Adobe Illustrator CC is a vector graphics software that is used by many designers and illustrators. Adobe Illustrator is commonly used for making logos, icons, typography and many more. Illustrator is one of the industry standards for making graphics. So how to get Adobe Illustrator CC for free?

It's quite pricy. And there is a good reason, because of the sheer quality and possibilities Adobe Illustrator CC has. Also, it has great synergy with other famous software like Photoshop or Premiere Pro. That way it's no brainer to get graphics ready in Illustrator, animations done in After Effects and then make a video with all the media in Premiere Pro.

How to get Adobe Illustrator for free 2020

It's quite easy. All that you have to do is to visit the official Adobe Illustrator webpage and download a trial version of the software. The link is in the top menu near the "Buy" button.

Here is the picture to make it all clear. Click here to get to the page.

Adobe Illustrator cc trial version

How to Download Free Adobe Illustrator Trial

Once you've initiated the download by pressing a button "Free Trial" you'll see a form that you need to fill in order to proceed with your download. You've to gill it because you need to have an Adobe ID to simply get or use Adobe software. This is required by the Adobe to manage updates and subscriptions.

To create a new Adobe ID you need to fill your address and all the other fields. When you are done creating your account your download will start automatically. If you have an existing Adobe ID, just log into it. When your download is done you need to log into your Adobe ID into Illustrator itself. Now you know how to get Adobe Illustrator for free.

Adobe Illustrator Free and Paid Options

Adobe Illustrator is the number one choice for many professional artists who work with vector graphics. And it has been for a long time indeed. The latest update of the Illustrator is the one you've got from the official website. If any update will be launched afterward, Illustrator will install it automatically.

Illustrator is a part of the Creative Cloud app package. You can get the whole of Creative Cloud for free. And with such wonderful apps like Photoshop, Premiere Pro, After Effects and many more.

Yes, you want to get Adobe Illustrator for free but there are other options that are away better than a free 7-day trial. Here they are.

1. Adobe Illustrator Free Trial Version

We've already discussed how to get a free trial version of Adobe Illustrator. Just go to the official webpage and click the "Free Trial" button at the top of the page.

The 7-day trial version is fully functional apart from that it works only for 7 days. In other regards, it is 100% like the full paid version.

2. Single Application Subscription

You can get a subscription to Illustrator only. This option is not for you if you want to pair it with Photoshop and other Adobe apps. It's the cheapest option to get Illustrator and work with it with the full feature set. Apart from the app itself, you will get the following: 100Gb of cloud storage, Adobe Portfolio, Adobe Fonts, and Adobe Spark. All the updates that will be launched in the future will be installed for free as long as you've paid the subscription.

There are three different pricing plans for you to fit into your budget:

  • Annual plan, paid monthly – $20.99/mo.
  • Annual plan, prepaid – $239.88/yr.
  • Monthly plan – $31.49/mo.

3. All Creative Applications Subscription

That one is the most advanced option with the best value. You get the full Adobe Creative Cloud with it. It contains more than 20 creative desktop and mobile. Among the other apps, Creative Cloud includes Photoshop, InDesign, After Effects, Lightroom, Premiere Pro, and Illustrator. Using this option you would be able to enjoy the great synergy of Adobe software. All of the apps are able to transfer media between each other. And don't forget that you can get Adobe Creative Cloud for free for 7 days also.

There are also three pricing plans to get this option:

  • Annual plan, paid monthly – $52.99/mo.
  • Annual plan, prepaid – $599.88 /yr.
  • Monthly plan – $79.49/mo.

4. Students and Teachers Discount

If you're a student older than 13 or a teacher then you can get a big 60% discount. It is the Creative Cloud subscription to all the apps. You just need to prove that you're eligible for a discount. If you have an e-mail that attached to the school domain then it's ok. Otherwise, you'll have to provide your School ID card or another document that proves you're being a teacher or a student.

The pricing plans for Students and Teachers Discount are:

  • Annual plan, paid monthly – $19.99/mo.
  • Annual plan, prepaid – $239.88/yr.

These are all the options of how to get Adobe Illustrator for free or paid. The flexibility is the key – you can get a trial version, pay for one app, get the whole suite or even use a student discount.

