Adobe Illustrator CC vs. Inkscape

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Adobe Illustrator
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Adobe Illustrator CC is a vector-based graphic design software.
$20.99
per month
Inkscape
Score 7.3 out of 10
N/A
Inkscape is a free and open source vector drawing app for Windows, MacOS & Linux, available for download free under the GPLv3+ license. The tools aims to support illustrators, designers, web designers or anyone wanting to create vector graphics.N/A
Pricing
Adobe Illustrator CCInkscape
Editions & Modules
Yearly - Billed Monthly
$20.99
per month
Monthly
$31.49
per month
Yearly - Billed Upfront
$239.88
per year
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe IllustratorInkscape
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe Illustrator CCInkscape
Considered Both Products
Adobe Illustrator
Chose Adobe Illustrator
I use both of those programs together at times.
Chose Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator CC is the best program to use for creating vector illustrations and graphics, whereas Photoshop is best for pixel-based digital pieces. Indesign is best for printed pieces and Adobe Illustrator CC is a great collaborator tool to use for Indesign projects. The …
Chose Adobe Illustrator
The integration with Creative Cloud Libraries and Adobe Fonts, combined with the powerful array of tools offered in Adobe Illustrator makes up for the high price compared with other tools that are often free. You even get an outstanding 3D renderer built in with excellent …
Chose Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator gives you much more control over every aspect of the design process. Canva has several limitations like being unable to customize gradients or creating clipping masks. Inkscape only works in RGB space and has a less intuitive user interface. They benefit from …
Chose Adobe Illustrator
Gimp does not have a lot of reference information, so it takes time to solve problems. Illustrator takes less time because there is a lot of reference information on the Internet and in books. Also, Gimp does not allow batch processing, so the work must be repeated. Illustrator …
Chose Adobe Illustrator
Illustrator is far ahead of Xara with features and manage images better than Corel Draw
Chose Adobe Illustrator
There are so many things you can create in Adobe Illustrator CC. It's easy to use and the options for saving and exporting are fantastic. Fortunately, this is the only software of its kind that I have used. I know other people that have used lesser quality products and turned …
Chose Adobe Illustrator
Both are powerful design/vector art tools. And they do the same things - just in a little different way. Tools and interface are a little different. Illustrator thinks like a designer, Corel thinks like an architect. I picked Illustrator mostly due to integration with …
Chose Adobe Illustrator
I know a lot of designers that like to work in Photoshop, when text is involved I prefer Adobe Illustrator CC. You can outline your text and kern and correct there, it is crisp and easy. I would rather push vector points than pixels. I also really appreciate the multiple boards …
Chose Adobe Illustrator
Illustrator has never let me down recently. There have been times where the program didn't do things I wanted it, but over the years the updates gradually modified how I used the program to the point where everything we need to do can be done.Whatever the situation is, Adobe …
Chose Adobe Illustrator
Simply stated, Adobe Illustrator CC just offers more. Not all projects require 'more', but when you need it, it is nice that you don't have to jump programs and start over on a project. Inkscape is simple to use, but so is Canva. Point being, just because a program has a great …
Chose Adobe Illustrator
This is free. But if Adobe is charging then it gives you the best quality and work.
Chose Adobe Illustrator
I chose Rhinoceros 3D because it is accurate to make drawings in it and it is better to make drawings in Rhinoceros 3D and then put them in Adobe Illustrator. But while printing or scaling it is much easier to put it in Adobe Illustrator. This makes the whole printing aspect of …
Chose Adobe Illustrator
For customized designs where text and some artistic touches are needed Adobe Illustrator CC is the best.
Chose Adobe Illustrator
Illustrator has a wide capability for editing ability and can be used in combination with any of the other programs I've listed and used. This makes it incredibly versatile and one of my favorites. Each of the other products have specific purposes, making them less likely for …
Chose Adobe Illustrator
Before using Adobe Illustrator CC, I was using other design tools and struggled with the lack of control over my artwork. Adobe Illustrator CC has given me so much more control over my designs. The interface is beautiful and easy to use; new features like Live Shape and the …
Chose Adobe Illustrator
They complement each other, each with its own specific characteristics, but within a marketing sector, an experienced designer knows that the use of these tools in sets makes all the difference. It is possible to combine their uses and create really relevant materials that will …
Chose Adobe Illustrator
All these software integrate and each one has a purpose, I, particularly, always work with almost all of them together and I don't see competition between them, [but rather] an integration [with] different purposes and uses. I use them all and they all serve me in the best way …
Chose Adobe Illustrator
with ease and many features offered as well as very easy vendor support
Chose Adobe Illustrator
Adode Illustrator is better for the design work in the company, sice it works with vectors and easy shortcuts, the other adobe software is not so useful because we do not work with video editing or rendering. Adobe Illustrator CC meets all our needs and expectations and that is …
Chose Adobe Illustrator
Honestly, Adobe illustrator is the best in the market in terms of what the software is capable of doing. I've used other software in my career, and honestly, I just haven't found anything that has the tools and the capabilities like adobe illustrator. I honestly will pay extra …
Chose Adobe Illustrator
I have not used any other graphic design software but I have used Photoshop and InDesign. If you're looking to create graphics, especially scalable vectors, Adobe Illustrator CC is, hands down, the best tool out there. Photoshop is much better for photo editing and …
Chose Adobe Illustrator
Comparing with Affinity, Adobe Illustrator CC has a powerful core and very high compatibility with other Adobe products which is a huge advantage. The ease of use of various tools are also very familiar among different graphic designers within the corporation, making training …
Chose Adobe Illustrator
Overall, my impression is that Illustrator is better suited to providing the features and end result I am looking for when creating employee documents and/or marketing materials that can be rich and engaging for the end user/recipient. The ability to create multi-page documents …
