Open Source Illustrator AlternativesVector Graphic Apps & Digital Painting Tools like Illustrator

Alternatives list

1. 

   

   Inkscape

    2398 likes

   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).

   135 Inkscape alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-2.0)

   Application typeApplication types

   • Vector Graphic
   • Digital Painting

   Origin

   • United States

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Linux
   • BSD
   • Snapcraft
   • Flathub
   • PortableApps.com
   • Haiku

   • United States

   

   

   

   +8

   

   More about Inkscape  

   

   Good alternative?Is Inkscape a good alternative to Adobe Illustrator?

    

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   38comments

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   Inkscape vs Adobe Illustrator Comments

   Top Positive Comment by Paulo Coghi · Nov 24, 2021

   It's feature complete, professional and as capable (or even more capable) than Illustrator

   Top Negative Comment by arlenwh · Mar 18, 2023

   Slows 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.

   Negative comment by Guest · Aug 21, 2025

   I love how fast it operates and some of the cool color palettes (Munsell) but the functionality made it almost useless. Too many steps to change and quick copy objects. Like changing font or color and weird tool names/keyboard shortcuts.

   3 of 38 comments

   

   

   • Inkscape is Free and Open SourceAdobe Illustrator is Paid and Proprietary
   • Inkscape is Customizable, Privacy focused and LightweightAdobe Illustrator is not according to our users
2. 

   

   Graphite

    119 likes

   Vector graphics and animation editor featuring free, open source access, nondestructive workflow, node-based generative design, layer compositing, browser use, and upcoming support for photo editing, painting, publishing, VFX, and desktop apps in alpha release.

   58 Graphite alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (Apache-2.0)

   Application typeApplication types

   • Vector Graphic
   • Image Editor

   Origin

   • United States

   Platforms

   • Online

   • United States

   

   

   

   +2

   

   More about Graphite  

   

   Good alternative?Is Graphite a good alternative to Adobe Illustrator?

    

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   1comment

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   Graphite vs Adobe Illustrator Comments

   Positive comment by Guest · Aug 6, 2024

   Its goal to be all in one tools and the vision is really good. But it's under the development.

   1 of 1 comments

   

   

   • Graphite is Free and Open SourceAdobe Illustrator is Paid and Proprietary
   • Graphite is Privacy focused and LightweightAdobe Illustrator is not according to our users
4. 

   

   MyPaint

    397 likes

   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.

   144 MyPaint alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-2.0)

   Application type

   • Digital Painting

   Origin

   • Switzerland

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Linux
   • PortableApps.com

   • Switzerland

   

   

   

   +2

   

   More about MyPaint  

   

   Good alternative?Is MyPaint a good alternative to Adobe Illustrator?

    

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   7comments

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   MyPaint vs Adobe Illustrator Comments

   Top Positive Comment by Dmitrii Kunicin · Jun 30, 2021

   the application is suitable for use by children, simple

   Top Negative Comment by lauraess · Apr 3, 2024

   Illustrator 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.

   Negative comment by Guest · Oct 9, 2026

   it’s a bitmap editing program, not a vector program—really bad entry.

   3 of 7 comments

   

   

   • MyPaint is Free and Open SourceAdobe Illustrator is Paid and Proprietary
   • MyPaint is a Digital Painting Adobe Illustrator is a Vector Graphic App
   • MyPaint is LightweightAdobe Illustrator is not according to our users
5. Ad

   

   

   Animatron Studio

   Design browser-based HTML5 animations and videos using a user-friendly vector tool with rich timeline editing, real-time multi-user collaboration, and audio support. Access free animated assets, import diverse media, and export p...

   https://www.animatron.com

   Learn More
6. 

   

   VectorCraft

    17 likes

   An open-source, clean-room reimplementation of Adobe Illustrator, built in pure Rust.

   2 VectorCraft alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (Apache-2.0)

   Application type

   • Vector Graphic

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Linux
   • Flatpak
   • AppImage

   

   

   

   +1

   

   More about VectorCraft  

   

   Good alternative?Is VectorCraft a good alternative to Adobe Illustrator?

    

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   1comment

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   VectorCraft vs Adobe Illustrator Comments

   Positive comment by Zach G · Oct 15, 2026

   It's real. I've been using adobe illustrator for work for over a decade now. This is a straight up copy of adobe illustrator. It runs without fuss on linux, it's free and open source. I'm sure it has some rough edges, but in terms of being an alternative to illustrator, it's miles ahead of any of the other open source projects.

   On the one hand I'm sad that the years of hard work put in by indie developers on projects like inkscape has been so thoroughly surpassed by an AI project, but on the other hand, I'm overjoyed that adobe's chokehold over the market is finally going to slip, especially after they spent so long hiking prices and using artists work to train their ai models on.

   1 of 1 comments

   

   

   • VectorCraft is Free and Open SourceAdobe Illustrator is Paid and Proprietary
   • VectorCraft is Lightweight and Privacy focusedAdobe Illustrator is not according to our users
7. 

