Adobe Illustrator and Inkscape, one of its free alternatives, side by side.
Adobe's vector graphics editor for logos, icons, illustrations and print layouts, sold as a subscription.
Best for open-source vector drawing on any desktop
| Fact | Adobe Illustrator | Inkscape |
|---|---|---|
| License | License: Paid | License: Open sourceGPL-2.0-or-later |
| Maintenance | Status: Verified | Status: Active |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | No | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | No |
| Self-hostable | No | No |
| Works offline | Yes | Yes |
| No account needed | No | Yes |
| Parity with Adobe Illustrator | The reference | 56% |
License classes: Paid and Open source. Status rules: Active means a commit in the last 90 days. See the methodology.
How Inkscape covers what people use Adobe Illustrator for.
| Feature | Inkscape |
|---|---|
| Drawing | |
| Pen tool and Bezier path editing | Yes |
| Pathfinder and Shape Builder | YesNote 1Shape Builder tool since 1.3 plus the path operations |
| Type | |
| Type on a path and text styles | PartialNote 2Text on path and flowed text, but no saved character or paragraph styles |
| Tracing | |
| Image Trace (bitmap to vector) | PartialNote 3Trace Bitmap does color with multiple scans, with fewer controls than Image Trace |
| Layout | |
| Multiple artboards | YesNote 4Multiple pages of different sizes since 1.2 |
| Color | |
| Gradients, mesh and blends | PartialNote 5Linear, radial and mesh gradients; blends between objects need the Interpolate extension |
| Output | |
| CMYK, spot colors and PDF/X export | NoNote 6Previews CMYK through ICC profiles, but exports stay RGB with no spot colors or PDF/X |
| AI | |
| Generative vectors and recolor | No |
| Parity score | 56% |
| Format | Adobe Illustrator | Inkscape |
|---|---|---|
| .ai | Opens and savesFull fidelity | Opens onlyNote 1Opens the PDF content saved inside AI files; cannot save AIPartial fidelity |
| .svg | Opens and savesFull fidelity | Opens and savesFull fidelity |
| Opens and savesFull fidelity | Opens and savesNote 2Import turns pages into editable objects; fonts and complex effects can changePartial fidelity | |
| .eps | Opens and savesFull fidelity | Opens and savesNote 3EPS import needs Ghostscript installedPartial fidelity |