Adobe Express review

What Adobe Express is

Adobe Express is Adobe's online design and photo tool. It sits between a simple template app and Photoshop. You can make social posts, flyers and short videos from templates, and you can use AI tools to remove backgrounds, insert or remove objects and generate images Adobe Express pricing ↗.

It runs in a web browser and on phones, and it uses the same Firefly AI family as Adobe's paid apps Adobe Express pricing ↗. The free plan needs an Adobe account but no credit card Adobe Express pricing ↗. For most small businesses, the draw is simple: two of the edits you need most, background removal and object removal, are available for free every day Adobe Express pricing ↗ Adobe background remover ↗.

Hands on testing is in progress, and we will update this review with our results.

What it does well

Background removal is the headline feature. Adobe says you can remove a background for free with an Adobe account, using a daily allowance of generations, and download the result as a transparent PNG Adobe background remover ↗. It accepts JPG, PNG and WEBP files up to 50MB Adobe background remover ↗. That is enough for a product shot on a clean background or a staff photo cut out for a flyer.

Object editing is also free. The free plan includes free daily generations for inserting and removing objects, plus image generation Adobe Express pricing ↗. So you can erase a stray cup from a shop photo, or add an item to a scene, without paying.

The design side is generous. The free plan includes more than 100,000 templates, more than 1 million Adobe Stock assets, 5GB of storage and 10 days of version history, and you can schedule posts to one account per social network Adobe Express pricing ↗.

Because Express comes from the same company as Photoshop, the AI is closely related. Zapier found Photoshop's Remove Tool the best it tested at replacing objects Zapier review ↗.

Where it falls short

The biggest problem is that Adobe does not publish the size of the daily allowance Adobe Express pricing ↗ Adobe background remover ↗. You will not know how many free background removals or object edits you have until you run out. If you edit many photos in one sitting, you may hit the cap without warning.

Some free AI features are lifetime trials, not daily allowances. Generating presentations is limited to 5 lifetime uses, and generating 5 second videos is limited to 2 lifetime uses Adobe Express pricing ↗. Video background removal, one click resize, brand kits and most premium templates need Premium Adobe Express pricing ↗.

Express is also not a full photo editor. It is built around templates and quick fixes, not layered editing. If you need precise selections or detailed retouching, you will want Photoshop or a dedicated editor.

Pricing and plans

Free costs $0. It includes free daily generations for image generation and insert and remove objects, 5 lifetime presentation generations, 2 lifetime 5 second video generations, 5GB of storage, 10 days of version history and 10 PDF Quick Actions a month. No credit card is needed Adobe Express pricing ↗.

Premium costs $9.99 a month, billed monthly with no annual commitment. It adds 250 generative credits a month, all premium templates, more than 30,000 fonts, video background removal, one click resize, brand kits, 3 scheduling accounts per social network and 30 days of version history. It has a 30 day free trial Adobe Express pricing ↗.

Firefly Pro costs $19.99 a month with a 7 day free trial. It adds 4,000 monthly credits for video and audio features, unlimited standard image features and 100GB of storage Adobe Express pricing ↗.

Teams starts at $4.99 a month per license for the first year, then $7.99, billed monthly on an annual plan with a 2 seat minimum and 250 credits per user Adobe Express pricing ↗. Enterprise pricing is by quote Adobe Express pricing ↗.

Trials turn into paid plans automatically when they end unless you cancel first, and subscriptions renew until canceled Adobe Express pricing ↗.

Who should (and shouldn't) use it

• Good fit: small shops and service businesses that need a few clean product shots and social posts each week for free.
• Good fit: teams that want templates, scheduling and AI edits in one place instead of three apps.
• Skip it if: you edit hundreds of product photos a month and need batch processing. A product photo tool will save more time.
• Skip it if: you need detailed, layered retouching. Pay for Photoshop instead.
• Skip it if: you need to know your exact free limits up front, since Adobe does not publish them.

Alternatives worth a look

• Canva: better if you already design everything in Canva; the free plan includes up to 20 AI uses and 5GB of storage, and Pro is $144 a year Canva pricing ↗.
• Photoroom: built for online sellers, with batch background removal and a Shopify app Photoroom pricing ↗.
• Google Photos: Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur and Portrait light are free for all users, handy for phone photos Google Photos blog ↗.
• Pixlr: a full browser photo editor with layers; Zapier calls it its favorite browser based editor with the lowest price among its picks Zapier review ↗.
• Adobe Photoshop: the upgrade when you need precise control; Zapier rated its Remove Tool best for object replacement Zapier review ↗ Photoshop plans ↗.