Download Adobe Illustrator: Try it for free or subscribe with Creative Cloud
If you're looking to download Adobe Illustrator, you might think that your options are complicated at first. But don't fret, as we've put together the ultimate guide to help you through the process.
On this page we go through everything you need to know about either downloading Illustrator for free, or getting it as part of a subscription through Adobe Creative Cloud. It will become apparent which is the best option for you, and what your next step is to download Adobe Illustrator.
As you'll probably already know, Adobe’s drawing software is the industry standard, widely used by artists, illustrators, designers, art directors and marketing professionals to create art, illustrations and scalable vector graphics. So read on, as we outline the best ways to download Adobe Illustrator to your Mac or PC. Illustrator is also now available for iPad, so you get the brand new tablet version thrown into the bargain, too.
If you want the whole Adobe suite, don't miss our round up of the best Adobe Creative Cloud discounts currently available. Or have a look at how best to download Photoshop.
Can I download Adobe Illustrator for free?
You can download a free version of Adobe Illustrator CC. Well, a free trial of it at least. You’ll then have seven days to try out the full version of the drawing software and find out if it’s right for you.
A free trial is the only legitimate way to download Adobe Illustrator for free. There are pirated versions to be found on the web, but downloading one would mean breaking the law. You’d also be putting your devices and data at risk from viruses and malware, which could allow people to steal your identity, take money from your bank account, or worse. So we really wouldn’t recommend it.
To take out a free trial to Illustrator CC, you’ll first need an Adobe ID, if you don’t have one already. These are quick to set one up and totally free. Next, you’ll need to enter your credit card details. Don’t be scared: as long as you cancel your account in good time, you won’t get charged. If you decide to keep subscribing, though, payments will be deducted automatically.
Download a free trial of Illustrator for PC or Mac now
You can try the latest release of Illustrator for free – and get access to all the newest features and updates – with a seven-day trial from Adobe. There’s no obligation to buy the software afterwards, but if you like it you can convert to a paid Creative Cloud membership either during the trial or after it’s expired.
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How do I buy Illustrator CC?
There’s only one way to buy Illustrator: as part of a Creative Cloud membership, for which you pay monthly or annually. However, there are two broad options. The first, and cheapest, is to subscribe to Illustrator only. The second is take out an All Apps subscription. This will cost you more, but provide access to all of the Creative Cloud apps, along with a range of other benefits. (If you’re not sure which CC apps you might like to have, read our Adobe software list).
If the cost of the latter seems too high, don’t despair: Adobe often runs promotions that cut the cost further (there's one right now – see below). And beyond that, there are always discounts for students and teachers, as well as separate pricing for businesses, schools and universities. So it’s always worth having a look to see what deals are available at any given time.
All Apps Adobe Creative Cloud subscription: Get 20% off
One way to download Illustrator is to sign up for Adobe's All Apps subscription, which gets you access to (as the name suggests) all of Adobe's apps. That includes Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects and Adobe Rush, and there's currently 20% off ahead of Black Friday, wherever you are in the world. Offer ends 27 November
What’s the price of Illustrator CC?
Your lowest cost option is to buy Illustrator CC through the Single App Illustrator plan, which at time of writing costs £19.97 / $20.99 / AU$29.99 per month on an annual plan, and includes a subscription to Adobe Illustrator CC, plus 100GB of cloud storage, Adobe Portfolio, Adobe Fonts, and Adobe Spark.
The alternative is to buy Illustrator CC through the Creative Cloud All Apps option, which gives you access to Illustrator as well as Adobe’s entire collection of creative desktop and mobile apps. There's currently 20 per cent off this plan for Black Friday, and so it costs £39.95 / $39.99 / AU$59.29 per month on an annual plan.
Illustrator discounts for teachers and students
If you’re a student or teacher, you can buy Illustrator as part of a discounted All Apps plan at a much lower rate. So usually, you can get the entire Creative Cloud suite of apps, along with 100GB cloud storage, Adobe Portfolio, Adobe Fonts, and Adobe Spark, for just $15.99 / £13.15 / AU$21.99 per month for the first year, and then $29.99 / £25.28 / AU$43.99 the following year.
However, right now there's an extra discount available for Black Friday. Adobe has knocked an additional 20% off the price for students and teachers, so it now costs £13.15 / $15.99 / AU$21.99 a month.
How can I get started with Illustrator?
Once you've downloaded Adobe Illustrator, check out our roundup of the best Illustrator tutorials to get started with the software, and boost your skills and knowledge, whatever your current level of expertise. Whether you want to design a complex illustration, or just a simple icon, this great selection of tutorials will teach you new tricks and help you to become more productive and creative in using the software.
Also, if you'd like to save yourself time and effort using Illustrator, you can check out our roundup of the best illustrator plugins. And finally, if you’re looking for Illustrator brushes, we've found the best ones the internet has to offer, both free and premium.
Illustrator CC: Key info you need to know
First released in 1987, Illustrator is a sophisticated drawing programme based on vector graphics, which are infinitely scalable. That means your work can scale down for mobile screens and up to billboard size, and everywhere in-between, without losing resolution.
Illustrator CC is commonly used by professional illustrators, visual artists, graphic designers and web designers to create quality artwork. This includes simple shapes, backgrounds and icons; logos, emojis, social media graphics and infographics; cartoons, charts, diagrams, and graphs; and of course full-blown illustrations and digital art.
As part of your CC subscription plan, you receive all Illustrator updates free. The latest version is Adobe Illustrator 2020. The headline news was the introduction of Illustrator for iPad, but there was also the introduction of version history and better ways to share your work with collaborators, as well as offline. You can read more about the latest updates on Adobe's blog.
Download Adobe Illustrator: Android and iOS apps
Illustrator is finally available for the iPad. There are, however, currently no signs of an Android version of Illustrator in sight, nor are there plans for Illustrator on the iPhone, as far as we know.
Illustrator alternatives
In our view, the best Illustrator alternative is Affinity Designer, which was launched in 2014 by Serif, the makers of Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer and available for Mac, Windows and iPad. These three, low-cost apps are interoperable, in a similar way to the Creative Cloud apps, although there’s no equivalent to services such as Adobe Fonts and Adobe Stock. Affinity Designer is available for a one-off fee and requires no subscription.
Our favourite Illustrator alternative for digital design, meanwhile, is Sketch, a vector editor which has become the industry go-to for UI and icon design since its release in 2010. Note that it is, however, only available for Mac. See our list of Illustrator alternatives for more options.
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