I have been using CorelDRAW Suite since version 3 and I don’t mean version X3 I mean version 3 from back in 1992. So I can say I know my way around the software, but I would also say I am not an expert and continuously learnt new tricks from trial and error and or seeing it on the YouTubes machine etc through out I would class myself as proficient or an advanced user of Corel in general .

CorelDRAW in 2020 started to go down the subscription path, those that know me, know I hate and “I mean hate” the subscription model for purchasing software. This is the main reason I do not own any … well under the subscription model I should say rent… any Adobe Software. I prefer the one time payment and I will upgrade when I see fit, and think it is worth it or I skip a year and wait for the following year upgrade. Over all I use to upgrade and fork out money maybe once every 2 or 3 years depending if I thought it new features are worth it. But will use it if I have to and there are no other alternatives for me and my case. ie; Workflow, features and compatibility etc.

While you can get a one off license for Corel, they make it so difficult to find and get. The other thing is the cost of the one off license has sky rocketed and for what? The new features are not really worth the cost this cost even after a few years of upgrades.

Under a subscription model you you pay a yearly subscription fee and are forced to have the upgrades whether you want them or not. I have always hated and will always hate this model. The biggest issues that I have with the subscription model is that the moment that you can’t make that payment, you find yourself locked out of your production files. Most of the time you require an internet connection to connect to your account. Which means I could not take a laptop and use CorelDRAW when we went away, unless I had internet connection for the laptop.

CorelDRAW has been on the subscription model a couple of years now and I have been looking for replacement software for a while and was thinking of just using InkScape which is very capable software.

The final straw was when, this year 2023 an upgrade would not install which meant my subscription ran out. It started out as, when I went to pay for the next year their website kept taking me and saying I was in Czechoslovakia, changed the language and pay in Czechoslovak Koruna and I could not re-select my currency or language. This would have been ok if I understood Czechoslovakian and or was in Czechoslovakiaetc however I am not.

I tried everything and I mean everything. As did the technicians at Corel help desk… Then they told me to download and install a OEM version of CorelDRAW which installed but when I came to use it… It would not connect to the internet. and we tried and tried back and forth over a period of a month (mean while my current subscription rang out) and eventually they said reinstall Windows which is where I basically said “no” there and then and I truly started to look for a replacement.

CorelDraw Suite, Adobe Creator Cloud, Affinity Designer, VectorStyler, InkScape, Vectr, LibreOffice Draw and a few others.

The open source and free application InkScape was my first go to, which is very  powerful software, and I highly recommend it to new users  however the interface needs a bit of work (in my opinion) and the workflow doesn’t really meet my needs as well there are a few limited features missing that I use that are missing. I also find that Inkscape can be a sluggish at times. Adobe Illustrator I said no to years ago purely because of the subscription model and I don’t like the way Adobe seem to treat their clients and members. I have heard some true horror stories.

One has to remember the “CorelDraw Suite” comes with CorelDraw, CorelPaint, CorelTrace, CorelCapture, Corel Font Manager, which means I need to replace those apps and their features. Although I never used Font Manager and I know I am not going to able to replace all the features one for one in a single application unless I do go to Adobe Creative Cloud.

However I am really enjoying Affinity Designer and there Eco system and style. However there are a few features missing, but there are also work-arounds, and smaller specialist apps that can meet these needs.

• CorelDRAW to Affinity Designer
• CorelPAINT to Affinity Photo
• CorelCapture to LightShot
• CorelDRAW (DTP Multi page etc)  to Affinity Publisher
• CorelTRACE to… Still looking
• Corel AfterShot 3 Standard at this stage N/A

Am I going to buy into Affinity eco system… the ball is still on the court to answer that just yet. But is looking good. (Update: yes I have purchased Affinity Software)

This brings me to HitFilm video editor and for that matter PowerDirector and all I can say is read above and replace “CorelDraw” with “HitFilm” or “PowerDirector”. “HitFilm” said they would not go the subscription model and guess what 5 years later they have… The also got bought out by a larger media company and since then it has gone down hill. I do still own and use the last good version of “HitFilm” whih is now a couple of years old. But in all honesty I most likely fully move to DaVinci Resolve.

I am seriously looking at DaVinci Resolve as at this stage they don’t have any suggestions of a subscription model. The one thing though is you can at this stage still buy a one time license and can use for ever. But we don’t know what will happen down the track who knows.