your written prompts into stunning visuals, artwork, or concepts.
Vector and text effect generation enables the creation of logos, posters, and headlines with powerful AI styling.
Style transfer allows you to apply the aesthetics of one image to another for consistent branding.
Seamless integration with Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and more for unified creative production.
Adobe has three firefly plans that include:
Firefly Standard: Explore creative AI with 2,000 monthly credits for premium video and audio features, plus unlimited access to standard image features with plans starting at $9.99.
Firefly Pro: Dive deeper into creative AI with 7,000 monthly credits for premium video and audio features, plus unlimited access to standard image features with plans starting at $29.99.
Firefly Premium: Create at scale with 50,000 monthly credits for premium video and audio features, plus unlimited access to standard image features with plans starting at $199.99.
Pro Tip: Use Firefly’s “Generative Match” to train the AI on your brand style and produce on-brand assets in seconds.
Adobe Creative Cloud Pro - Best for Designers
Adobe Creative Cloud Pro offers the ultimate ecosystem for designers, marketers, and enterprise teams by combining the full power of Creative Cloud apps with next-gen collaboration, storage, and asset management capabilities. Creative Cloud Pro empowers creative professionals and marketing departments to work faster and smarter, removing bottlenecks from design to deployment.
Key Features:
Creative Cloud - Unified access to all Adobe tools, including Photoshop, Illustrator, XD, and Firefly, which is ideal for enterprise-level content production.
Storage - Enhanced cloud storage with advanced permissions and version control for seamless team workflows.
Freebies - Adobe Stock Pro integration with millions of high-quality royalty-free assets accessible directly within your apps.
Interface - Admin console for user management, usage insights, and security settings tailored for large teams.
Pricing - Get 20+ apps, including Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and Acrobat Pro, plus Adobe Firefly standard and premium creative AI features for images, video, and audio, with plans starting from $69.99.
Pro Tip: Leverage Adobe Libraries to create and share on-brand templates and assets across teams for maximum consistency and efficiency.
Adobe Illustrator - Top Choice for Graphics
Adobe Illustrator continues to be the ultimate tool for creating scalable vector graphics. From logo design to UI assets, its advanced precision tools and AI-powered enhancements make it indispensable. Illustrator excels at producing crisp, high-quality graphics that scale perfectly across platforms, ensuring your branding is consistent and professional.
Key Features:
AI Enabled - Text-to-vector generation helps users to instantly convert text prompts into editable vector graphics.
Collabs - Real-time collaboration benefits multiple designers to co-edit and provide feedback on projects live.
Formatting option - Variable fonts and responsive design features make it easy to create adaptable, scalable typography for any screen size.
3D Visuals - 3D rendering and vector mapping bring depth and realism to logos, illustrations, and branding assets.
Pricing - Make precise designs, Illustrations, and vector graphics on desktop and iPad with Adobe plans starting at $22.99.
Pro Tip: Use Illustrator’s "Recolour Artwork" tool, now enhanced with AI, to generate diverse branding palettes in seconds.
Adobe Premiere Pro - Best for Video Production
Adobe Premiere Pro empowers creators with cutting-edge AI tools to streamline video production across various formats, from it social reels to long-form documentaries. Whether you are a YouTuber, marketer, educator or filmmaker, Premiere Pro's intuitive interface and AI automation save time and deliver high-quality results.
Key Features:
Automation - Speech-to-text automatically generates accurate captions and searchable transcripts.
Auto-Reframe - Auto-reframe adjusts video dimensions intelligently for vertical, square, and horizontal formats.
AI Enabled - AI-assisted editing via Adobe Sensei suggests optimal cuts and transitions.
Generative Integration - Firefly integration enables background replacement and content generation directly within the timeline.
Pricing - Create professional video and film editing with plans starting at $22.99.
Pro Tip: Use "Scene Edit Detection" to break long clips into editable segments with just one click.
Adobe Acrobat Pro - Helps in Editing PDF Documents
Adobe Acrobat Pro, which is perfect for smart document management and collaboration, is the gold standard for creating, editing, managing, and securing PDF documents. In 2025, its intelligent features and deep integration with Creative Cloud make it indispensable for professionals across every industry.
Key Features:
PDF Editor - AI-powered PDF editing allows users to quickly reformat layouts, extract data, and correct errors in real time.
