Overview
Adobe Acrobat Pro licensing and acquisition through ITS has changed significantly with the sunsetting of the perpetual licensing structure for Adobe Acrobat Pro 2020 in July of 2024. With Adobe’s move to subscription-based licensing for this product ITS has had to adjust and accommodate for this new structure to meet the needs of our campus community.
In July 2024, Adobe Acrobat Pro licensing was incorporated into ITS’ Adobe Value Incentive Plan (VIP) annual contract. Previously this contract was only used to issue licensing for the full Creative Cloud Suite of software (All Apps) for individuals (Named-User Licensing); and Multi-user Lab and Classroom Computers (Shared-Device Licensing). The current VIP contract is set to expire on October 19, 2024. During the month of September ITS will be negotiating with Adobe, and Adobe’s Resellers, to acquire the best pricing for our campus.
What Adobe product is best for you?
If you are a content creator, Creative Cloud All Apps is the package for you. For PDF creation and editing, or e-sign and online form functionality, Adobe has expanded its Acrobat product line to offer affordable solutions to meet these various needs. Below is a brief description of the product offerings that are most requested from ITS, and that will be available in the 2024 2025 VIP contract. If you would like more information on any one of these products, please visit adobe.com. There you will find complete details and comparison charts on what features are available for each product. The pricing below is ‘suggested retail’ pricing from Adobe. Annual VIP subscription pricing will not be available until contract negotiations have been finalized.
Adobe Creative Cloud Product System Requirements
Before placing a request for a license, please confirm your device meets the minimum system requirements.
Creative Cloud All Apps- Individuals
License Type: Named-User License. The license is assigned to an individual. This license can be installed on up to five computers, including personally owned computers, but you can only be logged in two computers at any given time. Generic, service or departmental accounts are not eligible for this license.
Commitment: One year
2023-2024 Subscription Annual Cost: $313/person/year
Payment: When purchasing outside of the annual contract renewal period, the initial cost is pro-rated based on remaining months in annual contract. Initial payment will be made by ITS with a charge back to the department’s billing account.
Product Description
The Creative Cloud All Apps plan has 20+ creative apps, including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, After Effects, InDesign, AND Acrobat Pro. You also get templates, cloud storage, and thousands of fonts from the Adobe Fonts library. View the full list of Creative Cloud apps and perks.
Creative Cloud All Apps- Multi-User or Classroom Computer Installations Only
License Type: Shared-Device License. The license is assigned to a computer, not an individual.
Commitment: One year
2023-2024 Subscription Annual Cost: $192.24/computer/year
Payment: When purchasing outside of the annual contract renewal period, the initial cost is pro-rated based on remaining months in annual contract. Initial payment will be made by ITS with a charge back to the department’s billing account.
Product Description
This is the same product offering as the Creative Cloud All Apps plan for individuals, but is only available for Lab or Classroom computers where multiple users log into the same computer.
Adobe Acrobat Pro
License Type: Named-User License. This license can be installed on up to five computers, including personally owned computers, but you can only be logged in two computers at any given time. Generic, service or departmental accounts are not eligible for this license.
Commitment: One year
2023-2024 Subscription Annual Cost: $118.56/person/year
Payment: When purchasing outside of the annual contract renewal period, the initial cost is pro-rated based on remaining months in annual contract. Initial payment will be made by ITS with a charge back to the department’s billing account.
Product Description
Acrobat Pro is the industry leader in PDF creation and editing plus advanced PDF and e-signature capabilities. With these advanced features, you can:
- Edit and organize PDFs
- Convert documents to and from PDF
- Fill out forms, sign documents, and request e-signatures
- Password-protect files
- Turn scanned documents into editable, searchable PDFs
- Compare PDFs to review differences
- Redact sensitive information from PDFs
- Brand your agreements by adding a logo and custom URL
- Create web forms and reusable e-sign templates
- Collect payments with Braintree where available
- Receive and track multiple e-signatures by sending in bulk
Adobe Acrobat Classic
License Type: Desktop License. License is for one computer installation only.
Commitment: 3-year term
2023-2024 Subscription Annual Cost: $191/computer/3 years- paid at the beginning of the 3-year term
Payment: When purchasing outside of the annual contract renewal period, the initial cost is pro-rated based on remaining months in annual contract. Initial payment will be made by ITS with a charge back to the department’s billing account.
Product Description
Adobe Acrobat Classic is an updated version of Acrobat desktop software designed to replace the older perpetual software versions. It's available as a 3-year term license, non-renewing, and paid upfront. Once activated, you can use it offline for the entire term.
It includes all the features of Acrobat Pro 2020, plus additional enhancements, including a new interface, the ability to star a document, improved accessibility tagging, and more. It doesn't include Adobe Document Cloud services. Acrobat Classic doesn't receive feature updates and lacks web-based features like e-signing, sharing for review, and AI capabilities. With Acrobat Classic, paid features are not available on web browsers and mobile devices.
With Acrobat Classic, you have full access to PDF tools on your desktop only (no web or mobile access). If you want additional features and cloud services, you can choose an Acrobat Pro subscription instead.
Adobe Acrobat Classic FAQ
Comparison of Adobe Acrobat Pro and Adobe Acrobat Classic
Individual Adobe Title Licenses
License Type: Named-User License. This license can be installed on up to five computers, including personally owned computers, but you can only be logged in two computers at any given time. Generic, service or departmental accounts are not eligible for this license.
Commitment: One year
2023-2024 Subscription Annual Cost: Individual titles are quoted upon request
Payment: When purchasing outside of the annual contract renewal period, the initial cost is pro-rated based on remaining months in annual contract. Initial payment will be made by ITS with a charge back to the department’s billing account.
Product Description
You can purchase an individual title of an Adobe Software product such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, or Adobe Stock. Pricing will vary depending on title. Cost effective if only needing one title. If you need more than one titles, we recommend you purchase the All Apps license for Individuals.
Adobe Express
License Type: Free, Web-based only
Payment: When purchasing outside of the annual contract renewal period, the initial cost is pro-rated based on remaining months in annual contract. Initial payment will be made by ITS with a charge back to the department’s billing account.
Product Description
Adobe Express is an option for non-design/communications/arts students. It is a powerful all-in-one storytelling platform for creating multimedia content like research papers, graphics, flyers, videos, and presentations.
- Anyone can go online and use Adobe Express for free with limited storage (2GB) and generative AI credits (25 generative credits/month).
- Higher Education Adobe users with a Creative Cloud All Apps Named User License (not shared device licenses) have access to the premium version of Adobe Express and have 50 GB of storage, 500 generative credits/month and can use Generative AI integrations within Adobe Apps such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Adobe Stock
If you would like assistance, please feel free to contact the Binghamton University ITS Help Desk at 607-777-6420 or Submit a Request, and we'll be happy to help.
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