Adobe Illustrator vs Adobe Photoshop
- ✦ Vector Design
- ✦ Pen Tool
- ✦ Typography
- ✦ Photo Editing
- ✦ Layer-based Design
- ✦ Generative Fill (AI)
Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop are both Design Tools tools. Compare features, pricing, and ratings below to find the best fit for your team.
When to Choose Adobe Illustrator vs Adobe Photoshop
The question that matters: “In what situation will I regret choosing A over B after 3 months?”
Image Trace converts raster sketches into vector paths in seconds. Refine anchor points with the Pen Tool afterward and cut icon production cycles by 40%.
One Camera RAW preset syncs white balance, contrast, and saturation across a full shoot folder via batch processing - no individual file opens required.
Illustrator Patterns sync fills across letterheads, packaging, and web assets from one definition. One update reduces inconsistency complaints by 85%.
Symbols export named icon sets as SVG sheets that developers parse directly - no file renaming, integration time falls from 4 hours to 20 minutes per release.
Content-Aware Fill selects and removes objects or reflections from product shots, cutting post-production time 65% on catalog-scale batches of 200+ images.
Generative Expand fills extended canvas edges with contextual backgrounds. One 1200×628 asset becomes Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn crops in seconds.
Pricing Comparison & PlansHigh· Verified May 29, 2026
Adobe Illustrator Plans
Paid plans only
Illustrator
FreeBest for: Ideal for individuals starting with graphic design, offering core features to learn and create without cost.
- ✓Full version of Illustrator for desktop, iPad, and web
- ✓100GB cloud storage
- ✓25 monthly generative credits
- ✓Adobe Express Premium plan access
- ✓20,000+ fonts
Creative Cloud Pro
FreeBest for: Provides access to a suite of creative tools for individuals, perfect for exploring various design disciplines at no charge.
- ✓20+ desktop and mobile apps (including Photoshop, Acrobat Pro, Lightroom, Illustrator, InDesign)
- ✓100GB cloud storage
- ✓4,000 monthly generative credits
- ✓Adobe Express Premium plan access
- ✓20,000+ fonts
Creative Cloud Pro (Students and teachers)
$20/moBest for: Tailored for educational users, this plan offers specialized pricing and features for students and teachers
- ✓20+ desktop and mobile apps (including Photoshop, Acrobat Pro, Lightroom, Illustrator, InDesign)
- ✓100GB cloud storage
- ✓4,000 monthly generative credits
- ✓Adobe Express Premium plan access
- ✓20,000+ fonts
Illustrator for Teams
$38/user/moBest for: Designed for collaborative environments, this plan provides Illustrator with team management and licensing benefits
- ✓Full version of Illustrator
- ✓500 generative credits
- ✓24/7 tech support
- ✓Slack and Microsoft Teams app integration
- ✓One-on-one expert sessions
Creative Cloud Pro Apps for Teams
$100/user/moBest for: Comprehensive suite for teams needing multiple Creative Cloud applications, including Illustrator, with centralized administration
- ✓20+ apps (including Illustrator, Firefly creative AI)
- ✓1000 generative credits
- ✓24/7 tech support
- ✓Slack and Microsoft Teams app integration
- ✓One-on-one expert sessions
Adobe Photoshop Plans
Paid plans only
Creative Cloud All Apps
$90/moBest for: This comprehensive plan includes Photoshop and all other Creative Cloud applications
- ✓All 20+ Adobe Creative Cloud applications (e.g., Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro)
- ✓100GB cloud storage
- ✓Full Firefly AI access
- ✓Adobe Fonts
- ✓10 free Adobe Stock images/month
Photography Plan (20GB)
$11/moBest for: This plan is ideal for photographers needing Photoshop and Lightroom with cloud storage
- ✓Photoshop
- ✓Lightroom
- ✓Lightroom Classic
- ✓Mobile versions of apps
- ✓Adobe Portfolio
Photography Plan (1TB)
$22/moBest for: Designed for professional photographers requiring extensive cloud storage alongside Photoshop and Lightroom
- ✓Photoshop
- ✓Lightroom
- ✓Lightroom Classic