E-sign - Advanced e-signature tools simplify contract approvals and document workflows.
Scanner - Built-in optical character recognition instantly converts scanned documents into editable, searchable files.
Cloud Integration - Seamless integration with Microsoft 365 and Creative Cloud apps for streamlined document sharing and version control.
Pricing - Create, edit, sign, and manage your PDFs quickly and easily from anywhere with plans starting $19.99.
Pro Tip: Use the "Compare Files" feature to identify differences between PDF versions, ideal for legal or editorial reviews.
Adobe Express - Game Changer for Beginners
Adobe Express, formerly known as Adobe Spark, is a game-changer for non-designers, small businesses, and marketers who want to create stunning visuals in minutes. Express is perfect for content creators and business owners looking to produce high-quality visuals without a steep learning curve or hiring a designer.
Key Features:
Template Library - Pre-designed templates for social media, flyers, and posters speed up content creation with professional layouts.
Consistency - Brand Kit management allows you to maintain consistent logos, colours, and fonts across all designs.
AI enabled - AI-powered design suggestions adapt your content for various platforms with just a click.
User Friendly - Firefly integration lets users generate backgrounds, effects, and images using text prompts, ideal for on-the-go creativity.
Pricing - You can design flyers, TikToks, resumes, and Reels with the new, all-in-one Adobe Express with express plans starting at $9.99.
Pro Tip: Use the built-in Content Scheduler to auto-publish graphics across Instagram, Facebook, and X, all from a single dashboard.
Adobe Lightroom - Favourite for Creators
Adobe Lightroom continues to be a favourite among photographers, influencers, and ecommerce brands for its non-destructive, cloud-based editing tools powered by AI. Lightroom is a must-have for photographers and social media professionals who need quick, high-quality photo enhancement with minimal manual effort.
Key Features:
Smart Enhancements - Adaptive presets use AI to recognise subjects and apply enhancements based on lighting and colour balance.
Smart Masking - AI-powered masking tools allow precise adjustments to specific areas like sky, background, or skin tone.
Cloud Sync - Cross-device syncing ensures your edits are available anywhere, anytime, from your mobile to desktop.
Generative Background - Firefly-powered background replacement makes it easy to transform images with just a prompt.
Pricing - You can edit, organise, store, and share photos from anywhere with the Lightroom plans starting from $11.99.
Pro Tip: Use Lightroom’s "Compare View" to evaluate before-and-after shots and batch edit similar photos for consistent output.
Adobe InDesign - Best for Data Merge
Adobe InDesign remains the publishing industry favourite. In 2025, it includes responsive layout tools and data merge automation that save businesses hours of manual work. This is ideal for marketers, publishers, and corporate teams who regularly produce brochures, reports, and magazines.
Key Features:
Layouts - Dynamic layouts with auto-resize intelligently adjust design elements for different screen sizes and page formats.
Font Libraries - Integrated asset libraries and fonts streamline the design process by offering quick access to brand assets and Adobe Fonts.
Formatting - EPUB, PDF, and HTML5 export allow multi-format publishing with a single click, making cross-platform distribution effortless.
Data catalogues - Data merge and personalised publishing let users generate custom documents like catalogues or reports using data sources.
Pricing - Design pages and layout for print and digital media with Adobe plans starting at $22.99.
Pro Tip: Use "Live Captions" to efficiently update content across multiple pages.
Adobe InCopy - Professional Writing and Editing Tool
Adobe InCopy is a professional writing and editing tool tailored for content creators, editors, and publishing teams. In 2025, it integrates seamlessly with Adobe InDesign and Creative Cloud, making it an essential part of editorial workflows for magazines, marketing teams, and content-driven businesses. InCopy helps in content development for teams working on print, digital, and editorial projects by separating copywriting and layout responsibilities, boosting efficiency and accuracy.
Key Features:
Collabs - Real-time collaboration with designers working in InDesign, allowing content and layout to be developed simultaneously.
Modifications - Track changes, commenting, and version history make it ideal for multi-author environments.
Formatting - Style sheet synchronisation ensures consistent formatting across large editorial projects.
System Integrated - Seamless integration with Creative Cloud Libraries for quick access to brand assets, fonts, and styles.
Pricing - Make text edits and layout modifications without impacting designs with plans starting at $4.99.
