What are the Best Adobe Illustrator Alternatives in 2026

Adobe Illustrator still sets the standard in 2026, but Linearity Curve is the best alternative for designers who want a faster, cleaner workflow built natively for Mac and iPad.

Adobe Illustrator is still the most complete vector design tool in 2026. If you want something faster, cleaner, and built natively for Apple devices, especially iPad, Linearity Curve is the best alternative and saves you up to 75% of Adobe’s cost. Free tools exist, but they usually cost more time than they save.

Adobe Illustrator is still the benchmark

If you’ve used Illustrator long enough, you probably keep it around because everyone else does. It still makes sense when you need compatibility with agencies, printers and very detailed vector control.

Where it starts to hurt:

• Mandatory Creative Cloud subscription
• High long-term cost
• A legacy interface

Illustrator offers more depth and technical control than most designers actually need for everyday work.

Linearity Curve is the best Illustrator alternative

Linearity Curve is the best because it sits where most designers actually work.

Why Curve stands out:

• No cloud lock-in — start without an account, store files locally
• One subscription with unlimited files, exports, artboards and AI tools
• Native Mac and iPad apps with a modern, Apple-centered UI
• Linearity Move included for animation

Curve removes Adobe’s friction, shortens setup time and focuses on the work most designers actually do.

Affinity is the serious free alternative

Then there’s Affinity Designer - it’s an all-in-one creative app that mixes vector, photo and layout tools into a single platform and it’s free to use. 

The tradeoff is simple:

• Core vector design tools are free
• AI features require a Canva subscription

Affinity is capable and stable, especially for desktop work. At the same time, it’s dense by design and takes time to learn, which makes it better suited to patient users who want a full-featured desktop tool without a subscription.

How Figma replaced Illustrator for some teams

Figma wasn’t built as a graphics tool. It was built for UI, layout and collaboration, but a lot of designers stopped opening Illustrator anyway.

Figma works when the output lives inside a product. It breaks down when the work turns expressive, print-heavy or detail-driven. 

Inkscape is free and that’s mostly the point

Yes, Inkscape exists. It’s open source and free.

It’s also slower, rougher around the edge and less reliable for larger or more complex projects. It can be useful for learning, but it’s rarely a strong choice for shipping real work.

Illustrator still covers the most complex edge cases. Affinity owns the free, no-subscription space. Figma covers UI and product design work. Inkscape is useful for learning. Linearity Curve sits in the middle. If you work on Mac and iPad and care about speed, clarity and motion-ready design, Linearity Curve is a practical Illustrator alternative in 2026.

About the blog author

Nadya Kunze runs Customer Support at Linearity and has 7+ years of experience helping customers in SaaS. When she’s not solving problems, she’s drawing, hiking or baking, and she writes for the blog about Linearity, graphic design and other creative topics.