What users are saying about
14 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 6.8 out of 100
Based on 14 reviews and ratings
55 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 8.8 out of 100
Based on 55 reviews and ratings
Attribute Ratings
- CorelDRAW Graphics Suite is rated higher in 3 areas: Likelihood to Recommend, Usability, Support Rating
Likelihood to Recommend
7.0
Painter
70%
2 Ratings
9.1
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
91%
16 Ratings
Usability
1.0
Painter
10%
1 Rating
8.0
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
80%
1 Rating
Support Rating
3.0
Painter
30%
1 Rating
8.3
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
83%
20 Ratings
Likelihood to Recommend
Painter
Corel Painter does have a lot of great brushes, and they do emulate real art supplies very well. Especially the thick paint is well done.But unfortunately there are so many functional and UX bugs that overall it is just horrible to work with. When contacting customer support about it, they really seem clueless about the seriousness of the situation, and clueless about what proper UX is in general. They have tried to make it work a bit like Photoshop, which is a good move but then some things are absolutely not intuitive at all and they are definitely missing the mark horribly with so many issues. I would highly recommend using Photoshop instead, though you'll have to download them separately; it also offers a lot of great brushes nowadays and works much much smoother without all those aggravating bugs of Painter. The price of Corel Painter is just not at all worth all these horrible bugs.
Senior UX/ UI Architect
Self EmployedArts & Crafts, 1-10 employees
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
The tool is fairly easy to pick up and do some basic functions. Which makes it great for non-design folks to participate in collaboration. It also has a lot of power so we can take ideas and really refine them into a quality design. Although I say I like collaboration, this tool does not offer a shared interface where multiple people can work on a project at once. The would be an interesting upgrade to see this ability of teaming in a design environment.

Verified User
Manager in Product Management
Accounting Company, 5001-10,000 employeesPros
Painter
- Watercolor Compatible
- Multiple variety of Brushes and shapes
- Captured Dab Library

Verified User
C-Level Executive in Engineering
Computer Networking Company, 5001-10,000 employeesCorelDRAW Graphics Suite
- Easy to learn - especially if you have experience with other graphic software. It is fairly intuitive which is helpful.
- Creating high resolution graphics is a breeze with this software - and it has the ability to export into a large variety of formats!
- I am able to import a wide variety of file formats. I have also had success with importing and editing PDF files which has been helpful.
Marketing/Development Coordinator
Sidney-Shelby YMCANon-profit Organization Management, 51-200 employees
Cons
Painter
- Way too many functional bugs, makes it hard to work with
- Bad UX and usability, too much unintuitive behavior, makes it particularly hard to work with
- Overall looks and behaves as if it was coded in the '90s, it really needs a complete UX overhaul
- Did I mention the many bugs yet? Yeah? I'll mention it again because it's bad
Senior UX/ UI Architect
Self EmployedArts & Crafts, 1-10 employees
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
- Documentation on many features are absent or obscurely hidden which I feel deters users from learning about or how to use certain aspects and features of the suite.
- VBA in Corel is a major asset and used by many. The lack of knowledge of VBA from many users could be addressed with a more user-friendly way of creating custom macros and toolsets. I feel Corel should implement a user-friendly way of creating custom macros as the VBA abilities of Corel are a major asset that could generate more users and sales while giving current users a more powerful way of using the suite.
Executive Creative Director
Fluid DesignsApparel & Fashion, 1-10 employees
Pricing Details
Painter
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—Painter Editions & Modules
—
Additional Pricing Details
—CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
General
Free Trial
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
$249 per year
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite Editions & Modules
Edition
Download | $499.001 |
---|---|
Physical Edition | $499.001 |
Subscription | $249.002 |
- One Time Fee
- per year
Additional Pricing Details
—Usability
Painter
Painter 1.0
Based on 1 answer
If it wasn't quite clear yet, I'll state it again: the usability of Corel Painter is, simply put, horrid. And I am not talking about rendering, lagging, etc., it is not even all that bad there. I am talking about the weird issues like being unable to move a brush into a custom brush palette when you work on a second screen, like being unable to move the software onto the second screen in the first place unless you separate all the palettes and the windows (and if nobody tells you upfront there is no way of knowing because the manual doesn't state this at all), and then having to drag all your separate windows and palettes over one by one every time your computer wakes up again, and they won't really want to move to the other screen but only through a tiny corner of your screen, and the fact that you have to scroll through lists and lists of fonts but can't search and when you apply this font, add another piece of text the font jumps back to the default font of all the text already applied even when you haven't selected any of the text. Just to name a very small few.
Senior UX/ UI Architect
Self EmployedArts & Crafts, 1-10 employees
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 8.0
Based on 1 answer
Just like any design program or suite, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't do graphic design professionally. If you're not adept at learning a program or experience, it isn't a program you can just pick up and start using easily. Outside of the learning curve, it's a nice program with a decent user interface.
Graphic Designer
Miss Mandible DesignsGraphic Design, 1-10 employees
Support Rating
Painter
Painter 3.0
Based on 1 answer
It was really hard to get them to understand what I was having problems with. It was hard to get the message through that Painter has an unacceptable amount of functional and UX bugs. When I finally talked to someone who was easier to communicate with, he was very stoic about the situation, like they didn't really care about the awful amount of bugs.
Senior UX/ UI Architect
Self EmployedArts & Crafts, 1-10 employees
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 8.3
Based on 20 answers
Overall, CorelDRAW meets all my needs as a researcher and allows me to create beautiful and clear graphics to illustrate the main ideas for publications. It does not lack any functionality for my needs; however, it has some bugs that impact productivity, such as the color drag and drop that sometimes stops working and needs restarting, and crashes, especially when working with large bitmaps.
PhD Candidate
The University of British ColumbiaHigher Education, 10,001+ employees
Alternatives Considered
Painter
Corel Painter has support to multiple OS and across all the devices. Coloring and multi layer imaging works very well. The new enhanced brush settings and the redesigned brush libraries.

Verified User
C-Level Executive in Engineering
Computer Networking Company, 5001-10,000 employeesCorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite has the advantage of a fair price, tools are on par with what Adobe Illustrator, many I find far simpler to work with, I have had firsthand experience where CorelDRAW Graphics Suite has been head and shoulders above anything else on the market. I have used free software that is extremely cumbersome, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite beats them hands down all day long.
General Manager
Elemod ElectronicsDesign, 1-10 employees
Return on Investment
Painter
- Customer support could be improved in my opinion.
- Multiple bugs while working with layered designing.

Verified User
C-Level Executive in Engineering
Computer Networking Company, 5001-10,000 employeesCorelDRAW Graphics Suite
- Ease of use reflects on less time to train new users, a positive impact in investment and productivity.
- The practicality to make new designs results in less time needed to do them, again a positive impact.
- The integration with other graphic programs could be better if needed to finish a rendering using the design made in Corel Draw it's needed to export in formats that don't carry all information and the process is not that simple.
Engenheiro de desenvolvimento de produtos Jr
ElectroluxConsumer Goods, 10,001+ employees