Pro Tip: Use InCopy’s assignments feature to divide content into manageable sections for writers and editors, keeping large projects organised.
Why Creatives and Businesses Prefer Adobe in 2025?
Adobe, even in 2025, remains the top choice for creatives and businesses. Its unmatched suite of tools, AI innovation, and seamless cloud integration provide a robust ecosystem that supports creativity, efficiency, and scalability, qualities that professionals and enterprises highly value.
All-in-One Creative Platform
Adobe offers more than 20 apps under the Creative Cloud umbrella, including industry leaders like Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Lightroom. This integrated platform allows creatives to move seamlessly between tools without workflow disruption, saving time and improving project consistency.
AI-Powered Efficiency
Adobe’s continued investment in artificial intelligence through Adobe Sensei and Firefly makes advanced design and content creation easier and faster than ever. Tools like Generative Fill in Photoshop or text-to-vector in Illustrator reduce manual work and spark new creative possibilities.
Brand Recognition and Community Support
Adobe’s software has become synonymous with professional design and media production. From high school classrooms to Fortune 500 boardrooms, Adobe is trusted, widely taught, and heavily integrated into creative education and training programs. A large user base means better community support, tutorials, plug-ins, and faster troubleshooting.
Regulatory and Data Compliance
Adobe ensures that its services meet the latest U.S. compliance standards for government-level data protection, important for regulated industries like healthcare, finance, and education.
Note: Use Adobe Firefly’s brand style training to ensure all creative assets align with your visual identity automatically.
Tips to Save More on Adobe
Students Discount
If you’re a student looking to dive into creative projects without stretching your budget, Adobe has some great news for you. Through their student discount, you can get up to 60% off the Adobe Creative Cloud Pro plan. So, instead of paying the full price of $69.99 per month, you’ll only pay $29.99 per month, which helps save money and make professional creative tools much more accessible.
Special Offers and Coupons
Don’t miss the Special Offers section on Adobe’s official website. Adobe regularly updates this page with exclusive deals, seasonal discounts, and limited-time promotions that can help you get the best value for your money. If you are looking for extra savings on your Adobe subscription, you can check out CouponBunch, where you can find exclusive Adobe promo codes, deals, limited-time offers, and seasonal discounts.
Buy Annual Plans
If you are looking to buy Adobe plans, then go for annual plans instead of monthly plans and save more on your purchase. One of the easiest ways to save big with Adobe is by opting for an annual subscription.
Whether you're an individual creator or running a small business, committing to a yearly plan can reduce your monthly costs. For long-term users, this is a smart, budget-friendly investment that supports continuous creativity and productivity throughout the year.
Get Free Trials
If you are confused about whether or not to buy a plan, then get yourself a free trial and learn about the benefits and features available in your desired plan. Adobe offers free trials on nearly all its top tools, including Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and Adobe Express.
This is a great way to explore features, test performance, and see how a specific app fits into your workflow. The free trial usually lasts 7 days, during which you get full access to all premium features without any restrictions.
Subscribe to the Adobe Newsletter
Sign up for the Adobe newsletter and get real-time updates on the latest offers, new product launches, and service outages. It's a simple way to stay in the loop and make the most out of your Adobe subscription. Signing up is free and takes just a minute on Adobe’s official website.
Final Takeaway
Adobe has many great tools that help designers, marketers, and businesses create amazing work. In 2025, these top 10 tools will make it easier to design, edit photos, make videos, and work with your team. No matter if you are just starting or have a big business, Adobe’s tools can help you do your job better and faster. Try these tools today and see how they can help you make your ideas come true.
FAQs
What are the must-have Adobe tools for designers in 2025?
The important Adobe tools for designers in 2025 are Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe XD, Lightroom, and Adobe Firefly. These tools offer AI-powered features, seamless cloud integration, and versatile design capabilities.
Are Adobe’s business plans suitable for small businesses and startups?
Yes, Adobe offers subscription plans that are tailored for freelancers, small businesses, and large enterprises.
What pricing options are available for Adobe’s tools in 2025?
Adobe offers monthly and discounted annual subscriptions for individuals, students, teams, and enterprises, providing flexibility and cost savings for all users.
Can I get discounts for students or educators on Adobe?
Yes, Adobe provides up to 60% off on Creative Cloud plans for students and educators, making professional tools more accessible for learning and teaching.
