The Best Paid Illustrator AlternativesTop Vector Graphic Apps & Digital Painting Tools like Illustrator

The best paid alternative to Adobe Illustrator is Affinity Designer. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Adobe Illustrator and many of them is paid so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting paid alternatives to Adobe Illustrator are CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, Boxy SVG, Graphic and Xara Designer Pro.

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Adobe Illustrator alternatives are mainly Vector Graphic Apps, but if you're looking for Digital Painting Tools or Graphic Design Tools you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Open Source, Mac, Free, Windows + Free, Android, Linux and iPad. 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 icon

    Affinity Designer

     382 likes
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    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.

    62 Affinity Designer alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • iPad
    Affinity Designer screenshot 1
     
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    29
    343
    Comments about Affinity Designer as an Alternative to Adobe Illustrator
    Comment summary: Affinity Designer is praised for its affordability, one-time purchase model, and comprehensive features that rival Adobe Illustrator. Users highlight its ease of use, high performance, and seamless integration with other Affinity apps. Its auto-export feature, responsive developers, and absence of subscription fees stand out as notable benefits. While it lacks some specific features like Object Blend, many consider it a superior alternative for both casual and professional users.
    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.

    Show more comments
    3 of 29 comments
    Adobe Illustrator Icon
    Affinity Designer icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Affinity Designer is a great Adobe Illustrator alternative.

    • Affinity Designer is the most popular iPad alternative to Adobe Illustrator.

    • Affinity Designer is the most popular commercial alternative to Adobe Illustrator.

    • Affinity Designer is Paid and ProprietaryAdobe Illustrator is also Paid and Proprietary
  2. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite icon

    CorelDRAW Graphics Suite

     215 likes
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    It is one of the oldest and most reliable vector tools in the industry, not only offering excellent performance, but also providing an intuitive interface that's ideal for any beginner designers. Different from Illustrator, you can choose to pay a monthly subscription or obtain a license through a one-time purchase (although a bit expensive), which will include other compatible Corel design software such as Photo-Paint (Corel's alternative to Photoshop), as well as a font manager and content organization applications. CorelDRAW lets you edit multi-page documents, non-destructively convert bitmaps to vectors, and create QR codes.

    87 CorelDRAW Graphics Suite alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    CorelDRAW Graphics Suite screenshot 1
     
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    3
    49
    Comments about CorelDRAW Graphics Suite as an Alternative to Adobe Illustrator
    Guest
    Positive
    1

    The first vector illustrator I ever used. Sadly not available on the Mac

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    It's much easier to use and understand. It gives the average user a quicker grasp of editing and creating graphics. It is also less greedy with RAM.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Compatibility with .ai files, is a vector manipulator. Includes a "Hairline" stroke weight, which is very useful for certain applications. One-time license purchase

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Adobe Illustrator Icon
    CorelDRAW Graphics Suite icon

    • Almost everyone thinks CorelDRAW Graphics Suite is a great Adobe Illustrator alternative.

    • CorelDRAW Graphics Suite is Paid and ProprietaryAdobe Illustrator is also Paid and Proprietary
    • CorelDRAW Graphics Suite is CustomizableAdobe Illustrator is not according to our users
  4. Boxy SVG icon

    Boxy SVG

     48 likes
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    Boxy SVG is a vector graphics editor simillar to Adobe Illustrator, Sketch and Inkscape. Made with and for the modern Web Platform. Can do illustrations, icons, banners, mockups, charts, buttons and more.

    55 Boxy SVG alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Pay once or Subscription
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Flathub
    Boxy SVG screenshot 1
     
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    13
    Comments about Boxy SVG as an Alternative to Adobe Illustrator
    Paul
    Positive
    0

    It's not comparable to Illustrator in terms of features, but if you need a lightweight software to create or edit SVGs, then this is a very good software. I use it daily for quick edits to vector files.

    Guest
    Negative
    -2

    No import or export of ai and eps

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Adobe Illustrator Icon
    Boxy SVG icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Boxy SVG is a great Adobe Illustrator alternative.

