6 Best Free Illustrator Alternative Software For Windows

Here is a list of best free Illustrator alternative software for Windows. Adobe Illustrator is a popular vector graphics editing software that is used by creators to make logos, book illustrations, Billboards, etc. However, it is a paid software that every creator cannot afford. To resolve this problem, I have created this list of free Illustrator alternatives. Through these alternatives, you can view, edit, and create vector graphics designs just like Adobe Illustrator. To create and edit designs, each of these software offers many graphics editing and creation tools. Some of the important editing tools that these alternatives offer are Edit Path By Node, Layers, and Drawing Tools. Through Edit Path By Node tool, you can create curved structures and designs similar to Illustrator. Layers is another important feature that enables you to create complex multi-layered designs. On the other hand, Drawing tools let you make custom designs.

Each of these software supports vector graphics formats especially SVG format. You can import and export SVG graphics in each of these free Adobe Illustrator alternative software. Besides SVG, these software also supports other graphics and image formats such as PNG, JPG, GIF, ICO, BMP, TIFF, etc. In a few of these alternatives, you can also import and edit AI (Adobe Illustrator Artwork) files. Go through the list to know more about these software.

My Favorite Free Illustrator Alternative Software For Windows:

Inkscape is my favorite software because it offers the closest set of features that you get in Adobe Illustrator. Plus, it supports a variety of vector graphics and image file formats.

GIMP is another good alternative through which you can edit, create, and export vector graphics designs. Plus, it offers a lot of graphics editing tools, image effects, and image filters.

You can also check out lists of best free Visio Alternative, Open Source Photoshop Alternative, and GarageBand Alternative for Windows.

Inkscape

Inkscape is a free open source Illustrator alternative software for Windows, Linux, and macOS. Just like Illustrator, it lets you work with vector graphics to create logos, billboard signs, fonts, comics, etc. Plus, essential Illustrator features like SVG Export, Anchor Point Enhancement, Path Segment Reshapingetc, etc., are present in it. Apart from vector graphics, you can also use this software to work with common image formats like PBG, JPG, BMP, TIFF, ICO, etc. To work with vector graphics and images, it offers a lot of editing tools to create and edit designs. Now, check out the main features of this Illustrator alternative.

Main Features:

• Edit Paths By Node: You can find this exact tool in Illustrator in the form of the Path Segment Reshaping tool. Using it, you can make adjustments to the existing shape of a design by defining a new path through nodes. In the Path tab of this software, you can find many other path tools such as object to path, stroke to path, union, difference, intersection, and more.
• Drawing Tools: This software also offers various paint and drawing features just like the Illustrator that enables you to create custom designs.
• Layers: It is another important feature that allows you to create portions of design over different layers to simplify the designing process of a complex design. After completion of all portions of a design, you can combine the layers to complete the design.
• Object: It offers many object creation and editing features through which you can create symbols, mask objects, transform objects, move objects from one layer to another.
• Text: It is another handy feature that lets you create and edit SVG fonts.
• Filters: Similar to Illustrator, you also get many image filters in it to quickly change or enhance color profile, blur level, overlays, image effects, etc.

Additional Feature:

• Extensions: You can add many extension in it, to introduce more features, filters, and export formats.

Final Thoughts:

It is one of the best free Illustrator alternatives as it offers the same set of features as the Illustrator and it supports a wide range of graphics formats.

GIMP

GIMP is another free open source Illustrator alternative for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is mainly an image editor software that also offers various features that you get in the Illustrator. Plus, it let you create, edit, and export SVG designs. It also supports a large number of image formats that you can import and edit in it. Some of the image formats that it supports are PNG, JPG, BMP, JFIF, ICO, EXR, and more. In it, you can also directly import and edit Photoshop projects. Now, check out the main features of this Illustrator alternative.

Main Features:

• Pain and Drawing Tools: Using paint and drawing tools you can manually draw custom designs and fill colors in them. Some of the drawing and paint tools that it offers are Bucket, Pencil, Paint Brush, AirBrush Tool, Eraser Tool, etc. It also offers a Text tool to create and add text of various fonts and colors over a design.
• Layers: This feature allows you to create a complex design in parts over separate layers that you can easily merge, move forward, or move backward with ease.
• Transformation Tools: Through transformation tools, you can rotate, scale, move, and stretch individual elements (objects) and a whole design with ease.
• Colors: It offers many color adjustment tools that let you adjust the color, hue, brightness, highlights, etc., of individual elements according to your requirements.
• Filters: This software comes with multiple inbuilt filters that you can apply over a design to adjust blur, noise, distortion, etc., of a graphics.
• Import/ Export SVG: Just like Illustrator, it can also import and export SVG designs.

Additional Features:

• Measure: Using it, you can measure the distance between any two points over an image.
• Swap Colors: Through this feature, you can select and replace a color present on an image with a new custom color.

