Fresco

Is Adobe Fresco Free? Understanding the Freemium Model

B.A.W. Kemp

B.A.W. Kemp

— 2 min read

Adobe Fresco, a powerful digital painting and drawing app, has quickly gained popularity among artists of all levels. Its intuitive interface, realistic brushstrokes, and compatibility with Apple Pencil make it an excellent choice for creating both traditional and digital art. But is Adobe Fresco free to use?

The Free Starter Plan

Yes, Adobe Fresco offers a free starter plan that provides access to a substantial range of features, including:

  • Over 100 brushes, including Live brushes, Pixel brushes, Vector brushes, and Smudge brushes
  • A variety of layers and blending modes
  • Pre-made brushes, patterns, and textures
  • Cloud storage for up to 5 GB

The free plan is ideal for beginners or casual users who want to explore Adobe Fresco’s capabilities. However, it does have some limitations:

  • No access to premium brushes, such as watercolor brushes and fur brushes
  • Limited cloud storage, which may restrict the number of large projects you can create
  • No access to advanced features like animation and custom brushes

Upgrading to a Paid Plan

To unlock more premium features and remove these limitations, you can upgrade to a paid plan. Adobe offers several plans, including:

  • Adobe Design Mobile Bundle: This plan includes Adobe Fresco, Adobe Illustrator Draw, and Adobe Photoshop Sketch, providing a comprehensive suite of mobile drawing and design tools.
  • Adobe Fresco Single App: This plan gives you access to Adobe Fresco alone, but at a slightly lower price than the Design Mobile Bundle.
  • Adobe Photoshop Single App: If you’re primarily interested in Photoshop’s photo editing capabilities, this plan provides Photoshop alongside Adobe Fresco.
  • Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps: This comprehensive plan includes Adobe Fresco, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and many other Adobe creative apps.

Choosing the Right Plan

The best Adobe Fresco plan for you will depend on your individual needs and budget. If you’re a casual artist who primarily uses Fresco for sketching and simple illustrations, the free plan may be sufficient. However, if you want to explore more advanced techniques, use premium brushes, or collaborate with other artists, a paid plan is recommended.

Here’s a summary of the key features and limitations of each plan:

Free Starter Plan | Over 100 brushes, layers, blending modes, cloud storage (up to 5 GB | No premium brushes, limited cloud storage

Adobe Design Mobile Bundle | Adobe Fresco, Adobe Illustrator Draw, Adobe Photoshop Sketch, premium brushes, more storage | More expensive than the individual app plans

Adobe Fresco Single App | Adobe Fresco, premium brushes, more storage | Slightly less expensive than the Design Mobile Bundle

Adobe Photoshop Single App | Adobe Fresco, Adobe Photoshop, premium brushes, more storage | Focuses on Photoshop’s photo editing capabilities

Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps | Adobe Fresco, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, many other apps, premium brushes, unlimited storage | Most expensive plan, but provides access to a wide range of creative tools

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