Graphic design allows designers to visually communicate their ideas to an audience. A crucial factor in their work, whether it’s a basic illustration or a whole project, is the software they use. The right software helps send the right message and gives the work a competitive edge.
There have been many applications developed over the years to help designers creatively express their ideas. Among them, Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW have come out on top, dominating the field over the rest.
But which one is the better option? Let’s compare the two and try to figure that out.
What Is Adobe Illustrator?
Adobe Illustrator is an industry-standard drawing and design application. It allows you to capture your creative visions by crafting both entire compositions and single design elements. Skilled designers use the application to create typography, logos, patterns, and icons.
Adobe Illustrator: Features
Adobe Illustrator helps you tap into your creative side by offering a wide selection of tools at your disposal. It also grants access to a myriad of templates that can help you cut down your workload. These templates provide an excellent base for what you need, be it a poster, brochure, flyer, or anything else of the sort.
Adobe Illustrator offers an array of features. It helps you create gradients and vectors, as well as change colors with precision.
It also grants you access to multiple artboards for different documents and a wide selection of brushes, while also letting you create custom ones if you want. You have access to a whirl of effects, like glow, blur, and shadow. Adobe Illustrator even has a feature that helps repair damaged documents, which is an absolute dream.
Some of its more prominent tools help you adjust graphics with precision, merge and subtract shapes, create font styles and color palettes, as well as recolor your work. The list goes on. It’s also worth noting that Adobe Illustrator offers non-destructive editing.
What Is CorelDRAW?
CorelDRAW is a vector-based drawing and design software. You can use it to create all types of designs, including brochures, logos, invitation cards, and much more.
Other than designing two-dimensional images, you can also use CorelDRAW to adjust the perspective of a photo and apply it to bitmaps.
CorelDRAW: Features
CorelDRAW offers several ways for users to create vector shapes, including simple and complex ones. It helps you create lines, curves, and various shapes to make logos and vector graphics. CorelDRAW, like Adobe Illustrator, uses layers for non-destructive editing.
It helps you achieve your exact vision, letting you recolor images, resize shapes, and create realistic-looking objects. It has a feature that lets you craft vector illustrations from photographs as well. CorelDRAW even offers right to left typesetting that helps with Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and Urdu text, which is a welcomed inclusion.
You can store your documents online with Corel Cloud, and if you need to implement edits but are on the go, it lets you do that. You can use CorelDRAW.app and do what you need to, remotely. And with Corel Cloud, you can allow collaborators to view your document and comment on it.
Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW: What Are They Intended for?
Adobe Illustrator’s primary use is as a vector graphics editing application for drawing and designing. This includes drawing maps, illustrations, designing logos, and creating packaging designs.
Adobe Illustrator is rated as the most suitable software for vector-based designs. And because of that, it has become the first choice for designers. With its viable range of features and functions, Adobe is dominant all over the design industry.
On the other hand, CorelDRAW is a program designed for drawing. The application is used to create a variety of documents, from cards to bitmaps. CorelDRAW is a popular software used in the design of vector projects and has been recognized as one of the most popular design software alongside Illustrator.
Price: One-Time Buy vs. Subscriptions
Comparing the prices of the two is a bit tricky. Deciding which one is worth buying is entirely dependent on your needs.
An Adobe subscription is best for users who want the latest and greatest, as Adobe routinely rolls out new features and software fixes. CorelDRAW is a one-and-done deal, as in you pay once and you’re done.
Adobe Illustrator is available through a subscription model. It has an array of plans that range anywhere between $20.99/month up to $52.99/month. The first gets you just Adobe Illustrator, and the latter secures you the full creative suite. A yearly payment can reach up to around $250 or $635, respectively, so you can see how that can add up.
Adobe Illustrator does offer lower prices for teachers or students, who can get the full creative suite for $19.99/month. That’s the best payment plan Adobe has to offer, and if it’s still too steep for you, there are free Illustrator alternatives you can try.
