Adobe Illustrator is one of the most well-known and prominent vector graphics programs developed by Adobe but it can be difficult to understand how to actually download Adobe Illustrator free. In this article, we will show you how.
Adobe Illustrator comes as a part of Adobe Creative Cloud (see the full Adobe software list here) but you can also download its standalone program from the Adobe website. It is compatible with Windows and Mac operating systems.
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The range of subscription options that Adobe offers can make it a little more difficult than you may think to download Adobe Illustrator especially if you want it for free.
To help you out, we have prepared this guide to educate you about the specific things you should know.
How to download Adobe Illustrator for free
To download the free version of Adobe Illustrator, you need to visit the official website of Adobe and click on the “Try for free” button available on the Adobe Illustrator page.
Next, you have to set up your Adobe ID and then enter your payment (credit card) details.
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You can then download the free trial version and start creating.
Kindly note that if you cancel your account before the free trial period expires, Adobe won’t charge you anything. We have a guide on how to cancel Adobe too.
But, in case you decide to continue with the subscription, money will be deducted automatically from your card each month.
How to Download Adobe Illustrator for Free Step by Step Guide
- Type in “the Adobe Illustrator option” on the Google search page or simply click here to jump to the download page.
- Find the Adobe Illustrator home page and click the Free Trial button.
- You will have three of the following options:
- For Individuals: Select this option if you are planning to use Illustrator alone.
- For Students and Teachers: Select this option if you are planning to use the entire Creative Cloud All Apps plan. The Creative Cloud All Apps plan has more than 20 applications attached to it.
- For Teams and Businesses: Select this option if you are planning to take the entire Creative Cloud All Apps plan.
- You will then need to pick a subscription option, whether you are going for a monthly or a yearly plan. The billing period starts automatically when the trial period ends. Once it’s done, click the “Continue” button.
- You will have the option of using Adobe Stock images in your plan, but you can choose to use the innumerable images that come with the Adobe Stock plan.
- The amount you pay will change accordingly if you choose this route, as Adobe Stock images are not available for free.
- Regardless of whether you have an Adobe account or not, you are required to enter your email ID.
- If you already have an Adobe account you can go ahead and try out the trial version in the Creative Cloud application or on the site.
- After this, you’ll be prompted to either enter your credit card or PayPal details (Again, you will not be charged before the trial period ends).
- But once you’re done, you can go ahead and download Adobe Illustrator on your Mac or Windows device.
- Click the Agree and Subscribe button.
- You can always cancel the subscription before the trial period is over.
- To do this, you need to go into the ‘Privacy’ section of the Adobe site and follow the steps to delete the account. While doing this, you are also provoked for an option to cancel the subscription and retain the account.
- But if you are planning to retain the subscription, your payment will be deducted automatically at the end of the trial.
Adobe Illustrator Guide
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Need more guidance with Adobe Illustrator? Here’s an overview of what you will find in this article:
- How to download Adobe Illustrator for free
- How to buy Illustrator CC
- Price of Illustrator CC
- Adobe Illustrator student discounts
- How to get started with Illustrator
- What you need to know about Illustrator
- Illustrator iOS & Android apps
- Illustrator alternatives
Can I Download Adobe Illustrator for Free?
You will be amazed to know that you can download Adobe Illustrator for free.
The free version offered by Adobe is the official and full version of the app, and it includes all the features of the latest version of Illustrator. It is one of the legal ways you can download the Adobe Illustrator app for free.
However, there are many pirated versions of the app available online, and installing any of them would mean putting your system at risk from malware and virus attacks.
The free trial version offered by Adobe lasts only for seven days, and the trial will automatically get converted to a paid Creative Cloud membership upon completion of the trial period unless you cancel before the validity of the trial period.
How Do I Buy Illustrator CC?
If you want to have access to the Adobe Illustrator CC program even after the free trial period of seven days, then you will have to buy a monthly or annual subscription to the program.
Adobe offers two options for the subscription of its Illustrator program. If you are looking for an economical version of the program, you can subscribe to the “AI Illustrator” option.
With this, you can create beautiful vector art and illustrations easily. It comes with step-by-step tutorials, 100GB of cloud storage, Adobe Portfolio, Adobe Fonts, and more.
