It’s easy to get intimidated when using design software for the first time. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refresh your skills or you simply want to find new tools or apps that can help boost your creativity, it’s good to know there’s free options out there, whether it’s photo editors, vector graphic editors, 3D animation software, design templates—the list goes on.
The great thing about these is that they are leading-edge programs that rival their paid competitors so you won’t be sacrificing quality. And if you’re creatively inclined and looking for inspiration, these free design tools can also help spark your imagination so you can create something truly unique.
Gravit Designer
Best HTML-based app
Gravit Designer, sometimes simply referred to as Designer.io, is a full-featured vector design app designed to work on every platform. Notably, it’s only the basic version of this app that’s available for free, but this still comes with a full color space, PDF export functionality, and 500mb of cloud storage.
Features:
- Multi-platform design app: Work on your projects wherever you like. Gravit Designer works on Mac, Linux, Chrome OS, and Windows. You can even work from your internet browser.
- Top web technology backend: Gravit Designer is built on technologies like HTML and JavaScript. The auto-update mechanism ensures you’ll always have the latest version too.
- Touch interface: You can edit and experiment with designs on touch devices – ideal if you’re using drawing screens or tablets.
- Quick start functionality: Gravit Designer makes it easy to get started fast with a host of templates and pre-set canvas designers, as well as pre-made fonts, design assets, and files.
- Cloud integration: You’ll be able to automatically save all of your content to the cloud, so you never lose valuable work.
What we like:
- Reliability: You can access Gravit Designer from anywhere, so it’s easy to keep working wherever you are. We love the automatic save function and the fully-featured cloud storage solution too.
- Adaptable interface: You can customize various parts of the interface, including accessing a “dark mode” that’s easier on your eyes.
- Simplicity: It’s really easy to get started with this product. Premade templates, fonts, shapes, and filters will get you to work in no time.
What we dislike:
- You will need to upgrade to the premium version for more storage
- No real-time collaboration feature, despite the cloud service
Pricing: There’s a free version available, or a professional option starting at $100 per year.
Autodesk Sketchbook
Best digital drawing for tablets
Autodesk Sketchbook is a simple but effective graphic design software choice, for artists using drawing tablets. The digital app allows you to render ideas into digital format, with quick and simple sketching functionality and multiple components like perspective guides and curved rulers.
Features:
- Easy sketching support: Perspective guides, curved rules, and more give you a more natural drawing experience on any tablet. You can even access 16-sector radial symmetery.
- Unlimited brushes and layers: Bring your ideas to live with a huge selection of 140 standard brushes, or create your own. You can also add endless layers for blending.
- Scan sketches: Scan a sketch with your mobile to import it into the software. You can also access other intelligent features like predictive stroke.
- Simple selection tools: There are tons of simple selection options that make it easy to upgrade and transform your content.
What we like:
- Simplicity: The Autodesk sketchbook solution ensures that you can start sketching immediately with helpful tools like rules and guides, selection, blending, gradient, and fill.
- Intelligence: Distort transformation tools, and predictive stroke are just some of the intelligent features available. Users can also animate their creations in 4k and scan their sketchbooks with their smartphone.
- Versatility: Aside from accessing a host of pre-made tools, you can also make your own by tweaking and adjusting brushes.
What we dislike:
- The software is quite limited compared to other illustration and editing tools
- Can be a little slow to render at times
Pricing: Totally free to download and use.
Over
But you only want to create on mobile?
There’s certainly no lack of graphics apps for that. It’s hard to even know where to start!
I’ve tried a lot of them, and have found them to be pretty limited. Many only create square images, which isn’t going to help you if you need a cover photo or blog post image.
Over is different, though! It includes 27 preset sizes for most all your graphics needs.
Designed with mobile creatives in mind, Over features standard and custom-made fonts and well-crafted artwork overlays, combined with a sleek design, easy-to-use functionality, and immediate sharing ability.
This app lets you type in any text you like, and change the font style, size, alignment, and more. It even lets you change the color with a clever color picker to match text to an existing color in the image, or specify your brand color by hex number.
You can rotate the text, and nudge it until you get your text exactly where you want it.
Over isolates each design element on separate layers, giving you complete design control.
Gravit Designer
You might already be familiar with this free graphic design software under its previous name, Gravit. Billed as a “cross-platform design tool for the 21st century,” Gravit Designer delivers the goods.
Whether you use it online or download it as an app, Gravit Design is an incredible resource for vector design and comes with a seriously robust toolkit. Icon designs, logo presentations, illu
There are design templates in the Pro version – several new ones daily. See one you like?
- Open it and work on it so it saves to your Projects. Edit it again later!
- Tap the + sign and save the template to your personal Circle. Access and edit it any time.
- NEW! Search for a template by keyword (at the top of the templates feed).
Easily import the photos from your camera roll, or search Unsplash or Pixabay right in the app.
There are some filters and photo editing options, as well as some very creative Photoshop-worthy blending modes.
Or just tweak one of their templates and post!
Free to download, with a number of paid upgrades. For full functionality, you’ll want the Pro subscription at $14.99 monthly or 99.99 per year (in the US) on iOS. Be aware that this is an auto-renewing subscription.
For the more limited Over Android app, the cost is $29.99 US.
If you only want to design on mobile, this may be all you need.
Download the Over mobile app for iOS here.
Download the Over mobile app for Android here.
stration work, animation, text integration? You’re covered.
Designed for simplicity and ease of use, the platform is still granular enough for a wide variety of projects. A serious perk for busy designers is the Gravit Cloud service that will let you design-on-the-go from any device, anywhere with internet access. Talk about a productivity boost!
Gravit Designer at a glance:
- 100% free
- Choice of using online or via downloadable app
- Cross-platform functionality
- Robust toolkit for vector design
- Can export files as PDF, SVG, or bitmap
- Gravit Cloud services facilitates on-the-go design work
Vectr
Vectr is a free graphic design software for creating beautiful vector graphics that is both elegant and easy to use. Simple and streamlined, designers at any level can jump right into their work without any pesky learning curve.
Another great cross-platform option, Vectr will synch your projects in real-time so you can begin designing at home on your desktop web browser and continue later on your iPad. It’s a completely seamless experience. What’s more, you can grant collaborators access to your document so that they can watch you create and edit as it happens.
Whether you’re working on website design mockups, brand logos, presentations, brochures, posters, and more, your designs will look crisp and clear—no matter the size. The sky’s the limit!
Vectr at a glance:
- 100% free
- Intuitive and easy to use
- Seamless cross-platform capabilities
- Share and edit documents with collaborators in real time
- High quality designs at any size or scale
- Free user guide and tutorials
Conclusion
There are several free design software tools at your service! Here, we go through the most popular of them, providing information on their features and presenting illustrations.