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VectorCraft: a free, open-source Adobe Illustrator alternative

What VectorCraft 0.9.0 is, what it already does, and where it still falls short of Adobe Illustrator. Based only on the official VectorCraft README and docs.

Updated 2026-10-11 · VectorCraft 0.9.0

Looking for a free alternative to Adobe Illustrator? VectorCraft is one option. Its README describes it like this:

Vector illustration; an open-source, clean-room reimplementation of Adobe Illustrator, rebuilt in pure Rust.

It's made by the ArtCraft team, licensed MIT OR Apache-2.0, and published for macOS, Windows, Linux and FreeBSD, plus a web build. The latest version is v0.9.0.

What it does well

According to the README:

  • Familiar: Illustrator's layout, tools, menus, panels and shortcuts, including the Pen, Direct Selection, Pathfinder, Smart Guides, Appearance, Swatches and Layers.
  • Fast: multithreaded SIMD rendering off the UI thread. The README reports 20,000 shapes rendering in about 27 ms at full retina resolution.
  • Robust: exact curve booleans, unlimited undo, and property-tested file round trips.
  • Open formats: a documented native .vectorcraft (JSON) format, SVG, PDF and PDF-compatible .ai import and export, PNG/JPEG/WebP export and Export for Screens.
  • Agent-native: every menu item, tool, panel and dialog can be driven over a JSON control channel and an MCP server.

How far along it is

As of 2026-10-10 the README calls VectorCraft alpha: about 88% of Illustrator 2026's menu items, tools, effects and formats exist, feature depth is about 75%, and the team estimates about 65% "ready for real work" for a mainstream illustrator. These scores are self-assessed.

What's still missing

The README lists these gaps, among others:

  • reliable exchange of Illustrator's own .ai files
  • 3D and Materials beyond the initial live Revolve
  • about half of the Photoshop-style raster effects (29 of 57 still missing)
  • scripting
  • generative AI features

The full, ranked list is in the project's docs/gaps.md.

Should you switch?

Try VectorCraft if you want a free, open-source vector illustration app that feels familiar to Adobe Illustrator users, runs on Linux or in a browser, or can be scripted. For client work, test your own files first. The project describes itself as early-stage software.

Adobe Illustrator is a trademark of Adobe. It is named here only to describe what VectorCraft is modeled on.

Sources

Every factual claim in this article is taken from these upstream files. If something here disagrees with them, the upstream source wins.

PhotoCraft Hub is an unofficial community site. PhotoCraft is made by the ArtCraft team; screenshots are from the PhotoCraft repository (MIT OR Apache-2.0) and show public-domain artwork.