AI-Built Adobe Clones Challenge Creative Cloud Subscriptions

A protest built in Rust

Adobe's subscription model now has a new kind of critic. Brandon Thomas is a developer with about 15 years in the software industry. He has released Artcraft, a set of seven free, open-source apps meant to reproduce the core of Creative Cloud. He says he built them with Anthropic's Claude Opus 5.5, and he cites Adobe's early cancellation fees as a main reason for doing it.13 The lineup includes Photocraft for Photoshop, Vectorcraft for Illustrator, Filmcraft for Premiere, Lightcraft for Lightroom, Effectcraft for After Effects and Designcraft for InDesign. The seventh app replaces Acrobat Pro. Some outlets call it Printcraft and others call it PdfCraft.1410 The code is written in Rust and released under MIT and Apache licenses. Browser versions run on WebAssembly, and native builds run on Windows, macOS and Linux.24

Thomas explained his motive in blunt terms. He said he had been "bit by the dark pattern 'cancellation fee' one too many times."54 Then he went much further. He argued that anyone can now build working "1:1" copies of paid software, said developers will go on to replace Google Search and build their own phones, and declared that "software is over."15

The slogan is getting the attention, but the more important story is about money. A frustrated customer used a mass-market AI model to go after a company whose business depends almost entirely on recurring subscriptions. The real question is whether that is a serious threat to Adobe's revenue or mostly a gesture.

What the apps can actually do

The coverage agrees that the software is far from finished. Thomas calls it a "super early alpha." Commenters on Hacker News and other forums have listed many gaps.38 One widely shared report described Photocraft's Free Transform tool refusing to exit, undoing itself, and then working again for no clear reason.3 Users have also flagged problems with basic editing, keyboard shortcuts and performance. Content-Aware Fill, one of Photoshop's best-known features, is missing. Photocraft's own roadmap estimates it covers 25% to 35% of what a professional needs day to day.4

Thomas has already softened his timeline. On Reddit he promised "100% parity within a month." On Hacker News he later said 99% parity would take months, though not years.19 Reports differ on how much weight to give his boldest claim, that he "one-shotted Photoshop. The whole thing."54 Given the project's own scorecard, that line is best read as hype, not a description of what the apps do today.

Funding is better thought out than the slogan suggests. Artcraft began as a tool for editing AI-generated images and video. Its existing business sells tokens for AI image and video models, and those models are offered inside the new apps as a generation option.25 Thomas says this keeps the project from becoming "some orphaned small-team project." He says a team stands behind it, and he is offering bug bounties.63 This matters because many open-source alternatives die quietly when volunteers lose interest. One outlet that reviewed the release named abandonment as the main risk.2

The fee behind the frustration

The cancellation fee Thomas complains about has a long legal history. In June 2024, the Justice Department and the FTC sued Adobe. They alleged that the company pushed customers toward its default "annual, paid monthly" plan while hiding a one-year commitment and an early termination fee of half the remaining payments.1116 The FTC's unredacted complaint quoted an unnamed Adobe executive describing the fee as "a bit like heroin for Adobe." Adobe's general counsel said that quote was taken out of context.11

In March 2026, Adobe settled for $150 million: $75 million in civil penalties and $75 million in free services for eligible customers.1315 The order requires Adobe to disclose the fee before taking billing details, bans hiding those disclosures behind links, requires notice before longer free trials convert to paid plans, and requires a simple way to cancel.1912 Adobe denied wrongdoing.17

The fee itself still exists. A review of Adobe's pricing pages after the settlement found the charge still listed, now in plainer wording: half the remaining annual commitment if you cancel after 14 days.14 Several observers called the settlement light. It came one day after Adobe reported $6.4 billion in quarterly revenue, and Ars Technica called it "a big win for Adobe."15 The issue also continues elsewhere. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority opened its own investigation into the same fees.15 A private class action in California repeats the claims, including one plaintiff's $84 termination charge.20

In short, regulators made the fee easier to see but did not remove it. That leaves room for customers to stay angry, and that anger is what Artcraft is tapping.

The earnings picture: a fortress, for now

One viral open-source project will not dent Adobe's finances. Adobe reported record third-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue of $6.76 billion, up 13%. Adjusted EPS was $6.13, ahead of estimates.2130 Subscription revenue was $6.58 billion, and total annual recurring revenue reached $27.5 billion, up 11.2%.2923 Subscriptions now make up about 97% of revenue.27 Adobe raised its full-year revenue guidance to between $26.576 billion and $26.626 billion.28

The weak spots are worth noting, though. The stock fell after hours despite the beat.30 One summary of the earnings call said net new ARR declined as Adobe deliberately moved toward free, ad-light entry tiers. Creative freemium users passed 100 million, up more than 70%.2325 Adobe guides to 10.2% ARR growth for the full year, below the current pace.28 Back in June, the stock fell about 5.5% after hours on another record quarter, partly because the CFO was leaving.24 A new CEO, Anil Chakravarthy, takes over in December.21

Adobe's main AI defense is its own AI products. AI-first ARR passed $650 million, up more than 150%, and Firefly ARR rose 40% from the previous quarter on credit consumption.21 The irony is clear. Adobe is charging for AI credits, while Artcraft's founder funds free clones by selling AI tokens. Both companies are betting that the money will move from software seats to model usage.

Where the "SaaSpocalypse" fits

Thomas is adding to a debate Wall Street has been running all year. Software stocks fell sharply in early 2026 after Anthropic released its Claude Cowork tools. Reports put about $285 billion in losses on the worst stretch, and estimates of the total damage range from $1 trillion to $2 trillion.343132 Adobe was directly involved. On February 4, Piper Sandler downgraded it, warning that "seat-compression and vibe coding narratives could set a ceiling on multiples."38 Forrester listed fear that vibe coding would let newcomers copy complex platforms as one of the main reasons investors were selling.39

Analysts disagree about where things stand now. One September analysis declared the selloff "officially over," saying it ended in June as investors came to see AI as a boost for established vendors.36 Another described a rolling correction that was still deepening into spring and called it the largest non-recessionary software drawdown in decades.32 Part of the early decline also came from broader market stress, not just AI.34

Adobe's results support the more cautious view. Customers have not left in large numbers, and pricing power has held. Adobe's market value of about $92 billion, with shares near $239, suggests investors are discounting the long-term multiple more than near-term revenue.2125

The legal and practical ceiling

Artcraft's main selling point is that it looks familiar, and that is also its biggest legal risk. Reverse engineering is generally legal. Outlets note, however, that apps copying Adobe's interfaces this closely could face trade dress claims.26 Others warn that Adobe holds thousands of patents covering features and behaviors, not just code.410 Some observers suspect the model may have absorbed decompiled code, though no evidence of that has been shown.10 Nobody has reported legal action yet.3

The practical ceiling may matter more. Professional workflows depend on decades of work on color management, hardware acceleration and file compatibility, and copying an interface does not reproduce that.3 Free tools like GIMP, Krita and Photopea have existed for years without breaking Adobe's hold on professionals.1

Artcraft does matter, though. It shows that the cost of building a convincing imitation has dropped sharply. That gives frustrated customers a credible way out, and practices like hard-to-escape cancellation fees become more expensive for vendors to keep. Software is not over. Adobe's contracts are still producing record revenue. But Adobe has less room for subscription terms that customers resent, and that is what the gap between its share price and its earnings suggests investors are worried about.