5 Best free Adobe Illustrator and CorelDraw Alternatives

Here are we presenting best Open Source as well as free Vector Graphics Designing apps or tools as alternatives to Adobe Illustrator and CorelDraw Graphics Suite. 

Adobe Illustrator is the most popular Vector Graphics Designing application out there. Though Adobe Illustrator is a damn expensive application, many professionals put their trust upon this tool. The Adobe Illustrator comes for around $232/year or $30.5/month (the cloud storage plan is extra, for which you have to pay separately) which is quite of an amount for any non-professional users or the beginners. So, in the world of expanding Open Applications, the question for the Illustrator alternatives had to rise. In this list, we are about to discuss some of the best Adobe Illustrator alternatives, which can be used by individuals as well as can fulfil the need of Vector-designing professionals. We will considering the budget tools as well as the free tools as Illustrator alternatives.

You can also consider these apps as an alternative to CorelDraw Graphics Suite, and most of these alternatives are better than CorelDraw in many aspects as well. CorelDraw is also an expensive tool which costs $499/year which is a big amount for most of the users.

In this list, we will talk about the alternative applications which are not pocket-friendly but actually free and open source only.

Q. Why dedicated application for Vector Graphics Designing is needed?

Where the Normal Graphics or also known as Raster Graphics are dependable on dot matrix data structure, there Vector Graphics uses mathematical statements and preset commands for the creation of more flexible and creativity-oriented graphics design. If you are creating any icons, logos, diagrams, charts, posters, or graphics for any website, the usage of vector graphics technology is the thing you need for a better and pro-level result. While simple graphics designs also can be created via Adobe PageMaker, CorelDraw Graphics Suite, etc, but for more elaborated, flexible and focused designs using vector graphics would be the best choice. Here is the list of alternatives of Adobe Illustrator & CorelDraw Graphics suite.

Inkscape, opensource alternative

While Talking about Adobe Illustrator alternatives, Inkscape is the name which has to be on the list for sure. This one is packed with loads of features and most of the features are identical as Adobe Illustrator, and this application is really a close competitor and alternative for Illustrator in all aspects.

Inkscape open source alternative to adobe illustrate and coreldraw

  • This application is an open source package and available for free for all the regions.
  • This application supports Windows and Linux platforms.
  • Though it features tons of options just like Illustrator, the UI is very simple so any semi-pro user or even a beginner can understand and surf through the menus easily.
  • Good news for pro users, if you are used to with Adobe Illustrator, you will feel like at home even with alternative Inkscape for sure.
  • Along with standard drawing and shaping tools, Inkscape has a very handy and enhanced spiral tool which enables the user to create a different kind of patterns and arrangements and even clones of them.
  • It comes with more advanced Object manipulation features, Enhanced filling settings, multiple filters like textures, bevels, overlays etc.
  • This application has good community support and you can also blog about the technical stuff and on their community websites.
  • It supports most of the image formats out there.
  • The toolkit is very comprehensive yet easy to surf.
  • Though this application is free, it receives frequent updates from the developers which keep the application bugs free and up to date with modern features.
  • There is only one negative point about Inkscape so far, which is a lagging problem. Yes, this application lags, and sometimes works slowly which can be a bothering problem while working on something serious. So, while using Inkscape you have to consider that the processing speed is going to be slow.
  • Here is the link to Download Inkscape.

 

Vectr

This application is available as a browser-based environment as well as for the desktop environment. This application is available for platforms i.e. Windows, Mac, Chrome OS and Linux. As it is a true Web-based cross-platform product you can access your project from anywhere in the world with any PC using any OS, and the data are also savable at the real time with the help of the cloud sync provided by Vectr. The CorelDraw free replacement can be used by the uses without even registering, but in order to save the project you have register and log in using the id-password method.

Vectr free web based alternative for coreldraw

  • This Adobe and CorelDraw alternative application is completely free to use, Open source tool with cloud sync facility.
  • A true cross-platform product.
  • As it can be used on the Web-based version, there is no requirement for downloading and installing the application.
  • The interface is intuitive, so it won’t take much time to browse through all the menu and features.
  • The learning curve is very little, which makes it easy to learn, easy to use, a very good one for beginners and novice users.
  • It contains most of the important tools for basic and semi-pro level vector designing needs like shape tools, text tools, multiple layers etc.
  • The projects can be saved online and offline.
  • You can convert your file to desired image format while saving offline.
  • Though above all is true, this application is meant for beginners and learners, so it lacks some advanced features like Illustrator or Inkscape, which can be counted as a distinct disadvantage for people who need more.
  • Though the web-based accessibility makes it a tool for everyone use, that is one of the main reason this application lacks some advanced processing-heavy features, also while using this application online it can work slowly or even can lag badly if the internet connection is not up to the mark.
  • Here is the link to Access Vectr.

 

BoxySVG- Illustrate alternative

BoxySVG is a modern web-based application and powerful as any competitive desktop application. This application alternative is free and a cross-platform tool, which enables the user to access his projects from any PC, anywhere, anytime. This application has no downloadable file, so the application is completely web-based only. As it is a web-based tool it comes with a build-in cloud sync support. The user needs to register and log in using the id and password, and only that way the tool can be used, though the registration process is free.

BoxySVG CorelDrwa free web-based application alternative BoxySVG is a modern web-based application

  • This application is free and available to all the OS like Mac, Windows, Linux, Chrome OS but this application does not support Mozilla Firefox browser, while supports Chrome, Chromium, Opera, Edge etc.
  • This application can be added and run as an extension to Google Chrome.
  • The UI contains all the basic tools, including pen tools, text tools, shape tools, multilayer tools, filling tools, group feature, transform feature, bezier curve feature etc.
  • The UI is the simplest of all the vector designing tools, and the developers also boost up on it.
  • Any novice user can use this application with just spending a little time. Though this application is good enough for basic projects, semi-pro jobs, even for college projects and in many cases this tool is also used for professional jobs too.
  • This application support almost all the image formats out there. SO, importing and exporting image files is very easy and worry-less.
  • The application is another easy to use application for all if you spend some time with it and see some online tutorials you may not need any professional guidance or teaching to master this application.
  • This application has its own format of image file i.e. SVG format. The UI also offers many features related to the SVG format files which enhance the ability to design as well as the ability of the application itself.
  • Again as it is a Web-based, free application, the processing speed is slow and the application becomes laggy if the internet stutters.
  • Here is the link to Access BoxySVG.

 

Vecteezy

This application is also a web-based application, which looks sharp, works fine and is a good option if you want good and stylish results within zero budget. This free application is good for the pro-developers also and a good alternative for Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw. There is no hidden micro-transactions, so you get the full accessibility from the first minute for free. You have to register to get a free account in order to save your projects. This application is also cloud sync enabled, so no need to worry about if you are out of the station. You can access the projects files and the application itself from any PC using OS and via any Internet Browser.

Vecteezy Adobe illustrator alternative

  • The simplicity of use and stylish but clean UI is a plus point in this application.
  • This application is very well trusted by many renowned brands like BBC, Amazon, McDonald’s, Dell etc. So, there is no need to worry about if you are going to depend on this application solely for professional jobs.
  • This application supports SVG files, along with all other image formats. You can access SVG files as well as you can create upon them.
  • You can convert any file format to your desired format while saving. The saving can be done both in online and offline mode.
  • You will have enhanced Pen tools, hundreds of ready-made clip-arts, to give a kick start to your project.
  • You will have a library full of an array of typefaces and thousands of text-based designs to choose from.
  • For freehand drawing, you will have a pen tool and editing pallet along with colour pickers.
  • This application is so simple to use that it will feel like using MS Paint while you are drawing something new up on the page.
  • Without using a registered account you will not able to save projects in the application. You may use your social Facebook id also for registering purpose.
  • If you are processing a big sized file or a large number of files the application may freeze or lag heavily. Though this problem is present with any web-based large application, the developers of Vecteezy is so up-front about it.
  • Vecteezy dose not support Mozilla Firefox.
  • Here is the link to Access Vecteezy.

 

SVG-Edit- free CorelDraw replacement

This application can be used as an Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw alternative but this application is mainly meant for the web developers. This application is also another Web-based service tool. The main targeted uses are the web-developers who do need graphic designs for their stylish looking website. So, this can be considered that you do not need to poses very depth in designing knowledge to operate this application as it is meant to be used by professionals of other backgrounds.

SVG-Edit- free CorelDraw replacement

  • This application is a web-based application, but you can also download a clone copy of the application to install on your PC.
  • To run the application over the web you need to clone some files in your PC or we should rather say you need to configure it on the PC.
  • This application has no server-side processing, which is a great deal while it comes to the speed of processing and productivity. So, in simple words, this application may not be the best but it overcame the hurdle of slow-processing speed in web-based vector applications.
  • This application contains the basic feature for vector editing as it is not meant for professional level vector designing.
  • SVG images can be created, edited and accessed via this application.
  • This application is a cross-platform product so it works on all the OS on most of the Internet Browsers.
  • The basic tools like Hand-drawing tools, pen tools, shape tools, text tools, path tools, all are available in this application.
  • This application is a free and open source project for all. This application is built upon HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript, so if you possess the skill of web-based application development you can modify the codes and can make a version of your own.
  • This application is still in development, it lacks many advanced features, not meant for pro-level designing jobs.
  • Here is the link to Access SVG-Edit.

 

 Wrapping up

These applications are the best alternatives to Adobe Illustrator and CorelDraw, but there are couple more applications out there which can be used for vector designing and some of them are popular application also. But, according to my experience, I did not like them, but you can defensively try them out. Here are the links name and the links for those applications below, do not worry these applications are also freeware.

  1. GIMP

A good application for robust usage but more of an Adobe Photoshop alternative supports all the OS platforms.

  1. Pixlr

Got some vector designing tools but not flexible enough, supports cross-platform.

  1. Gravit

A very-very basic tool, not meant for project works, but it has cross-platform support.

  1. Apache OpenOffice Draw

If you like this app, you will find GIMP useful as this one is meant for novice users only with very basic needs and practice with vector designing. Supports all the OS platforms.

The end decision depends on what kind of a user you are and why o you need the vector designing application. There are many Pro-designers who consider using multiple Web-based Vector apps to use the best features of every application, to get the desired result.

Other alternatives:

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