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Design Tools · head to head

Adobe Illustrator vs Adobe XD

Adobe Illustrator logo

Adobe Illustrator

Design Tools

Professional vector graphics software

From
$22.99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Adobe XD logo

Adobe XD

Design

Design, prototype, and share user experiences

From
$54.99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Adobe Illustrator listed on UK G-Cloud as part of Adobe Creative Cloud (which bundles Illustrator) at £58 to £80 per licence per month, via reseller ServiceKey; Adobe XD standalone subscription eliminated - now requires expensive Creative Cloud All Apps plan
  • They diverge on capability: Adobe Illustrator covers Vector drawing, Adobe XD covers Vector design tools.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Adobe Illustrator and Adobe XD actually diverge.

Attributes where Adobe Illustrator and Adobe XD differ
AttributeAdobe IllustratorAdobe XD
Starting price$22.99/month$54.99/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
PlatformsWindows, Macos, IosWeb, macOS, Windows
CategoryDesign ToolsDesign
Founded19822015

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Adobe Illustrator

  • Vector drawing
  • Bezier tools
  • Shape tools
  • Typography
  • Gradients & effects
  • Symbols & instances
  • Artboards
  • 3D capabilities

Only in Adobe XD

  • Vector design tools
  • Responsive resize
  • Auto-animate
  • Voice prototyping
  • 3D transforms
  • Design systems
  • Component states
  • Coediting

Both cover

  • Photoshop
  • Creative Cloud
  • Desktop deployment

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Adobe Illustrator

  • Logo designnot Adobe XD
  • Vector illustrationnot Adobe XD
  • Icon designnot Adobe XD
  • Print designnot Adobe XD

Adobe XD

  • Web designnot Adobe Illustrator
  • Mobile app designnot Adobe Illustrator
  • Design systemsnot Adobe Illustrator
  • Interactive prototypesnot Adobe Illustrator
  • User testingnot Adobe Illustrator

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Adobe Illustrator

  • Listed on UK G-Cloud as part of Adobe Creative Cloud (which bundles Illustrator) at £58 to £80 per licence per month, via reseller ServiceKey

Adobe XD

  • Standalone subscription eliminated - now requires expensive Creative Cloud All Apps plan
  • Mac-first design tool with more limited Windows support
  • Collaboration features are less mature compared to Figma
  • Not open source unlike alternatives like Penpot
  • Higher price point than competing standalone design tools

Pricing, plan by plan

Adobe Illustrator

$22.99/month
  • Single App$22.99/month
    • Illustrator desktop app
    • 100GB cloud storage
    • Adobe Fonts
  • All Apps$59.99/month
    • All Creative Cloud apps
    • 100GB cloud storage
    • Adobe Stock trial

Adobe XD

$54.99/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Adobe XD review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Adobe Illustrator if

  • You need vector drawing.
  • You work on Windows, Macos, Ios.
  • You also want bezier tools.
Adobe Illustrator review

Choose Adobe XD if

  • You need vector design tools.
  • You work on Web, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want responsive resize.
Adobe XD review

Questions people ask

Is Adobe Illustrator or Adobe XD better?
Neither clearly leads. Adobe Illustrator starts at $22.99/month and Adobe XD at $54.99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Adobe Illustrator or Adobe XD?
Adobe Illustrator starts at $22.99/month and Adobe XD at $54.99/month.
Does Adobe Illustrator or Adobe XD run on more platforms?
Adobe Illustrator runs on Windows, Macos, Ios. Adobe XD runs on Web, macOS, Windows.
What is Adobe Illustrator best used for?
Adobe Illustrator is most often used for logo design, vector illustration, icon design, print design. Of those, logo design and vector illustration are not what Adobe XD is typically brought in for.
What can Adobe Illustrator do that Adobe XD cannot?
Adobe Illustrator covers Vector drawing, Bezier tools, Shape tools, Typography. Adobe XD covers Vector design tools, Responsive resize, Auto-animate, Voice prototyping. Both handle Photoshop, Creative Cloud, Desktop deployment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Adobe XD: Can I use Adobe XD without a full Creative Cloud subscription?

No. Adobe XD is no longer available as a standalone subscription. It is only available as part of Creative Cloud All Apps plan priced from $54.99 to $69.99 per month.

Source
Adobe XD: What file formats does Adobe XD support?

Adobe XD supports XD format natively, with import/export capabilities for other design formats and vector graphics.

Source
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Related pages

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