The second option is an expensive one as you can get access to all the Creative Cloud apps of Adobe. The “Creative Cloud All Apps” option comes with a wide range of features and includes 20+ creative apps including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, and Acrobat Pro. So, based on your requirement, you can choose the option you want to subscribe to.
How Much Does Illustrator CC Cost?
If you are looking to purchase the low-priced version of Adobe Illustrator, you have to buy an individual subscription plan.
A subscription to Adobe Illustrator costs about $22.00 per month and comes with a subscription to Adobe Illustrator for desktop and iPad, 100GB of cloud storage, Adobe Portfolio, Adobe Fonts, and Adobe Spark.
Alternatively, the expensive version of the app known as Creative Cloud All Apps is a complete package of the Illustrator program. It comes with a collection of creative apps from Adobe and costs about $55.00/month on an annual plan.
Make sure you check out Adobe Discounts.
Adobe Illustrator Discounts for Students & Teachers
Are you wondering how to get an Adobe Illustrator student discount?
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Adobe offers discounts over 65% for teachers and students on all the Creative Cloud suite of apps, which comes with 100GB of cloud storage, Adobe Portfolio, Adobe Fonts, and Adobe Spark.
Eligible students (13 years and above) and teachers can buy an annual subscription membership plan of the Adobe Creative Cloud option for a discounted price for the first year.
Following the completion of the first year, the contract automatically gets renewed for another year at the then-current standard monthly subscription price unless you opt for cancellation.
If you are you a current student or teacher you are eligible for up to 65% off Adobe Creative Cloud on their Students & Teachers plan.
Who qualifies for an Adobe student discount? To qualify as a student for Adobe you must provide some proof of your education, whether it be part-time or full-time.
If you’re not a student or teacher, you can easily become a student and then save up to 65% off on Adobe’s most popular annual plan, CC All Apps. See the instructions below.
Sign up for the Adobe Certified LogoCore logo design course (just $80) to qualify you as a legitimate student.
You can then get Creative Cloud for 65% off for one year, saving you ~$385.
Once you’re a student, click here to go to Adobe’s student discount page.
How To Get Started With Adobe Illustrator?
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After you download Adobe Illustrator, you can use the guide published by Adobe to learn how to create beautiful vector art and illustrations. It will also help you gain an understanding of the features of Illustrator on desktop and iPad.
The menu and toolbox layout of Illustrator is consistent and intuitive, and for easy understanding, they can be easily broken down into smaller categories. The key components of the Illustrator include a toolbox, color palette, transparency palette, stroke palette, gradient palette, and layers palette.
About Adobe Illustrator CC
Adobe Illustrator was first published in 1987 and is one of the most popular drawing apps based on vector graphics.
It is widely used by professional illustrators, designers, artists, among others, allowing them to create everything from single design elements to entire compositions.
You can use it as a part of a larger workflow for creating amazing artworks including, backgrounds, social media graphics, infographics, posters, logos, patterns, icons, and much more.
Download Adobe Illustrator for Android and iOS
The updated version of Adobe Illustrator is available for iPad and you can download it from the App Store.
There is no Android version of the Illustrator app available in the market, nor has the company made any announcements of its introduction shortly.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Adobe Illustrator
Advantages of Adobe Illustrator
Work with Any OS: You will be able to work with Adobe Illustrator on any OS. Adobe Illustrator works absolutely fine with all OS devices, as long as they are not more than seven years old. You can just connect with the Creative Cloud account, download Adobe Illustrator, and you are ready to create graphics without any worry.
In-Panel Editing: This particular option in Adobe Illustrator helps you to save a lot of time by allowing you to work with multiple artboards at once. In that way, you can also work on multiple images as well. By adopting this method, you can be more productive as you work on more than one image at a time.
Print and Web Graphics: You can create web graphics with this software, but the graphics created with Adobe Illustrator is ready for print. It can work in any screen resolution and offers a toolset that is updated regularly. You can also create professional vector graphics with ease.
Integrates with Other Software: If you already use some of the other Adobe products, Adobe Illustrator is a great choice for you. Adobe’s effectiveness to integrate with other software is really outstanding, allowing you to create anything you want with the many effects and elements available to choose from.