    • Boxy SVG is Paid and ProprietaryAdobe Illustrator is also Paid and Proprietary
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    Xara Photo & Graphic Designer icon
    Xara Photo & Graphic Designer

    Xara Photo & Graphic Designer, formerly Xara Xtreme, is a fast graphics software with versatile illustration tools and advanced photo management. It streamlines creative tasks, allowing users to retouch images, create social ...

    https://www.xara.com
    Learn More
  6. Graphic icon

    Graphic

     37 likes
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    Graphic is a modern full-featured graphic design and illustration application, created specifically for Mac OS X. Packed with many powerful features, and designed to be easy to use, you can use Graphic to create everything from simple diagrams to intricate detailed vector...

    36 Graphic alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    Graphic screenshot 1
     
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    15
  7. Xara Designer Pro icon

    Xara Designer Pro

     32 likes
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    Xara Designer Pro offers tools for illustration, photo editing, and desktop publishing, with exceptional vector design capabilities. Suitable for billboards, business cards, and more, it supports diverse file formats, provides abundant templates, and powers web design and prototyping without coding.

    Cost / License

    • Subscription
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Xara Designer Pro screenshot 1
     
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    2
    9
    Comments about Xara Designer Pro as an Alternative to Adobe Illustrator
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Xara is avey intuïtive and fast drawing application that can do print, websites, animation, DTP, bitmaps and everything you would could ask from a graphic program.

    The possibilities are endless considiering it flawless combines vector editing with bitmaps.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    1

    Extremely fast and better with bitmaps than Illustrator

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Adobe Illustrator Icon
    Xara Designer Pro icon

    • Most users think Xara Designer Pro is a great Adobe Illustrator alternative.

    • Xara Designer Pro is Paid and ProprietaryAdobe Illustrator is also Paid and Proprietary
    • Xara Designer Pro is LightweightAdobe Illustrator is not according to our users
  8. Amadine icon

    Amadine

     6 likes
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    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

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    Amadine screenshot 1
     
  10. Super Vectorizer Pro icon

    Super Vectorizer Pro

     14 likes
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    Super Vectorizer Pro is a professional image vector tracing converter on Mac & Win that automatically traces image lines and converts bitmap images like JPEG, GIF and PNG to clean, scalable vector graphic of Ai, SVG, DXF and PDF.

    76 Super Vectorizer Pro alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    cad tool mac
     
  11. VectorStyler icon

    VectorStyler

     3 likes
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    VectorStyler (for Mac) is an advanced vector graphics and illustration software, with a competitive feature set, and several new features and workflow enhancements. VectorStyler is developed with the goal of providing all the capabilities, designers and illustrators are familiar...

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    VectorStyler screenshot 1
     
  12. Adobe FreeHand icon

    Adobe FreeHand

     20 likes
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    Adobe FreeHand is a computer application for creating two-dimensional vector graphics (use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and polygons to represent images, also known as geometric modeling), oriented to the professional desktop publishing market.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    Adobe FreeHand screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Comments about Adobe FreeHand as an Alternative to Adobe Illustrator
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Freehand was and is great would still be using it if it would work with updated os but again Adobe buys out another great company

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Adobe Illustrator Icon
    Adobe FreeHand icon

    • Most users think Adobe FreeHand is a great Adobe Illustrator alternative.

    • Adobe FreeHand is Paid and ProprietaryAdobe Illustrator is also Paid and Proprietary
  13. Xara Photo & Graphic Designer icon

    Xara Photo & Graphic Designer

     28 likes
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    Xara Photo & Graphic Designer, formerly Xara Xtreme, is a fast graphics software with versatile illustration tools and advanced photo management. It streamlines creative tasks, allowing users to retouch images, create social media posts, and design website graphics in one...

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Xara Photo & Graphic Designer screenshot 1
     
  15. Mayura Draw icon

    Mayura Draw

     Like
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    Mayura Draw is a vector-based drawing program. Unlike bitmap-based "paint" programs, vector-based drawing programs define each object that constitutes the drawing by its co-ordinates and not by pixels. This enables drawings to be modified easily.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Mayura Draw screenshot 1
     
12 of 35 Adobe Illustrator alternatives