Final Thoughts:

It is another good Adobe Illustrator alternative that you can try as it offers all the essential designing and editing tools.

RealWorld Paint

RealWorld Paint is the next free Illustrator alternative for Windows. As its name suggests, it is mainly a painting software through which you can create and edit custom drawing and painting graphics. In addition to that, it also provides many vector graphics editing tools that make it a good Illustrator alternative. Another good thing about this software is its ability to support multiple image and vector graphics formats such as SVG, EPS, PNG, JPG, BMP, ICO, and more. Let’s take a look at some of the main features of this software.

Main Features:

• Layers: It lets you work on multiple layers to create portions of a large design that you can later combine by merging all the layers.
• Image: It offers multiple image transformation tools that you can use to resize, rotate, retarget, flip, and mirror input designs.
• Drawing and Paint Features: Using these features, you can draw new designs, fill colors in designs, insert shapes to existing designs, and remove any part of the existing design.
• Adjust: It is another good section, that offers multiple image adjustment tools through which you can adjust color level, transparency, contrast, and color saturation of a design or its element.

Additional Feature:

• Create: Using it, you can create an animation by splitting an image into multiple frames.

Final Thoughts:

It is another good Illustrator alternative through which you can create logos and vector graphics designs.

sK1

sK1 is yet another free open source Illustrator alternative for Windows, Ubuntu, LinuxMint, and elementary OS. Through this software, you can create vector and other standard graphics designs just like Illustrator. To do that, it offers many designing and editing tools that you can easily use. It also supports many graphics file formats such as CDR, CCX, PSD, GIF, TIFF, BMP, JPG, and more. Now, check out the main features of this software.

Main Features:

• Paths: It offers a similar set of features that you get in Illustrator’s Path Segment Reshaping tool. Using Paths tools, you can create curved structures by placing nodes. To refine the structure, it also provides tools such as make nodes cusp, make nodes smooth, make nodes symmetrical, etc.
• Layers: This software also provides layers that enable you to make a multi-layered design.
• Drawing Tools: A good set of drawing tools are also present in it that allows you to create custom designs, add shapes to designs, and text to designs.
• Import and Export Vector Graphics: Just like Illustrator, it lets you import, edit, and export vector graphics files like SVG.

Additional Features:

• Iconizer: Using it, you can convert an input graphics design into an Icon file.
• Bitmaps: It lets you change the default color format of a bitmap image to CMYK, RGB, Grayscale, or BW format.

Final Thoughts:

It is a nice and easy to use Adobe Illustrator alternative through which you can create and edit vector graphics.

Scribus

Scribus is another free open source Illustrator alternative for Windows. It is mainly a desktop publishing software that is used to organize text and graphical content to design a magazine, newspaper, etc. Plus, it can work with SVG files just like the Illustrator. Besides this, you can also import and edit AI (Adobe Illustrator) projects in it. Other graphical file formats like ODG, SXD, WMF, etc., are also supported by it.

This software can be used as the Illustrator alternative, but it does not possess the same set of features that you get in Illustrator. Still, it offers its own version of editing tools that may come in handy. Now, check out the main features of this Adobe Illustrator alternative.

Main Features:

• Edit: This tab offers basic editing tools through which you can replace objects colors, edit patterns, add text over graphics, edit text style, etc.
• Layers: It is an essential feature that allows you to divide a designing project into separate layers that you can bring forward, move backward, and merge with ease. This feature is only available if you import an AI (Adobe Illustrator) file.
• Insert: Using it, you can insert many elements to the existing design such as frames, images, tables, shapes, etc. In addition to that, it offers some freehand drawing tools to make custom designs.

Final Thoughts:

It is a decent Illustrator alternative that you can try if you want to work with simple designs and graphics.

LibreOffice Draw

LibreOffice Draw is one more free open source Illustrator alternative for Windows, macOS, and Linux. According to its name, it is mainly used to make custom drawings. It also has many graphics designing features that you can use to edit images and scalable vector graphics just like Illustrator. For basic designing and editing tasks, it is quite good.

This software comes with LibreOffice Suite that offers many other Office software such as LibreOffice Writer, LibreOffice Calc, LibreOffice Impress, etc. You can easily access and use any one of the office suite modules. Now, check out the main features of this Adobe Illustrator alternative.

Main Features:

• Drawing Tools: It provides multiple drawing tools such as Fill Color, Line Color, Shapes, Curves, Symbols, and more. Using drawing tools, you can create new designs and paintings.
• Insert: Using it, you can insert all the required elements to your drawings such as images, media, charts, objects, hyperlinks, and more.
• Transformation Tools: Through these tools, you can rotate, flip, and scale individual elements of a drawing.
• Import and Export Vector Graphics: In this alternative, you can easily import and export vector graphics (SVG) simulator to Illustrator.

Limitation:

• Lack of layers feature is its main limitation.

Final Thoughts:

It is a basic Illustrator alternative through which you can create custom designs, logos, etc.