VectorTrace vs Recraft
These are not the same tool. Recraft is an AI-powered generator with vector output; VectorTrace reproduces a file you already have, as closely as it can.
- Product
- Recraft
- Checked
- 2026-08-26
- Rule
- Sourced and dated
- Price
- Free preview
Side by side
| Side by side | vectortrace | Recraft |
|---|---|---|
| What the tool does | Reproduces artwork you already have as vector paths, as accurately as the pixels allow. | Generates new images from a prompt, with vector output among the formats described on their site.Source · checked 2026-08-26 |
| Fidelity to a source file | The point of the product. Boundaries come from the source pixels, not from a model of what the mark might be. | Not the goal of a generator, which is why prompting one for an existing logo is the wrong tool.Source · checked 2026-08-26 |
| Where the work happens | 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. | A hosted service — generation runs on their infrastructure.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. | Credit-based, per their pricing page. We link rather than quote a number that moves.Source · checked 2026-08-26 |
Worth knowing
The distinction is worth being precise about, because the search terms overlap and the products do not. A generator makes something new from a prompt. A tracer takes the mark you were handed and recovers its outlines. If you need your client logo back as paths, generation is the wrong operation: it will produce something that looks similar and is not the mark.
If what you want is new artwork in a vector style, a generator is the right tool and we are not one. We will not pretend the comparison is closer than it is.
Where the two overlap is the last mile: a generated vector file and a traced one both end up in Illustrator, on a cutter or at a printer, and both are judged there on node count, closed contours and palette size.
What we have not measured
- Is your task "make me something new" or "give me this exact mark as paths"? The answer picks the tool without any benchmark.
- If you generate artwork, who owns the output and what may you print? Read their terms — that question does not arise for a trace of your own file.
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
- 01Can Recraft vectorise my existing logo?
- Check their current feature list; the products do add tools over time. What we can say is that generation and tracing are different operations: one invents plausible shapes, the other recovers the ones in your file.
- 02Does VectorTrace use AI?
- The week-one engine is classical computer vision — segmentation, boundary extraction, curve fitting. A learned model for segmentation is on the roadmap, and if it ships it will be stated plainly here rather than used as decoration.
- 03Which should I use for a client logo?
- A tracer. A generated approximation of a registered mark is a different mark, and printing it is a problem that no amount of visual similarity fixes.