Ripping you off Stage 3
Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere are the default tools of creative work, and their file formats and workflows make switching costly. Since 2013 they are rent-only. In 2025 Adobe raised the main plan’s price, and in 2026 it agreed to a $150 million settlement over hidden early-termination fees and hard cancellation. Two extraction criteria plus lock-in. Stage 3.
- Since
- 2012
- Category
- Creative tools
- Public
- Since 1986 (NASDAQ: ADBE)
Why it’s rated 3
The criteria it meets, with sources · Method
- Alignment 0 of 3
- None
- Lock-in 1 of 4
-
- L3 Hardware or workflow
- Extraction 2 of 7
-
- E1 Pay more for the same May 20, 2025
- E4 Hidden costs and dark patterns Mar 13, 2026
- Decline 0 of 3
- None
Result Two or more extraction criteria, or lock-in plus at least one, so stage 3.
News signals
Sourced reporting, tagged by strategy
Mar 13, 2026
Adobe agrees to a $150 million settlement over hidden fees and cancellation
Dark patternsRegulatory risk
May 20, 2025
Adobe renames All Apps to Creative Cloud Pro and raises the price, citing AI
ARPU growthAI upsell
Jun 17, 2024
US sues Adobe over hidden early-termination fees and hard-to-cancel subscriptions
Dark patternsRegulatory risk