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

The best open source alternative to Adobe Illustrator is Inkscape. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Adobe Illustrator and 16 is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Adobe Illustrator are Graphite, MyPaint, GodSVG and Karbon.

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Adobe Illustrator alternatives are mainly Vector Graphic Apps but may also be Digital Painting Tools or Image Editors.  Other popular filters includes Online + Free. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Adobe Illustrator.
Adobe Illustrator iconAdobe Illustrator
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Vector graphics editor with advanced color controls and creative effects for comprehensive design tools across print, web, and mobile content.

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Adobe Illustrator alternatives page was last updated Sep 24, 2024
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  1. Inkscape icon
    Inkscape icon

    Inkscape

     2201 likes
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    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,...

    137 Inkscape alternatives
    Inkscape screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    Inkscape screenshot 1
    Inkscape screenshot 2
    +1
    Inkscape screenshot 3

    Properties

    1.  Works Offline
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Support for Layers
    2.  Vectorize raster images
    3.  Support for SVG
    4.  Live Path Effects
    5.  Digital Painting
    6.  Support for Keyboard Shortcuts
    7.  Export to SVG
    8.  Edit PDF
    9.  Scalable
    10.  High-resolution images
    11.  Symbols
    12.  Visual Editing
    13.  Dark Mode
    14.  Vector-like
    15.  Curve Manipulation
    Inkscape iconAdobe Illustrator Icon

    Inkscape VS Adobe Illustrator

    Is Inkscape a good alternative to Adobe Illustrator?
     
    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.
    Paulo Coghi

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

    Top positive comment •Nov 24, 2021
    12
    arlenwh

    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.

    Top negative comment •Mar 18, 2023
    2
    banlogics

    The best software for vector art. A fully featured and professional software.

    Positive comment •Oct 5, 2022
    3
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    3 of 34 comments
    Adobe Illustrator Icon
    Inkscape icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Inkscape is a great Adobe Illustrator alternative.

    • Inkscape is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Adobe Illustrator.

    • Inkscape is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Adobe Illustrator.

    • Inkscape is Free and Open SourceAdobe Illustrator is Paid and Proprietary
    • Inkscape is CustomizableAdobe Illustrator is not according to our users
  2. Graphite icon
    Graphite icon

    Graphite

     49 likes
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    Graphite is an in-development raster and vector graphics package that's free and open source. It is powered by a node graph compositing engine that fuses layers with nodes, bringing a procedural approach to your design workflow.

    56 Graphite alternatives
    Illustration made with the help of procedurally generating hundreds of circles in the node graph

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    Vector art made with the Pen and Gradient tools without needing to touch the node graph
    Drawing of a tree adorned by reusable, auto-placed light bulbs along the wire path made using this node graph

    Properties

    1.  No Tracking
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  No registration required
    4.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Dark Mode
    2.  Color Picker
    3.  Support for Layers
    4.  Live Preview
    5.  Node Based
    6.  Text to Image Generation
    7.  WYSIWYG Support
    8.  Non Destructive Editing
    9.  Digital Painting
    10.  Export to SVG
    Graphite iconAdobe Illustrator Icon

    Graphite VS Adobe Illustrator

    Is Graphite a good alternative to Adobe Illustrator?
     
    Comments about Graphite as an Alternative to Adobe Illustrator
     
    Guest

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

    Positive comment •Aug 6, 2024
    0
    Adobe Illustrator Icon
    Graphite icon
    • Graphite is Free and Open SourceAdobe Illustrator is Paid and Proprietary
    • Graphite is LightweightAdobe Illustrator is not according to our users
  4. MyPaint icon
    MyPaint icon

    MyPaint

     370 likes
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    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 im...

