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Adobe Illustrator

By Adobe

4.6 out of 5 stars

How would you rate your experience with Illustrator?

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Adobe Illustrator Pros and Cons: Top Advantages and Disadvantages

Quick AI Summary Based on G2 Reviews

Generated from real user reviews

Users find Adobe Illustrator to have ease of use, making design tasks intuitive and efficient. (77 mentions)
Users praise the precision and scalability of Adobe Illustrator, making it ideal for professional vector graphic creation. (58 mentions)
Users love the limitless functionality and intuitive design of Adobe Illustrator, making daily graphic design tasks easier. (54 mentions)
Users highly value the seamless Adobe integration in Illustrator, enhancing collaboration and workflow efficiency with other apps. (47 mentions)
Users love the powerful tools for creating original high-definition logos in Adobe Illustrator, enhancing their creative projects. (42 mentions)
Users find Adobe Illustrator's expensive pricing increasingly burdensome, desiring more affordable options or bundles. (41 mentions)
Users find Adobe Illustrator difficult for beginners, as its complexity and numerous features can be overwhelming at first. (40 mentions)
Users find the steep learning curve of Adobe Illustrator challenging, especially for beginners getting started. (34 mentions)
Users report a steep learning curve in Adobe Illustrator, making it challenging for beginners to navigate effectively. (19 mentions)
Users experience slow speed with Adobe Illustrator, leading to lag and crashes during intensive project work. (18 mentions)
Users find tool limitations cumbersome, requiring extra effort to master Adobe Illustrator's features and settings. (12 mentions)

Top Pros or Advantages of Adobe Illustrator

1. Ease of Use
Users find Adobe Illustrator to have ease of use, making design tasks intuitive and efficient.
See 77 mentions

See Related User Reviews

PB

Patrick B.

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

5.0/5

"Robust and Feature Packed"

What do you like about Adobe Illustrator?

Easy to deploy and use. Contains a large array of products and you can subscribe to only the ones you need. Stable products with few issues. Pricin

Verified User
U

Verified User

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

5.0/5

"Extremely powerful, professional vector software"

What do you like about Adobe Illustrator?

The limitless functionality and intuitive shortcuts, combined with its sleek UI, make it one of the most powerful tools on my computer—and a daily go-

2. Vector Design
Users praise the precision and scalability of Adobe Illustrator, making it ideal for professional vector graphic creation.
See 58 mentions

See Related User Reviews

Lisa P.
LP

Lisa P.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

5.0/5

"Illustrator - from a rough start to a picture-perfect finish"

What do you like about Adobe Illustrator?

Create vector images with no pixelation, perfect lines, and numerous options to edit and personalize text. Accurately "trace" uploaded images that are

Verified User
U

Verified User

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

5.0/5

"Dont wait...Try it TODAY!!"

What do you like about Adobe Illustrator?

The interface is traditional. After all the updates, Illustrator is still the same tool and effective as it was 10+ years ago. As a former Corel Draw

3. Graphic Design
Users love the limitless functionality and intuitive design of Adobe Illustrator, making daily graphic design tasks easier.
See 54 mentions

See Related User Reviews

Verified User
U

Verified User

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

5.0/5

"Extremely powerful, professional vector software"

What do you like about Adobe Illustrator?

The limitless functionality and intuitive shortcuts, combined with its sleek UI, make it one of the most powerful tools on my computer—and a daily go-

Aaliya S.
AS

Aaliya S.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

4.0/5

"Adobe illustrator- A user’s review"

What do you like about Adobe Illustrator?

It helps in my process of graphic designing on a daily basis. With the new Ai tools, it is even more interesting and exactly what I need.

4. Adobe Integration
Users highly value the seamless Adobe integration in Illustrator, enhancing collaboration and workflow efficiency with other apps.
See 47 mentions

See Related User Reviews

Louise M.
LM

Louise M.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

5.0/5

"The industry standard"

What do you like about Adobe Illustrator?

Adobe Illustrator is the industry standard for vector graphics, so you can share and collaborate easily. It has professional features for print at lar

Riya V.
RV

Riya V.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

5.0/5

"Easy to use"

What do you like about Adobe Illustrator?

