Adobe Illustrator vs CorelDRAW

Adobe Creative Cloud

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program)

Adobe Photoshop

Inkscape

Affinity Designer

Adobe InDesign

Compare Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW based on features, pricing, verified reviews, integrations & more on GetApp. Find out which software is best for your business in 2026.

Affinity Designer is a graphic design software, which helps creative professionals manage documents, create vector designs with gradients, blend modes, adjustments and effects, edit images, build artboards, and more using various built-in tools.

Adobe Photoshop is an image editing and graphic designing software that helps businesses streamline photo editing and compositing processes and create digital paintings and animations. The artificial-intelligence (AI)-enabled platform lets designers invite external stakeholders to edit documents and share projects via live streaming functionality.

Inkscape is an open sourced business graphic software. This Linux, Windows & OSX vector graphics editor (SVG format) features transparency, gradients, node editing, pattern fills, PNG export, and more.

Adobe Illustrator CC is a industry-standard software in vector drawing tools and applications for digital graphics in print, web, apps, and video animations

Activity Tracking

Application Management

CAD Tools

Collaboration Tools

Content Library

Content Management

Data Import/Export

Design Management

Design Templates

Document Imaging

Drag & Drop

Fashion Illustrations

File Management

For Vector Illustrations

Image Editing

Image Library

Preview Functionality

Project Management

Search/Filter

Synchronous Editing

Third-Party Integrations

Website Publishing Options

Adobe Illustrator

Android

Web-based

Windows

iPad

iPhone

Self Employed Rancer

The thing I like the most is the ease of use of software and the amount of awesome features that is included with the software.

Marketing Specialist

The pros of this product is that it is extremely great for creating projects, especially when using a MAC. I highly recommend Apple products as it works best for designing.

Media and Communication Director

You are able to make beautiful and stunning illustrations for your social media posts or any posters. You can edit any symbol, picture etc with it.

Owner

There is endless posibilities of creative creating of scaleable vector graphics. Perfect for logos and helps me save money by using it to collaborating with graphic teams.

Director of Marketing

Many designers work with Adobe products and there is a reason, they are responsive and great at what they do. Illustrator will allow your designer to create amazing designs that can scale so easily.

Tech Support

Everything about it worked like a charm. The entire Adobe package is great and is constantly being updated.

Proprietor

I  Love the art i have made an enjoy every second of illustrating with this software and the ease of moving to other products in the adobe suite to perform other graphic functions.

Freelance Graphic Designer

What I like most about Illustrator are the capabilities and advanced tools that are integrated with technology to achieve unique and creative techniques.

Graphic Designer

The bummer about Adobe is that you can no longer purchase the software as a one-off. Now it’s a subscription that you have to pay monthly or yearly and the fees are quite hefty.

L&D Manager

From logos to infographics, Ai has been the best tool for the job. I create assets for my websites that I manage and can export my design projects in the best formats for the job.

Marketing and Design Directot

Illustrator helps me mainly to create logos and graphics for my work. I love the way the software works in general, interface is great and easy to use in my opinion.

Creative Director

A.I. is popular with the artist and graphic design community, so we are pleased that its functions are user-friendly, which allows us to distribute content after modifications if they are necessary.

Design & Brand Manager

Great ease of use once you are familiar with the program. Works well and integrates with the full Creative Suite.

HR specialist

I think most of the frustration comes with user error and not doing enough research on the current subject.

Photographer

Over it really is a great program with a lot to offer, the cost isn’t too high and getting the creative suits will save you more in the end hopping from one adobe program to the next.

Editor in Chief

On rare occasions, the app will stall or close down altogether. This could be a flaw with either the application itself or the system I'm using it on.

Email Marketing Specialist 

The support is very bad for Adobe. I suggest not updating your app until a few weeks after the update comes out unless it stops working.

Fullstack Developer

There is a great community around this software which is actually the main point to focus when you are looking for a new tool.

