Adobe Illustrator vs Graphite
Adobe Illustrator and Graphite are both image editing software. Adobe Illustrator is a commercial product from Adobe Inc. Graphite is open source under Apache-2.0, with 28k GitHub stars.
Which to pick
- Pick Adobe Illustrator when
- You produce professional vector artwork or need to exchange AI and EPS files with print and brand agencies.
- Pick Graphite when
- You want to experiment with procedural, non-destructive 2D design in an open-source tool.
Side by side
The standard vector graphics editor for logos, illustration, icons and print layouts.
A browser-based vector and raster graphics editor that combines layers with a node-based procedural engine for design, digital art and motion graphics.
Subscription only and steep to learn; Affinity Designer covers much of it without a subscription.
Still alpha with no tagged releases; not yet a replacement for Illustrator or Photoshop.
Production-ready
Experimental
Desktop app
Cloud service and desktop app
Not published
Rust, Svelte and TypeScript
Closed source, sold by Adobe Inc.
Open source, Apache-2.0 (permissive)
Closed source: you use it under the maker's terms and cannot change or resell the code.
You can build it into a product you sell, as long as you keep its copyright notice.
2.8k Wikipedia readers a month on phones
28k GitHub stars
Not known
Established: started 6 years ago, no tagged release yet.
Other comparisons
More image editors
Both sides were judged on 2026-11-03 from makers' descriptions, Wikipedia, READMEs and GitHub data. License, age and popularity lines are worked out directly.