Illustrator AlternativesOnly apps categorised as Digital Painting Tools for iPad

There are many alternatives to Adobe Illustrator for iPad if you are looking for a replacement. The best iPad Digital Painting Tool alternative is Affinity Designer. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try Linearity Curve or Figma. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Adobe Illustrator and six of them are Digital Painting Tools available for iPad so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting iPad Digital Painting Tool alternatives to Adobe Illustrator are Amadine, Canvas Max and MyBrushes.

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Adobe Illustrator alternatives are mainly Digital Painting Tools, but if you're looking for Vector Graphic Apps or Color Picker Tools you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Open Source, Android, Mac, Linux, Free, iPad and Online + Free. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Adobe Illustrator.
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Alternatives list

  1. Affinity Designer is fairly new when compared to the more popular vector editing apps, however it has gradually grown in popularity and influence, and for very good reasons. Its one time purchase (perpetual license) turns out to be a good argument for those who do not want to to pay a monthly subscription fee like Adobe's. In addition, it's available on iPad with an app that has ALL the features from the desktop version, which makes it probably the most complete vector editing mobile app on the market. It also has some unique features that Illustrator doesn't, like the ability to switch between raster and vector workspaces within the same tool, one million+ percent zoom, and unlimited redo.

    63 Affinity Designer alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • iPad
     
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    29
    Affinity Designer vs Adobe Illustrator Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Paul
    5

    Affinity Designer is faster, cheaper and can handle bitmap and vector illustrations. I finally got rid of Adobe.

    Jonathan Jewell
    Positive
    0

    Far and away the best of these tools. The Serif/Affinity product is so underrated with the dominance of Adobe out there. I cannot see why anyone not locked into a service contract or who did not need the wider Adobe product suite functionality would stay with them at the price with alternatives like Affinity out there. And they haven't had a password breach that I know in the past two decades I have been with them as a customer...

    Du
    Positive
    1

    I especially enjoy auto export feature, when changes in artboards are immediately exported to a custom set of formats. Just change the design, and your jpegs, pngs and pdfs of your preferred resolutions are already there, ready to use. A treat for web design, but also very useful for 3d modelling textures and decals.

    3 of 29 comments
    • Affinity Designer is Paid and ProprietaryAdobe Illustrator is also Paid and Proprietary
  2. Linearity Curve icon
     354 likes

    Vectonator is a very complete free vector editing app, known mainly for its iPad apps, focusing on simplicity and ease of use. You can export to JPG, PNG, SVG and PDF. Also, unlike Illustrator, you can render a time-lapse video of your project to share on social media (with some limitations). Cloud syncing allows you to continue work started on iPad and finish it directly on macOS.

    40 Linearity Curve alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad
     
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    1
    Linearity Curve vs Adobe Illustrator Comments
    FearedFusionX
    Negative
    1

    This used to be a great app for both Mac and iOS, but ever since the subscription update, the app has been reaching it's breaking point.

    • Linearity Curve is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe Illustrator is Paid and Proprietary
    • Linearity Curve is Lightweight and Privacy focusedAdobe Illustrator is not according to our users
  3. Figma icon
     242 likes

    Figma has a bigger focus on UI design, wireframing and collaborative work. Like Sketch, its interface is cleaner and easier to understand than Illustrator. It's can also be used throught web browsers and collabore with more members of your team in real time. It features automatic cloud synchronization so you can use your files on the platform you want, in addition to unique features such as arc tools and vector networks, which allow non-designers to format their templates easily. Animated prototypes are definitely a great advantage to interact with your design before coding.

    101 Figma alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Chrome OS
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • iPhone
    • iPad
     
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    2
    Figma vs Adobe Illustrator Comments
    RCLeahcar
    Negative
    8

    Figma places a heavier focus on user interface design, while Illustrator is a general vector graphics editor.

    Guest
    Positive
    1

    With a focus on UI, it is a much better tool to use for UI design and prototyping

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • Figma is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe Illustrator is Paid and Proprietary
  4. Amadine icon
     6 likes

    Amadine is a macOS vector graphics app designed for both beginners and pros, offering a user-friendly interface, precision design tools, multiple layers, and a seamless workflow. It's developed by BeLight Software, emphasizing intuitive use and versatile creativity.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad
     
  5. With Canvas Max, not only can you sketch, illustrate, and design on an infinite canvas, but you also have the power to zoom infinitely.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • iPhone
    • iPad
     
  6. MyBrushes icon
     22 likes

    MyBrushes Paint for Mac app allows you to paint on infinite canvas and PLAYBACK whole drawing.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad
     
6 of 6 Adobe Illustrator alternatives