Manageable File Sizes: When you work with this software, you will not be stuck with huge files that are difficult to transfer. Compared to other graphic software, Illustrator creates files that are smaller in size. You should be able to share it easily across computers, mail them as attachments or use it in any software program on your computer without using much of its memory storage and other resources. You will not waste time waiting for them to sync with the cloud either.
Customizing User Interface: You will be able to customize the user interface according to your preferences and requirements, which can allow you to save some space. At the same time, you can have different interfaces for different projects as you can save more than one.
Disadvantages of Adobe Illustrator
The Learning Curve is Steep: If you are a person who has a base in vector-based designing, Adobe Illustrator is a program that is ready to meet your needs. Adobe Illustrator is not for you, however, if you have not had any hands-on experience with any of the Adobe products. For an amateur, there may be a steep learning curve that they may have to endure before they feel comfortable with the product.
Time Consuming: If you are in a rush to finish your designs within ten to fifteen minutes, Adobe Illustrator is not for you. This is because Adobe Illustrator is great for designs that require a lot of detailed attention in fine-tuning. It could really test your patience, especially when you are running out of time.
Limited Editing Options: Once you finish your design in Adobe Illustrator, you need to move on to Adobe Photoshop for the finishing touches. The vector support, the page layouts, and the special effects can be outstanding with Illustrator, but the final touches need the help of another software as Illustrator lacks some photo editing options.
Does not Handle Pixel Art: Pixel Art is for raster graphics, but Illustrator handles vector graphics. So, if your image has some graphics related to pixel art, Illustrator might not be able to handle it.
Adobe Illustrator Alternatives
If you are looking for the best alternative to Illustrator, then you should check out Affinity Designer, a vector graphics editor developed by Serif for Windows, Mac, and iPad operating systems.
In case you’re looking for a digital designing app, our preferred alternative is Sketch. It is a vector graphics editor for Mac first published in 2010 by Sketch B.V. It is primarily used for user interface and user experience design of websites and mobile apps.
Inkscape is another alternative to Adobe Illustrator. It is an open-source vector editor. It operates on Windows, macOS, and Linux. The features available in the software are useful tools for artistic and technical illustrations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I download Adobe Illustrator for free?
Yes, you can download Illustrator for 7-day free trial.
What is Adobe Illustrator used for?
Adobe Illustrator is perfect for branding through its use of colors, shapes, effects, and typography. Adobe Illustrator helps add a smoother aesthetic to your visuals, making it perfect for logos and illustrations.
How is Adobe Illustrator different from Photoshop?
Unlike Photoshop, Illustrator caters more to branding and illustrations, while still being useful for banners and other design requirements. That said, it’s not as versatile as Photoshop when editing photos and images. Often, people do rough drafts on Photoshop and then import them into Illustrator to neaten the design.
How do I download Adobe Illustrator?
You can download Illustrator by visiting Adobe's official site and subscribing to the plan that suits you best.
Do you really need Adobe Creative Cloud?
Yes, if you want to take advantage of multiple software at an affordable price, Adobe Creative Cloud is your best choice. Even though it might seem pricey at first, several discount offers can make it quite the steal
What are some free alternatives to Adobe Illustrator?
Some free alternatives to Adobe Illustrator include CorelDRAW, Affinity Designer, Vectornator, Figma, and Sketch.
What is the latest version of Adobe Illustrator?
The latest version of Adobe Illustrator would be the August 2021 iteration.
What are the system requirements for Adobe Illustrator?
Adobe Illustrator requires Windows 10 v1809 (64 bit), or for Mac operating systems, macOS X v10.14 or higher. When it comes down to RAM, the bare minimum requirement would be 8GB. However, we’d recommend using 16GB RAM to make sure things run smoothly. Other than this, internet and GPU drivers from after 2014 are the bare minimum.
What’s the best way to draw on Adobe Illustrator?
The pen tool on Adobe Illustrator is great for smooth and straight lines. With this tool, you can create anchor points and paths with different stroke weights, making the coloring process that much easier.
Download Adobe Illustrator CC Free
Ready to get those creative juices flowing? Make sure you check out our Adobe discounts page or simply download Illustrator free.
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Adobe Illustrator Resources
If you’re looking for some Adobe Illustrator resources, be sure to check out posts below:
