What will you be using Photoshop CC for? If you are just starting out, I'd serious recommend getting Elements for $100. Elements can edit photos, crop, filter, layer, etc. It's pretty powerful too. I've never played with Elements but I have taken classes where the instructor used Elements as the training tool 'cause most the students used Elements. I know Phostohop very well so I was able to train in the same class and follow along without a problem. What irks me about what I've learned about Elements is that creating shadows on a layered element (or object) is that you have to go through some funky steps to accomplish something so easily done in Photoshop + you can't create a new layer with the shadow layer if you wanted to warp it or do something else to that shadow. Another thing is that I like creating actions for batch processing and I don't think Elements has that capability. It can use actions but it just can't create them. Etc. Etc. I have used Photoshop forever though...I'd say over 15 years now (and there are still a lot I'm learning 'cause Photoshop is just that type of tool where the learning never ends). If I was a beginner, I probably would invest in Elements just to get the hang of things...that's why I recommend it for beginners without having to go the illegal way.