Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
GIMP
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
GIMP is a free, open-source graphics software. GIMP, or General Image Manipulation Program was developed in 1996 and has continued to be updated by volunteers since then.N/A
Adobe Illustrator
Score 9.3 out of 10
N/A
Adobe Illustrator CC is a vector-based graphic design software.
$20.99
per month
Inkscape
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Inkscape is a free and open source vector drawing app for Windows, MacOS & Linux, available for download free under the GPLv3+ license. The tools aims to support illustrators, designers, web designers or anyone wanting to create vector graphics.N/A
Pricing
GIMPAdobe Illustrator CCInkscape
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Yearly - Billed Monthly
$20.99
per month
Monthly
$31.49
per month
Yearly - Billed Upfront
$239.88
per year
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
GIMPAdobe IllustratorInkscape
Free Trial
NoNoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
GIMPAdobe Illustrator CCInkscape
Considered Multiple Products
GIMP
Chose GIMP
While Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator are the gold standards, there is nothing I've used for as long which compares for overall graphical content creation/editing offered freely that comes close to what GIMP can accomplish. For vector formats, I prefer to work in something more …
Chose GIMP
Adobe Photoshop is very powerful software, however it is expensive and requires equipment with specific requirements to be able to run it. Canva use them to create basic and fast designs from any of my devices. Instead, I choose GIMP because it is a very light graphic editor …
Adobe Illustrator
Chose Adobe Illustrator CC
Simply stated, Adobe Illustrator CC just offers more. Not all projects require 'more', but when you need it, it is nice that you don't have to jump programs and start over on a project. Inkscape is simple to use, but so is Canva. Point being, just because a program has a great …
Chose Adobe Illustrator CC
GIMP does not have a lot of reference information, so it takes time to solve problems. Illustrator takes less time because there is a lot of reference information on the Internet and in books. Also, GIMP does not allow batch processing, so the work must be repeated. Illustrator …
Chose Adobe Illustrator CC
Adobe Illustrator gives you much more control over every aspect of the design process. Canva has several limitations like being unable to customize gradients or creating clipping masks. Inkscape only works in RGB space and has a less intuitive user interface. They benefit from …
Chose Adobe Illustrator CC
Illustrator has never let me down recently. There have been times where the program didn't do things I wanted it, but over the years the updates gradually modified how I used the program to the point where everything we need to do can be done.Whatever the situation is, Adobe …
Chose Adobe Illustrator CC
The integration with Creative Cloud Libraries and Adobe Fonts, combined with the powerful array of tools offered in Adobe Illustrator makes up for the high price compared with other tools that are often free. You even get an outstanding 3D renderer built in with excellent …
Chose Adobe Illustrator CC
Before using Adobe Illustrator CC, I was using other design tools and struggled with the lack of control over my artwork. Adobe Illustrator CC has given me so much more control over my designs. The interface is beautiful and easy to use; new features like Live Shape and the …
Chose Adobe Illustrator CC
When compared to other vector-based artwork programs, Adobe Illustrator CC is far more robust, feature-rich, and user-friendly. Other programs fail to deliver adequate exports of varied file types. With Adobe Illustrator CC, there are many workflow options, user tools, and …
Chose Adobe Illustrator CC
Adobe Illustrator is way more stable than CorelDraw and it can handle large files without issues. I was always scared of crashing the program whenever I was working with a large file on CorelDRAW.
It also manages multiple pages in a better way, having them all in a single space, …
Inkscape
Chose Inkscape
Adobe Illustrator is also used in our company sometimes however, Inkscape is used most considering the fact that it is completely free while Adobe Illustrator has to be bought through monthly/annual subscriptions that are expensive. For that reason we always opt for Inkscape. …
Chose Inkscape
Inkscape is the standard if you want a free product that can produce high quality vector based graphics, there may be other products that can do it better but they are very very expensive. The experience you will get from expensive commercial products will be better but if you …
Best Alternatives
GIMPAdobe Illustrator CCInkscape
Small Businesses
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 7.1 out of 10
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 7.1 out of 10
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 7.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Canva
Canva
Score 9.1 out of 10
GIMP
GIMP
Score 8.1 out of 10
GIMP
GIMP
Score 8.1 out of 10
Enterprises
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 7.1 out of 10
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 7.1 out of 10
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 7.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
GIMPAdobe Illustrator CCInkscape
Likelihood to Recommend
9.7
(14 ratings)
9.4
(108 ratings)
7.5
(5 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
4.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(2 ratings)
9.0
(6 ratings)
8.3
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(6 ratings)
5.0
(25 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
GIMPAdobe Illustrator CCInkscape
Likelihood to Recommend
GIMP Development Team
GIMP is great for anyone ranging from personal use to a small business. But, if you are a large business and have a sufficient budget, I would recommend you to opt for an expensive paid software like Photoshop, that would provide not only great features but also public recognition. Its great for beginners wanting to start editing photos, there is a small learning curve that could be gotten used to in no time.
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Adobe
It is the only tool that I use to create logos. It gives me the flexibility to create sharp text and marks and they can then be resized at will, color changes in a second and perfect way to export. I know that some people use Illustrator for document layout, it is not ideal. While I can easily create documents here, it really is InDesign that is the perfect tool.
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Open Source
I would 100% recommend Inkscape to anyone starting out with graphic design or illustration, as it isn't that difficult to get the hang of on the first day of using it. I am not recommending Inkscape for beginners alone, even experts in the field can use Inkscape professionally as it cuts of the expense of needing to buy a paid graphic design software which provides almost the same features. Inkscape is also great for beginners because it can be treated like a stepping stone to move onto a paid graphic designing software like Adobe Illustrator, so Inkscape can be used to test the waters before making the leap. Inkscape and Illustrator are almost the same so there wont be any difficulty in switching later on.
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Pros
GIMP Development Team
  • GIMP has a large number of tools at your disposal for manipulating any type of image and exporting in any necessary format.
  • GIMP does a great job of making everything intuitive so that even a new user can layer images or make an image transparent in little time.
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Adobe
  • Vector graphics for scaling to large sizes
  • Filling an object with a texture
  • Easily adjusting and expanding an artboard to fit the size of the content (especially for infographics)
  • Compatibility with other Adobe CC programs, but also exporting for PPT graphics
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Open Source
  • Creating mockups using all kinds of graphic elements together.
  • Creating Video thumbnails and thumbnail templates.
  • Online 'how to' resources help a great deal.
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Cons
GIMP Development Team
  • GIMP should make the font tool more intuitive. Make it easier to change fonts during edit process without resetting the typeface selection.
  • Build in selection/move ability within tools like the typeface tool... I.e. don't require toggle between selection tool and typeface tool when wanting to move a line of type within a layer. Likewise with shapes, etc.
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Adobe
  • It's tough to master. If you haven't used Adobe products like Photoshop or Illustrator before, there is a lot to take in.
  • It would be great to have some better options to preview the final product if you're creating a multiple page document.
  • Better integration and pricing points with Adobe Stock for the useful stock images to complete your projects.
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Open Source
  • Can be tricky to get the hang of at first
  • UI is not always naturally intuitive but generally it is good
  • May require reading documentation and watching tutorials to skill up before using it efficiently
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Likelihood to Renew
GIMP Development Team
Capability, open architecture, compatibility with Photoshop plugins, wide platform coverage; To me, as an open-source, freely available application, it's the nest-in-class.
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Adobe
While Adobe Illustrator CC is one of the only true design software out there, it really stands heads above the other products. It's clean UI and menu structure is easy to navigate.
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Usability
GIMP Development Team
I interface GIMP with other software--I need to. I generally use the major calculation, CAD, word processing, and photo editing programs. In my office, my use of this software is not limited to computer-aided design. However, I am sure that if I needed this software for other purposes, it would have no interface problems.
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Adobe
There's a bit of a learning curve to this software vs other similar tools that can take some time to learn and get familiar with but the amount of functionality that Adobe Illustrator CC offers is quite large compared to simpler tools.
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Open Source
It is very good in general, but there are steps that I wish could be eliminated as they seem to be "duplicative".
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Support Rating
GIMP Development Team
We have never needed to use the support functions for GIMP. Any queries we have or had about whether GIMP could complete a task we have used Google and YouTube. There is a wealth of information, guides, and forums dedicated to GIMP and how to perform certain tasks with the application.
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Adobe
I normally already know how to do whatever I'm trying out, but the documentation (as well as a simple Google search) makes any question quick to resolve. The Adobe boards themselves are a fantastic resource, especially for resolving questions between new programs and iterative releases.
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
GIMP Development Team
As simple as can be. Download from GIMP website and install.
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Adobe
It was very easy to purchase and download.
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
GIMP Development Team
Online services like Canva are fine for quickly designing brochures and marketing materials, videos, etc. They're user friendly and fast if you have a good connection. But if you're in production mode and need to do a lot of photo manipulation at once, without being connected to the web at all times and just want to focus, GIMP is the go-to product for you
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Adobe
I chose Rhinoceros 3D because it is accurate to make drawings in it and it is better to make drawings in Rhinoceros 3D and then put them in Adobe Illustrator. But while printing or scaling it is much easier to put it in Adobe Illustrator. This makes the whole printing aspect of it much easier.
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Open Source
It is free. Easy to install Easy and simple to use and master. I find it as the best solution to do simple things without spending much time loading the API and trying to find the menu necessary to do the job. It produces vector graphics which is very well suited to illustrate research papers.
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Return on Investment
GIMP Development Team
  • GIMP is freeware, which allows organizations that are not graphics-centered to use the powerful toolset without spending money on very expensive alternatives
  • GIMP is fairly easy to learn and does not require extensive user training (especially, if used for basic tasks)
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Adobe
  • Helps us quickly and easily create and manage numerous logos
  • Cloud libraries allow us to access commonly used colors, fonts, logos and other design elements quickly
  • We are able to provide high-quality, scalable college logos for print and digital which give us a more professional, credible look.
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Open Source
  • fast, efficient illustrations
  • inexpensive (donation based) enough for a tiny business
  • now can make custom labels for test products using our in-house printer
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ScreenShots