Free Design Software is a vector graphic software, allowing you to create logos, images, social media graphics and even full branding packages without spending a dime.
Here is a list of popular, easy to use software that you can use for free or just download the trial version from the internet. I have also included some applications that may help you if you’re a student and/or a teacher who is just starting out in the graphic world.
Photo Pos Pro
A user-friendly interface and a wide range of features
SPECIFICATIONS
Platform: WindowsTODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+User-friendly+Good for photo-editing+Lots of plugins available
REASONS TO AVOID
-Not for general image-making
Sometimes simple is best, and that’s certainly the case with Photo Pos Pro. A free and easy to use image editor, it boasts an extremely user-friendly interface, as well as an in-depth help system, to get you started. It’s built with image enhancement and editing in mind, but it’ll also stretch to more advanced techniques, with plenty of expansions and plugins available.
Paint.NET
A free Photoshop alternative for photo editing
SPECIFICATIONS
Platform: WindowsTODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Good free photo editor+Some useful painting tools+Regular updates
REASONS TO AVOID
-Lacking in advanced features
Paint.NET started out as an updated version of the Paint app included with early versions of Windows. And while it’s not super-sophisticated, it’s actually pretty capable as long as you don’t get your hopes up too high. It’s easy to use, and there’s a range of special effects available, allowing you to easily create fake perspective, blend and push pixels around the canvas, tile and repeat selections, and so on.
Autodesk Maya
The best graphic design software for 3D work
SPECIFICATIONS
Platform: Windows, macOSTODAY’S BEST DEALSAutodesk Maya – 1 YearUS$1,620VISIT SITEat Autodesk
REASONS TO BUY
+Powerful & feature-rich+Covers the entire 3D workflow+Free for students & educators
REASONS TO AVOID
-Steep learning curveAdvertisement
Autodesk Maya is the best graphic design software for 3D work, and it can be found in top studios like Pixar or Framestore. There’s a huge range of tools and features covering pretty much the entire 3D workflow, from modelling through to rendering and animation.
Be warned: the price and the time it’ll take you to learn its ways will be off-putting to anyone who’s not already well-versed in 3D. That said, if you’re a student or educator, you can sign up for free educational access to the Autodesk range.
Blender
The best free graphic design software for 3D work
SPECIFICATIONS
Platform: Windows, macOS, LinuxTODAY’S BEST DEALS
US$249.95View at AmazonUS$259.95View at AmazonSee all prices (6 found)
REASONS TO BUY
+Full 3D creation suite+Free and open source+Regular updates
REASONS TO AVOID
-Learning curve
For the best free graphic design software for 3D, there’s only one serious choice. Blender is a full 3D content creation suite with a hugely impressive stack of tools. Its makers are constantly working on its development, but you can pretty much do anything 3D related with this software, including modelling, texturing, animation, rendering and compositing.
Hexagon
A great free 3D modelling tool for newbies
SPECIFICATIONS
Platform: Windows, macOSTODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Works well with Daz 3D+Plenty of modelling tools+Intuitive interface
REASONS TO AVOID
-No animation tools
Ideal for those just getting started with 3D, Hexagon is a free modelling tool from Daz 3D that features all the tools you need for creating impressive 3D models, including Daz Studio 3D Bridge, sculpted primitives, freehand modelling brushes, micro-displacement modelling tools, comprehensive UV-mapping modules, advanced 3D paint, and instant ambient occlusion. Use it alongside Daz Studio for a complete 3D suite.
ScultpGL
Easy-to-use 3D sculpting tool based in the browser
SPECIFICATIONS
Platform: BrowserTODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Simple to use+Works in the browser+Surprisingly capable
REASONS TO AVOID
-Lacks more advanced toolsAdvertisement
Want to try some digital sculpting right now without having to download anything? You need to head directly for Stéphane Ginier’s SculptGL. One of the best graphic design software options for 3D, it runs in the browser (there’s a downloadable version too, as well as a Chrome app). And it gives you plenty of sculpting tools as well as PBR vertex painting and alpha texture support.