CorelDRAW offers both models: a subscription and a one-time purchase. Its monthly subscription is $34.95, adding up to around $420 yearly. You can get a yearly subscription for $249, or make a one-time payment of $499.
Both tools offer roughly the same features, but CorelDRAW is the more affordable option. A little math quickly reveals that it’s cheaper and can save you some money.
CorelDRAW takes the cake when it comes to price comparison. It provides great value for a lower cost.
Compatibility: Is There or Isn’t There?
Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW work well with both Mac and Windows. If you have a Linux system, you’ll have to look for alternative design software for Linux.
Both tools have done their best to ensure convenience. Adobe has come out with Illustrator for iPad, giving designers the ability to create on the go.
CorelDRAW also has an iPad application, though if you look at its ratings, they’re relatively low. Apart from that, CorelDRAW also offers the CorelDRAW.app. It’s an online application that lets you access and edit your work. You can also edit or comment on a coworker’s project, all without having to download the software. It’s meant for desktop use.
What gives CorelDRAW a slight edge is that it’s compatible with Adobe Illustrator. CorelDRAW can import and export Illustrator files, while Illustrator doesn’t support CorelDRAW files. There is a workaround for that, but it isn’t the most seamless process.
If you want Adobe Illustrator to open a CorelDRAW file, you have to export it as an Illustrator file and then open it in Illustrator. Some features from either app don’t carry over, so it’s not worth the hassle.
Overall, Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW tie for compatibility. Both tools work across various platforms and have features that make the software more accessible to its users, and therefore, more convenient.
Customer Support: Yes or No?
Adobe offers excellent support for all its customers. Customer support can easily be accessed through the contacts on its website, enabling users to get help when they need it.
Adobe also has the Adobe Community forum that helps users get answers to any issue they may experience with its products. Also, its customer support is a great help when it comes to finding the right option for your subscription.
CorelDRAW has excellent customer support services as well. It offers call, chat, and email support. Its website provides a service where users can find all the patches and updates for CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, Corel Website Creator, CorelDRAW Technical Suite, and Corel CAD.
If you have an issue with Illustrator or CorelDRAW, you’re more than likely to get the help you need.
Adobe Illustrator vs. CorelDRAW: Summing It Up
Both applications have excellent features for the development of vector-based work that produces compelling results.
CorelDRAW offers a better value in pricing, whether it is the subscription for a suite or the single-purchase fee option. Adobe Illustrator costs more and does not offer the single-purchase option.
CorelDRAW is the better option when it comes to collaboration, as its collaboration tools don’t force you to leave the app to comment on a coworker’s design. It allows you to share a link and get other collaborators on the platform to review your work. Adobe Illustrator is lacking in this regard, as it doesn’t have an in-app collaboration function implemented.
CorelDRAW has an online web app that lets you access, edit, and comment on a project anywhere, anytime, without having to download the software. Adobe Illustrator has come out with an iPad application, which allows you to work on the go as well.
CorelDRAW and Adobe Illustrator have excellent compatibility, as they work on both Windows and Mac operating systems.
The two applications have excellent features and work for both professionals and hobbyists. CorelDRAW has a slight edge when it comes to ease-of-use, since it is much simpler to learn and operate, and doesn’t require special knowledge, skills, or training. But Adobe Illustrator has the preference of professionals given that it’s rated as the industry standard.
Maybe if CorelDRAW continues to consistently add more features and roll out improvements, it will one day become the better option and knock Adobe Illustrator from its spot as the industry standard.
Adobe Illustrator vs. CorelDRAW: Who Wins in the End?
Illustrator and CorelDRAW are both robust vector-based programs that create professional results for designers. Your choice mainly depends on your personal preference and level of skill.
The Adobe family is the best industry-standard tool for vector editing and illustration. CorelDRAW is best if you prefer to get a better deal and see yourself as a newbie rather than a professional. Also, if you’re not an Adobe user and have no ties to that family of tools, you might as well keep it that way and choose CorelDRAW.