Could AI finally kill the Adobe subscription? This developer thinks so
A truly suite deal for creatives.
Adobe and AI mash-up. Image by Cybernews.
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- Brandon Thomas released seven free ArtCraft apps meant to replace major Adobe Creative Cloud tools.
- He used Anthropic’s Claude to help build the open-source apps after frustration with Adobe cancellation fees.
- The software remains in early alpha, and users have reported bugs.
- Adobe still has advantages in professional workflows, plug-ins, color management, and long-term refinement.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
Armed with Claude AI and a grudge against cancellation fees, a lone developer is using his open source alternative, aiming to dismantle Adobe's software monopoly.
For photographers, designers, video editors, and other creatives, Adobe Creative Cloud is pretty much the go-to platform.
But when a basic individual subscription comes in at a hefty $55 per month, it’s understandable that there's a fair share of discontent toward Adobe.
But software designer Brandon Thomas believes that could be about to change. As founder of ArtCraft, he has released 7 free, open-source creative apps under the ArtCraft brand, designed to replicate Adobe's entire suite, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.
An enticing package
The applications are named PhotoCraft, FilmCraft, and LightCraft and work remarkably like their Adobe counterparts, minus the subscription fee.
In fact, when Thomas refers to his versions as “clean-room replacements,” he is referring to the simple functionality, coupled with the fact that he didn’t copy Adobe's software coding.
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For that, Anthropic's Claude Opus 5.5 helped build the applications. And Thomas said the project was born of frustration with Adobe's cancellation fee, PetaPixel reported.
For example, you often have to pay half of the year's remaining balance if you pull out of the Adobe subscription.
The software is still in a very early alpha stage, and though users have reported a couple of bugs, Thomas has said he aims to reach 99% parity very soon.
Thomas focuses on the open-source element, allowing users to tweak their creative projects in the engine room. On Reddit, he posted:
No more subscriptions with cancellation fees. These are yours to own forever. You can fork them, build them. Whatever. They are yours to own. They're open source,software developer, Brandon Thomas.
I've created Open Source 100% Rust clean-room replacements for 7 of Adobe's apps: Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, Lightroom, After Effects, InDesign, and Acrobat Pro. Free, no subscription, and you own the source code
by u/ai_art_is_art in SaaS
Will AI make software obsolete?
As AI continues to make inroads across the creative industries, you might wonder, zooming out beyond Adobe, whether AI will render the main glut of programs defunct.
To Thomas’s mind, the opportunity is there for developers to exploit.
Now you can just create 1:1 functional equivalents, clean-room, that are highly performant and cross-platform. Nothing is stopping you,Thomas wrote on Hacker News.
Though developers like Thomas can replicate the interface of Adobe to huge admiration in the developer community, there are nuances that decades of craftsmanship at Adobe guarantee, such as refinement, professional workflows, plug-in compatibility, and color management.
And at the institutional level, companies might be reluctant to simply launch into a cloned version that is untested.
For now, Thomas’s project remains a bold experiment, but one with endless potential, should he pull it off. Ironically, the developer has a nostalgic take on matters in order to propel himself forward.
“Party like it's 1999, and the internet/tech scene belongs to us again. We can literally de-enshittify the world without breaking a sweat,” he wrote on Hacker News.
