How Much Does Adobe Illustrator Cost?
Adobe Illustrator is a popular vector-based graphics editor by Adobe Systems, a software platform part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud suite.
How much does Adobe Illustrator cost?
The cost of the newest Adobe Illustrator is only sold as a subscription-based model. A single app for individuals, students and teachers can cost $19.99 per month, while businesses will have to pay $29.99 per month, according to Adobe’s official pricing sheet.
As for the older versions, some are still available on eBay and with various retailers. Refer to our table to see what the average cost is:
| Version | Average Price for Illustrator Only |
|---|---|
| Adobe Illustrator CS2 | $30 |
| Adobe Illustrator CS3 | $55 |
| Adobe Illustrator CS4 | $125 |
| Adobe Illustrator CS5 | $600 |
| Adobe Illustrator CS6 | $995 |
| Adobe Illustrator 10 | $60 |
| Adobe Illustrator 9.0 | $35 |
| Adobe Illustrator 8.0 | $25 |
NOTE: These were prices gathered from various retailers online and sold listings on eBay. As mentioned later, you can no longer purchase Illustrator with a one-time fee; instead, you need to pay a monthly fee. Your results may vary.
Adobe Illustrator overview
The single app purchase, aside from Adobe Illustrator, will also include your own portfolio website, premium fonts, 24/7 technical support and 100GB of cloud storage. As for the older versions, it will often come with the case, a unique serial number and simple user guide. All hardcopy CDs from older versions won’t come with upgrades.
Adobe Illustrator is the industry-standard in vector drawing and editing for professional design and artwork. Users will be able to create virtually anything ranging from websites to video games. The software enables graphic designers to work with sketches, typography, and illustrations for print, video, web and mobile.
Illustrator comes with thousands of royalty-free stock art and all projects can be integrated with Animate CC, After Effects and Premier Pro.
What are the extra costs?
To learn the software, you may want to purchase some self-help books. Depending on the type, the costs of a highly rated guide can range anywhere from $20 to $50. There are also seminars and classes that you can take. While optional, it may be something to budget for.
Tips to know:
As of January 2017, CS6 is no longer available for sale by Adobe due to no longer offering technical support for the older versions. If you want to purchase directly from Adobe, it must be done via the Creative Cloud application.
How can I save money?
If you look around, there are several coupon codes available that can help cut down the price.
Additionally, there is always the option of buying a used copy. If you decide to buy an older version of the software (that is still quite suitable for the task), chances are you can get it even cheaper. On eBay, for instance, you can find older copies for as little as a few dollars.
Consider other alternatives to Illustrator like Corel Draw, Inkscape, SVG-Edit, Skencil, SK1 and GIMP. Most of these open-source platforms are free and will not require any up-front or monthly fees.
Illustrator does offer a 30-day free trial. If you have never worked with the software before, consider downloading it to see if it is something that you want.
If you need more than Illustrator, consider the “All Apps” package, which includes 20+ apps such as Photoshop and XD.
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