The Best Free Illustrator AlternativesTop Vector Graphic Apps & Digital Painting Tools like Illustrator
The best free alternative to Adobe Illustrator is Inkscape, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Adobe Illustrator and loads of them is free so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free alternatives to Adobe Illustrator are Linearity Curve, Figma, Graphite and MyPaint.
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Adobe Illustrator alternatives are mainly Vector Graphic Apps, but if you're looking for Graphic Design Tools or Image Editors you can filter on that. Other popular filters include 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.- Vector Graphic App
- Paid • Proprietary
- 122 Inkscape alternatives
Unlike Illustrator, Inkscape is completely free and open source, and it uses Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) as its native format. This lightweight app is usually recommended if you don't have a powerful computer, as it also has many of the useful features from illustrator, including layers, grouping objects, drawing, shape, calligraphy, pencil tools, path simplification with variable threshold, bitmaps, and boolean operations. Plus, you can open or import a wide range of file formats including SVG, PDF, EPS, CDR, or even AI (Adobe Illustrator).
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
Country of Origin
United States
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- Snapcraft
- Flathub
- PortableApps.com
- Haiku
Comments about Inkscape as an Alternative to Adobe Illustrator
Comment summary: Adobe Illustrator is praised for its comprehensive features and professional capabilities in vector art but criticized for slowing down with large files. Alternatively, Inkscape is appreciated for being free, open-source, and user-friendly with a robust SVG support. However, it faces criticism for performance issues, especially on macOS, and lacks some advanced features available in Illustrator. Despite its limitations, many consider Inkscape capable and recommend it for SVG-related projects.Top Positive CommentTop Negative CommentarlenwhSlows Down and lags if the file your working on is too large. So if you go ahead and turn a bitmap image into a vector and that image requires too many paths. The application basically becomes useless. Look else where if you need to turn large bitmap images into vector images.
Most Recent Commentqlowf- Free.
- Extremely capable.
- Runs great on all kinds of hardware, even those with lower specs.
- Cross-platform.
- Did I mention it's free?
- Some things it actually does better. However, there are also a few missing features for very specific cases.
Biggest hurdle is orienting yourself when coming from Illustrator, but it's more than worth the adjustment.
Logos by Nick is a great resource, he has tons of tutorials.
https://www.youtube.com/@LogosByNick
- 35 Linearity Curve alternatives
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.
License model
- Freemium • Proprietary
Application types
Country of Origin
Germany
EU
Platforms
- Mac
- iPhone
- iPad
Comments about Linearity Curve as an Alternative to Adobe Illustrator
FearedFusionXThis 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.
- 86 Figma alternatives
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.
License model
- Freemium • Proprietary
Application types
Country of Origin
United States
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Online
- Chrome OS
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
- Android
- Android Tablet
- iPhone
- iPad
Top Figma Features
Comments about Figma as an Alternative to Adobe Illustrator
RCLeahcarFigma places a heavier focus on user interface design, while Illustrator is a general vector graphics editor.
With a focus on UI, it is a much better tool to use for UI design and prototyping
- 52 Graphite alternatives
Graphite is a free, open source vector and raster graphics editor, available now in alpha. Get creative with a fully nondestructive editing workflow that combines layer-based compositing with node-based generative design.
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
Country of Origin
United States
Platforms
- Online
Comments about Graphite as an Alternative to Adobe Illustrator
Its goal to be all in one tools and the vision is really good. But it's under the development.
- 121 MyPaint alternatives
The biggest difference with Illustrator is that MyPaint works with bitmaps instead of vector graphics. It's open source software designed mainly to illustrate and draw with a digitizer tablet. It has a simple interface, where almost all the basic drawing functions are assigned to keyboard shortcuts, which improves workflow speed. In addition, you can hide the entire graphical interface and focus all attention on the drawing without being distracted by unnecessary or complex buttons or palettes. It's a good option if you are interested in digital illustration without too many overwhelming features.
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
Country of Origin
Switzerland
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- PortableApps.com
Comments about MyPaint as an Alternative to Adobe Illustrator
Top Positive CommentDmitrii Kunicinthe application is suitable for use by children, simple
Top Negative CommentlauraessIllustrator is a vector image editing app. I can import bitmaps but those are more likely to be traced as vectors. This is a drawing program and is bitmap based.
Most Recent CommentmackenziecarrIt is more accurately considered an alternative to Adobe Photoshop rather than Illustrator, due to the distinguishing features of raster graphics editing in Photoshop versus vector graphics editing in Illustrator.
GodSVG is an editor for Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) files. Unlike other editors, it represents the SVG code directly, doesn't add any metadata, and even lets you edit the SVG code in real time. GodSVG is inspired by the need for an SVG editor without abstractions that...
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
Country of Origin
Russia
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
GodSVG Features
Vectr is completely free and browser-based, offering a quick and easy way to get started with vector editing through an intuitive interface. Since it's browser based, each image has a custom URL that you can share with others to be reviewed and collaborate in real time with multiple people. You can export your finished work as an SVG, PNG, or JPEG file. Its features are much more simple than those offered by Illustrator, so it's really not recommended for very complex projects. However, it is an excellent choice if you are a beginner with vector editing software.
License model
- Freemium • Proprietary
Application types
Country of Origin
United Kingdom
Platforms
- Online
- Chrome OS
Vectr Features
Comments about Vectr as an Alternative to Adobe Illustrator
Ibuddy66Vectr has a great user interface and has lots of tools to fine tune designs. They have plenty of numerical value boxes to get better results with what you want and have an easy to learn interface. I have used it for quite a few projects. Great to make new icons with too! Love it!
Cannot open existing ai- and eps-files. Exporting is very limited.
It's feature complete, professional and as capable (or even more capable) than Illustrator