VectorTrace vs Illustrator Image Trace
Image Trace is the tool most designers reach for first, because it is already open. The differences are what it costs to have open and where the tracing runs.
- Produit
- Adobe Illustrator Image Trace
- Vérifié
- 2026-08-26
- Règle
- Sourcé et daté
- Prix
- Aperçu gratuit
Côte à côte
| Côte à côte | vectortrace | Adobe Illustrator Image Trace |
|---|---|---|
| What you need installed | A browser. The engine is a WebAssembly module the page loads on first interaction. | Adobe Illustrator, on a supported desktop operating system, per Adobe system requirements.Source · vérifié le 2026-08-26 |
| Where the tracing runs | The image is traced by WebAssembly in a Web Worker in your own tab. It is never uploaded, so there is nothing to store, delete or leak. | On your own machine, inside Illustrator. Also local — this is not a privacy difference.Source · vérifié le 2026-08-26 |
| Pricing model | Previews are free and unlimited. Downloads need Pro at €9.00 per month or €69.00 per year, tax inclusive. | An Adobe subscription. See Adobe pricing — we do not restate a price that is not ours to quote.Source · vérifié le 2026-08-26 |
| Automatable | Yes — POST /api/v1/vectorize, with an OpenAPI 3.1 document generated from the same schemas the server validates against. | Through Illustrator scripting or Actions on a machine with Illustrator installed and licensed.Source · vérifié le 2026-08-26 |
| Cutter-oriented output | Cutout tracing and a DXF exporter aimed at plotters, lasers and CNC. | Image Trace produces artwork in Illustrator; a cutter format is an export step afterwards, sometimes via a plug-in.Source · vérifié le 2026-08-26 |
Bon à savoir
Image Trace lives inside Illustrator, which means it is right there when you already own Illustrator, and it is a subscription away when you do not. It has presets, live previews and an Expand step, and it hands the result straight into the editor you were going to use anyway.
VectorTrace is a web page. It has no install, no account for previews, and it runs the tracing locally in the browser rather than on your desktop or on a server. The output is ordinary SVG, so the next step can still be Illustrator.
The honest summary: if Illustrator is open and the trace is good enough, use Image Trace. The cases where a separate tool earns its place are a machine without a licence, a colleague who does not have one, an automated pipeline behind an HTTP API, or output aimed at a cutter rather than at a page.
Ce que nous n'avons pas mesuré
- Which gives you fewer nodes at the same fidelity for the artwork you actually trace? Expand an Image Trace result and compare the anchor count with ours.
- Does your workflow need a licence on every machine that traces, or on one? That answer usually decides this comparison on its own.
Benchmark
Mesuré, pas vendu. Le corpus, la méthode et chaque chiffre produit par l'exécution sont publiés intégralement.
Méthodologie → /benchmarks- boundary error, p95
- 0.09 px
- region-count error
- 0.000
- node-count ratio
- 1.00×
Pourquoi vectortrace
- Preuve 1 / 3
Dans le navigateur, en privé
Le moteur est du WebAssembly exécuté dans un worker sur votre propre machine. Votre image n'est jamais envoyée — il n'y a donc rien à divulguer, rien à supprimer, et rien à croire sur parole.
- Preuve 2 / 3
Des chemins modifiables, pas un habillage
Le moteur regroupe l'image en régions de couleur, prend la frontière entre elles et y ajuste des courbes. Ce qui en sort est une géométrie réelle — un fond par région, chaque nœud déplaçable — produite dans l'onglet et jamais sur un serveur.
- Preuve 3 / 3
Des formats pour l'impression et la production
SVG et PDF pour le visuel ; EPS et DXF pour découpeuses, graveurs et logiciels de broderie. De vrais fichiers, ouverts dans Illustrator, Inkscape et LibreCAD — pas un SVG contenant un JPEG.
Questions
- 01Should I stop using Image Trace?
- No. If Illustrator is already open and the trace is good enough, that is the fastest path and we would use it too. The reason to use something else is a machine without a licence, an automated pipeline, or output aimed at a cutter.
- 02Can I edit VectorTrace output in Illustrator?
- Yes. The SVG is one path per colour region with a plain fill, so Illustrator opens it as editable artwork with no import step or expand step.
- 03Is Image Trace uploading my file?
- No — Image Trace runs locally in Illustrator. On this comparison the privacy row is a tie, and we say so rather than implying otherwise.