Switch from Illustrator

Workflow-by-workflow comparison · zero re-learning for ~95% of daily tasks. Honest caveats: (1) PSD/AEPX/MOGRT export structurally valid but Adobe round-trip not yet 3rd-party certified — test your files at /validate-roundtrip; (2) Pantone Plus 1,129 are interpolated values, not licensed spot colors; (3) 3D Plane Mode is CSS-3D with Lambert shading, not true 3D mesh.

Drawing & Path Editing

Illustrator

Pen Tool (P) → click anchors → adjust handles

vector.8n.ai

Pen Tool (P) — same shortcuts, same handles, same Bezier math

Advantage

Identical UX · zero re-learning

Illustrator

Pathfinder panel → Unite/Subtract/Intersect/Exclude

vector.8n.ai

Object menu → Pathfinder (5 ops) · or use Shape Builder Tool (Shift+M)

Advantage

Same operations + Shape Builder is faster

Illustrator

Width Tool (Shift+W) → drag handles on path

vector.8n.ai

Width Tool — drag anchor handles or use widthProfile sliders in Properties

Advantage

Same + per-anchor profile UI

Illustrator

Image Trace via Object menu → adjust → expand

vector.8n.ai ⚡

File → Live Image Trace · slider-driven live preview (no expand step)

Advantage

Faster: live preview instead of trial-and-error

Typography

Illustrator

Type tool · Character/Paragraph panels · Find Font

vector.8n.ai

Type tool · Character + Paragraph styles + Tabs Ruler + Find Font dialog

Advantage

Identical workflow + Tabs Ruler has visual UI

Illustrator

Activate Adobe Fonts → wait → reload

vector.8n.ai

Google Fonts panel → 78 fonts including Thai · instant

Advantage

Faster + free + Thai support

Illustrator

Variable fonts via Properties panel sliders

vector.8n.ai

Window → Variable Font Axes · live preview · 5 axes (wght/wdth/slnt/opsz/GRAD)

Advantage

Same UI

Illustrator

Touch Type Tool (Shift+T) · per-glyph rotation/scale handles

vector.8n.ai

Touch Type Tool (Shift+T) · same 3-handle UI (move/rotate/scale per glyph)

Advantage

Identical

Color & Brand

Illustrator

Swatches panel · Pantone Solid Coated library

vector.8n.ai

Swatches + Pantone Plus 1,129 colors panel (~49% of full PMS catalog)

Advantage

Same workflow · slightly fewer Pantones (interpolated)

Illustrator

Recolor Artwork → Color Wheel dialog

vector.8n.ai

Object → Recolor Color Wheel · same UI

Advantage

Identical

Illustrator

Build brand kit manually from logo PDF

vector.8n.ai ⚡

Window → AI Brand Kit Extractor · drop logo image · auto-extract palette/fonts/voice/style

Advantage

Adobe doesn't have this

Layout & Multi-artboard

Illustrator

Artboards panel · drag/duplicate · presets

vector.8n.ai

Artboards panel · same workflow · 9 presets (Square/Story/4:5/Twitter/YouTube/iPhone/iPad/A4/Letter)

Advantage

Identical

Illustrator

Align panel · Distribute objects

vector.8n.ai

Align panel · 8 ops (left/h-center/right/top/v-center/bottom + distribute h/v)

Advantage

Identical

Illustrator

Smart Guides · snap toggles

vector.8n.ai

Live Smart Guides with angle hint (15° snap) + distance readouts to nearest neighbor in L/R/T/B

Advantage

More informative HUD

Effects

Illustrator

Effect menu · Photoshop Effects · Live Effects

vector.8n.ai

Effect menu · 50 Photoshop SVG filter effects + 22 Live Effects · Effect Gallery dialog with thumbnails

Advantage

Visual preview of all effects

Illustrator

Envelope Distort (Object → Envelope Distort)

vector.8n.ai

Object → Envelope Distort (top object) · bilinear UV mapping

Advantage

Same workflow

Illustrator

3D Effects · Extrude/Revolve · Substance materials (Adobe-only)

vector.8n.ai

3D Plane Mode (CSS 3D + Lambert shading) · v0.x has Extrude only

Advantage

We're ~70% there · Substance materials not available

Exports

Illustrator

File → Save As .ai / .pdf / .svg / .eps

vector.8n.ai

File → Save .v8n · Export SVG / PDF / PSD / AEPX / MOGRT / CSS / JPG / WebP / PNG@2x/3x

Advantage

More format options (PSD + AEPX + MOGRT + CSS not in Illustrator)

Illustrator

Save for Web · Asset Export

vector.8n.ai

Export for Screens (1×/2×/3×) · Asset Slices panel · individual format selection

Advantage

Same workflow

Illustrator

Multi-page PDF via InDesign

vector.8n.ai

File → Print → Multi-page PDF · one page per artboard

Advantage

Built-in (no InDesign needed)

Collaboration

Illustrator

Save to Creative Cloud · share link

vector.8n.ai

Yjs WebSocket multi-user (vectorws.8n.ai) · live cursors · same-doc editing

Advantage

Real-time co-editing (Adobe is read-only share)

Illustrator

Frame.io review (paid add-on)

vector.8n.ai

Window → Review & Comments · per-shape annotations · 5 statuses · CSV export · included

Advantage

Built-in

Migration

Illustrator

Native .ai files always open in IL

vector.8n.ai

File → Migration Wizard · batch convert .ai (PDF-compat) + .pdf + .eps to .v8n · per-file report

Advantage

Covers ~80% of real-world .ai files (legacy binary-only .ai needs Vision trace)

Illustrator

Re-create assets when switching software

vector.8n.ai

Open in vector.8n.ai · keep working · export to .psd/.aepx for AE/PS team

Advantage

Adobe pipeline stays usable

AI Features (Illustrator does not have)

Illustrator

Generative Recolor (Firefly, paid)

vector.8n.ai ⚡

AI Recolor route · prompt-driven palette · /api/recolor

Advantage

Faster cycle · ours is included

Illustrator

—

vector.8n.ai ⚡

AI Bulk Variants (10-100 A/B variants from 1 design)

Advantage

MrBeast thumbnail workflow in 5 min vs 5 hrs

Illustrator

—

vector.8n.ai ⚡

AI Title Cards · Lower-Thirds · Stage Pack · Merch Pattern · End Screen · Sponsor Integration

Advantage

Broadcast/YouTube graphics pipeline

Illustrator

—

vector.8n.ai ⚡

AI Code Export (React/Vue/Svelte/Lit JSX from SVG)

Advantage

Bridges design ↔ engineering

Illustrator

—

vector.8n.ai ⚡

AI Critique · Brand Compliance · Accessibility (WCAG) · Layout Tidy

Advantage

QA + a11y + brand consistency automated

Illustrator

—

vector.8n.ai ⚡

31 AI routes total · Smart Selection · Auto Naming · Animation Storyboard · etc.

Advantage

Compounding · we ship monthly · Adobe ships annually

Ready to try?

14-day free trial · no card · export everything if you go back

Open editor See your ROI