A vector graphics editor is a computer program that allows users to compose and edit vector graphics images interactively on the computer screen (compare with MetaPost) and save them in one of many popular vector graphics formats such as EPS, PDF, WMF, SVG or VML. Vector editors versus bitmap editors Vector editors are often contrasted with bitmap editors, and their capabilities complement each other. Vector editors are better for graphic design, page layout, typography, logos, sharp-edged artistic illustrations (e.g. cartoons, clip art, complex geometric patterns), technical illustrations, diagramming and flowcharting. Bitmap editors are more suitable for retouching, photo processing, photorealistic illustrations, collage, and hand drawn illustrations using a pen tablet. Many contemporary illustrators use Corel Photo-Paint and Photoshop to make all kind of illustrations. The recent versions of bitmap editors, such as GIMP and Photoshop support vector-like tools (e.g. editable paths), and the vector editors such as CorelDRAW, Adobe Illustrator, Xara Xtreme, Adobe Fireworks, Inkscape or SK1 are gradually adopting tools and approaches that were once limited to bitmap editors (e.g. blurring).

The main author is Lauris Kaplinski, and several other people have contributed to the project. The project is no longer under active development, but development continues on Inkscape, a 2003 fork of Sodipodi. Sodipodi itself started as a fork of Gill, a vector-graphics program written by Raph Levien. The primary design goal of Sodipodi is to produce a usable editor for vector graphics, and a drawing tool for artists. Although it uses SVG as its native file format (including some extensions to hold metadata), it is not intended to be a full implementation of the SVG standard. Sodipodi imports and exports plain SVG data, and can also export raster graphics in PNG format

Xara Xtreme for Linux is a powerful, general purpose graphics program for Unix platforms including Linux, FreeBSD and (in development) OS-X. Xara Xtreme for Linux: * Is very fast, very slick to use. * Offers some of the most powerful graphics tools available. * Is simple to use and learn. * Has a clean, un-cluttered user interface. Few floating dialogs, palettes, menus etc. * Is able to create a huge range of outstanding graphics. * Has a huge resource of learning material, tutorials, movies, tips and a very active enthusiastic and growing user community.

Open Office Draw, part of the Open Office package, wasn't designed to compete with high-end graphics packages but is an easy to use, effective drawing tool that makes it simple to create flowcharts, graphs and other illustrations from a fast sketch to complex plans. It provides plenty of tools and a variety of toolbars that really streamlines the creative process. Draw is very user friendly. Unlike some other graphics applications, you can place the tools you use most around the screen and use them with a single click. The Styles and Formatting feature allows you to have all your favorite graphic styles at hand, eliminating time consuming searching.

Synfig is a powerful, industrial-strength vector-based 2D animation software package, designed from the ground-up for producing feature-film quality animation with fewer people and resources. While there are many other programs currently on the market to aid with the efficient production of 2D animation, we are currently unaware of any other software that can do what our software can. Background 2D Animation has traditionally been very expensive because every frame must be drawn by hand. Even with today's digital inking and painting software, the process still relies on individuals hand-drawing each frame. This laborious task is called “tweening”.

Inkscape is a free and open source vector graphics editor application. Its stated goal is to become a powerful graphic tool while being fully compliant with the XML, SVG and CSS standards. Inkscape is primarily developed for Linux, but it is cross-platform and runs on Mac OS X (under X11), other Unix-like operating systems, and Microsoft Windows. Inkscape's implementation of SVG and CSS standards is incomplete. Most notably, it does not yet support animation, or SVG fonts. Inkscape has multi-lingual support, particularly for complex scripts, something currently lacking in most commercial vector graphics applications.

A vector graphics editor is a computer program that allows users to compose and edit vector graphics images interactively on the computer screen (compare with MetaPost) and save them in one of many popular vector graphics formats such as EPS, PDF, WMF, SVG or VML. Vector editors versus bitmap editors Vector editors are often contrasted with bitmap editors, and their capabilities complement each other. Vector editors are better for graphic design, page layout, typography, logos, sharp-edged artistic illustrations (e.g. cartoons, clip art, complex geometric patterns), technical illustrations, diagramming and flowcharting.