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.
- Product
- Adobe Illustrator Image Trace
- Checked
- 2026-08-26
- Rule
- Sourced and dated
- Price
- Free preview
Side by side
| Side by side | 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 · checked 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 · checked 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 · checked 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 · checked 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 · checked 2026-08-26 |
Worth knowing
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.
What we have not measured
- 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
Measured, not marketed. The corpus, the method and every figure the run produced are published in full.
Methodology → /benchmarks- boundary error, p95
- 0.39 px
- region-count error
- 0.113
- node-count ratio
- 6.35×
Why vectortrace
- Ticket 1 / 3
In-browser and private
The engine is WebAssembly running in a worker on your own machine. Your image is never uploaded — so there is nothing to leak, nothing to delete, and nothing to take on trust.
- Ticket 2 / 3
Editable paths, not a wrapper
The engine groups the image into colour regions, takes the boundary between them and fits curves to it. What comes out is real geometry — one fill per region, every node yours to move — produced in the tab and never on a server.
- Ticket 3 / 3
Formats print and production use
SVG and PDF today; EPS and DXF for cutters, engravers and embroidery software as the exporters land. Real files, opened in Illustrator, Inkscape and LibreCAD — not an SVG with a JPEG inside it.
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.