Comparison of Differences: CS6 vs. CS5.5 vs. CS5 vs. CS4 vs. CS3


Comparison of Differences: CS6 vs. CS5.5 vs. CS5 vs. CS4 vs. CS3


One of the most common upgrade questions we see out there is asking what’s new, what’s different, what’s better, what’s changed between Adobe CS6 and CS5.5 or CS5? Or more fundamentally, what are the key new features in CS6 versus prior versions, even compared to CS4 or CS3?



Creative Suite 6 contains hundreds of new or enhanced features and func­tions across the 14 point products that comprise it. So the easiest way to look at it is by major product… For example, Photoshop CS6 Extended has 62% more new features added in this cycle compared to the previous one, and nearly twice as many JDI requests (user-focused “Just Do It” items) addressed. You’ll find the details on these linked from the table below.

Adobe turns 30 this year. Over the decades the company has excelled at creating software that abstracts the latest technology in a way that makes it easy for customers to express unique ideas and deliver those ideas in a variety of media. Whether you’re editing an image with Photoshop, creating vector graphics in Illustrator, or laying out a page in InDesign, the goal of Creative Suite 6 is to give you total creative freedom along with the control and precision to ensure the highest quality when it comes to production. And when you combine the new time-saving features in CS6 together with the major reengineering of key user interfaces – in particular Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro – plus further deep optimization of tool performance, you should be able to get that work done faster and more efficiently.

So here they are, the breakouts by individual product – the CS6 vs. CS5.5 vs. CS5 vs. CS4 vs. CS3 version comparisons:


What’s New in Adobe Creative Suite 6
ProductAt-a-GlanceIn Depth
Photoshop CS6Version ComparisonNew Features
Photoshop CS6 ExtendedVersion ComparisonNew Features
Illustrator CS6Version ComparisonNew Features
InDesign CS6Version ComparisonNew Features
Dreamweaver CS6Version ComparisonNew Features
Fireworks CS6Version ComparisonNew Features
Flash Professional CS6Version ComparisonNew Features
Flash Builder 4.6Version ComparisonNew Features
Premiere Pro CS6Version ComparisonNew Features
After Effects CS6Version ComparisonNew Features
Audition CS6Version ComparisonNew Features
Encore CS6Version ComparisonNew Features
Creative Suites
CS6 Design StandardVersion ComparisonNew Features
CS6 Design & Web PremiumVersion ComparisonNew Features
CS6 Production PremiumVersion ComparisonNew Features
CS6 Master CollectionVersion ComparisonNew Features
Example of At-a-Glance
Compare Adobe Photoshop CS6 vs. CS5 vs. CS4 vs. CS3



See also our Creative Suite 6 Launch Guide plus a focused comparison of CS6 vs. CS5.5, including specific details on all the new features added product-by-product.