Update: This offer has been extended until April 7!

I haven’t exactly been shy about my support for Adobe’s Creative Cloud. I consider it a no-brainer for any creative professional because there’s just no way to duplicate what you’re receiving on a subscription basis by purchasing perpetual licenses every year. And now, until March 11, if you happen to be a student or teacher, is a very good time to jump in. As I mentioned in my “What Will it Take to Move Everyone to Creative Cloud?“ post, Adobe is making a difficult-to-resist introductory offer of only $19.99 per month for the first year. That’s a 33% savings over the regular academic price of $29.99 per month and a 60% savings over the commercial price of $49.99 per month.

When you consider all of the expenses that a student has, this is as compelling as it gets for anyone even remotely thinking about or studying for a career as a creative professional. Another positive is that based on Adobe’s current 12-month upgrade cycle the next major version of Creative Suite will likely be released before the summer (Creative Suite 5.5 and Creative Suite 6 were released in spring 2010 and spring 2011) and Creative Cloud members will automatically have that next version made available to them immediately. No need to think about whether to wait and no need to worry about budgeting for an upgrade.

$19.99 a month should be easy enough for just about any student or parent to budget for. Many of you (and you know who you are) spend that in one WEEK at Starbucks. Even the full annual cost is less than that of many text books (which don’t come with upgrades). This is an opportunity that you really shouldn’t pass up without at least thinking about it. These prices are for North American customers but similar percentage savings are available elsewhere in the world.

If you’d like more information on Adobe’s Creative Cloud offerings, visit Adobe’s Online Store where you can sign up or get a free trial.

One final note; proof of eligibility is required to take advantage of this offer.