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Apple Creator Studio Hands-On: What You Get for $12.99 Per Month

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Apple today launched its latest subscription service, a software bundle called Creator Studio. Creator Studio provides access to Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage for one $12.99 per month fee, with a $129 per year purchase option also available.


We checked out the Creator Studio bundle to see if it's worth what Apple is charging.

Creator Studio includes Apple's pro image, audio, and video editing apps that were previously only available for one-time purchase. If you don't currently own Apple's apps and you have need for a range of creative tools, the bundle has the potential to be a good deal.

Many of Apple's apps are hundreds of dollars if you purchase them on a standalone basis. Here are the individual costs:
  • Final Cut Pro - $299.99
  • Logic Pro - $199.99
  • Pixelmator Pro - $49.99
  • Compressor - $49.99
  • Motion - $49.99
  • MainStage - $29.99
Together, the apps cost just about $680, so there is potentially money to be saved by paying $12.99 per month or $129 per year. Creator Studio provides full access to the apps, along with exclusive AI features that are not available in the standalone versions. Apple is even including Creator Studio-exclusive features in its free apps like Freeform, Keynote, Pages, and Numbers.

You can use Freeform, Keynote, Pages, and Numbers for free and purchase Apple's apps without opting for Creator Studio, but a Creator Studio subscription is the only way to get the new AI features that Apple has developed.

Unfortunately, there is no option to purchase access to just one or two apps at a lower subscription price. Creator Studio is all or nothing, so if you just want access to image editing capabilities with Pixelmator Pro and also the AI tools for Apple's iWork app, you have no option to pay less just for those. You have to pay the full $12.99 per month price even if you don't need some of the apps.

Apple envisions Creative Studio as a tool for creatives who need to do all their content creation and management on their own, from filming videos to creating audio for those videos to making graphics. It is a highly useful option for people who can take advantage of most of the apps, but it isn't going to make as much sense for those who just need one or two.

Creator Studio is best for people who have shied away from Apple's professional video and audio editing apps because of their high cost, or those who need tools for video creation, music making, and image editing. It would be nice if Apple could offer more specialized, affordable bundles in the future, much like Adobe does for its Creative Cloud apps.

Apple is offering a one-month free trial for those who want to try out Creator Studio, or a three-month trial with the purchase of an eligible Mac or iPad. Up to six family members can share a single Creative Studio subscription.

Do you plan to subscribe to Creative Studio? Let us know in the comments below.

Article Link: Apple Creator Studio Hands-On: What You Get for $12.99 Per Month
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/01/28/apple-creator-studio-hands-on/
  • Haha
Reactions: Z-4195 and antiprotest
As we've seen with other subscription products, the price on launch day isn't the issue. It seems like a pretty good deal, even! The issue is when you come to rely on these products and they start turning the screws.

Relying on subscription software and cloud services is the worst decision any business can make, and I've found that out the hard way.
 
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pelowj said:
As we've seen with other subscription products, the price on launch day isn't the issue. It seems like a pretty good deal, even! The issue is when you come to rely on these products and they start turning the screws.

Relying on subscription software and cloud services is the worst decision any business can make, and I've found that out the hard way.
Click to expand...
In addition to starving the available free apps to death. This is an excellent point. Look at every other subscription fee that Apple has imposed. They have double tripled, generally exploded. At what point is enough enough?
 
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I just want Photomator with the latest updates on my iPad and Pixelmator Pro with the latest updates on my iMac and I want to pay a one time fee. I have absolutely zero use for the other stuff.

Sure, if I was a user of all those other apps too it would be a great deal, but now it’s really not.
 
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I tried downloading it and it says that "the app is not available in my region" I live in Vermont and all of my devices say the same. Any thoughts?
 
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pelowj said:
Relying on subscription software and cloud services is the worst decision any business can make, and I've found that out the hard way.
Click to expand...

While every business circumstance is different and I am not your accountant, SaaS exists because businesses prefer it. It creates predictable, ongoing CODB rather than sudden, one-time investments, and defers or sidesteps entirely ownership of assets. Same for things like leasing of durable goods (computers, office space, etc.) Again, every circumstance is different but there's a reason why, if you're a business, you're generally going to look for ways to offload one-time purchases.

Where things get blurry is as a consumer since there are not tax or business advantages to SaaS for most consumers. There are some practical advantages unique to individual circumstances, but I can fully understand why some people may not be willing or want to explore that. Providing one-time purchases for consumer use as an alternative to a subscription feels like the only fair thing to do as a result, even if there are limitations (e.g. one time purchase lacks access to certain ongoing assets or services, much as how Microsoft still offers forever licenses of Office, but it lacks the OneDrive space/integration, among other features).

As a business owner and working creative, however, I would never tie myself to Apple's software because it's single-platform. I like the ability to use Macs, but leave myself exit plans if I never needed or wanted to switch to a PC. My work environments will always trump platform loyalty. So subscription or not, Creator Studio is a non-starter for me.
 
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Good video. Not going to subscribe. Can see many users paying for this. Will surely bring in a lot of revenue for Apple.
 
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Wait, I have to get a M1 or better Mac to use this ai and than they charge me a subscription to use that ai?
 
breather said:
I just want Photomator with the latest updates on my iPad and Pixelmator Pro with the latest updates on my iMac and I want to pay a one time fee. I have absolutely zero use for the other stuff.

Sure, if I was a user of all those other apps too it would be a great deal, but now it’s really not.
Click to expand...
Then you’re in luck because Apple is offering exactly that.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Hardijs
DrRadon said:
Wait, I have to get a M1 or better Mac to use this ai and than they charge me a subscription to use that ai?
Click to expand...
I was thinking the same thing. Can’t claim it needs server infrastructure and upkeep, while also claiming it runs locally.

I don’t like paying for subscriptions if there’s no server side component.
 
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