It depends on the type of gradient you need and what you need it for. If you are creating raster artwork in Photoshop, use Photoshop unless you need some element that you find easier to make in Ai, then make that element in Ai and place into your Photoshop document. If you are creating vector artwork, use Illustrator. Dithering: Gradients made from Illustrator are purely vector based and don't get any dithering applied. This can cause unwanted banding when rendering the gradient. Adding some noise/grain/dithering yourself might be needed if banding becomes an issue. Gradients in Photoshop gives you a dithering option (that you almost always want on). Linear gradients: Both Ai and Ps give you the same amount of control, although you might find positioning it freely a bit easier in Ai compared to e.g. Gradient Fill layers in Photoshop. Radial gradients: Ai clearly gives you much more control. You can make it elliptical and also, in lack of a better word, " skewed" towards one side . Angle, Reflected, and Diamond gradients: Only available in Photoshop. Freeform Gradient and Gradient Mesh: The most advanced gradient types. Only available in Ai. --- Hand-painting a "gradient" using a large soft brush is an added possibility in Photoshop. Stacking multiple gradients on top of each other for more advanced effects is possible in both programs. Answer from chain83 on reddit.com