Adobe Illustrator screenshot: With Illustrator CC, the touch type tool allows users to take individual letters and transform them, as well as change the text itself

Adobe Illustrator screenshot: Illustrator CC users have the possibility to free transform elements in a more intuitive way

Adobe Illustrator screenshot: Use images in brushes (pattern brush tool) and choose the way the image runs around corners with Illustrator CC

Adobe Illustrator screenshot: The export CSS feature in Illustrator CC allows users to copy elements from the illustrator document and transfer them into CSS directly

Adobe Illustrator screenshot: Search fonts quicker with Illustrator CC's font search window that enables the choice between searching entire font names or first words only

Adobe Illustrator screenshot: Import multiple images and place them on the page with the integrated place gun tool that allows users to drag and place images exactly where they want them with Illustrator CC

Adobe Illustrator screenshot: Illustrator CC's live corners tool lets users intuitively shape corners with on-art controls or specific values

Freelancers

Large Enterprises

Mid Size Business

Non Profit

Public Administrations

Small Business

Adobe InDesign is a layout design and desktop publishing software designed to help businesses and creative individuals create graphic designs with typography from various foundries and imagery from Adobe Stock. The platform lets teams create and publish digital magazines, books, eBooks, interactive PDFs, posters, and more.

GIMP is an open-source image manipulation software that enables businesses, graphic designers, scientists, illustrators, and photographers to edit and retouch images, design icons, create free-hand artworks, and convert files into various formats.

Adobe Creative Cloud is a graphic design and video editing suite that enables businesses to publish print layouts, edit images, manage PDF documents, and collaborate with team members using various mobile and desktop applications.

CoreIDRAW is a graphic design software which enables users to create professional designs with vector illustration, layout, photo editing, typography, template tools, and more. CoreIDRAW allows users to create, access and store artwork, web graphics and prints in the cloud, via the web app.

2D Drawing

Batch Processing

Color Matching

Content Import/Export

Content Sharing

Custom Fonts

Image Tracing

Mobile App

Multiple Format Support

Pattern Layout/Print/Cut

Pattern, Color & Art Storage

Pre-built Templates

Presentation Tools

Real Time Editing

Rendering

Templates

Textile Pattern Design

Watermarking

Workflow Management

CorelDRAW

Software Data Analyst

The Trouble Shooting  criteria is worst in CorelDraw, and that is after few hours or some uneven period getting known to the problem nothing going to be fix this issue.

Writer

I like how easy it is to use and how my pictures come out. I tend to draw for my stories so it helps that I can visualize it in such a clean and colorful format.

Marketing associate ii

But the more you use it, the more you’ll realize how user friendly it is. I was so fascinated with Corel draw I even enrolled for a comprehensive tutorial.

traffic

Great software, I have used this for over 10 years, great with a tablet, great features and easy to learn.

Technical Secretary

After 4 hours and 5 days with customer service, they tell us that it's a known problem and nothing is being done to fix it. This is by far the worst experience you will have with any software company.

Tech Manager

This program is just fantastic. It interfaces seamlessly with my Laser cutter which makes my life really easy.

Expert Vector

I reconcile this software to finish my work perfectly, I have always been successful and the more I work the more I discover new finishing techniques leaving the final result more professional.

Graphic design

It also gives as so many wonderful full options to use from the colour to the shapes to the fonts. You can blend as many colours as possible to give your design that beautiful look.

sales representative

I can make great graphics for presenting my work, the tools are great for marketing my digital store, putting texts is very easy.

In late 2020, I bought the Humble Bundle bundle that included CorelDRAW and I was immediately star-struck. It is now a beautiful, modern, and very user friendly piece of software.

Manager, Upskilling

Overall CorelDraw is a good vector graphics program and has good capability for the price point.

Marketing analyst

The worst part about CorelDRAW is that you have to do a complete research to start understanding the features and how to use it.

Freelancer

Its a wonderful product overall and covers all needs for anyone needing a design software. The costing is so much better then Adobe and its much easier to use.

I have tried the 2020 version and it way too complex, found it difficult locating some my drawing tools. I got confuse when applying gradients.

