What is Adobe Photoshop?
Adobe Photoshop is the industry-standard app for editing photos, retouching portraits, building composites and creating digital artwork. It runs on Windows and macOS, with companion versions for iPad, the web and mobile.
There is only one legitimate way to get it: through Adobe's Creative Cloud. This guide walks you through that process step by step, explains what the free trial includes, lists the hardware you need and shows how to fix the installation problems people run into most.
What you can do with Photoshop
- Retouching and color-correcting photos
- Combining images into composites and product mockups
- Removing objects and extending backgrounds with generative tools
- Designing social media graphics, banners and thumbnails
- Digital painting and illustration with custom brushes
Can you download Photoshop for free?
There is no permanently free version of Photoshop for desktop. New customers can usually start a free trial (typically 7 days) on adobe.com. After that the subscription bills unless you cancel before the trial ends.
Adobe has also offered limited free tiers of Photoshop on the web and on mobile. They are handy for quick edits but don't replace the full desktop app.
Sites that promise a “free full version” or a “cracked” Photoshop are not legitimate. Those installers are one of the most common ways malware spreads.
Photoshop free download: install it step by step
The whole process usually takes 15 to 30 minutes, most of it waiting for the download.
Check that your computer is compatible
Compare your computer with the Photoshop system requirements on this page. Pay special attention to your operating system version, memory (RAM) and free disk space, since those cause most failed installs.
Choose a plan or free trial on adobe.com
Adobe sells Adobe Photoshop as a subscription through Creative Cloud. You can pick a single-app plan, a bundle that includes it, or the free trial if one is offered in your region.
Sign in with your Adobe account
Create a free Adobe account or sign in with an existing one. Use an email address you check often, because your license is tied to it.
Install the Creative Cloud desktop app
Adobe delivers Photoshop through the Creative Cloud desktop app. After you start a plan or trial, Adobe's site gives you the Creative Cloud installer. Run it and sign in with the same account.
Install Photoshop from the Apps tab
In the Creative Cloud app, find Photoshop in the list of apps and select Install. The download is several gigabytes, so it can take a while on slower connections. Keep the computer awake until it finishes.
Open Photoshop and confirm activation
Launch Photoshop from the Creative Cloud app or your Applications/Start menu. If you are asked to sign in, use the same Adobe account. The app checks your license online and is then ready to use.
Ready for your Photoshop free download?
This takes you to Photoshop on Adobe’s official site, where the download starts.
Download Photoshop for Windows PC or Mac
The steps above are the same on both systems. These are the details that differ.
Photoshop for Windows 10 & 11 (PC)
- Adobe’s installer for Windows is a small .exe file. Run it and approve the User Account Control prompt so it can install.
- Photoshop needs 64-bit Windows 10 or Windows 11. Check yours under Settings → System → About.
- On PCs with ARM processors (such as Snapdragon), check Adobe’s list of apps that support Windows on ARM before you buy.
- If Microsoft Defender SmartScreen warns about an “Adobe” installer, stop. Real Adobe installers are digitally signed by Adobe Inc.: right-click the file and check Properties → Digital Signatures.
Photoshop for Mac (Apple silicon & Intel)
- On a Mac, Adobe’s installer comes as a .dmg file. Open it, double-click the installer inside and enter your Mac password when asked.
- Photoshop runs natively on Apple silicon (M-series) Macs as well as supported Intel Macs. Check yours under Apple menu → About This Mac.
- If macOS warns that it can’t verify the developer of an “Adobe” installer, delete it. Adobe’s installers are signed and notarized, so that warning means the file isn’t from Adobe.
- After installing, macOS may ask you to allow access to folders or other permissions. Approve them in System Settings → Privacy & Security.
