Comparison of vector graphics editors

Last updated

A number of vector graphics editors exist for various platforms. Potential users of these editors will make a comparison of vector graphics editors based on factors such as the availability for the user's platform, the software license, the feature set, the merits of the user interface (UI) and the focus of the program. Some programs are more suitable for artistic work while others are better for technical drawings. Another important factor is the application's support of various vector and bitmap image formats for import and export.

Contents

The tables in this article compare general and technical information for a number of vector graphics editors. See the article on each editor for further information. This article is neither all-inclusive nor necessarily up-to-date.

Some editors in detail

General information

This table gives basic general information about the different vector graphics editors:

SoftwareCompanyFirst releasedLatest versionDateCost (USD) License
Adobe Illustrator Adobe Systems 1987CC 2024 (28.4.1)2024-04-1$19.99 / month (1 year contract) or $29.99 / month Proprietary
Affinity Designer Serif Europe 20142.6.22022-11-08$49.99 Windows and $19.99 for iPad Proprietary
Apache OpenOffice Draw Apache Software Foundation 20004.1.102021-05-04 No cost Apache-2.0
Boxy SVG Jarosław Foksa20133.42.42020-08$9.99 in app stores or $9,99 monthly subscription Proprietary
Collabora Online Draw

All: Online, Mobile and Desktop apps

Collabora Productivity 201625.04.2.3 [16]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2025-06-19No cost when using the Collabora Online Development Edition (CODE).
For enterprise support 17 Euro per user, per year, up to 99 users, then discounts apply.
MPL-2.0
ConceptDraw PRO new: ConceptDraw DiagramCS Odessa1999142020-10$199 Proprietary
CorelDRAW Corel 19892021 (23)2021-03-09$499 or $249 annual subscription (includes Photopaint) Proprietary
Dia The GNOME Project 19980.97.32014-09-05 No cost GPL-2.0-or-later
DrawPlus Serif Europe 1994X82015-03-23$119.99 Proprietary
Edraw MaxEdrawSoft20049.42020-03No cost, $99 premium subscription Proprietary
EmbroidermodderEmbroidermodder Team20041.702012 No cost v2: Zlib
v1: GPL-2.0
EazyDraw Dekorra Optics20039.5.2 (2020-01), 1.1.0 iOS2020-01$95 (trial version available at no cost; other prices) Proprietary
Figma Figma 20162020-05-192020-05-19No cost, $12, and $45 monthly subscription tiers Proprietary (freemium)
Google Drawings Google2010-04-12 No cost Proprietary
Karbon KDE Calligra Suite (CS)20123.2.0 CS 3.2.22020-04-19 No cost LGPL-2.0-or-later
Inkscape Inkscape Team20031.4.2 [17]   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg 2025-05-12 No cost GPL-3.0-or-later
LibreOffice Draw The Document Foundation201125.2.3.22025-04-30 No cost MPL-2.0
Macromedia FreeHand Adobe Systems 1988MX (11)2003$399, $99 upgrade Proprietary
Microsoft Visio Microsoft 199216.02019$560, $350 upgrade (Pro), $260, $130 upgrade (Standard) Proprietary
OmniGraffle The Omni Group 20007.18.1 (2020-12-13) for OS X, 3.15.3 for iOS (2020-12-13)2020-12-13Standard: $99, Pro: $199, iPad $49 (Pro: $99) Proprietary
Penpot Kaleidos20211.18.42023-06-01 No cost MPL-2.0
Pencil2D Pascal Naidon, Patrick Corrieri20050.6.62021-02-17 No cost GPL-2.0-only
PhotoLine Computerinsel GmbH199524.012023-12-20€59, €29 upgrade Proprietary
SaviDrawSilicon Beach Software20191.12019-06$19.99 [18] Proprietary
sK1 sK1 Project Team20092.0RC42019-05-27 No cost GPL-3.0-or-later
Sketch Bohemian Coding201070.62021-02-23$99 [19] Proprietary
SVG-edit The SVG-edit community20095.1.02019-11-16 No cost MIT
Synfig Synfig Team20051.4.12021-05-09 No cost GPL-2.0-or-later
VectorStylerNumeric Path20211.0.029 RC32021See https://www.vectorstyler.com/ Proprietary
WinFIG winfig Team20032021.12021-01-31$35 Proprietary
Xara Designer Pro+ Xara 199520202018-10$299.00 Proprietary
Xfig Xfig Team19853.2.8a2021-03-27 No cost xfig

Operating system support

This table lists the operating systems that different editors can run on without emulation:

Software Windows macOS Unix and Linux iOS Android
Adobe Illustrator YesYesDropped (v 5.5)Yes (iPad)No
Affinity Designer YesYesNoYes (iPad)No
Apache OpenOffice Draw YesYesYesNoNo
Boxy SVG YesYesYesNoYes
Aviary YesYesYesNoYes
Collabora Online Draw YesYesYesYes (6.4.7+) and iPadOSYes (6.4.7+) and ChromeOS
ConceptDraw PRO YesYesNoNoNo
CorelDRAW YesYesDropped (v. 9)NoNo
Dia YesYesYesNoNo
DrawPlus YesNoNoNoNo
Edraw MaxYesYesYesNoNo
EazyDraw NoYesNoYesNo
Figma YesYesWeb onlyCompanion app onlyCompanion app only
Google Drawings YesYesYesNoYes
Inkscape YesYesYesNoNo
LibreOffice Draw YesYesYesunder development (available mostly in Collabora Online Draw 6.4.7+)under development (available mostly in Collabora Online Draw 6.4.7+)
Macromedia Freehand YesYesNoNoNo
Microsoft Expression Design YesNoNoNoNo
Microsoft Visio YesNoNoNoNo
OmniGraffle NoYesNoYes (iPad)No
PhotoLine YesYesNoNoNo
SaviDrawYesNoNoNoNo
sK1 YesYes (user must compile)YesNoNo
Sketch NoYesNoNoNo
Sodipodi YesNoYesNoNo
SVG-edit YesYesYesNoNo
Synfig YesYesYesNoNo
VectorStylerYesYesNoNoNo
WinFIG YesYesYesNoNo
Xara Designer Pro+ YesNoNoNoNo
Xara Xtreme LX Yes Windows 10 with WSLNoYesNoNo
Xfig Yes Windows 10 with WSLYes Compiler?YesNoNo

Basic features

SoftwareMaximum page sizeMaximum zoomColor management for printScripting support
Adobe Illustrator 5.7785 × 5.7785 m64000%YesYes
Affinity Designer No maximum size.1000000%YesNo
Apache OpenOffice Draw 119 × 119 cm3000%NoYes
Aviary ?400%NoNo
Boxy SVG ?6000%NoNo
Collabora Online 600 × 600 cm3000%YesYes
ConceptDraw PRO Screen resolutionPage widthNoYes [a]
CorelDRAW 45.72 × 45.72 m260000% (estimated)YesYes
DrawPlus 10,000 × 10,000 cm5000%YesYes [b]
Edraw MaxScreen resolution400%NoYes
Embroidermodder??NoYes
EazyDraw 250,000 × 250,000 m250000%YesNo
Fatpaint 8000 × 8000 pxDepend on the page size.NoNo
Google Drawings
Inkscape 1000 × 1000 km25600%No (export svg to 3rd party) [20] Yes
LibreOffice Draw 600 × 600 cm3000%YesYes
Macromedia Freehand 5.6388 × 5.6388 m25600%YesYes
Microsoft Visio 2147483647 sq. in.3098%NoYes
OmniGraffle 2,147,483,648 × 2,147,483,648 km800%YesYes [b]
PhotoLine 1,400,000,000 × 1,400,000,000 px25600%YesYes
sK1 3000 × 3000 m300000%YesYes
SVG-edit ?  px10000%NoYes
Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 2.75 × 2.75 m25601%YesNo

Notes

  1. ConceptDraw Basic Script only
  2. 1 2 ActionScript only

File format support

Import

Software AI CDR ODG PS/EPS PDF SVG SWF DXF WMF/EMF XAML VSDX
Adobe Illustrator NativePartial [21] NoYesYesYesNoYesYes
Affinity Designer YesNoNoYesYesYesNoYes [22] YesNoNo
Apache OpenOffice Draw NoNoNativeYesPartial [a] Partial [a] NoYesYes
Aviary NoNoNoNoNoYesNoNoNo
Boxy SVG PartialNoNoNoYesNativeNoNoNoNoNo
Collabora Online Draw Partial [23] [24] YesNativeYesYesYesNoYesYesYes
ConceptDraw PRO NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoYesNo
CorelDRAW YesNativeNoYesYesPartial [b] NoYesYesNo
Dia NoNoNoNoNoYesNoYesYesNo
DrawPlus YesNoNoYesYesYesNoYesYesNo
EmbroidermodderNoNoNoNoNoPartialNoPartialNo
EazyDraw NoNoNoYesYesYesNoYesNoNoNo
Fatpaint NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Google Drawings NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Inkscape YesPartial [c] NoYes [d] YesNativeNoYes [25] Yes [e] PartialYes [26]
Karbon [27] NoNoYesYesNoYesNoNoYes
LibreOffice Draw Partial [23] [24] YesNativeYesYesYesNoYesYesYes
Macromedia Freehand [28] YesPartial [28] NoYesYesNoYesYesNoNo
Microsoft Expression Design PartialNoNoYesNoNoNoNoYesNo
Microsoft Visio 2002YesPartial [29] NoYesNoNoNoYesYes
Microsoft Visio 2003NoNo [30] NoNoNoYesNoYesYes
Microsoft Visio 2013NoNo [30] NoNoNoYesNoYesYesNative
OmniGraffle NoNoNoNoYesNo [f] NoNoNoYes
PhotoLine YesNoNoYesYesYesYesYesYes
SaviDraw NoNoNoNoNoNativeNoNoNoYes
sK1 Yes [g] YesNoYesYesYesNoYesYes
Sodipodi NoNoNoNoNoYesNoNoNo
SVG-edit NoNoNoNoNoYesNoNoNoNo
Synfig NoNoNoNoNoPartial [h] NoNoNo
VectorStyler YesNoNoYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNo
Xara Designer Pro + Yes [i] NoYesYesYesYesNoYes
Xara Xtreme LX [31] PartialNoNoYesYesPartialNoNoNo

