Free Illustrator Alternative for Logos: 4 Tools Compared

A free Illustrator alternative can handle most logo jobs. Pick Inkscape to edit a logo and export a print file, Affinity if your printer wants CMYK and Pantone, Vectorpea if you can’t install anything, and Figma’s free plan for a simple logo used on screens.

	Inkscape 1.4.4	Affinity (by Canva)	Vectorpea	Figma (Starter plan)
Price, November 2026	Free, open source	Free for individuals; Canva AI tools need a premium plan	Free	Free; 3 Figma Design files, unlimited drafts
Account	None	Free Canva account	None to start	Free Figma account
Runs on	Linux, macOS, Windows	macOS, Windows, iPad	Web browser	Browser; apps for macOS and Windows
Export formats for a logo	SVG, PDF, EPS, DXF	SVG, PDF, EPS, DXF	SVG, PDF, DXF, AI	SVG, PDF
Illustrator .ai files	Opens PDF-compatible ones; can’t save	Opens PDF-compatible ones; can’t save	AI support listed; Save as AI, untested in Illustrator	Not in its import list
CMYK for print	RGB; CMYK through Scribus	CMYK documents, Pantone spot colors	RGB profiles only	sRGB or Display P3 only
JPG or PNG to shapes	Path > Trace Bitmap	Vector > Image Trace (desktop)	Vectorize Bitmap button (top bar)	Vectorize, using AI credits

How much does a free Illustrator alternative cost?

Inkscape, Affinity, Vectorpea and Figma’s Starter plan all cost nothing to start; Affinity and Figma keep some features for paying users. For comparison, in November 2026 Adobe charges US$22.99 per month for Illustrator on a yearly commitment paid monthly, a subscription that starts with a 7-day free trial.

Inkscape is a free and open-source vector graphics editor, released under the GPL, for Linux, Windows and macOS, according to inkscape.org. Version 1.4.4, released May 6, 2026, is the current one; how it measures up to the paid program is in our Inkscape vs Illustrator comparison.
Affinity is “free for individuals (seriously),” its home page says, and the free app includes every vector, pixel and layout tool. Only Canva’s AI tools inside the app, such as generating a vector from a prompt, need a premium Canva plan. Canva launched this free app in October 2025, and the Affinity Store that sold Designer 2 is no longer available.
Vectorpea, from the developer of Photopea, is “a free online tool for editing vector graphics,” per its developer’s page. Its home screen still carries a Beta label.
Figma’s Starter plan is free, with unlimited drafts but 3 Figma Design files in its one shared folder, and, per Figma’s pricing page, 150 AI credits a day (500 a month at most).

Do you need an account or an installation?

Inkscape and Vectorpea need no account; Affinity and Figma need a free one. Inkscape installs from its download page. Affinity asks you to sign in with a Canva account to download it, and to be online to activate it; after that, Canva says you can work offline. Affinity installs on macOS and Windows; as of November 2026, an iPad version is also free on the App Store. Vectorpea is browser-based: we opened it and created a project without signing in. Figma runs in the browser or in desktop apps for macOS and Windows, once you create a free account.

Which free vector software opens or saves an Illustrator .ai file?

Inkscape and Affinity open an .ai file saved with PDF compatibility, and neither can save one. That option makes Illustrator embed a full copy of its own data inside a PDF, Wikipedia explains, and that PDF part is what these programs read.

Inkscape imports .ai files from Illustrator 9 and later; its list of export formats offers PDF, EPS and DXF, no AI.
Affinity needs the embedded PDF content to display an .ai, and its help states that exporting to .ai isn’t possible.
Vectorpea lists AI support, and its File menu has a Save as AI command. Check with whoever asked for the .ai that the file opens on their side.
Figma doesn’t list .ai among the files it imports.

If an .ai refuses to open anywhere, our guide to the AI file explains why and what to ask for instead.

Which ones export the SVG, PDF or EPS your printer asks for?

Inkscape and Affinity both save SVG, PDF, EPS and DXF; Vectorpea saves SVG, PDF and DXF; Figma saves SVG and PDF. In a vector file, your logo is kept as outlined shapes, so it stays sharp when a printer enlarges it, unlike a JPG made of pixels.

EPS is the gap: neither Vectorpea’s export menu nor Figma’s export list includes it. Affinity’s file table also advises against swapping files between Affinity and CAD software, so check a DXF before sending it to a cutting shop. Other browser editors, each with its own export menu, appear in our roundup of online vector drawing apps.

Can a free alternative make a CMYK file with Pantone colors?

Affinity prepares a CMYK print file on its own (CMYK stands for the four process inks used in printing): a new document can use a CMYK color model, and its Pantone colors become spot colors, kept in the PDF when you tick Honor spot colors.

