Adobe Express vs. Adobe Illustrator CC

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Adobe Express
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Adobe Creative Cloud Express (formerly Adobe Spark) is a task-based, web and mobile product used to create and share rich multimedia content – from social media posts and stories to invitations to marketing materials like logos, flyers and banners.
$0
Adobe Illustrator
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Adobe Illustrator CC is a vector-based graphic design software.
$20.99
per month
Pricing
Adobe ExpressAdobe Illustrator CC
Editions & Modules
Free
$0.00
Premium
$9.99 / $99.99
per month
Teams
$9.99
per month per user
Yearly - Billed Monthly
$20.99
per month
Monthly
$31.49
per month
Yearly - Billed Upfront
$239.88
per year
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe ExpressAdobe Illustrator
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsContact Adobe directly for Enterprise pricing plan details.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe ExpressAdobe Illustrator CC
Considered Both Products
Adobe Express
Chose Adobe Express
I prefer adobe products but Canva for quick purposes seems to be a better UI and UX
Chose Adobe Express
Adobe Express is incredibly similar to Canva. Both tools are something that makes design easy for anyone to do as well as provide templates and pre-made graphics to assist in the design process. However, Express still feels limited compared to Canva and Illustrator. Illustrator …
Chose Adobe Express
In my view, they are essentially the same.
Chose Adobe Express
Overall Adobe Express offers a more polished finished product but does take a little time to learn. But worth the time spent to have more unique content
Chose Adobe Express
Adobe Express can be easily used and create fun posters within a few minutes while Illustrator takes longer
Chose Adobe Express
It's a robust tool for a bite sized product. It's not going to go toe to toe with the CC products but that's not it's purpose. It's purpose is to be light weight, intuitive and improve creativity and it checks all the boxes
Chose Adobe Express
I think Adobe Express beats out Canva but it doesn't compare to the full Photoshop to an experienced user. It is however the perfect balance of form and function where Photoshop is too robust for most of the teams needs and the training needed is far less with Adobe Express.
Chose Adobe Express
I don’t want to pay for Canva subscription and Adobe is already included in my subscription so it’s better for me
Chose Adobe Express
I've only used Express
Chose Adobe Express
I choose to use Adobe Express because to me it is stress free product I don't have to "invent the wheel" with what I am creating, with the features it has, it helps with the creative process. I also selected because you can add video to it and edit it out in a simple and easy …
Chose Adobe Express
I like some of Canva's included graphics and plugins more but Adobe is a more cohesive work space
Chose Adobe Express
I feel like Canva is a bit more built out in feature offerings sometimes and that their library feels a bit better to select from. However, it has been a minute since I’ve used the platform.
Chose Adobe Express
Canva seems to have way more features that Adobe Express does not have. I would say the biggest advantage of Adobe Express is the ability to have assets from other Adobe Apps inside Adobe Express.
Chose Adobe Express
That's tough as it's a purpose built tool. Based off the original. The more powerful will always be supreme however in delivering creative ability at a good price Adobe Express can't be beat
Adobe Illustrator

No answer on this topic

Best Alternatives
Adobe ExpressAdobe Illustrator CC
Small Businesses
Pexels
Pexels
Score 9.9 out of 10
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 7.7 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Pexels
Pexels
Score 9.9 out of 10
GIMP
GIMP
Score 8.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Pexels
Pexels
Score 9.9 out of 10
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 7.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Adobe ExpressAdobe Illustrator CC
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(46 ratings)
9.4
(109 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
Usability
9.4
(10 ratings)
9.0
(6 ratings)
Support Rating
7.9
(10 ratings)
5.0
(25 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
9.5
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Professional Services
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe ExpressAdobe Illustrator CC
Likelihood to Recommend
Adobe
I would definitely recommend Adobe Express to students in my university as they have the free access to it as our university provides the free Creative Cloud Suit in which they have all the premium Adobe product access for free
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Pros
Adobe
  • Brand Kit: provides quick access to approved fonts, logos, colors, and other assets
  • Libraries: syncs will with other Adobe Tools
  • Animation: provides a decent collection of modifiable motions for objects in the design
  • Social Media-ready Layouts: being able to design graphics of multiple sizes/Layouts within the same document is a GOD-SEND
Read full review
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
Read full review
Cons
Adobe
  • It could have a search bar which searches through other Adobe products (esp for Stock images, videos, audio) from within Adobe Express.
  • It could make it so switching between Adobe products from within Adobe Express almost like a tab function is smooth.
  • It could partner with other companies to allow for company specific events in exchange for valuable products or programs.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Adobe
I use it daily for almost all my marketing needs. So far it is the program that has the most and best to offer for what I need and is the easiest to use
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Usability
Adobe
The overall usability of the software was strong. The application, especially relative to other Adobe services like Photoshop that can demand a lot of knowledge and skill, was highly easy to use. At the same time, that also speaks to the somewhat limited amount of customization opportunities that allow content designers to truly create content that is dynamic, engaging, and different than the standard stuff that floods our vision every day.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Support Rating
Adobe
Because adobe is so widespread the community support is amazing. I have never actually used adobe support short of their website, but I go to youtube a lot to get my questions answered. You can google any problem you have and not have any issues finding an answer. In my opinion, community support is much more meaningful and helpful than support directly from the company
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Adobe
It was very easy to purchase and download.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Adobe
I think Express is a great tool for quick edits or creation. As someone who works in the more robust platforms, I do not always enjoy going into Express because of the more limited features.
Read full review
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
Read full review
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Adobe
Adobe Creative Cloud Express is included with an Adobe Creative Cloud account. Our company has a corporate team membership so it is nice to have a professional and powerful tool that anyone on our team can use for free. The pricing structure of giving the tool away for free will be fundamental to users utilizing the tool. Similar tools, such as Canva, cost significantly more but do not offer the same features
Read full review
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Professional Services
Adobe
The professional services for Adobe Creative Cloud Express is top notch and should be highly commended. I am thoroughly impressed with how far Adobe has come. In the past, I had several issues with how something were handled, but in the past few years things have been better than ever and they get no complaints from me
Read full review
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Adobe
  • Positive: Time and working for a nonprofit with minimal staff this is essential.
  • Negative: There are certain features that I need to find in other Adobe products like layer masking.
  • Positive: It makes content creation less intimidating for our newer staff.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Adobe Express Screenshots

Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of