Adobe launched Creative Suite 6 Monday, the latest version of its flagship software kit for designers and web developers, and made it subscription-based, part of the company's Creative Cloud.

Pricing starts at $50 a month for a year's commitment or $75 a month with no contract. Existing users may qualify for a $30-a-month promotion for the first year and there's a version for business teams that'll cost $70 a month that won't be out for a while.

Users can download Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, After Effects, InDesign and any of the also separately priced other programs in the bundle to a PC or Mac, share files and store work online in a 20GB locker.

Adobe's hoping the new, more affordable model brings in more sales and stabilizes its erratic performance of late. It has visions of adding a billion dollars but near-term it's expecting to take a hit from spreading revenues out so long. How nasty remains to be seen.

The software, which traditionally fetches a pricey $2,600 at the high end, $550 to upgrade, will still be available in a box both collectively and individually.

The rev includes more tools for touchscreen tablet apps' design and additional support for HTML5, the open technology threatening to displace Adobe's own Flash.

It should be available in a month.