Inkscape’s documents are RGB, the way screens mix color. Its FAQ says it doesn’t support color management on export and points to Scribus for CMYK. The release notes for Inkscape 1.5, a version not yet released in November 2026, list CMYK among the color spaces of its new color management system. Figma exports in sRGB or Display P3. Vectorpea’s Convert to Profile menu offered four RGB profiles when we checked: sRGB, Adobe RGB, ProPhoto RGB and Display P3.

Which free tools turn a JPG or PNG logo into shapes?

As of November 2026, all four can convert a JPG or PNG into editable shapes you can then fix node by node. Vectorpea’s command isn’t in its menus: select the image, and a Vectorize Bitmap button appears in the bar at the top of the screen.

Inkscape: Path > Trace Bitmap (Shift+Alt+B). The manual says it works best on dark silhouettes set against a light background, and our Trace Bitmap guide lists the settings that matter for a logo.
Affinity: Vector > Image Trace, desktop only, with two settings, Edge Threshold and Curve-fitting tolerance. Affinity’s help recommends a high-resolution source image.
Figma: Vectorize, a Figma AI feature that Figma lists for the Starter plan in November 2026. It draws on your AI credits.

Online converters and paid engines such as Vector Magic are weighed in our guide to vectorization software.

Why aren’t Gravit Designer or Boxy SVG on this list?

Gravit Designer no longer exists. Its successor, Corel Vector (formerly Gravit Designer Pro), was retired on August 31, 2025, and Corel warned that the software and stored files would no longer be available after that date. Boxy SVG’s website didn’t confirm a free plan when we checked in November 2026, so it stays out.

Inkscape, Affinity, Vectorpea or Figma: which Illustrator alternative fits your logo?

No single free alternative to Adobe Illustrator wins every job. Five common situations, and the tool that fits each:

You have an SVG and want to recolor it or add a tagline. Pick Inkscape. SVG is its main file format, so you change the logo and save it again without creating an account; our guide to editing an SVG file walks through each change.
Your printer wants a CMYK PDF with a Pantone color. Pick Affinity. CMYK documents and Pantone spot colors are built in, at no cost.
You’re on a work computer where you can’t install anything. Pick Vectorpea. It runs in the browser, and you can start without an account.
Someone asks you for an .ai file. Find out whether a PDF or an EPS would be accepted instead. If it has to be an .ai, Vectorpea is the only one of the four with a Save as AI command; send a test file before the real one.
Your website and social graphics already live in Figma. Use Figma for an SVG of a simple logo. For print, move the logo to Inkscape or Affinity.

Which file should your printer get from a free program?

Give your printer a print-ready vector PDF, SVG or EPS: text converted to outlines, no pixel image hidden inside, no leftover background rectangle.

Convert the text, so your printer doesn’t need your font: Ctrl+Shift+C in Inkscape (its manual advises it for a logo saved as PDF), Vector > Convert to Curves in Affinity. Figma’s SVG export outlines text by default.
Delete the original JPG or PNG once you’ve converted it to shapes.
Keep a master copy in the program’s own format (Inkscape SVG, Affinity .af) and export a copy for the printer.
Set CMYK only if your printer asks for it, and tell them if your program can’t.

A PNG with enough pixels is accepted for many digital prints; a vector file is a must for cutting machines and the usual request for screen printing.

Only need the vector file, not a new program?

If your logo exists as a JPG and only needs to become a vector file, you don’t have to choose a program at all. Depixelise converts it on our server in about ten seconds: PNG, JPG, WebP or SVG in, up to 10 MB, background removed automatically. You can zoom to 400% or 800% to check every letter.

By email you get an SVG, a transparent PNG measuring 2,000 pixels across, a single-color version and a negative for dark backgrounds. The pack is 100% free: no account, no card number, no watermark on any file, and any printer you choose can use the files as they are. There’s nothing to edit point by point, though, and no .ai or PDF in the pack. When the JPG is very small, the converter enlarges it and rebuilds its shapes, so hold the result up against your original letter by letter.

FAQ

Can you still buy Affinity Designer 2?

No. Affinity’s help says the Affinity Store is no longer available. A Designer 2 license you already own stays valid and its activation servers stay online, but no further feature updates are planned; Affinity recommends the free Affinity by Canva app instead.

How many logos can you make on Figma’s free plan?

As many as you like in drafts, which are unlimited on the Starter plan. The cap of 3 applies to Figma Design and Figma Sites files in the plan’s shared folder, according to Figma’s help.

Can someone with Illustrator edit a logo made in Affinity?

Partly. Affinity’s FAQ says its PDF and SVG exports open in Illustrator, but this “does not preserve full editability.” Send a PDF or SVG with the text converted to curves, and keep the Affinity file as your master.

What is Scribus, and why does Inkscape point to it?

Scribus is open-source desktop publishing software. Inkscape’s FAQ suggests importing your RGB SVG into Scribus, setting the color profiles there and letting Scribus produce the CMYK file for print.