Adobe Illustrator is great for creating scalable vector graphics. It's user-friendly, powerful, and integrates well with other Adobe apps, making it i

5. Logo Design
Users love the powerful tools for creating original high-definition logos in Adobe Illustrator, enhancing their creative projects.
See 42 mentions

See Related User Reviews

Muazam Bokhari S.
MS

Muazam Bokhari S.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

5.0/5

"Amazing Software for High Definition Animations and logo with vector files"

What do you like about Adobe Illustrator?

It's really easy to use for making orginial high definition logos, animation even the cartoon charchters. It's easy to implenent with other third part

Tom R.
TR

Tom R.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

5.0/5

"The freedom of Creativity"

What do you like about Adobe Illustrator?

The freedom to create whatever I want. Illustrator has all the tools I need to complete any task. And anything that can be done on Photoshop can also

Top Cons or Disadvantages of Adobe Illustrator

1. Expensive
Users find Adobe Illustrator's expensive pricing increasingly burdensome, desiring more affordable options or bundles.
See 41 mentions

See Related User Reviews

Verified User
U

Verified User

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

5.0/5

"Extremely powerful, professional vector software"

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

Honestly, I don't see many faults or dislikes with this application other than the prohibitive cost barrier.

Verified User
U

Verified User

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

2.5/5

"A creative bundle not worth the sum of its parts"

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

The price keeps going up and each year I feel like I'm getting less value from it. I'd prefer either more specific, more affordable bundles or more af

2. Difficulty for Beginners
Users find Adobe Illustrator difficult for beginners, as its complexity and numerous features can be overwhelming at first.
See 40 mentions

See Related User Reviews

Aaliya S.
AS

Aaliya S.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

4.0/5

"Adobe illustrator- A user’s review"

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

It is a little difficult to navigate if you're new to graphic design

Sonja Rosalia P.
SP

Sonja Rosalia P.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

3.0/5

"Good software"

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

It takes a lot of time until you can properly use it

3. Learning Curve
Users find the steep learning curve of Adobe Illustrator challenging, especially for beginners getting started.
See 34 mentions

See Related User Reviews

PB

Patrick B.

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

5.0/5

"Robust and Feature Packed"

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

Large product downloads for install. Some of the products have a fairly high learning curve for some users.

Jen P.
JP

Jen P.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

4.5/5

"A Must-Have Tool for Marketing Design—Versatile, Precise, and Reliable"

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

Steep learning curve for beginners The subscription model may be costly for smaller teams

4. Learning Difficulty
Users report a steep learning curve in Adobe Illustrator, making it challenging for beginners to navigate effectively.
See 19 mentions

See Related User Reviews

Verified User
U

Verified User

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

5.0/5

"The Undisputed Industry Standard for Vector Creation"

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

While its power is a huge asset, the application remains notoriously resource intensive, often struggling with performance when managing extremely lar

Verified User
U

Verified User

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

4.0/5

"A powerful design tool with unmatched precision"

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

Illustrator has a steep learning curve, especially for beginners who may find the interface overwhelming at first. The software can also be resource-i

5. Slow Speed
Users experience slow speed with Adobe Illustrator, leading to lag and crashes during intensive project work.
See 18 mentions

See Related User Reviews

Muazam Bokhari S.
MS

Muazam Bokhari S.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

5.0/5

"Amazing Software for High Definition Animations and logo with vector files"

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

At least medium to high end system is must for adobe illustrator. Rendering takes time, of course it generate high end resolution so it's a fair deal.

Arielle M.
AM

Arielle M.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

5.0/5

"Great for graphic designers, marketing professionals and art lovers!"

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

When I have been working on a project for hours, or its file size has become pretty large, Illustrator will eventually lag and then crash. Also, the i

6. Tool Limitations
Users find tool limitations cumbersome, requiring extra effort to master Adobe Illustrator's features and settings.
See 12 mentions

See Related User Reviews

Verified User
U

Verified User

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

4.0/5

"Illustrator for Social Media Design"

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

Some limitations on how you set patterns about branding.

Cloe J.
CJ

Cloe J.

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

5.0/5

"Powerful Vector design"

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

I wish they didn't eliminate the smoothing line tool. It was so helpful. Please bring it back

Adobe Illustrator Reviews (5,878)

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Adobe Illustrator Reviews (5,878)

View 8 Video Reviews
4.6
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Byron K.
BK
Creative Media Manager
Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)
"Brings Dreams to Life with Ease"
What do you like best about Adobe Illustrator?