SculptGL supports multi-resolution sculpting and is capable of voxel remeshing and dynamic retopology. And it’ll import and export OBJ, PLY and STL files. There are more powerful free 3D tools to be had, but if you want something you can get to grips with straight away and which can produce great-looking results with a bit of work, SculptGL is well worth having to hand.
Infogram
Create infographics for your website or to share on social media
SPECIFICATIONS
Platform: BrowserTODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Lots of templates+Easy to get started+Real-time results
REASONS TO AVOID
-Subscription needed to download images
Infogram is a useful free tool for creating all manner of graphs, charts and maps, with the added bonus of adding images and videos if you want to create engaging infographics. You can arrange your data in a simple spreadsheet that you can then edit to see the results in real time. And when you’re satisfied with the result you can publish it to the Infogram website to embed it on your own site, or share via social media.
Gravit Designer
- Platform: Browser, Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS
- Rating: 4.8/5.0 Stars
Whether you’re working on graphics for marketing materials, websites, icons, UI design, presentations, or social media—or just like creating cool art—Gravit Designer PRO gives you all the power, precision, and flexibility you need to unleash your creativity.
Gravit Designer is a free full-featured vector graphic design app that works on ALL platforms. Unlock the full power of your creativity with fast and flexible tools tailored to professional designers. Easy to use for beginners, yet powerful enough for professionals.
Gravit Designer runs smoothly on ALL platforms – Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Chrome OS, Progressive Web App, and in-browser, allowing you to easily transition to as many devices as you want.
Canva
- Platform: Browser, iOS
- Rating: 4.9/5.0 Stars
Launched in 2013, Canva is an online design and publishing tool with a mission to empower everyone in the world to design anything and publish anywhere. Canva is the best free fully editing photo retouching software for the creative community, with photo manipulation, to color picker, you can design and create the most beautiful brochures, business cards, flyers or anything you can imagine. Canva is also great for creating online images for banners, ads, Facebook banner ads with just few clicks any beginner can create most beautiful graphic designs for free.
Vecteezy
- Platform: Browser
- Rating: 4.9/5.0 Stars
FREE SVG editor! Designed to allow anyone to customize Vecteezy content before they download it, or create beautiful vector designs from scratch directly in your browser. Easy for beginners. Powerful for Professionals. Built with everyone in mind for the modern web. Built directly into our website for a streamlined workflow. No need to download an app or install anything.
Inkscape
A powerful software for vector graphics. Free even for commercial use
Pros
- Completely free
- Plenty of filters
- Contains new nice effect tools
- A lot of educational content
Cons
- Can be very slow in large projects
This open-source vector free graphics program is widely known as a free analog of Adobe Illustrator. The difference between them is in the fact that Inkscape uses Scalable Vector Graphic (SVG) as the main format. Designers, who are familiar with vector graphics, will easily master this program. Here you can create projects of any complexity.
It is a winner in Inkscape vs Photoshop battle, if you need a program for beginning graphic designers as it provides a large number of modern tools and effects, including complex path manipulations, node editing, bitmap tracing, and path-based text.
As soon as you enter their website, Inkscape immediately shows that it’s a professional tool for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. However, there is a separate page that contains instructions and tells how to download it.
GIMP
A powerful raster graphics editor
Pros
- Vivid and modern UI
- Easy to use
- Has single windows usage
Cons
- Contains several bugs
Gimp graphic design software is well-thought-out and surprisingly free. It provides a versatile photo editor that can work on all main operating systems.
Gimp is for those who are looking for robust software to perform different manipulations with photos, create paintings or mock-ups.
The interface of this free graphics software is similar to Adobe Photoshop. A few tool icons are the same and the layer setup is not worse than in Photoshop.
The developers consider the requests of the users and do everything to enhance the functions of this software. One of such functions is saving and exporting files. It saves your working files in XCF format. But you will have to export other formats.
Conclusion
Free Design Software lets you create graphics for your entire business and build a cohesive brand image, even if you don’t have a large budget.