OWNER

Very well featured, comes with an amazing tool set, plus a separate but integrated  full featured photo editing software, similar to Photoshop, and a font organizer, and other optional goodies.

Sr. Technical Computing Manager

Very rich in features and a well-respected product in the graphic arts community.

Administrative assistant

Ease to use and also to buy through the website. Offers integrated applications that streamline the flow of services.

Graphic designer

Some business problem like logo creating, illustration for kids and more, are some great piece I have been able to solve for client and my community.

CorelDRAW screenshot

Portrait Artist

Fantastic software!

Isabel:                                                Hi, my name is Isabel. I work as a portrait artist. I am comparing CorelDRAW and Adobe Illustrator. I use both, and for more reviews like this, click below. I tried out using Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW for creating elements for fantastical portraits that I create that I didn't have a picture of or I couldn't find a stock image that worked well enough for me.
			                                                       CorelDRAW is absolutely fantastic for drawing anything out that you want to have printed is what I have discovered. So, if you want to make something just look amazing and also have it print amazingly, I have found that CorelDRAW works the best at it, so that is what I use it for. They also just have a lot of other handy things with it. You can use it on tablets, and it can work between different devices. It helps you draw things nicely with different textures and things like that. It's just ... It even has a community, so you can draw something, you're not sure if it looks right, you can post it in the community, and then people will kind of critique it or give you good ideas and things like that, so Corel has ended up working out best for me.
			                                                       So, Adobe Illustrator is wonderful if you're a graphic designer. So, if you are designing graphics or logos or things that go on the internet all day long and you're dealing with small businesses that are just starting up and they're like, "I just need a simple graphic or something like this," and they're not so worried about how it prints out and that graphic that you make, it'll look fine on a business card but it doesn't have to look so true to life like my portraits do, really they're fantastic. I feel like they're the industry standard, and the nice thing about it being an Adobe item is that if you do something in Illustrator but you need to add something over here in Photoshop, it all communicates. So, I feel like more so for the graphic designers who are just putting stuff more so out there on the internet or just little things like business cards or just like a little sticker that needs to go onto a product, it's absolutely great for them.
			                                                       Okay. So, for CorelDRAW and Illustrator, both of them aren't too bad if you already know these drawing type programs. So, if you're really, really familiar with Photoshop and now you're thinking of getting into graphic design, Adobe Illustrator is fantastic because I mean, you feel like, hey, here are the same things that I use in Photoshop, but now, it just works a little bit differently in Illustrator. So, it's actually pretty easy to get going. Corel is, it's a work course when it comes to this type of artistry, so for that one, it's a little bit harder, a little bit of a higher learning curve if you haven't worked with them before, but if you're an artist type and if you've been playing around with different types of programs that are out there for drawing things or whatever else or painting things because Corel also does painting, then moving over to CorelDRAW is a piece of cake, but if not, expect to maybe spend some time on YouTube learning a few things.
			                                                       So, my top considerations were really how true to life and how awesome can it look when the pieces are printed because my smaller pieces that I sell are 60 inches, so it just had to have a lot of ... have really good resolution to it. It had to look like it was already existing there in the portrait, and it had to be something that I was able to work with. I started playing around with CorelDRAW. I'm familiar with Corel Painter already because I do make paint portraits. I was like, "Oh, I can do this."
			                                                       Then, the community ended up being a bonus because now, I can get some critique about, oh, this actually might be better this way. Adobe doesn't have that yet, and I don't really know why. Then, it's nice that Corel has ways that it can go onto all these different types of tablets that exist for artists, and it can just move between the different tablets. So, the convenience was nice, but my main thing I was worried about was how good is this going to look when I print it on a big canvas, and is it going to look real? Corel solved all those problems. Illustrator was just a little bit behind, and I'm picky about how great I want something to look, so I stuck with Corel.

Adobe Illustrator vs CorelDRAW Comparison (2026)

Adobe Illustrator

CorelDRAW

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives