Adobe Animate vs. Adobe Illustrator CC

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Adobe Animate
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
Adobe Animate (or Animate CC) supports but replaces the former Adobe Flash, and allows users to design interactive animations for games, TV shows, and the web. With it, the vendor states users can bring cartoons and banner ads to life, create animated doodles and avatars, and add action to eLearning content and infographics. With Animate, users can publish to multiple platforms in many formats, and reach viewers on any screen.
$20.99
per month
Adobe Illustrator
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Adobe Illustrator CC is a vector-based graphic design software.
$20.99
per month
Pricing
Adobe AnimateAdobe Illustrator CC
Editions & Modules
Annual Plan, Paid Monthly
$20.99
per month
Monthly Plan
$31.49
per month
Annual Plan, Prepaid
$239.88
per year
Yearly - Billed Monthly
$20.99
per month
Monthly
$31.49
per month
Yearly - Billed Upfront
$239.88
per year
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe AnimateAdobe Illustrator
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details——
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe AnimateAdobe Illustrator CC
Considered Both Products
Adobe Animate
Chose Adobe Animate
Adobe Illustrator has a lot more drawing capabilities and features than Flash, but for most tasks, I prefer to use Flash.

For cross-platform development, Xamarin offers a true full, native development environment, but Flash is good for prototyping. The big diadvantage here is …
Chose Adobe Animate
Adobe Animate works best for advanced animation and cuts and works well with the entire Adobe suite. There is nothing that compares when it comes to working within the same product.
Chose Adobe Animate
We haven't used any other animation software to compare. We only use Adobe Animate because it was included with our software suite. We do sometimes use Canva to create animated collateral and graphics, but they are already designed templates for the most part, so it's not a …
Chose Adobe Animate
Adobe Animate is extremely coordinated across different stages and programs, versus its rivals. Like Adobe Animate, HTML5 incorporates playing highlights for sound inside sites. It additionally has versatile help. In any case, I don't believe it's very there yet and is by all …
Chose Adobe Animate
Unfortunately, it doesn't! While there are some disadvantages to HTML5, it's overall just cleaner. Since it's cleaner, browsers prefer it. And again, Flash animations will no longer be supported in a couple years, so users really don't have a choice but to part ways with the …
Adobe Illustrator
Chose Adobe Illustrator CC
Adobe Illustrator CC has so much more options and tools to create the perfect vector graphics when compared to other programs. Illustrator is often the program that I use to create graphics, and then insert those files directly into the other programs listed. The other programs …
Chose Adobe Illustrator CC
Adobe Illustrator CC only has one major competitor in the industry and it is a free software tool. The difference is that Adobe Illustrator provides a wider range of tools and functions. Being able to take Adobe Illustrator objects or designs and move them into Adobe InDesign …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
Adobe AnimateAdobe Illustrator CC
Small Businesses
Autodesk Maya
Autodesk Maya
Score 7.9 out of 10
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 9.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Adobe After Effects
Adobe After Effects
Score 8.7 out of 10
Canva
Canva
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Adobe After Effects
Adobe After Effects
Score 8.7 out of 10
GIMP
GIMP
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Adobe AnimateAdobe Illustrator CC
Likelihood to Recommend
7.9
(27 ratings)
9.1
(103 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.5
(2 ratings)
Usability
6.0
(1 ratings)
7.2
(4 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.4
(24 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe AnimateAdobe Illustrator CC
Likelihood to Recommend
Adobe
Scenarios where Adobe Animate is well suited:2D animation for web, mobile, and video games: Adobe Animate is well suited for creating 2D animations for web, mobile, and video games. With its vector-based drawing tools, bone rigging, and inverse kinematics features, it's easy to create smooth, scalable graphics and realistic movement.Scenarios where Adobe Animate is less appropriate:Complex 3D animation: Adobe Animate is primarily a 2D animation software, and while it does have some basic 3D features, it is not as robust as specialized 3D animation software like Autodesk Maya or Blender.
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Adobe
Adobe Illustrator is used to help make drawings look good but not make them. It is easy to add color or texture but it is hard to actually make the drawings in it. I would recommend using other software to make the lines for plans and sections and using Adobe Illustrator to make it look good.
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Pros
Adobe
  • The adaptability of what Adobe Animate can do makes it so helpful. You can accomplish something basic like make a ball bob on-screen over certain letters prior to showing your logo, or something more mind-boggling like building up a vivified short to show.
  • Utilizing Adobe Animate recordings on sites is typical, so individuals are accustomed to seeing it and have the essential modules introduced as of now.
  • The records are little, and the pressure is extremely smooth. This aids in the event that you are attempting to send substance to cell phones or essentially keep your site impression little to guarantee quick stacking times.
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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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Cons
Adobe
  • There are too many updates and they are constantly popping up - especially during the middle of a projects, which causes me to shut down the application and restart the program. Wastes time.
  • There is no mobile browser or device support. Limits a lot of projects - especially apps.
  • Flash player can require a lot of RAM and battery
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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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Likelihood to Renew
Adobe
No answers on this topic
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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Usability
Adobe
Flash is usable but definitely has a learning curve that a novice user may need to Google a few tutorials prior. The seamless integration with other Adobe software products is nice for loading content from the cloud. Plus it's great for storing and saving work on the go.
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Adobe
Illustrator has become easier in recent years to use with more intuitive tools and controls for them. Illustration software has improved but Adobe Illustrator has kept up and keeps the edge with its extensive toolset. Newly added collaboration tools with Adobe make it even better and the expectation is that is to continue.
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Support Rating
Adobe
No answers on this topic
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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Alternatives Considered
Adobe
Adobe Animate was always the preferred software as the support was much better than the competition. And the ease of rendering was also a deciding factor. Results with character animations are much more crisp with Adobe Animate than in any other 2d based animation software.
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Adobe
They complement each other, each with its own specific characteristics, but within a marketing sector, an experienced designer knows that the use of these tools in sets makes all the difference. It is possible to combine their uses and create really relevant materials that will bring a great return to the company and in the dissemination of arts with superior quality to the competitors
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Return on Investment
Adobe
  • Negative, anyone who spent time learning the program now feels sad that it's going away.
  • Animation that was done on Flash but can now be made with Toon Boom or even Adobe After Effects.
  • On the plus side, since it's an Adobe product, you can rent it instead of buying the full license. That means potentially people could use it for a little longer without having to shell out as much money.
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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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ScreenShots