I love that Adobe Illustrator makes it simple to get started, offering most sizes and formats for media templated and having simple to use and innovative AI features that really bring dreams to life on the screen! I think the simple tutorials added by Adobe now make it where literally anyone can pick up and use Illustrator with no training, and that's awesome. I've been using Adobe since 1992 and love their products. In every role I've been in for work, I insist on having a Creative Cloud license. The setup is also very simple: just click install and go, download Creative Cloud and tell it to install. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

I think the biggest part of Illustrator that is a barrier to entry for most users is that it isn't the most intuitive tool if you are uninitiated. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Jonathan S.
JS
Marketing Coordinator
Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)
"A Powerful Design Tool That Elevates Our FQHC’s Branding and Community Messaging"
What do you like best about Adobe Illustrator?

Adobe Illustrator gives our rural West Virginia FQHC the flexibility to create clean, scalable graphics for everything from clinic signage and brochures to wellness campaigns and social media content. We rely heavily on it for creating logos, icons, medical infographics, health initiative branding, and provider introduction materials. Vector-based editing means everything stays crisp whether it’s printed on a flyer or blown up for a billboard. Illustrator also integrates seamlessly with Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and InDesign, which keeps our marketing workflow smooth and efficient. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

Illustrator has a steeper learning curve for new users, especially staff who aren’t familiar with vector graphics. It can also feel heavy on older machines, which is sometimes a challenge in rural offices with limited hardware resources. Some of the more advanced features are tucked behind panels that new users might miss without training. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Rhonda B.
RB
Media Communications | UX Generalist
Design
Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)
"Excellent Vector Graphic editor"
What do you like best about Adobe Illustrator?

Adobe Illustrator is the industry-standard vector design app. Its tool options, panels, and menus are logically organized and highly customizable. Plugin options and Firefly integration make generating vectors, unique patterns, and scenes fast and editable for production work. tool options panels and menus + plugin options.

Key metrics:

- Frequency of use: Daily — core app for concepting, asset creation, and final artwork.

- Ease of use: High — intuitive UI, context-sensitive tool options, and keyboard shortcuts shorten the learning curve.

- Ease of integration: High — plugins, Creative Cloud libraries, and export formats integrate smoothly into design and production pipelines.

What I like:

- UI & Panels: Clean, collapsible panels and contextual toolbars reduce clutter and speed workflows.

- Menus & Controls: Granular control over strokes, fills, brushes, gradients, and type; predictable behavior across tools.

- Plugin Ecosystem: Simple installation and management; plugins appear in panels and context menus for seamless access.

- Firefly Integration: Fast generation of editable vector shapes, repeatable patterns, textures, and scene elements that are SVG/SVG-ready and easy to refine.

- Vector Editing: AI-generated outputs are vector paths (not flattened), fully editable with boolean operations, live effects, and precise path tools. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

- Plugin discoverability: In-app marketplace could improve search, categorization, and ratings.

- Firefly controls: More advanced prompt parameters and style presets inside Illustrator would aid repeatable results. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Jeremy N.
JN
Graphic Designer
Design
Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)
"Flexible, User-Friendly Tool Perfect for Graphic Designers"
What do you like best about Adobe Illustrator?

Very nice, easy to use with all flexible features. You know, I'm graphic designer so I use it mostly for packaging, branding. One thing that I like most is vector-based graphics when I scale my image, but don't worry too much about loosing quality. Second, it also allows users can create their brushes then save it for later use. I often create my brushes too, so I can use it for draw the shapes, or line art around my character. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

I think this similar to Adobe Photoshop due to notification about continuous update. Whenever I open this software, I often see a notifications pop-up on my screen. But if I update this software, my origin saved workspace will be changed, and I continue to create it again. Moreover, sometimes it is a bit slower than before the update. Lastly, the cost using this is quite high for newer or people with low-income want to use it. After all, everything is good but Adobe need to change a little bit so it can available for all users. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Vishal J.
VJ
Software Developer
Information Technology and Services
Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)
"Vector Power Without Limits - if you're Willing to Climb the Learnin Curve"
What do you like best about Adobe Illustrator?

