Inkscape vs Illustrator?

Just wondering if anyone uses Inkscape? I'm wondering how it compares to Illustrator. Is it a good alternative?

Thanks, Paritydesigns. I've heard from some others they couldn't get Inkscape to load but I've have no problem on either my PC or Mac. I'm all ears so thanks for the Illustrator insight.

Yes, its a good alternative.
Lets see..
Illustrator:
Pros;
Definitely the best vector software in the market with an awesome bundle of features. If you learn them all, you are a Pro.
Looks good on Portfolio
Gives you more what you need if you are just a graphic designer.
Cons;
OVERPRICED(heavily)...The only Heavy anchor slowing this Black pearl.

Inkscape:
Pros;
FREE... The mighty Armour.
features...sufficient for a good graphic designer. Can easily challenge Illustrator in almost everything..format support/tools/availability and all for free.
Cons:
lags or stops in most PCs, that is beacause of the updates..You have to install a few updates before you get the right one. The trick is..go for older updates if you have to, new is not necessarily the one for your PC.
Isn't famous as much as illustrator or corel. If you show that on a portfolio. The HR might not show it, but will take you as unprofessional.

My take: Use inkscape, earn a few bucks, get illustrator, get rid of this discussion, it has started to stink. :-p

If adobe dont start making apps for tablets Inkscape and its cousins maybe the only way to go in the near future

Yes, its a good alternative.
Lets see..
Illustrator:
Pros;
Definitely the best vector software in the market with an awesome bundle of features. If you learn them all, you are a Pro.
Looks good on Portfolio
Gives you more what you need if you are just a graphic designer.
Cons;
OVERPRICED(heavily)...The only Heavy anchor slowing this Black pearl.

Inkscape:
Pros;
FREE... The mighty Armour.
features...sufficient for a good graphic designer. Can easily challenge Illustrator in almost everything..format support/tools/availability and all for free.
Cons:
lags or stops in most PCs, that is beacause of the updates..You have to install a few updates before you get the right one. The trick is..go for older updates if you have to, new is not necessarily the one for your PC.
Isn't famous as much as illustrator or corel. If you show that on a portfolio. The HR might not show it, but will take you as unprofessional.

My take: Use inkscape, earn a few bucks, get illustrator, get rid of this discussion, it has started to stink. :-p

If your work is good, you will get hired even if you used crayons. Inkscape can do pretty much anything Illustrator can, and for logo design, what else could you possibly need? Inkscape works great on Linux machines. For those of you who have bad experiences with Inkscape crashing, it's not Inkscape, it's Windows.

If your work is good, you will get hired even if you used crayons. Inkscape can do pretty much anything Illustrator can, and for logo design, what else could you possibly need? Inkscape works great on Linux machines. For those of you who have bad experiences with Inkscape crashing, it's not Inkscape, it's Windows.

I don't use Inkscape so I don't know if this is true anymore, but I have read that Inkscape does not support cmyk/spot colors or profiles. If so then that is a major issue for logo and print design. So that is one reason why Illustrator would be better.

I have to agree. I made the jump from years and years of frustration with Windows to near PC bliss with Linux a couple years ago. Now, with all the modern, user friendly versions of Linux available, the jump is more like a hop. I thoroughly enjoy Inkscape and find that it has far more features than I need for most any design project.

Inkscape does indeed support CMYK profiles. Not real simple nor right "out of the box" though. Google "inkscape cmyk" for more info.

Inkscape does indeed support CMYK profiles. Not real simple nor right "out of the box" though. Google "inkscape cmyk" for more info.

Oh ok, thankyou for the information. Maybe what I was reading that day was inaccurate. I kept hearing about using Scribus for output..

You are most welcome. Scribus is another nice tool, very much catering toward pre-press. It's also worth learning and using. Thanks so much!

I design almost exclusively with Inkscape. On occasion, I'll use GIMP for converting files from .png to .jpg and such. But all my designing is done in Inkscape. Going on 5 years now, Inkscape has never let me down.

I also have always used Inkscape. I have the GIMP, Inkscape, and an older version of Photoshop Elements and so far, they haven't limited me. If I return to school for design, they roll the cost of a Macbook Pro & the newest version of Adobe CS and other programs into the tuition price. I think that would be the only way I'd be able to learn Illustrator.

I am using Inkscape and This is my favorite. especially valuable and illustrator cheaper alternative I recommend

Inkscap is free licence software , and for now- free licence is the biggest (and probably the only) advantage compared to Ilustrator. Implementation of SVG and CSS standards is still incomplete.The most obvious is the lack of support for animation in Inkscape. But however Inkscape is one good newness , wich have potencial to became dignified competitors to Illustarotor and CorelDRAW.

I downloaded Inkscape just yesterday and noticed it doesn't have built in support for exporting to the .eps format. I read elsewhere you have to install something called Ghost-script and some other tool as well.

Inkscape is for those people who stand for the free world, those people who rise against the corporate world. Its for us to keep, its for us to develop.

Edited by finestroke, 05 September 2013 - 04:42 PM.

It will never be as good as Illustrator. I worked with both. Well, I worked with Inkscape, but when I switched to Illustrator it almost changed my life:P No, but really, I think Illustrator is more intuitive. But maybe it's just the matter of what you prefer. And true, Illustrator and all Adobe products are quite expensive. If not the discount for students (80% less than regular price), I wouldn't have my Master Collection

It will never be as good as Illustrator.

Maybe. But I started with CorelDRAW 2.0 (W4WG time), over to OS/2 and now (more than decade) on Linux. My humble experience is either you can (draw) or ... Spending huge amount of money doesn't solve anything.

Maybe. But I started with CorelDRAW 2.0 (W4WG time), over to OS/2 and now (more than decade) on Linux. My humble experience is either you can (draw) or ... Spending huge amount of money doesn't solve anything.

True.

Inkscape the best, but it have not CMYK color profile:(