Services have represented a significant part of Apple’s business for several years – to the tune of tens of billions of dollars in revenue last year only. Now, with the new Apple Creator Studio bundle, the company is leaning more into the realm of professional creation software.
Apple Creative Studio bundles a number of the company’s business apps into a single subscription service that you can pay for monthly or annually. It’s officially available starting January 28 and includes a one-month free trial. The key change is that some of these apps are now available by subscription only on iPad, although Apple continues to offer one-time purchases on Mac – albeit with slightly different feature offerings. Here’s everything you need to know about Apple Creator Studio and the programs it includes.
What Apple Creator Studio includes
At its core, Apple Creator Studio gives subscribers access to Apple’s professional video, music, and imaging applications. THE bundle includes Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor and MainStage. Pixelmator Pro (which Apple acquired at the end of 2024) is also coming to iPad for the first time, with an optimized touch interface and support for the Apple Pencil.
A Creator Studio subscription also unlocks premium content and features in Apple’s productivity apps. Keynote, Pages and Numbers remain free, but subscribers have access to premium templates and themes, as well as a new Content Hub with photos, graphics and illustrations curated by Apple. Similar paid features are coming to Freeform later this year, the company says.
Apple is also using the bundle to introduce new “intelligence” features across several apps. In Final Cut Pro, the new Beat Detection feature can analyze a music track and display a beat grid so you can align edits to the beat. The app also has tools like transcript search and visual search designed to make it easier to find moments in footage.
Logic Pro gets new AI-powered session players and workflow features on Mac and iPad. Pixelmator Pro continues to rely heavily on machine learning for tasks like background removal, image repair and upscaling. Note that some of these features require an Apple Intelligence-enabled device.
What devices are supported
Apple Creator Studio works on multiple Apple platforms, although not all apps are available everywhere.
On Mac, subscribers have access to six applications: Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor and MainStage.
On iPad, Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro and Pixelmator Pro are included. Motion, Compressor and MainStage remain Mac-only.
On iPhone, Creator Studio does not include full versions of Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, or Pixelmator Pro. Instead, it unlocks premium features and content in Keynote, Pages and Numbers, and eventually Freeform.
Apple says the best experience is on macOS 26, iPadOS 26, and iOS 26 or later, with individual app requirements varying by device and chip.
Apple Creator Studio apps (Apple)
Pricing and subscription options
Apple Creative Studio costs $12.99 per month or $129 per year, and new subscribers can try the service free for one month. Students and teachers get a big discount: the education plan costs $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year, and it also comes with a one-month free trial.
A standard subscription can be shared with up to five other people using Family Sharing, allowing for a total of six users. Education subscriptions are limited to individual use and cannot be shared. Apple is also offering three free months of Creator Studio to customers who purchase a new eligible Mac or iPad at launch.
But Creator Studio isn’t the only way to access most of these apps. Apple says all major apps included in Creator Studio will continue to be available as one-time purchases from the Mac App Store.
Final Cut Pro remains priced at $299.99, Logic Pro at $199.99, Pixelmator Pro at $49.99, Motion at $49.99, Compressor at $49.99, and MainStage at $29.99. Users who already own these apps can continue to use and re-download them from the App Store as usual.
On iPad, however, things are different. Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Pixelmator Pro for iPad are only available through the Creator Studio subscription. There is no standalone purchase option for these apps on iPadOS.
Keynote, Pages, Numbers and Freeform remain free for anyone to download and use. Apple says these apps will continue to receive updates, including upcoming visual design changes related to iOS 26 and iPadOS 26.
Without a Creator Studio subscription, you can still create, edit, and collaborate in these apps. What you won’t get are paid templates, Content Hub assets, and some intelligence features.
What happens to your plans if you cancel
Apple says projects and content you create with an active subscription remain licensed as part of your original work.
Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Pixelmator Pro projects stay on your devices and can be copied or shared elsewhere. But you will need an active subscription to open or edit projects in these paid apps.
Keynote, Pages, Numbers and Freeform documents remain editable without subscription. However, you will not be able to make new changes based on paid features once your subscription ends.
Other information about the Apple Creator Studio apps bundle
Apple Creator Studio also has immediate tradeoffs. Alongside the bundle, Apple confirmed that the old Pixelmator app for iPhone and iPad, now described as Pixelmator Classic, will no longer receive updates. Apple says it will remain functional, but development is moving to Pixelmator Pro, including the new iPad version included with Creator Studio.
But don’t expect standalone versions of the apps to maintain feature parity with their Creator Studio counterparts. By Apple FAQ“The Apple Creator Studio version of Pixelmator Pro includes access to the Warp Tool feature”, implying that this feature is not present on the standalone version.
More broadly, this offering puts Apple more directly in competition with Adobe and other subscription-based authoring platforms, particularly for people looking for a lower monthly entry point. At the same time, Apple is leaving one-time purchases on the table for Mac users, even if access to the iPad falls behind a subscription.
Apple Creator Studio will be available on January 28. This will likely depend on the device you’re working on and whether you’d otherwise pay up front for one or more of Apple’s pro apps.
