Homotope FR

An Illustrator Image Trace alternative, with nothing to install

Updated on

Homotope is an alternative to Adobe Illustrator’s Image Trace that traces PNG, JPG and WebP images in your browser, with no install and no subscription, and gets the file ready for production: DXF per colour, separations and a cut-readiness check.

Coffee roaster logo grabbed from a website, as a noisy compressed JPEG: round emblem with capital lettering, cup and rays, wordmark. JPG · 900 × 640 px
The same logo traced to SVG by Homotope: five clean flat colours, legible small capitals. Engine SVG
900 × 640 px noisy compressed JPEG logo and the SVG produced by the engine, Logo preset, “Number of colours” set to 5, untouched: the JPEG noise and blocks are gone, the ring stays a circle and the small capitals stay legible.
×6 detail: the accented E of the wordmark: JPEG noise and blocks, clean SVG edges. Drag the slider to compare; hover over the image or hold your finger on it to move the magnifier.
Try it with your image Open this example in the workshop

What Homotope does

Tracing an image with Homotope needs no subscription: the workshop opens without an account, the engine runs on your machine, and both the SVG and the PNG download for free, except transparent background and recolouring, which are Pro. The Pro plan is optional: it adds those two settings and lifts the free account’s cap of two production exports (DXF, EPS, PDF, separations) a month. Your image is sent nowhere unless you save it or ask for server processing.

How they differ

To our knowledge, as of 10 October 2026, Image Trace is a feature of Adobe Illustrator, desktop software to install, that traces an image placed in the document on the computer. (source: Adobe Help, Image Trace) To our knowledge, as of 10 October 2026, Adobe Illustrator is sold as a subscription, through Creative Cloud. (source: Adobe, Illustrator page)

Homotope opens in the browser, with no install and no account. Like Illustrator, it traces on your machine; it does only that, and carries the result through to the production machine: DXF with one layer per colour, separations, the cut-readiness check, and a centreline trace with the “Single stroke” preset.

When Illustrator fits better

Illustrator is a full vector editor: editing paths point by point, laying out a page, working with type, preparing a file inside an Adobe production workflow. Homotope replaces none of that. It traces and prepares production; to rework the drawing, export SVG, PDF or EPS and open the file in your editor.

For a photo you want to keep in smooth gradients, neither Homotope nor Illustrator’s tracing beats the original image: Homotope renders it in flat areas, like a posterised print.

Frequently asked questions

Does Homotope upload my image to a server?

No, by default everything is computed in your browser. The image only reaches the server if you save it to your account or ask for server processing.

Is Homotope free?

Yes, tracing in the browser and SVG and PNG exports are free, with no account and no limit, except transparent background and recolouring, which are Pro. Production exports (DXF, EPS, PDF, separations): 2 free per month with an account, unlimited with Pro. Server processing, for very large images, is paid beyond 2 free trial jobs a month with an account; through the API it is always paid.

Do I need to install anything?

No. The workshop opens in the browser, on a computer, tablet or phone, and the engine runs inside the page: there is no software or extension to install.

Can I edit the result in a vector editor?

Yes: the SVG, PDF and EPS are standard vector files, to open in your editor to touch up paths or place them in a layout.

Sources for statements about other tools, checked on 10 October 2026: https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/desktop/manage-objects/traces-mockups-symbols/trace-images-to-convert-raster-into-vector-artwork.html · https://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator.html

More guides

Try it with your image