Notes

  1. 1 2 Via an extension
  2. Not all features are supported. Some Inkscape-generated plain SVG files yield corrupted results
  3. Via an extension using UniConvertor. Text elements not converted
  4. Via an extension using Ghostscript
  5. Via an extension using UniConvertor
  6. It can export to SVG but cannot import from SVG
  7. AI postscript-based up to 9 ver.
  8. Only SVG 1.0 Specification is supported since Synfig 0.62.00
  9. Imports only up to version 8.0 AI files, newer AI file versions needs to save as "AI (V8.0)" or PDF files

See also

Notes

  1. "The Future of Adobe Fireworks". Adobe. 2013-05-06. Archived from the original on 2017-06-30. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  2. "Adobe Store-North America: FreeHand MX". Adobe. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Import and export file formats - Affinity Designer Help". affinity.help. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  4. March 2019, Rebecca Spear 06 (25 March 2021). "Best Windows graphic design software". TopTenReviews.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. "Inkscape FAQ". inkscape.org.
  6. "Why I Use Affinity Designer Instead of Illustrator for Motion Design". School of Motion. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  7. "Affinity Designer vs Adobe Illustrator CC 2018 Comparison | FinancesOnline". Financesonline.com. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  8. "Affinity Designer vs. Adobe Illustrator: can Designer replace Illustrator? - 99designs". 99designs. 2016-08-17. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  9. Martin, Keith (November 27, 2014). "Serif Affinity Designer". Expert Reviews. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  10. Arah, Tom (January 2008). "Product Reviews: CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4". PC Pro. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
  11. "CorelDRAW X7: support for Adobe Illustrator (AI) files, CorelDRAW X7 Help".
  12. "CorelDRAW X7 supported file formats, CorelDRAW X7 Help".
  13. "Digital Craft: Serif discontinues its Pageplus, Drawplus and Photoplus designing software to focus on its(Serif) new Affinity range of Professional graphic design software - ANINO". ANINO. 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
  14. "Edraw vector graphics types" . Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  15. "LaTeX and Xfig". mcj.sourceforge.net. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  16. "Collabora Online 25.04 Release Notes".
  17. "2-in-1 release – Inkscape 1.4.2 is out!". 12 May 2025. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  18. "Buy SaviDraw". Microsoft .
  19. "The digital design toolkit". Sketch.
  20. "Color management - Inkscape Wiki". wiki.inkscape.org.
  21. "Supported file formats in Illustrator CS4 and CS5" . Retrieved 2010-12-01. CorelDraw 5,6,7,8,9,10
  22. "DWG and DXF Export" . Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  23. 1 2 "Media Support/Linux/Images". The Document Foundation. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  24. 1 2 "Media Support/Windows/Image Tests". The Document Foundation. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  25. Inkscape 0.47 release notes
  26. "Importing other File Formats — Inkscape Beginners' Guide 1.0 documentation".
  27. "Karbon14 Features". Archived from the original on 2010-12-06. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  28. 1 2 "Adobe Freehand MX 11.0 - Minimum System Requirements" . Retrieved 2010-12-01. CorelDraw 7, 8
  29. "Visio2000: File Formats That Can Be Imported into Visio" . Retrieved 2010-12-01. You can import the following file formats into your Visio drawings: CorelDRAW! Drawing File versions 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0 (.cdr), Corel Clipart (.cmx)
  30. 1 2 "What you won't find in Microsoft Office Visio 2003" . Retrieved 2010-12-01. The following file formats and converters are no longer supported:CorelDRAW! 3,0-7.0, Corel Clipart Format, CMX
  31. "What can Xara Xtreme for Linux do now?" . Retrieved 2010-12-01.