Adobe Express vs. Adobe Illustrator CC

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Adobe Express
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
The vendor states Adobe Spark allows users to create beautiful graphics, web pages, and video stories in minutes, offering free themes, fonts, and images, as well as editing. Imagery assembled or created can be presented through Spark Post, Spark Page, and Spark Video. Adobe Spark is available through a Creative Cloud subscription, free with the Starter Plan, or on a single product license via the Team or Individual plan.
$0
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 ExpressAdobe Illustrator CC
Editions & Modules
Free
$0.00
Premium
$9.99 / $99.99
Monthly / Annual, prepaid
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 Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe ExpressAdobe Illustrator CC
Considered Both Products
Adobe Express
Chose Adobe Express
They both have great ease of use. More recently, Adobe changed something in its interface that created a small but consistently aggravating inconvenience, so Canva may be better in that aspect. The platform for Canva has great UX in my opinion. Adobe Creative Cloud Express …
Chose Adobe Express
Adobe Creative Cloud Express was chosen for us by somebody else in the organization, but I still really like it. Though I do like Canva, I'm so used to Adobe Creative Cloud Express now I'd never go back. We used to use Animoto (free version) and I do miss some of the …
Chose Adobe Express
Adobe Creative Cloud Express is easier to use than almost every other graphics program I’ve used. Those that are as simple, or simpler, do not produce creations with as professional and creative looks as Adobe Creative Cloud Express does.
Chose Adobe Express
We use Adobe Creative Cloud Express in addition to all of the above, depending on the project. It stacks up extremely well against all other products, except Premiere Pro on the video side (obviously). In the area that we use it most - for the on the fly social media - it is …
Adobe Illustrator

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
Adobe ExpressAdobe Illustrator CC
Small Businesses
Descript
Descript
Score 9.2 out of 10
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 9.6 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
iMovie
iMovie
Score 9.1 out of 10
Canva
Canva
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe Premiere Pro
Score 9.0 out of 10
Adobe PhotoShop
Adobe PhotoShop
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Adobe ExpressAdobe Illustrator CC
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(29 ratings)
9.1
(103 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.5
(2 ratings)
Usability
9.4
(10 ratings)
7.2
(4 ratings)
Support Rating
7.9
(10 ratings)
8.4
(24 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 recommend Adobe CC Express, especially if the colleague were an established Adobe user. The interface is designed so that anyone familiar with Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, or any other Adobe software products, will be familiar. This is a product that competes with Canva, but it's great to have the simplicity of Canva with an interface that feels familiar from day one.
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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
  • Out-of-the-box templates save a lot of time and effort for designers and new users.
  • Collaboration to share resources and monitor task status centrally.
  • Great design elements bring a wow factor to digital content.
  • Single design tool for all types of content design.
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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
  • Adobe Creative Cloud Express's video possibilities could be improved - I'd really like to see more options for animating text. Animoto is a great example of this. But the video is already improving, so perhaps these options are coming!
  • Sometimes images don't download properly from the web app and I have to download using the phone app and then transfer to my desktop for scheduling.
  • It would be cool if there was an approve / feedback option, so you could request feedback from a team member without having to share a link and send a separate email.
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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
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.
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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
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
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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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Alternatives Considered
Adobe
I used Canva for a long time, but since we already had the Adobe Creative Suite and Adobe Creative Cloud Express was included, I went ahead and started using Adobe Creative Cloud Express, as it was more cost-effective. Unfortunately, Adobe Creative Cloud Express doesn't offer any content calendar and scheduling, so it was a difficult choice.
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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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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
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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
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Adobe
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Adobe
  • I started with the free version, but I soon found that I was unable to save my custom templates.
  • With the paid plan, The number of templates and art work are greatly increased.
  • Using this subscription was a timesaver, thus saving in creative time.
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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

Adobe Express Screenshots

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