That’s cool, but why should I use Inkscape?
The aforementioned core beliefs also give Inkscape many advantages over alternatives, such as the following:
- Inkscape respects your privacy: Inkscape will never collect personally identifiable information or try and push ads on you. The project is funded by donations and volunteer work and by self-funded developers, so no advertising revenue is needed. Such data collection is also seen as an invasion of privacy by many in the community, so it’s kept entirely out of Inkscape as a matter of principle.
- Inkscape breaks down international boundaries: Inkscape is available in every country of the world in a multitude of languages, with a lively and active community of contributors. No government in the world can shut down Inkscape because the source code is available everywhere for everyone to use however they like!
- Inkscape breaks down financial barriers: Inkscape is free for everyone to use, regardless of income. Moreover, Inkscape can be used to make money, learn design, and raise the quality of life for those who would otherwise be blocked by paywalls imposed by proprietary software vendors.
- Inkscape is completely cross platform: Because of its open source code, users of macOS, Windows, and Linux can compile Inkscape code into software that works the same across all three platforms. This means that you can work together regardless of the operating system you use. Thus, Inkscape is far better for collaboration than proprietary alternatives, many of which only cater to one or two operating systems.
- Inkscape is software made by designers: Some of our contributors are professional designers who help make Inkscape a better production tool, often requesting features unavailable in other software. This is originally what got me interested in Inkscape – it had features that were significantly better than even the most expensive paid programs.
To this day, there are still features that I’d love to see in Adobe Illustrator that Inkscape has had for years. I’ve helped add some of these features to Inkscape to save myself time in graphics production, but more importantly, to save everyone time!
- Inkscape is free software: Not simply free as in no-cost, but free as in freedom. This comes from Inkscape’s license, called the GNU Public License (GPL). GPL software allows you to download, edit, use, and share Inkscape’s code for any purpose. Moreover, everyone who contributes to Inkscape must provide the source code under the same license. This ensures Inkscape will always be free and can never be locked down or put behind a paywall.
- Inkscape gives you control over your assets: Since there’s no paywall, graphics assets designed in Inkscape will always be free to open in Inkscape in an industry-standard SVG format, which is portable to other graphics applications.
- Inkscape is more fun: In addition to getting all the new features for free, you can even help test and improve brand-new features in development. You don’t need to be a programmer to do this and many new features are just fun to use. We will see a ton of them in this book, but the fact is more are added every year and it’s really exciting to be part of bringing that fun to people worldwide.
- Inkscape is a community-driven project: Inkscape is used by millions of people all over the globe! No matter what your skill level is, it’s easy and fun to be part of the community. The project has live chat boards to ask questions and thousands of active members across most major social media networks, including Facebook, Mastodon, Twitter, and so on.
There are even chat rooms where you can talk to the developers. Best of all, everyone is friendly and respectful. In fact, it’s a requirement! All of Inkscape’s forums are moderated to make sure everyone has a good time. It’s a great way to share art, tips and tricks, and design knowledge. Come be a part of the fun!