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Adobe Illustrator vs Adobe Photoshop comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Adobe Illustrator
Ranking in Graphic Design Software
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Adobe Photoshop
Ranking in Graphic Design Software
2nd
Average Rating
10.0
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Graphic Design Software category, the mindshare of Adobe Illustrator is 5.2%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Adobe Photoshop is 4.5%, down from 6.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Graphic Design Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Adobe Photoshop4.5%
Adobe Illustrator5.2%
Other90.3%
Graphic Design Software
 

Featured Reviews

SuperSonic - PeerSpot reviewer
Experience Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Intuitive vector editing has improved illustration quality and supports smooth team collaboration
Learning and training new team members on Adobe Illustrator is quite easy. Adobe Illustrator integrates nicely with other tools or software I use, as it has most of the integrations. I manage version control or file management with Adobe Illustrator, and it is easy to keep files organized. I do not remember how often I receive updates or new features in Adobe Illustrator, but the frequency is acceptable. Adobe Illustrator handles large or complex files pretty well. My advice to others looking into using Adobe Illustrator is to use it and check if it fits you. I would rate Adobe Illustrator a 9 out of 10.
Ronnie IJsbrandij - PeerSpot reviewer
Photographer Miss International Netherlands at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
Professional retouching has transformed pageant portraits and now delivers faster premium results
I think Adobe Photoshop can be improved in that I see sometimes reviews that some people do not like that you can only rent the software. You can never buy it, and in the past, it was possible to buy and you could decide for yourself if you wanted to keep that version for two years or more. Now you always have the latest version, so that is great for me, but I can also imagine that it is a problem for someone else if they want to just buy the software and not rent it forever. Regarding the needed improvements for Adobe Photoshop, I do not miss anything in the performance. I do not miss anything in the functionality. Whenever I use a new functionality, there is always newer functionality added. Adobe Photoshop moves faster than I do. I do not miss anything. I miss only the time to deep dive into all the new features.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Adobe Illustrator is a go-to software for us."
"The file conversion feature in Adobe Illustrator helps my team by allowing us to effectively use the output file in the form of TIFF, and it greatly helps in converting the input files of various formats, either from 3D or some other snips into TIFF file very efficiently."
"Adobe Illustrator's nodes and intuitiveness make my workflow smoother."
"The tool helps to do many things, like editing photos and designing logos."
"Adobe Photoshop, especially for professionals or teams that need advanced image editing and design capabilities, remains an industry standard for creative work."
"My workflow is at least 50% faster compared to before, and my images are of outstanding quality."
 

Cons

"The only improvement I see is that Adobe Illustrator sometimes crashes, and even though we save our workflow, you cannot keep saving every second."
"The current version of Adobe Illustrator has almost all the features we need for our daily tasks, but there is still some scope for improvement, as it can be made more user-friendly."
"My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing reveals that the cost is high, which is the biggest downside of Adobe Illustrator."
"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. The menus can be intimidating to a novice user."
"My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing of Adobe Photoshop is that pricing is not very cheap, but also not very expensive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Adobe Photoshop is expensive. The licensing costs are monthly."
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919,894 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Comms Service Provider
15%
Manufacturing Company
13%
University
10%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Adobe Illustrator?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing reveals that the cost is high, which is the biggest downside of Adobe Illustrator.
What needs improvement with Adobe Illustrator?
I have no idea what could be improved within Adobe Illustrator because it is just working, and it would be nice if it still remains the same pleasant way of creating illustrations. I do not want to...
What is your primary use case for Adobe Illustrator?
My main use case for Adobe Illustrator is preparing vector designs. For example, I designed a poster for our latest party using Adobe Illustrator, mainly I'm preparing vector illustrations for larg...
What needs improvement with Adobe Photoshop?
Adobe Photoshop can sometimes feel complex at first due to the number of tools and options available. However, with practice and guided tutorials, this challenge becomes manageable.
What is your primary use case for Adobe Photoshop?
In my role, I use Adobe Photoshop mainly for image editing and basic design tasks. Typical uses include cropping, resizing images, adjusting colors and brightness, removing backgrounds and unwanted...
What advice do you have for others considering Adobe Photoshop?
In my daily work, when I am editing an image for a presentation, I keep the original image on one layer, background removal on another layer, and color and brightness adjustments on adjustment laye...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Photoshop
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Lush, Paper Moose, Nissin, Hugo & Marie
Lush, Paper Moose, Nissin, Hugo & Marie
Find out what your peers are saying about Adobe Illustrator vs. Adobe Photoshop and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
919,894 professionals have used our research since 2012.