Design software includes features like design templates, photo editing, collaboration, and cloud storage. In today’s digital world, small businesses without a technology-enabled approach to graphic and social media design are falling behind.

This article will discuss the differences between two of the largest players in this space: Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop. We’ll discuss the notable strengths and weaknesses of each tool, and provide recommendations for who each tool will suit best.

All of our recommendations are based on research, product demos with the software companies, and dozens of hours spent hand-testing design tools. More details regarding our research process can be found on our design category page.

Adobe Illustrator & Adobe Photoshop Comparison Summary

We researched and extensively tested both Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop. Both Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop received a rating of 94.

Here’s a breakdown of our review criteria and how Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop performed in each category:

In terms of pricing, both applications start at $20.99 per user per month.

Both solutions offer the standard features found across design tools. These include design types, tool kits, collaboration features, cloud storage, and exporting options. Adobe Illustrator does not have robust photo editing like Adobe Photoshop does. Adobe Illustrator’s strongest features are its scalable graphic design capabilities.

Overall, Adobe Photoshop is best for businesses in need of truly advanced photo editing and design software, no matter the steep learning curve. Adobe Illustrator, on the other hand, is the best option for advanced graphic designers looking to create high quality graphics with little beginner-friendly assistance.

Here’s a quick breakdown of who will prefer each option:

Table of Contents

• Adobe Illustrator & Adobe Photoshop Comparison Summary
• Adobe Illustrator & Adobe Photoshop Price Comparison
  • Adobe Illustrator Pricing
  • Adobe Photoshop Pricing
• Adobe Illustrator & Adobe Photoshop Top Feature Comparison
  • Designs
  • Tool Kit
  • Collaboration
  • Cloud Storage
  • Exporting
• Adobe Illustrator & Adobe Photoshop Integrations
• Bottom Line

Adobe Illustrator & Adobe Photoshop Price Comparison

Overall, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop are similarly priced. Both solutions offer more expensive business plans with additional admins features.

Adobe Illustrator Pricing Details

Adobe Illustrator pricing starts at $20.99 per user per month. The business plan costs $33.99 per user per month and offers additional features such as an admin console and advanced technical support.

Note that Adobe Illustrator is included with Adobe Creative Cloud. This plan is $52.99 per user per month and features other Adobe products such as Adobe XD and Photoshop.

Adobe Photoshop Pricing Details

Adobe Photoshop pricing starts at $20.99 per user per month. The business plan costs $33.99 per user per month and offers additional features such as an admin console and advanced technical support.

Adobe Photoshop is also included with Adobe Creative Cloud.

Adobe Illustrator & Adobe Photoshop Feature Comparison

Overall, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop have a similar breadth of features for different user bases. Adobe Illustrator features are more focused on scalable graphic creation. Adobe Photoshop offers more advanced photo editing.

For a full analysis of each solution’s features, read our Adobe Illustrator review and Adobe Photoshop review.

Designs

Both Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop offer various design types to create. Both solutions come with a number of templates to create designs from. However, user-friendly options like Canva and Visme come with far more options.

Templates for both solutions help you create the following:

Tool Kit

Adobe Photoshop’s tool kit is similar to Adobe Illustrator’s. However, it is built more for photo editing, while Illustrator’s is built for scalable graphic creation. Both solutions offer some of the most advanced tool kits of any design software we’ve analyzed.

You can access the following tools when editing content in Adobe Photoshop:

Although Photoshop’s tool kit is advanced, it is in no way designed for beginner designers. Photoshop and Illustrator’s set of tools are designed to be used for far more use cases than Canva and Visme’s. A direct trade off of this flexibility is their far steeper learning curve.

Photo editing in Adobe Illustrator is limited when compared to Adobe Photoshop. However, it is more comprehensive than alternatives like Canva and Visme.

You can make very basic adjustments to your images. This includes:

Collaboration

Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator’s collaboration capabilities are its weakest points. They do not feature real time editing like Canva and Visme.

Projects cannot be edited by team members at any time. Furthermore, commenting must be done on Adobe Creative Cloud’s website. This breaks your workflow apart and might cause potential miscommunication.

Cloud Storage

Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop can be fully cloud-based like Canva. You have the option to keep files fully in the cloud or save local files for personal use. This means that you do not need to save your own projects before uploading them to the cloud which takes up space on your hard drive.

Version control is strong in both applications as well. You can access and restore versions up to 30 days old. You can name various versions. This makes restoring larger files easier.

Exporting

Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator’s exporting options are not built for marketers and content creators. You can, however, export images at much higher resolutions than alternatives.

You can export your file as the following in Adobe Photoshop:

Adobe Illustrator, conversely, offers the following exporting options:

You cannot directly post to social media platforms like Canva and Visme. If you primarily leverage design software for social media content, this will be an extra step in your workflow to consider.

Integrations

Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop both offer a number of popular integrations found in standard design software. Here are some of the most popular native integrations both solutions offer:

Bottom Line

Overall, Adobe Photoshop is best for businesses in need of truly advanced photo editing and design software, no matter the steep learning curve. Adobe Illustrator, on the other hand, is the best option for advanced graphic designers looking to create high quality graphics with little beginner-friendly assistance.

If you’re interested, visit Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop today to get started.