    129 MyPaint alternatives
    MyPaint screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • PortableApps.com
    MyPaint screenshot 1
    MyPaint screenshot 2
    +2
    The 0.9.0 interface

    Properties

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  No registration required

    Features

    1.  Digital Painting
    2.  Sketching
    3.  Support for Layers
    4.  Infinite canvas
    5.  Distraction-free
    6.  Portable
    7.  Drawing Tablet Support
    8.  Fullscreen support
    9.  Custom Brushes
    10.  Color blending
    MyPaint iconAdobe Illustrator Icon

    MyPaint VS Adobe Illustrator

    Is MyPaint a good alternative to Adobe Illustrator?
     
    Comments about MyPaint as an Alternative to Adobe Illustrator
     
       
    richcarrera

    It works with bitmap, Illustrator with vector graphics. it has more similarities with photoshop than with Illustrator.

    Negative comment •Mar 10, 2022
    2
    Guest

    Illustrator is a vector graphics tool, MyPaint is a raster graphics tool.

    Negative comment •Jul 26, 2021
    5
    lauraess

    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 •Apr 3, 2024
    0
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    3 of 4 comments
    Adobe Illustrator Icon
    MyPaint icon

    • This alternative is disputed. MyPaint is a legitimate Adobe Illustrator alternative, but it might have issues that some users think are important.

    • MyPaint is Free and Open SourceAdobe Illustrator is Paid and Proprietary
  5. GodSVG icon
    GodSVG icon

    GodSVG

     17 likes
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    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...

    11 GodSVG alternatives
    GodSVG screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online

    Properties

    1.  No registration required
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Works Offline

    Features

    1.  Dark Mode
    2.  Support for SVG
    3.  GdScript
    GodSVG iconAdobe Illustrator Icon

    GodSVG VS Adobe Illustrator

    Is GodSVG a good alternative to Adobe Illustrator?
     
  6. Karbon icon
    Karbon icon

    Karbon

     52 likes
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    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.

    42 Karbon alternatives
    Karbon screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • KDE Plasma
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak

    Properties

    1.  No registration required
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Works Offline
    4.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Color Picker
    2.  WYSIWYG Support
    3.  Support for Layers
    4.  Non Destructive Editing
    5.  Portable
    6.  KDE
    7.  High Availability
    Karbon iconAdobe Illustrator Icon

    Karbon VS Adobe Illustrator

    Is Karbon a good alternative to Adobe Illustrator?
     
  7. LazPaint icon
    LazPaint icon

    LazPaint

     42 likes
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    Raster & vector graphic editor with many tools and filters, written in Lazarus (Free Pascal). Portable, 32bit (under 3mb) & 64bit (3.55mb) versions, ORA format & 16384x16384 image support. In app 3D import & rendering.

    42 LazPaint alternatives
    Main UI

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    LazPaint screenshot 1
    16K PNG AT 1:1 VIEW IN 32BIT VERSION, RESAMPLED TO 8K in 32bit
    +2
    16K PNG, RESAMPLED TO 8K AT FIT VIEW IN 32BIT VERSION

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Support for Layers
    2.  Reads PDN Format
    3.  Transparent images
    4.  Portable
    5.  Pixel accuracy
    6.  Debian package
    7.  Support for SVG
    8.  Export to SVG
    LazPaint iconAdobe Illustrator Icon

    LazPaint VS Adobe Illustrator

    Is LazPaint a good alternative to Adobe Illustrator?
     
  9. sK1 icon
    sK1 icon

    sK1

     36 likes
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    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.

    32 sK1 alternatives
    sK1 screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    sK1 screenshot 1
    sK1 screenshot 2
    +4
    sK1 screenshot 3

    Properties

    1.  Works Offline
    2.  Ad-free

    Features

    1.  Support for Layers
    2.  Non Destructive Editing
    3.  Portable
    4.  Color Picker
    Discontinued

    Last updates occurred on Aug 31, 2021

    sK1 iconAdobe Illustrator Icon

    sK1 VS Adobe Illustrator

    Is sK1 a good alternative to Adobe Illustrator?
     
7 of 16 Adobe Illustrator alternatives