It takes a while to get your head around the different options, but we reckon CorelDRAW is now actually the most flexible graphic design software, since you can choose between buying the software outright or subscribing for access to newer features. The subscription model gives you access to the latest features, which include dynamic asset management and a faster adjustments docker for photo editing. Just to make things more confusing, the latter itself comes in two versions, with CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2021 available for a one-off payment but the new 2022 version requiring a subscription. It's now available in two formats: in CorelDRAW Standard, which is marketed to amateur enthusiasts, and CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, which is a larger package of tools aimed at professional designers. Once the market leader in vector design, CorelDRAW lost some of its popularity to Adobe Illustrator, but it still has legions of loyal fans and it continues to upgrade its offering to keep up with most of the features offered by competitors. Still more expensive than some newer alternatives

See our full Affinity Designer review for more details. There are no subscription fees, but you still get software updates when they're released, making it a lot more affordable in the long term, or even medium term. But the best part, of course, is that you only have to make a one-time payment, and a fairly reasonable one at that. It can handle both Illustrator AI and Photoshop PSD files, so you don't have to worry about compatibility if colleagues or clients work with Adobe's software. In fact, Affinity Designer even offers some tools you don't get on Illustrator, such as infinite redos and one million per cent-plus zoom, and we found that it tends to run faster than Adobe illustrator too.

Available for a one-off payment, Affinity Designer comes closest out of all the software we've tried in matching the breadth of Illustrator's feature set.

The most notable contender is Serif's Affinity Designer. If you're put off by the hefty monthly or annual cost of Adobe's subscription model, there are now some serious alternatives as the best graphic design software for vector design.

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