It’s a given that you have the Adobe Illustrator program on your computer. After all, Illustrator is an industry standard when it comes to design. I mean, that’s what everybody uses, right? But did you ever stop to think about whether you could get by just fine without paying for a piece of software? Well, as it turns out, there are many free competing and similar software programs out there for use with Illustrator.
Have you ever wanted to learn about free software similar to adobe illustrator? Or free software similar to illustrator? Check out these free illustrator alternatives and find out if they are a good fit for your needs. You can also see how they stack up against other popular programs.
GIMP
GIMP, which stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program, has limited vector functions but has similar tools to Photoshop, making it an impressive image editor with powerful image manipulation options. Better still, GIMP provides options for customization and third party plug-ins, so if your image editing needs are somewhat unique, you might want to check this tool out.
GIMP is free and open source, so there is a market of third party plugins to enhance your productivity and design capabilities. If this sounds technically advanced, GIMP offers tutorials for newcomers to the tool so you get the most out of it.
Best for:
Advanced designers who need a custom tool to create illustrations and graphics
Platform:
Mac, Windows, Linux
Boxy SVG
Using SVG as its native document format, Boxy SVG was made just for scalable vector graphics. This tool is available across operating systems and devices.
Compatible format: PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP, PDF, AI, and more
Operating system/device: MacOS and Linux, but also comes with a cloud-based web application (no downloads required)
Pricing: Boxy SVG comes with a 15-day free trial. Paid plans start at $9.99 per both web or Mac version. It’s free on Linux.
Pixelied
Many people who use Illustrator rely on tools like Canva when they need to create graphics quickly. And one of the top Canva alternative in the market is Pixelied. While it doesn’t have the same deep vector editing features as Illustrator, the tool boasts an impressive range of assets, vector icons, templates, and ready-made design solutions.
You can upload your vector files from Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to Pixelied to use in your designs.
Operating system/device: Cloud-based web application
Pricing: Pixelied starts free and with Pro plan at $7.95 per month. But for a limited time, you can get Pixelied Pro starting at $59 for life at AppSumo.
Boxy SVG
Boxy SVG is available free of charge as a desktop app for Linux, but a paid subscription gives access to a Google Chrome extension making the web app compatible on any device and operating system.
It is a very suitable tool for beginners because of the simplicity of its UI, narrowing down the list of options to only include the fundamental features. Overall, it is easier to work with than Adobe Illustrator, and its uncomplicated interface means it’s also simple to master.
Details:
• Price: 15-day free trial. Linux desktop app: Free / macOS desktop app: $9.99 / Cloud-based web app: $9.99 per year for a standard subscription or $9.99 per month for a premium subscription
• Operating systems: Linux, macOS, Windows, web browser
• Project goals: Create and stylize icons, charts, illustrations with an SVG editor.
• Compatible formats: SVG, SVGZ, PNG, JPG, GIF, WebP, PDF and HTML
• Convert bitmap: Yes
• Core features: Integration with Open Clip Art Library, Pixabay stock photos and Google Fonts. 100+ keyboard commands. “Vectorize,” “pixelate,” “triangulate” and “primitivize” generators for converting bitmap images to vector artwork using various effects. Tools for web developers.
Inkscape
Inkscape is an open-source vector editor and it is available for free. It operates on Windows, macOS and Linux and supports a wide range of design formats, including Adobe Illustrator’s AI format, Boxy SVG format and CorelDRAW’s CDR format, among others. Its core format allows it to run well even on low-end computers.
Its variety of features makes it a useful tool for both artistic and technical illustrations for designers of all kinds. Also, being open-source means that technically skilled users can customize some features and incorporate the app into other software.
Details:
• Price: Free
• Operating systems: macOS, Windows, Linux
• Project goals: Object creation and manipulation. Export PDFs with clickable links and metadata. Use across a variety of industries including marketing/branding, engineering/CAD, web graphics and cartooning.
• Compatible formats: SVG, PNG, JPG, PDF, PSD, EPS, TIFF, AI and EXR
• Convert bitmap: Yes
• Core features: Open-source. Vectorize line drawings in “Trace Bitmap” dialog. Live Path Effects (LPEs) including “Offset,” “PowerClip” and “PowerMask. Node editing. Duplicate guides, corners and hairlines for technical drawings. Flexible canvas with “X-ray” and “Split-view” modes for more freestyle drawing.
Affinity Designer
Built and continuously improved as Serif’s pièce de résistance, Affinity Designer is designed to be intuitive for the experienced Adobe user. With one of the most comprehensive vector design toolsets on this list, plus raster finishing, Affinity Designer might be the alternative you’re looking for.
With full compatibility with Adobe’s Suite, Affinity Designer supports standards: 10-bit, CMYK, CIELAB, and Pantone. Affinity Designer has some capabilities similar to Photoshop, like bitmap functions. Users like that the program is not too heavy and doesn’t take up too much RAM.
Compatible format: EPS, JPEG, PDF, SVG, PSD, PNG, TIFF, and GIF
Operating system/device: MacOS, Windows, and iPad
Pricing: Affinity Designer lets you try free for 90 days. After that, it costs a one-time payment of $49.99 (for both Mac or Windows) and $19.99 for iPad.
CorelDRAW
Compatible with other tools in the Corel graphic suite including Photo-Paint, a Photoshop competitor, CorelDRAW gives you a robust set of vector illustration tools. Get vectors ready for print fast and easy, edit multi-page documents, convert bitmap to vector non-destructively, and generate QR codes.
Check out the LiveSketch feature on touch-enabled devices to turn sketching into precise vector graphics. CorelDRAW is the go-to software for many printing industries in certain parts of the world.
Compatible format: AI, PSD, PDF, JPG, PNG, SVG, DWG, DXF, EPS, TIFF, and more
Operating system/device: MacOS and Windows
Pricing: CorelDRAW offers a 15-day free trial. You can get its annual subscription for $198 per year or a full license for $669.
Sketch
If need a vector drawing program primarily for digital design, then Sketch is probably the best of Illustrator alternatives, as long as you’re using a Mac. First launched in 2010, Sketch’s strong focus on UI and icon design quickly led it to become the industry’s go-to software for app and website prototyping.
It’s not a fully comprehensive drawing programme, so it doesn’t have all the features offered by Illustrator. You wouldn’t use it to create complex illustrations or art. But by the same token, it has a simpler and more user-friendly interface that makes icon and UI design quick and easy.
A Sketch licence costs $99 and will give you one year of free updates. Once your licence has expired you can still use the app for as long as you want, but you will need to renew if you want the latest updates.
Conclusion:
Adobe Illustrator is a graphics editor developed by Adobe Systems which can create vector graphics and raster graphics. It has many great features for designers and artists, but there are also equivalent alternatives to Illustrator, with some of them being totally free!