Is Adobe Illustrator Worth the Money? How to Decide

Adobe Illustrator is a popular tool many professionals utilize in the workplace. If you’re interested in what Adobe Illustrator offers, you might wonder – is Adobe Illustrator worth the money? Are you wasting your time by investing in this service? It’s much pricier than the average illustrator system.

If you pay for Adobe Illustrator, you’re not wasting your money. It’s an excellent service with plenty to offer for amateurs and professionals alike. You will get plenty of use out of Adobe Illustrator on your computer.

Still, the value of Adobe Illustrator can depend on specific circumstances. Read on to learn more about what makes Adobe Illustrator worth it and what might make it less valuable for an individual. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get started so you can make an informed decision for your life.

How Often Will You Use Adobe Illustrator?

One of the most telling items when considering if something is worth it is how often you will utilize the tool. Will you open it up once a month or take advantage of the service multiple times a day? If you use it twenty times in a month, it will cost you about a dollar a use. Utilizing it once a month means twenty dollars when you open it.

If you have another job unrelated to Adobe Illustrator, it might take you away from the service. Don’t invest in it if you’re going to push it off to the side like something much cheaper. It’s not worth your money if it’s not a priority in your life, as there are different items you can invest in for design purposes.

What Will You Use Adobe Illustrator For in Life?

Next, it’s time to consider what you’ll use the software to do. What will you utilize Adobe Illustrator for in your life? Will it be for functions you could complete with a more affordable software, or will it come in handy for more professional reasons in the future? Consider what you’re going to utilize Adobe Illustrator for in your life.

A few of the most common things people utilize Adobe Illustrator for include the following:

  • Graphic design
  • Illustration
  • Comic book art
  • Designs on Placeit.net

It’s the industry standard for layouts and illustration, as it makes everything pristine and beautiful.

If you want Adobe Illustrator solely to make a pretty poster, you might want to rethink your desires. There are plenty of affordable programs that can complete this task for much less. It’s not worth it in this case.

What Can You Afford?

Adobe Illustrator is $20.99 a month. That’s about four times the cost of most movie subscriptions, and more than $200 a year. That price point might not be affordable to people who aren’t using the software for the benefit of their careers. It’s critical to think about this aspect. What can you afford?

Before you invest in Adobe Illustrator, consider:

  • Grocery bills
  • Housing expenses
  • Gas bills
  • Emergency costs

These should come before Adobe Illustrator unless the program is critical to your job.

If you factor in your monthly expenses and Adobe Illustrator makes a decent impact, you might want to wait until you make more to purchase it. Unless it will bring in more income, it’s not worth it if you’re already pushing to make payments on time. Don’t splurge on software if it will destroy other aspects of your life.

How Comfortable Are You?

What is your experience level with Adobe Platforms? If you have no idea what you’re doing, you might pay for a few months that are nothing but a learning curve. 

Before you put all that money down on Adobe Illustrator, educate yourself. Watch YouTube videos and enroll in courses to become familiar with the system. If you still want it after that, you’ll feel comfortable with the program right away.

What Advantages Will Benefit You?

There are plenty of advantages that come with Adobe Illustrator. It’s critical to look at these and consider if any will benefit you, or if all are unrelated to where you stand in life. Let’s take a look at the advantages that professionals find with Adobe Illustrator. 

Some advantages that come with Adobe Illustrator include the following:

  • It improves precisions in design
  • It has infinite resolution with vectors in AI
  • It has tons of tools anyone can take advantage of for design
  • It works with all Adobe systems, such as Photoshop and InDesign

If you already have Adobe systems, it can come in handy to bring all tools together in one location.

Professionals will find plenty of benefits to the tools offered in Adobe Illustrator.  If the steep learning curve does not match the advantages, Adobe Illustrator is not worth the money. 

Are There Cheaper Alternatives?

It’s also critical to consider the alternatives to Adobe Illustrator, all of which are much cheaper. Although they offer fewer features, they’re well worth it if you don’t need Adobe Illustrator for professional purposes.

The cheapest alternatives to Adobe Illustrator include:

  • Placeit (our recommendation)
  • CorelDRAW
  • Affinity Designer
  • Inkscape
  • Gravit

These are all more affordable, and even free, alternatives to the more expensive Adobe Illustrator.

Check out these alternatives and see if they have the tools you need. If they do, Adobe Illustrator is not worth your money. Ensure you make the best investment for your current situation.

Conclusion

If you’re an artist or graphic designer, Adobe Illustrator might be of interest in your life. Unfortunately, it’s an expensive service. It’s only worth it if you can afford it, if it will bring you more income, or if there are advantages that will benefit you. If you can’t afford it, there’s no point in purchasing it.

We hope this information was helpful! There’s a lot to consider before paying for technology like Adobe Illustrator with the expensive price tag. If you can fork over the money, it’s worth it. Otherwise, stay away.