Convert Image to Vector for Illustrator (Free Workflow)

Get a clean SVG out of any PNG or JPG and bring it into Adobe Illustrator in three minutes. No subscription, no upload.

Steps

Step 1
Trace your image to SVG online
Open vectorize-image.app, drop your PNG/JPG, pick the logo preset for flat artwork or photo for detailed images, and download the resulting SVG.
Step 2
Open the SVG in Illustrator
In Illustrator, choose File → Open and select the downloaded .svg file. Illustrator opens it as fully editable vector paths.
Step 3
Clean up paths and colors
Use Object → Path → Simplify to reduce anchor points if needed. Re-color shapes to match your brand palette using the Color or Recolor Artwork panel.
Step 4
Export to your final format
Save as .ai for Illustrator, export as PDF for print, or use Asset Export for PNG/JPG at any resolution.

Why not use Illustrator's Image Trace directly?: You can — Image Trace is excellent. But it requires an active Adobe subscription. This workflow gets you 90% of the way for free, and you can polish in Illustrator only when needed.
Will Illustrator preserve transparency from my PNG?: Yes. The SVG keeps transparent regions, and Illustrator imports them as transparent areas of the canvas.
Can I do this without Illustrator?: Yes — the SVG works in Inkscape (free), Affinity Designer, Figma, Sketch, and any modern web browser.