Photoshop system requirements
Typical requirements for the current release. Adobe updates them with each version, so confirm the details on Adobe's official system requirements page before installing.
| Requirement | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 10 (64-bit, version 22H2 or later) or Windows 11 | One of the three most recent macOS releases |
| Processor | Intel or AMD 64-bit processor with SSE 4.2 or later | Apple silicon (M-series) or a supported Intel processor |
| Memory (RAM) | 8 GB minimum, 16 GB or more recommended | 8 GB minimum, 16 GB or more recommended |
| Graphics | GPU with DirectX 12 support and at least 1.5 GB of VRAM | GPU with Metal support and at least 1.5 GB of VRAM |
| Storage | About 20 GB of free space; an SSD is recommended | About 20 GB of free space; an SSD is recommended |
| Internet | Required to download the app, activate it and validate your plan | Required to download the app, activate it and validate your plan |
Photoshop plans and how to buy
Photoshop is sold directly by Adobe. Plan names and prices change often and vary by country, so compare the current options on adobe.com. These are the main ways to get it:
- Photoshop single-app plan: Photoshop on desktop, iPad and the web, plus cloud storage.
- Photography plans: Photoshop bundled with Lightroom, the usual choice for photographers.
- Creative Cloud all-apps plans: Photoshop plus 20+ other Adobe apps. Best value if you also need Illustrator, Premiere Pro or InDesign.
- Student and teacher plans: discounted all-apps pricing for eligible students and educators.
- Business plans: licenses that an administrator manages for a team.
Fixing common Photoshop installation problems
The Photoshop installer freezes or fails partway through
Make sure your connection is stable and temporarily pause VPNs, proxies or strict firewall rules. Restart the computer, open the Creative Cloud app and retry the install. If it still fails, write down the exact error code: Adobe documents each one on its help site, so searching the code is the fastest way to the right fix.
There isn't enough free disk space
Installers need room for the app and for temporary files, often more than the final install size. Free up space, or choose a different drive in the Creative Cloud app under Preferences → Apps → Installation location.
Photoshop keeps asking you to sign in, or says your trial has ended
Sign in with the same Adobe account email you used to buy the plan. Sign out of the Creative Cloud app, restart, and sign back in. Also set your computer's date and time to update automatically, because license checks depend on them.
Your operating system isn't supported
New releases of Photoshop drop support for older versions of Windows and macOS. Update your operating system if your hardware allows it. If it doesn't, open the Creative Cloud app, click the menu (…) next to Photoshop and choose Other versions to install an earlier release.
“Scratch disks are full” error
Photoshop uses free disk space as working memory. Free up space on the drive it uses, or add a faster drive with more room under Preferences → Scratch Disks, then restart Photoshop.
Graphics processor not detected, or features are greyed out
Update your graphics driver from the GPU maker (NVIDIA, AMD or Intel) or install the latest macOS update. Then check Preferences → Performance → Use Graphics Processor and restart Photoshop.
Next step
Using Photoshop? Set up Lightroom too.
Organize, edit and share photos from any device. Our Lightroom guide covers the official download, requirements and the fixes people need most.
Photoshop download FAQ
The Creative Cloud installer is free to download, but the full desktop version of Photoshop needs a paid plan after any free trial. Adobe usually offers new customers a trial (typically 7 days) and has offered limited free versions on the web and mobile.
Not the current version of Photoshop. Adobe sells it only as a subscription. Photoshop Elements, a simpler consumer editor, is still sold as a one-time purchase.
An individual plan lets you install Photoshop on more than one computer and be signed in (activated) on two at the same time. Signing in on a third asks you to sign out of one of the others.
Yes. Photoshop runs natively on Apple silicon (M-series) Macs, and those machines handle it very well when they have 16 GB of memory or more.
Photoshop is several gigabytes, so on a typical home broadband connection the download and install take roughly 10 to 30 minutes. Slower or shared connections take longer.
No. Adobe distributes Photoshop only through adobe.com, the Creative Cloud app and the official mobile app stores. “Free full version” downloads, keygens and cracks frequently bundle malware that can steal passwords and banking details, and they leave you without security updates or support.
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