The scalability of vector graphics is unmatched - I can design something small for an app icon and blow it up for a poster without losing sharpness. What I enjoy most is the feeling of complete control over shapes, curves and lines. When I'm designing logos, icons, or UI elements, Illustrator lets me fine-tune every anchor exactly how I want. Illustrator precision tools (pen tool, shape builder, guides, snapping) make it feel like I'm sculpting, not just drawing. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

It requires decent hardware; large files or complex designs can slow things down, especially on lower-end laptops. Some tools feel hidden behind layers of menus, and remembering shortcuts becomes almost necessary for smooth workflow. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

SD
Software Engineer
Computer Software
Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)
"Precision Meets Creativity -- The Vector Tool That Never Gets Old"
What do you like best about Adobe Illustrator?

The vector-based system is what makes it powerful. Designs scale perfectly from business cards to billboards without losing quality. I also appreciate the integration with other Adobe tools -- moving files between Photoshop, InDesign, or After Effects feels smooth and professional. What I like most about Illustrator is the level of control it gives over every tiny detail. Whether I'm designing a logo, a poster, or a detailed Illustrator, I can adjust shapes, colors, and paths down to the pixel. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

Illustrator can feel intimidating for beginners. The interface is packed with tools, panels, and options that aren't instantly clear unless you invest time in learning. Even simple tasks can feel complex until you get the hang of the workflow. The subscription model can be tough for students or freelancers starting out. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Patrick G.
PG
Marketing Director
Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)
"My Go-To for everything Vector-based"
What do you like best about Adobe Illustrator?

Adobe Illustrator remains my go-to tool for creating clean, scalable graphics. It’s extremely powerful for logo design, technical illustrations, and vector layouts — everything stays crisp at any size. The precision tools, smart guides, and alignment options make it easy to produce professional results, even for detailed projects.

I also like how well it integrates with other Adobe apps like Photoshop and InDesign — the ecosystem makes it easy to move assets around when working on multi-format marketing or presentation materials. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

If there’s a downside, it’s that Illustrator can feel heavy at times and takes some system resources. The learning curve is steeper than simpler design tools, but once you understand the basics, it’s incredibly efficient and reliable.

Overall, it’s a benchmark in vector design — not the cheapest or lightest option, but definitely the most capable and precise. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Ashley T.
AT
Owner/Accountant
Accounting
Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)
"Must Have App for Any Beginner Designer"
What do you like best about Adobe Illustrator?

I like that Adobe Illustrator is how precise and professional it feels once you get more familiar with it. I use it mainly for logo design and vector images, and I love that everything scales pefectly without loosing quality. The pen tool my go to since i am a new to this, Image Trace and Shape Builder save a tone of time with raster images. Also It has a great integration with InDesign which makes moving between projects easier Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

A couple downsides are that it can be pretty intimidating at first. There are so many tools and panels that it takes a while to get comfortable. Sometimes it acts laggy with a bit heavier files, needs some optimization. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Yuvaraj K.
YK
Marketing Operations
Information Technology and Services
Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)
"Adobe Illustrator: Intuitive, Versatile, and Now Even Smarter with AI"
What do you like best about Adobe Illustrator?

Adobe Illustrator has been my preferred design tool since I began my journey as an arts student and later as a full-time graphic designer. Its user-friendly nature, combined with a clean and minimal interface, makes even the most complex design tasks feel straightforward. I appreciate its flexibility—whether I'm creating logos, vector illustrations, or preparing print-ready files, everything functions seamlessly. The precision and scalability it provides are truly exceptional, making it one of the most valuable tools for any creative professional. The addition of new AI-powered features, particularly Generative Fill, is exciting and genuinely accelerates the ideation process. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

At times, the software feels a bit heavy, particularly when working with large or complex files. The AI Generative Fill tool is impressive, though it still has room for improvement in terms of accuracy and context awareness. Additionally, I would appreciate quicker methods for syncing assets and preferences across different devices. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Avyan S.
AS
Software Developer
Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)
"Precision-First Design Tool That Never Runs Out of Headroom"
What do you like best about Adobe Illustrator?

The global colors, symbols, and asset libraries help maintain consistency across branding projects without rebuilding elements from scratch. Integration Illustrator with Photoshop, InDesign and other Adobe apps is seamless - I can update a graphic in Illustrator and see the change flow instantly into other files. The pen tool and curve controls are unmatched - once you get the hang of them, shaping lines feels almost like sculpting. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Adobe Illustrator?

For quick social-media design or lightweight projects, Illustrator can feel like "too much software" compared to simpler drag-and-drop tools. The subscription pricing can feel high for casual users who only need simple design tools occasionally. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.