Do you need any vector-editing tools? Try these Adobe Illustrator alternatives. For some decades, either digital art, illustration or graphic design have been dominated by Adobe, the best illustrator alternative offering a fresh change in the software industry.
Considering that illustrator is a part of Adobe’s creative cloud, a monthly subscription is needed in order that you can use the app. However, it is possible to have the app for free. There are usually some illustrator alternatives available to download without being charged.
In this regard, we outline the 4 best Adobe Illustrator alternatives that probably meet your need and expectation. So let’s check them all out in the following review sections to find the most suitable illustrator alternative you need.
4 Best Adobe Illustrator Alternatives That May Meet Your Needs
1. Affinity Designer
Affinity Designer logo
It is best described that Affinity Designer is the best-all around an alternative to illustrator. This app was originally launched in 2014 by the British Software Company Serif. This software company reaches its popularity for its powerful and rich features as well as the one-off price. This way, Affinity Designer is available at £48.99. Sometimes, it is offering discounts. In short, the price of this app is cheaper than picking up an illustrator subscription.
Thanks to the legacy code that makes this app runs faster than an illustrator. Moreover, if you have already a new Mac, it would be good news that the app will run a lot faster. You may wonder if this app can work out anything, well, it truly can. It can not only import but also export AI and PSD files.
Affinity Designer is also created to boost a few unique features while an illustrator is not. This app features the ability to switch between vector and raster workspaces within the similar tool, unlimited redos and one-million plus zoom. In fact, while you cannot use an illustrator on your iPad, you can expect to use the full version of Affinity Designer. This way, you must pay for £19.99 along with the support of optimized features for Apple Pencil.
Like its name, Affinity Designer is aimed to meet the need of a professional designer to help them support their profession. So if you are a designer, then having this app is a must.
2. Sketch
Best Adobe Illustrator Alternatives
Sketch is the second Adobe Illustrator alternatives that is widely used for UI design. This app is very popular among UI designers, EX designers, web designers and app designers. Firstly launched in 2010, Sketch is aimed to meet you need of vector drawing program which is primarily designed for digital design. Sketch can be the best alternative to Illustrator only if you are using Mac.
If you are confused on how to use it, no worry too much. It is a drawing program that is not as complicated as you may think of. This way, you don’t have to use all the Illustrator features to create a complex art or illustration. You need only to use the similar token and the simpler user-friendly interface to allow you to easily and quickly make icons and UI design.
Dealing with the price to purchase this app, you need to pay £99 and you will be given one year of free updates as a bonus. If your licensed is expired, the app can still be used as you want. Just make sure you don’t forget to renew the latest updates.
3. corelDRAW
coreldraw
corelDraw has been popularly used not only for adult users but also for children. Yup, it is not surprising that only a ten—year-old boy or girl can use this app on their computer. This is due to the fact that corelDRAW has a big number of passionate fans. Though it is categorized as an expensive app, many people at different ages use it widely. corelDRAW is basically designed for illustrators and artists.
As one of Adobe Illustrator alternatives, corelDRAW is was historically launched in 1989 as a vector drawing program with a big fans coming from illustrators and artists. At that time, this app is compatible only with Windows. As time passes, the Spring a Mac version was released in the end.
Is corelDRAW a better tool than Illustrator? There is no easy way of saying it is true. Both of them are designed with their own features and passionate advocates. However, they have different interfaces and approaches that make the fans keep arguing.
In fact, Illustrator comes only as a standard software which is basically aimed for design and illustration industry. Luckily, corelDRAW allow the import and export AI and PDF files. Both corelDRAW and illustrator cannot be separated on price. In this case, corelDRAW offers one-off free but £599 is needed for the upfront cost at time of writing. Alternatively, you can choose the app’s subscription for £16.67 per month but billed every year. This will be cheaper than subscribe to Adobe Illustrator.
Essentially, corelDRAW is widely purchased among the illustrator because the people’s tendency to choose the interface and workflow. If you thing you will not use it frequently, you can beneficially take the free trial only. Last, you will be able to feel how the app is in practice.
4. Gravit Designer
gravit designer
Have you ever used Gravit Designer? It is the browser-based tool that is available in free version. It can used only online and on desktop computer. This kind of app is best recommended for Chromebook and Linux users and budget-conscious designers and illustrators.
If you have a diverse range of design task such as illustration, UI and screen design as well as printed artwork and logo design, Gravit Designer can be a perfect app you must have. Listed as one of the recommended Adobe Illustrator alternatives, Gravit Designer comes with the similar features to Illustrator including the features of freehand drawing tool to smooth the path you draw and the ability to make various custom shapes with the equivalent of the Pen tool. Thanks to the flexibility of Gravit Designer that offers the ability to be downloaded for Mac OS, Windows, Linux and Chrome OS. This app is greatly available for both online in your browser and on your computer desktop. Further, it comes with the tools supporting a number of vector and raster file formats which include Sketch and AI files.
In addition, you can save the work in .gvdesign format on your computer and export it as JPEG, SVG, PDV, and PNG files.