Yes, I know that it's not great that there is no way to get Illustrator lifetime license for free. And if you consider pirating then let me tell you against it. Here is why.

Don't use Adobe Illustrator Crack

When you surf the web you can find a thing that is called a portable version of Adobe Illustrator. Or it can even be called a "free and patched" version. You need to be aware that sites that offer these types of offers distribute pirated software. That means we're talking about torrent trackers, warez sites and so on. All of the above are illegal and filled with adults-only content and viruses to the brim.

As I've mentioned you would be wise not to get into piracy. Here are some of the most important reasons why cracked Adobe Illustrator is a bad thing.

1. Viruses, trojans, ransomware

The gravest danger of any pirated software is viruses. You simply install an Illustrator crack and the virus gets the control. It can be dangerous for many reasons – from simply slowing the computer down to even completely blocking it. And you won't be able to use your computer until you pay a ransom. That is it will be unlocked – more likely you just give your money to the frauds and nothing happens afterward.

2. No updates

The big advantage of the Adobe Illustrator subscription is that you receive all the upcoming updates. They install automatically. Needless to say, that pirate users don't get any updated at all. And the updates to Illustrator are often significant, so you can miss a lot of features if you do not update to the latest version.

3. Unable to use customer support

Only users who pay subscription can contact support 24/7. Cracked or pirated Illustrator users are not covered with any type of support. If you have some troubles with your app and you don't have an active subscription and Adobe ID then you'd be unable to write to customer support or make a call.

4. Cracked versions are not working properly

Even if the cracked version claims to be fully functional, that hardly can be true. The reason is that pirates disable big parts of the software in order for it to be cracked, so no one can guarantee its functionality. And since pirated block the Internet connection of the app you can forget about all the Internet-connected features.

5. It is illegal

That's it. Downloading, installing, using pirated software and the results of its work is illegal in most countries. The USA and European laws are prohibiting people from pirating and cracking software. So don't be surprised if you'd be addressed with charges for piracy.

The Best Free Adobe Illustrator Alternatives

If you don't happy with a 7-day free trial Illustrator or simply don't like the app there are some options. Here are the best Adobe Illustrator free alternatives.

Inkscape

Inkscape is among the most widely known alternatives to Adobe Illustrator. This vector graphics editor works for Windows, macOS, and Linux. The number of Inkscape's features is great, it can be compared to Illustrator easily. It gives all the necessary options to do basic graphic designs. Moreover, there are some advanced features like support of graphic tablets or even exporting graphics as the HTML5 elements (which is a great option instead of SVG images).

Inkscape also has some extensions to broaden its functions even greater. There are not so many as for Adobe Illustrator, mind you, but they are completely free.

Ther are two big disadvantages to Inkscape that might be important for power users. Inkscape misses a lot of drawing brushes that Illustrator has and it doesn't support the CMYK color model. CMYK is really important for printing since this model is used in every color-printing device with its 4 colors. Of course, you can get around these limitations but the ending result would require much more work then it would take with Adobe Illustrator.

Inkscape works with the most popular vector graphics formats (AI and CDR) and the top raster graphics formats (SVG, PNG, PDF and so on). Because of that, you can use Inkscape to work with any type of graphics, including Adobe Illustrator files.

Learn more about Inkscape

Gravit Designer

Gravit Designer is the great Adobe Illustrator alternative online. It works in your web browser so the only thing that you will need to use it is a stable and fast Internet connection. You will still need to register at the Gravit website, however.

When you've created the account and logged into the Gravit you will receive some of the cloud storage. It works just like Dropbox, Google Drive and the ones alike. This will allow you to save your projects on the web and upload there your existing graphics files.

The big upside of Gravit Designer is that it supports teamwork. That way you can collaborate with other users on your project. And the great part about this Illustrator online alternative is that supports the CMYK color model. That allows all the prints of your graphics to look just beautiful.

Gravit Designer supports the templates for Facebook, YouTube, Twitter. That feature would really come in handy if you decide to create banners and previews for these social networks. The templates for different printing formats, presentations, web, and smartphone would also come in handy.

Learn more about Gravit Designer

Want to learn more about photo editing software? Check out our article Top 10 Best Photo Editing Software in 2018.