   

   GodSVG

    39 likes

   Interactive vector editor built with Godot for creating or editing SVG files, featuring UI-based element manipulation, live code updates, direct markup access, no added metadata, minimal abstraction, clean output, and intended use on desktop plus mobile devices.

   15 GodSVG alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (MIT)

   Application type

   • Vector Graphic

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Linux
   • Online
   • Android

   

   More about GodSVG  

   

   Good alternative?Is GodSVG a good alternative to Adobe Illustrator?

    

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   1comment

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   GodSVG vs Adobe Illustrator Comments

   Negative comment by Zach G · Aug 27, 2025

   Illustrator is a fully functional graphics program. You can insert images, you have lots of options for text editing etc. You can make posters and flyers, full illustrations etc. There are a lot of import and export options, colour handling, image trace, brush tools and more.

   GodSVG is only useful for editing and refining simple svg files, you could use it for creating a set of simple icons perhaps, but not a whole poster design or any typography. It's just not the same kind of program.

   1 of 1 comments

   

   

   • GodSVG is Free and Open SourceAdobe Illustrator is Paid and Proprietary
9. 

   

   SVG-Edit

    36 likes

   SVG-edit is a fast, web-based, JavaScript-driven SVG drawing editor that works in any modern browser.

   40 SVG-Edit alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (MIT)

   Application typeApplication types

   • Vector Graphic
   • Digital Painting

   Origin

   • United States

   Platforms

   • Online

   • United States

   

   

   More about SVG-Edit  

   

   Good alternative?Is SVG-Edit a good alternative to Adobe Illustrator?

    
10. 

    

    LazPaint

     46 likes

    Raster & vector graphic editor with many tools and filters, written in Lazarus. Portable, 32bit & 64bit versions, ORA format & 16384x16384 image support. In app 3D import & rendering.

    56 LazPaint alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

    Application typeApplication types

    • Digital Painting
    • Image Editor

    Origin

    • France
    • EU

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak

    • France
    • EU

    

    

    

    +2

    

    More about LazPaint  

    

    Good alternative?Is LazPaint a good alternative to Adobe Illustrator?

     
11. 

    

    Karbon

     58 likes

    Karbon is a vector drawing application with a user interface that is easy to use, highly customizable and extensible. That makes Karbon a great application for users starting to explore the world of vector graphics as well as for artists wanting to create breathtaking vector art.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (GPL-2.0)

    Application typeApplication types

    • Vector Graphic
    • Digital Painting

    Origin

    • Germany
    • EU

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak

    • Germany
    • EU

    

    

    

    More about Karbon  

    

    Good alternative?Is Karbon a good alternative to Adobe Illustrator?

     
12. 

    

    sK1

     36 likes

    sK1 is an open source cross-platform vector graphics editor like CorelDRAW, Adobe Illustrator, or Freehand. The major feature of sK1 is a professional precise printing and prepress ready PDF output.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

    Application typeApplication types

    • Vector Graphic
    • Image Editor

    Origin

    • Russia

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux

    • Russia

    

    

    

    +4

    

    More about sK1  

    

    Good alternative?Is sK1 a good alternative to Adobe Illustrator?

     
13. 

    

    Apache OpenOffice Draw

     124 likes

    Draw, part of the Apache OpenOffice suite, is a graphics editor that gives you the tools to communicate with visuals and diagrams. With a maximum page size of 300cm by 300cm, Draw is powerful tool for posters, graphs, charts, and more.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    • Vector Graphic

    Origin

    • United States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    • United States

    

    

    

    More about Apache OpenOffice Draw  

    

    Good alternative?Is this a good alternative to Adobe Illustrator?

     

    |

    1comment

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    Apache OpenOffice Draw vs Adobe Illustrator Comments

    Negative comment by Guest · Mar 15, 2018

    More of a flowchart designer than a vector illustrator

    1 of 1 comments

    

    

    • Apache OpenOffice Draw is Free and Open SourceAdobe Illustrator is Paid and Proprietary
14. 

    

    Repath Studio

     5 likes

    A cross platform vector graphics editor, that combines procedural tooling with traditional design workflows. It includes an interactive shell, which allows evaluating code to generate shapes, or even extend the editor on the fly.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (AGPL-3.0)

    Application type

    • Vector Graphic

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    

    More about Repath Studio  

    

    Good alternative?Is Repath Studio a good alternative to Adobe Illustrator?

     

    |

    1comment

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    Repath Studio vs Adobe Illustrator Comments

    Positive comment by erayzesen · Sep 24, 2024

    It have a good potential. But it's under the development.

    1 of 1 comments

    

    

    • Repath Studio is Free and Open SourceAdobe Illustrator is Paid and Proprietary
    • Repath Studio is Privacy focusedAdobe Illustrator is not according to our users
15. 

    

    Ballpoint

     8 likes

    Ballpoint is an experimental new vector graphics editor. It's available as a free to use web application.

    15 Ballpoint alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    • Vector Graphic

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Online

    

    More about Ballpoint  

    

    Good alternative?Is Ballpoint a good alternative to Adobe Illustrator?