As a huge illustrator fan, I would have paid more money upfront for affinity designer cause it so closely resembles what Illustrator can do.Īffinity have built a suite of other software that seamlessly integrate with each other the way adobe has its creative cloud. Affinity Designer I would say is the best alternative to illustrator if you’re looking for something that’s exactly like illustrator and for cheap (less than $50) and it’s a one-time buy not a monthly subscription. Are there cheaper alternatives and are they better?ġ. Now I have enough clients and projects to cover the monthly subscription cost without any problem at all. I started getting more clients and earning enough to buy the subscription.

This took over a year, and I’ll confess, during that time, the illustrator version I used wasn’t from the official site (if you know what I mean). I juggled between studying and a freelance graphic design career on online job sites, barely earning anything until I built a strong enough portfolio and online presence to start making more than $400 a month. I would say that yes, you can earn enough to pay for the software and have more than enough to keep the lights on. Will you earn enough to offset the price of Illustrator? I’ll talk about all of this in detail coming up. Another factor is whether you would be better off using cheaper alternatives. It’s worth to you will depend on the work you want to use Illustrator for, and whether that work brings you enough to offset the price of the adobe subscription. Cause it is an incredibly intuitive and feature-rich tool. It truly allowed me to learn at my own pace and develop unique art styles.īut has it been worth my money? That’s the question I’m here to give you some insight on as well as share the experience of having Illustrator for over 5 years. It’s such a brilliant tool with loads of features, most of which you’ll never even use. However, it contributed a lot to my growth as a designer. When I wasn’t getting regular work, its monthly subscription + photoshop would eat up a large portion of my freelance income. It’s a great program like all other adobe software, but it costs a ton, and to be honest, I’ve struggled to afford it at times. I’ve used Adobe Illustrator for well over 5 years now as my staple graphic design program both as a student and in my professional career.

Inkscape vs illustrator reddit