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What is the Best Adobe Illustrator Alternative?

Adobe Illustrator revolutionized graphic design back in 1987, and yet it's Vectornator who carries the torch of innovation in the graphic design industry today. On this page, you will discover why professional designers choose Vectornator over Adobe Illustrator. Being much more than an Adobe Illustrator alternative, Vectornator offers intuitive workflows, better integrations and better performance across the whole Apple ecosystem.

Why choose Vectornator X over Adobe Illustrator?

Features
Illustrator
Vectornator
Pen Tool
Timelapse
Isometric Grid
3rd Party Pencils
Figma Import
Sketch Import
Unsplash & Iconator
app of the day
4.7 App Store
23,000+
REVIEWS
USED BY
LEADING BRANDS
Support for drawing tablets & 3rd party
pencils
Using Adobe Illustrator on your iPad will limit you to the Apple Pencil as the only pencil to use. Vectornator allows you to use 3rd-party pencils like Wacom Bamboo Stylus or even drawing tablets as the Wacom Bamboo Slate!
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New
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Unlimited
Undo & Redo History.
We believe that great designs take time and sometimes a lot of undos. That's why we built Vectornator with an unlimited undo and redo history. Even after you closed or saved documents. In Adobe Illustrator on iPad, you will lose your undo and redo history after you've closed the document.
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Vectornator speaks your language.

Design terms can be complex. That's why we fully localized Vectornator into 14 different languages. On the other hand, Adobe Illustrator currently only supports German, English, French and Chinese on the iPad. That's one of the many reasons why graphic designers all over the globe prefer to use Vectornator!
Drag and drop anything!
Vectornator allows you to drag and drop almost anything into your canvas! You can even drag another Vectornator document into another and combine documents together!
Support for drawing tablets & 3rd party
pencils
Using Adobe Illustrator on your iPad will limit you to the Apple Pencil as the only pencil to use. Vectornator allows you to use 3rd party pencils like Wacom Bamboo Stylus or even drawing tablets as the Wacom Bamboo Slate!
making ideas
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Vectornator speaks your language

Design terms can be difficult that's why we perfectly translated Vectornator in 14 different languages. While Adobe Illustrator currently only supports German, English, French and Chinese on the iPad. One of the many points why designers all over the globe prefer to use Vectornator!
New
infinite arrows
Unlimited
Undo & Redo History
We believe that great designs take time and sometimes a lot of undos. That's why we build Vectornator with an unlimited undo & redo history. Even after you closed or saved documents. In Adobe Illustrator on iPad you will lose your undo & redo history after you closed the document.
Drag and drop anything!
Vectornator allows you to drag and drop almost anything into your canvas! You can even drag another Vectornator document into another and combine documents together!
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Create the coolest time lapses. Automatically

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Vectorize images in one tap with Autotrace

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The tools you need, Taken further

Timelapse
AutoTrace
Pen & Brush
With automatic Time-lapse recording, you can capture your design process from start to finish and send it to your clients or post it on social media. Once you saw such a beautiful timelapse you will probably directly switch from Illustrator to Vectornator (if you haven't already)!
Sometimes you see a design you want to have in vectors and you used to spend hours vectorizing assets from scratch. We save you valuable time with our innovative auto trace technology. Press a button and instantly have your designs brought to life in vectors.

Vectornator is More Precise.

If you ever tried to move an object on a touchscreen precisely, you know the struggle. With Vectornator's precision toolset, we ensure that you can achieve that same level of vector editing accuracy on a mobile device as on a desktop. The Joystick lets you nudge objects point by point. Plus, features like Rulers, Guides and Snapping help you achieve precision down to the tiniest point. Big magazines like 9to5mac already pointed out that Adobe Illustrator is simply less precise than Vectornator.
Isometric Grid
If you have ever tried creating isometric drawings in Adobe Illustrator, you know the pain (it's complicated and clunky). We at Vectornator solved this problem a long time ago when we implemented the isometric grid as a user-friendly one-click background grid with adjustable angles. Check out our tutorials about the Isometric Grid in Vectornator.
Snapping
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Rulers and Guides
Precision Sliders
Precision Sliders
nudge
Nudge Joystick
Isometric Grid
If you have ever tried creating isometric drawings in Adobe Illustrator you know the pain. It is super complicated to create this simple grid. We at Vectornator solved this problem almost a year ago when we implemented the isometric grid as an easy one click background grid even with adjustables angels.
Snapping
snap image
nudge
Nudge Joystick
fordres slider
Precision Sliders
Rulers and Guides
will paterson
Will Paterson
Corporate Designer, Logo Designer, Hand Letterist
Experts already switched from Adobe Illustrator to Vectornator.
Expert made the switch already

“Can honestly say as a designer and content creator that Vectornator is an invaluable tool to have as part of my work set-up. I’ve been using the software for a while now and it’s so amazing to use for both design projects as well as personal work.”

A million reasons to switch.

$20 Every Month
$0 That’s it.
Vectornator is backed by amazing investors that let us offer Vectornator as a free alternative to Adobe Illustrator. We also accept payments in feedback tweets or funny creations you make with Vectornator. Escape the Creative Cloud!
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Figma Import.

Same goes for the Figma files, which are easily importable to continue your work in Vectornator.
Same tool on every device.
Vectornator offers a unified design experience across iPhone, iPad and Mac without sacrificing any advanced features or functionality along the way!
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Iconator Integration.

With over 80K different icons right inside Vectornator, you will never run out of fitting vectors for your designs. In Adobe Illustrator, you have to pay extra for these resources.
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Export.
Vectornator supports all the popular import and export formats you need:(SVG files, PDF, PNG, JPG, AI). Preview, resize and rename artboards before exporting.

Export individual layers, edit and sign PDFs, preview your document in AR. That's why Vectornator is also an excellent complementary tool to open-source Inkscape, Affinity Designer, Vectr, CorelDraw, Gimp, and many more.
Export from Vectornator
app of the dayApp Store Logo
4.7 App Store

Sketch Import.

Since many vector artists still use Sketch, we allow users to easily import their Sketch files into Vectornator. Adobe Illustrator, on the other hand, doesn't support importing Sketch files.

Up to 2.4X Faster Real-Time Rendering Performance.

Vectornator
2.4X
Adobe Illustrator
1X
Let's be honest: Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop were built for Windows or Linux, but certainly not for Apple devices. Since Vectornator has been natively built for the Apple ecosystem, we offer much faster and reliable performance than Adobe Illustrator and other drawing tools. Try it yourself, and you will feel the difference on iOS and macOS!

Unsplash Integration.

We believe that designers need free images available in their favourite vector graphics editor. That's why we integrated Vectornator with Unsplash, allowing you to have over 1 million pictures and scalable vector graphics right in your hands.
unsplash
Stellar Learning Curve.
Thanks to our fluid user experience and tons of learning materials, Vectornator is much easier to pick up and work with than other conventional graphic design tools like Adobe Illustrator.
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Import all your
Custom fonts
and design
assets with ease.
import icon
cmyk range
CMYK Preview
AR Preview
Single Layer Export
+17 Tools
$20 Every Month
$0 That’s it.
We're backed by amazing investors that lets us offer Vectornator to you at no cost. We also accept payments in feedback tweets or funny creations you make with Vectornator.
ipad

Up to 2.4X Faster Real-Time Rendering Performance

Vectornator
2.4X
Adobe Illustrator
1X
Since Vectornator is natively built in the apple ecosystem we offer much faster and reliable performance than Adobe Illustrator. Try it yourself, you will feel the difference!

Sketch Import

Since Sketch is still used by many vector artists we easily allow users to import their Sketch files into Vectornator without losing anything! Natively such an import is not possible in Adobe’s tool.

Figma Import

Same goes for files of the UI design tool Figma which is easy importable to continue your work in Vectornator.
Same tool on every device.
Vectornator offers a unified design experience across iPhone, iPad and Mac without sacrificing any features or functionality along the way!
ipad screeniphone screenmacbook screen

Unsplash Integration

We believe that designers need free images available in their favorite software. That's why we integrated Unsplash allowing you to have over 1 million images right in your hands.
unsplash
Stellar Learning Curve
Thanks to our user experience and tons of learning material, Vectornator is much easier to pick up and work with compared to other conventional graphic design tools.
graph

Iconator Integration

With over 80K different icons right inside the app you will never run out of fitting icons for your designs.
Overpowered
Export
Vectornator supports all the popular import and export formats you need:(Svg, Pdf, Png, Jpg, AI)

Preview, resize and rename artboards before exporting.

Export individual layers
Edit and sign Pdfs
Preview your document in AR.
Import all your
Custom fonts
and design
assets with ease.
import icon
cmyk range
CMYK Preview
AR Preview
app of the dayApp Store Logo
4.7 App Store
Single Layer Export
+17 Tools

Any Questions?

What is the best free Illustrator alternative?

Many designers these days are seeking an alternative option to Adobe Illustrator, especially on macOS and iPad. Illustrator is the current industry standard vector design platform, mainly due to its longevity. But many designers are looking for the best alternative design software on the market, due to Illustrator's complex learning curve and high monthly fees.

The best alternative to Illustrator is Vectornator. With an intuitive user interface that doesn't compromise on power, Vectornator is the perfect vector illustration software for those who want an alternative to Illustrator. It supports complex Boolean operations, as well as illustration features like Masking and Auto Trace. Give it a try today!

What is the best graphic design software for web designers?

For web designers, it's important to have design software that can support custom templates, and also provide a robust suite of graphic editing tools. It's also very important for their web design software to support a variety of file formats, including .EPS, .AI, Sketch, and Figma files.

Thankfully, Vectornator has all of these qualities and more. In addition, Vectornator is available across all Apple devices, so you can keep working on your web design files whether you want to work on your Mac, your iPad, or your iPhone. Download it today!

How can I turn a photo into a vector drawing?

This is a very common vector graphic design software use case, both for illustrators and for more traditional graphic designers. Traditional photo editing software works based on raster graphics, or pixels. Files like .JPEG and .PNG are made up of thousands of thes tiny colored squares.

But what if you want to transform a traditional raster image into vector shapes? In that case, just use Vectornator! The Auto Trace feature allows you to transform a pixel image into an illustration made out of vector shapes, which can then be edited and scaled as much as you want! You can import your own photos, or use one of the millions of high-quality royalty-free images from our in-app Unsplash integration.


Get started with Vectornator today.

Vectornator runs on iPadOS 14 & iOS 14 and later,
or macOS Big Sur and later (with native M1 support).