Is Adobe Illustrator the Most Powerful Tool in the Suite?

An in-depth look at Adobe Illustrator’s power, value, and income potential compared to other Creative Cloud tools.

27.07.2025 BY Emily Portrait of Emily

Is Adobe Illustrator the Most Powerful Tool in the Suite? header image

Introduction

🧰 Is Adobe Illustrator the Most Powerful Tool in the Suite? ↓ 🥊 Illustrator vs. the Rest ↓ 💰 Can Illustrator Skills Pay More? ↓ 📈 Pricing Reality (Freelance & Studio Rates) ↓ ✅ Summary: Where Illustrator Stands ↓

“How vector design remains at the heart of creative production—and whether Illustrator skills still command premium rates.”

🧰 Is Adobe Illustrator the Most Powerful Tool in the Suite?

Among all tools in the Adobe Creative Cloud, Illustrator has earned a reputation for precision, versatility, and industry-standard dominance in vector graphics. But is it truly the most powerful—and more importantly, the most profitable—tool in the creative stack?

This article looks at Illustrator’s core strengths, compares its value to tools like Photoshop, InDesign, After Effects, and XD, and explores whether Illustrator-based services offer more earning potential.

🥊 Illustrator vs. the Rest

Illustrator (Vector graphics, branding, logos)

Strengths: Precision, scalability, standard
Limits: Weak in raster workflows

Photoshop (Raster editing, compositing)

Strengths: Photo edits, effects, flexible
Limits: Weak for print vectors

InDesign (Layout, print, publishing)

Strengths: Great for docs & publishing, Print production, multi-page handling
Limits: Not ideal for illustration

After Effects (Motion graphics, animation)

Strengths: Video titles, effects, VFX
Limits: Complex, time-intensive, high learning curve, niche

XD (UI/UX & prototypingn)

Strengths: Web & app flow design
Limits: Not useful for print/branding

💰 Can Illustrator Skills Pay More?

While Illustrator isn’t inherently the highest-paid tool, it touches the widest range of industries:

Logo & identity design
Packaging & merchandise
Custom typography
Technical illustration
Infographics, UI icons

Because of its role in branding, it often feeds into longer-term, high-value client relationships—especially in small studios and freelance work.

📈 Pricing Reality (Freelance & Studio Rates)

Role & Note	Range in €
Brand Designer (Illustrator-heavy): High trust, strategy attached	50–120/hr
Photo Editor (Photoshop): More common, more competition	35–75/hr
Layout Designer (InDesign): Valuable for publishing clients	€40–90/hr
Motion Designer (After Effects): High, but project-based	€60–150/hr
UI/UX Designer (XD/Figma): Growth area, but tool-agnostic	€50–130/hr