- ✓Mobile versions of apps
- ✓Adobe Portfolio
Photoshop Single App
$23/moBest for: Perfect for users who only need Photoshop without other Creative Cloud apps
- ✓Photoshop desktop, web, and iPad
- ✓100GB Creative Cloud storage
- ✓Adobe Fonts access
- ✓Generative Fill, Harmonize, Generative Upscale
- ✓Adobe Express Premium plan
Photoshop for Teams
$24/user/moBest for: Tailored for businesses and teams needing Photoshop with collaborative features and centralized management
- ✓Photoshop desktop, web, and mobile
- ✓1TB cloud storage per user
- ✓Enhanced AI selection tools
- ✓Generative Fill improvements
- ✓Advanced layer management
Creative Cloud All Apps for Teams
$70/user/moBest for: Provides all Creative Cloud apps for teams, offering enhanced collaboration and administration
- ✓All 20+ Adobe Creative Cloud applications
- ✓1TB cloud storage per user
- ✓Full Firefly AI access
- ✓Adobe Fonts
- ✓Adobe Stock integration
Capability Breakdown
2 differences found across 18 standardized features
- •Vector Design
- •Pen Tool
- •Typography
- •Color Management
- •Artboards
- •Symbols
- •Patterns
- •Image Trace
- •3D Effects
- •Variable Fonts
- •Cloud Documents
- •Creative Cloud Libraries
- •Plugins
- •iPad Version
- •AI-powered Features (Generative)
- •Vector illustration
- •Desktop, iPad, and web access
- •Adobe Express Premium
- •Generative AI (Firefly)
- •Admin Console
- •Asset reclamation
- •Centralized IT deployment
- •24/7 dedicated support
- •1TB Cloud storage (teams)
- •20+ Creative Cloud apps
- •Font library (20,000+)
- •Photo Editing
- •Layer-based Design
- •Generative Fill (AI)
- •Generative Expand
- •Neural Filters
- •Object Selection
- •Content-Aware Fill
- •Camera RAW
- •Brushes
- •Masks & Channels
- •Smart Objects
- •Actions & Automation
- •3D
- •Cloud Documents
- •iPad Version
- •Generative AI (Firefly)
- •AI image generation
- •Desktop, web, and mobile access
- •Lightroom (Photography plan)
- •Adobe Express Premium
- •Admin Console (teams)
- •Asset reclamation
- •Company-owned libraries
- •1TB Cloud storage (teams)
- •20+ Creative Cloud apps
Strengths & Limitations
Evaluative strengths and weaknesses: not feature lists
- +Competitive pricing from $22.99/mo
- +AI-powered features built in
- −Premier Pro's editing program crashes a lot.
- −They have a significant weakness in photo editing, lacking options for node editing, non-linear decompositing, and layer managemen
- −Adobe Creative Cloud needs to improve the process of sending objects and files from one software to another.
- −Some of the Software's have bugs depending from multiple version which can be fixed.
- +Multiple pricing tiers (3 plans) to match different needs
- +AI-powered features built in
- −Adobe Photoshop can sometimes feel complex at first due to the number of tools and options available.
- −Adobe Photoshop's interface needs to be user-friendly.
At a Glance
Recent Price History
Adobe Illustrator updated "Creative Cloud All Apps for Teams" from $89.99/mo to Custom
Price change · May 29, 2026
Adobe Illustrator added a new "Creative Cloud All Apps" plan at $79.49/mo
Plan added · May 29, 2026
Adobe Illustrator added a new "Creative Cloud All Apps (Students and teachers)" plan (Custom pricing)
Plan added · May 29, 2026
Adobe Illustrator removed the "Illustrator (Individual)" plan
Plan removed · May 29, 2026
Adobe Illustrator removed the "Creative Cloud All Apps (Students & Teachers)" plan
Plan removed · May 29, 2026
Adobe Photoshop updated "Creative Cloud All Apps for Teams" from $89.99/mo to Custom
Price change · May 29, 2026
Adobe Photoshop removed the "Photography (1TB)" plan
Plan removed · May 29, 2026
Adobe Photoshop added a new "Photography Plan (20GB)" plan (Custom pricing)
Plan added · May 29, 2026
Adobe Photoshop removed the "Photography (20GB)" plan
Plan removed · May 29, 2026
Adobe Photoshop updated "Photoshop Single App" from $22.99/mo to Custom
Price change · May 29, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
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