Inkscape
Chose Inkscape
Inkscape has a much higher degree of freedom while Canva is more user friendly and intuitive. Although the really useful features are only available on the paid version of Canva. So for a tight budget, you get a whole lot of bang in Inkscape, as long as you have some time for a …
Chose Inkscape
Inkscape is the standard if you want a free product that can produce high quality vector based graphics, there may be other products that can do it better but they are very very expensive. The experience you will get from expensive commercial products will be better but if you …
Chose Inkscape
Adobe Illustrator is also used in our company sometimes however, Inkscape is used most considering the fact that it is completely free while Adobe Illustrator has to be bought through monthly/annual subscriptions that are expensive. For that reason we always opt for Inkscape. …
Best Alternatives
Adobe Illustrator CCInkscape
Small Businesses
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 9.8 out of 10
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 9.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
GIMP
GIMP
Score 9.3 out of 10
GIMP
GIMP
Score 9.3 out of 10
Enterprises
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 9.8 out of 10
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 9.8 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Adobe Illustrator CCInkscape
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.2
(0 ratings)
6.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
5.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe Illustrator CCInkscape
Likelihood to Recommend
Indicated and suitable for companies and agencies that work with the creation of materials for social media, digital graphics and printed materials. Suitable for any scenario and for those who want to produce high quality material without image pixelation. A scenario not very suitable would be the use without proper knowledge of the tool, it would be interesting to see the tutorials and guides available by Adobe
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It is hard for me to say when Inkscape would not be a good fit because of my use. I have referred people to those who provide promotional products as well as those who need to utilize their artwork and have it converted to a format such as Inkscape.
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Pros
  • Vector graphics for scaling to large sizes
  • Filling an object with a texture
  • Easily adjusting and expanding an artboard to fit the size of the content (especially for infographics)
  • Compatibility with other Adobe CC programs, but also exporting for PPT graphics
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  • Creates excellent vector based graphics
  • Quite easy to use
  • Free
  • Open-source
  • Limitless potential with what you can create
  • Available on all major operating systems
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Cons
  • Illustrator Files can get large/cumbersome when you begin to incorporate high resolution photography, especially if you 'place' the photo instead of linking to it's source file
  • Typography can sometimes be a challenge, especially if you working on different machines that may not always have the font you need installed or sending the file to a commercial printer
  • OLDER versions of Illustrator can be a bit temperamental about being backward compatible though this issue has been greatly reduced with Adobe's move the Cloud Based subscription model
  • Not great for large print layouts (books, magazine etc) you're better off to move the project to Adobe InDesign in that case.
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  • It could have more template figures
  • It can be difficult to find the documents properties bar
  • It might be hard to use at the beginning
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Likelihood to Renew
While Adobe Illustrator CC is one of the only true design software out there, it really stands heads above the other products. It's clean UI and menu structure is easy to navigate.
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No answers on this topic
Usability
There's a bit of a learning curve to this software vs other similar tools that can take some time to learn and get familiar with but the amount of functionality that Adobe Illustrator CC offers is quite large compared to simpler tools.
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It is very good in general, but there are steps that I wish could be eliminated as they seem to be "duplicative".
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Support Rating
I normally already know how to do whatever I'm trying out, but the documentation (as well as a simple Google search) makes any question quick to resolve. The Adobe boards themselves are a fantastic resource, especially for resolving questions between new programs and iterative releases.
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
It was very easy to purchase and download.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
I chose Rhinoceros 3D because it is accurate to make drawings in it and it is better to make drawings in Rhinoceros 3D and then put them in Adobe Illustrator. But while printing or scaling it is much easier to put it in Adobe Illustrator. This makes the whole printing aspect of it much easier.
Read full review
Adobe Illustrator is also used in our company sometimes however, Inkscape is used most considering the fact that it is completely free while Adobe Illustrator has to be bought through monthly/annual subscriptions that are expensive. For that reason we always opt for Inkscape. Not only is it a free software, but it includes almost all the features and tools that Adobe Illustrator offers, even though there might be some tools missing here and there, for businesses whose main focus isn't graphic design, Inkscape is the way to go. However if Graphic design or illustration is the only or the main factor of your business, I would suggest going for the investment and getting Adobe Illustrator.
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Return on Investment
  • Improved engagement in employee programs that are now represented in documents created using Illustrator.
  • Improved customer outcomes/interest as a result of materials created using Illustrator.
  • Better ROI on the programs we have developed or introduced due to the higher engagement and involvement.
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  • Building reusable graphic design templates reduces time taken on repeating design tasks such as video thumbnails.
  • Quickly making several design mockups allows us to conceptualize a design effectively before working on the finer details.
  • The "Draw Bezier curves and Straight lines" function allows one to quickly copy any shape to then manipulate and add your own spin on the design.
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ScreenShots