What is the best free graphic design software to use in 2022? Let’s be honest here, who doesn’t love free stuff? As a graphic design student myself, I obviously prefer using my own skills and tools to create beautiful artwork.
But what about when you first start out, don’t have any skills or knowledge and need to learn by doing? or what if you are a business owner or maybe you just need to make a simple graphic quickly to pass a message across; well that’s where this friendly easy to use, software and design platforms will come to the rescue.
In this article, we take a look at the best free graphic design software available to use on your computer.
Desygner
Desygner helps to create social media posts, ads, presentations, cards, flyers & more. It is a very powerful and simple design tool and you can use this tool to create your own graphics. Even if you’re not a designer, you can create an amazing design in a breeze.
This is definitely one tool that every business owner should have in their arsenal. Compared to Canva, it is considered to be a cheaper alternative with more features. I liked how there are a number of template and font choices without any additional fees, as well as the ease of sharing with others.
Cost: Free / Premium
Premium: $4.95 /month
There are two pricing plans available:
- Pro: $9.95 per month billing and $4.95 per month when billed annually
- Business: $19.95 per month and $9.95 per month when billed annually
- Enterprise: Contact Desygner
Infogram
- Platform: Browser
- Rating: 4.8/5.0 Stars
Create engaging infographics and reports in minutes. More than 35 interactive charts and over 550 maps to help you visualize data, including pie charts, bar graphs, column tables, and word clouds.
Infogram is an intuitive visualization tool that empowers people and teams to create beautiful content. Take your stories to the next level with object animations. Set objects to zoom, bounce, flip, fade, and slide effortlessly into your work. Powerful analytics gives you detailed viewer demographics, average on-screen rate, and how many people shared your content.
Pixlr
- Platform: Browser, iOS, Android
- Rating: 4.7/5.0 Stars
Pixlr the Online Photo Editor that lets you edit photos and create great designs right in your browser for Free. Experience next level, intuitive photo editing and graphical design with AI-powered tools for quick yet professional edits. Our editor opens almost any image format such as PSD (Photoshop), PXD, JPEG, PNG (transparent), WebP, SVG and more. Start from an empty canvas or select one of our professionally crafted templates.
Say goodbye to boring and repetitive editing tasks with AI design tools. One click is all it takes to remove backgrounds perfectly from your photos, cut out every strand of hair and more! Let AI and Machine Learning take your photo editing and background removal to a new level!
Photopea
- Platform: Browser
- Rating: 4.6/5.0 Stars
Photopea is a web-based raster graphics editor used for image editing, making illustrations, web design or converting between different image formats. Photopea is advertising-supported software. It is compatible with multiple web browsers, including Opera, Edge, Chrome, and Firefox.
Inkscape
- Platform: Windows, Mac OS, Linux
- Rating: 4.5/5.0 Stars
Whether you are an illustrator, designer, web designer or just someone who needs to create some vector imagery, Inkscape is for you!
Inkscape is a Free and open source vector graphics editor for GNU/Linux, Windows and MacOS X. It offers a rich set of features and is widely used for both artistic and technical illustrations such as cartoons, clip art, logos, typography, diagramming and flowcharting. It uses vector graphics to allow for sharp printouts and renderings at unlimited resolution and is not bound to a fixed number of pixels like raster graphics. Inkscape uses the standardized SVG file format as its main format, which is supported by many other applications including web browsers.
SketchUp
- How free is it: Free version, $299/year for Pro version
- Company based: USA
- Accessibility: Download, browser (depending on free/pro)
Created by Lastsoftware in 2000, SketchUp is a veteran of the 3D modeling software industry. A versatile and powerful option, Google acquired the software in 2006 to implement into their services, though it has since been sold to Trimble Inc.
Now offering a free version functioning as an excellent free 3D design software, SketchUp is a great choice for budding designers. Similar to TinkerCAD, SketchUp has a shorter learning curve than most 3D software out there, and comes stocked with tools for almost everything you could ever need.
Despite being currently known mostly in the architectural scene and for its affiliation with Google, SketchUp is becoming more relevant as a free 3D modeling software for 3D printing. They are working to become better integrated with creating STL files, and the tools are surprisingly compatible with those who wish to create 3D CAD files. You can currently download the SketchUp STL extension to enable STL files to be created within SketchUp.
SketchUp features an easy-to-use interface without being overloaded with information. You can figure out the basics behind this free 3D software in a few hours easily and be on your way to creating detailed 3D models on your first day that look so realistic they could have been scanned on a 3D scanner. You can easily view your models in 3D, and upload them to 3D Warehouse when you’re happy with the finished product.
Blender — advanced free 3D modeling software
- How free is it: Completely free!
- Company based: The Netherlands
- Accessibility: Download
Arguably the most popular 3D design software, Blender has a huge, active community who share their STL files and 3D models as well as information online. A quick Google or YouTube search will yield thousands of results with people eager to showcase their 3D designs or teach you how to use the Blender 3D software. This is down to Blender being a 100% free 3D modeling software tool which is open source, giving users freedom to create just about anything with its huge range of tools.
Though it has a steeper learning curve, Blender has huge depth to it, making it one of the most complete free 3D software tools out there. This depth makes it a very versatile 3D modeling tool, with uses ranging from film VFX, video games, 3D model design, and it’s also used as a 3D design software for 3D printing. Furthermore, Blender even comes with an integrated game engine, as well as detailed sculpting tools and video editing capabilities.
It isn’t for beginners, or probably even for intermediates, but it is an incredible free 3D modeling software that is ideal for game developers and experienced 3D modelers.
Meshmixer
- How free is it: Completely free
- Company based: USA
- Accessibility: Download
Meshmixer is an interesting 3D software, in the unique position that doesn’t fit into any one particular category. Another one of Autodesk’s 3D software, Meshmixer differs from its rivals in that it enables you to edit existing models with a variety of useful tools including animation, hollowing/filling, and tools for repairing models.
Meshmixer is therefore a fantastic free 3D modeling software for modifying designs to ensure their quality. This makes it a very useful software for beginners and experts alike, allowing them to polish their models so that they’re ready for 3D printing.
Another main selling point of Meshmixer is its use in topological optimization. With its simple hollowing and similar tools available within the free 3D software, parts can be made lighter, saving weight and costs. This is especially useful for eventual 3D printing in industries such as the aerospace and automotive sectors where cutting weight is very important.
Overall, Meshmixer is a versatile and consistent option for those who need to polish their 3D files. It’s perfect for beginners who want to modify their designs, as well as experts who need to optimize their industrial designs. Therefore, Meshmixer is a great free 3D software which encompasses many sectors.
Fusion 360
- How free is it: Free for personal use for a year, Pro version is around $500/year
- Company based: USA
- Accessibility: Download
Created with schools and academic institutes in mind, Fusion 360 is yet another 3D software created by Autodesk. It’s undoubtedly a 3D software modeling tool for experts, however it is user-friendly enough for an educated beginner to be able to use. Packed to the brim with innovative features, Fusion 360 is a very collaborative 3D software that allows users to share STL files via the cloud to collaboratively edit and optimize models.
With powerful tools for accomplishing almost any industrial 3D design, Fusion 360 really is an incredible piece of software. It has built-in features to assess stresses that components of your 3D design will encounter, allowing designers to locate potential weak points before printing. Once created, you can then easily export your 3D model as an STL file or any other file format.
Having recently been made free for students, startups, and more, Fusion 360 is a more accessible 3D software than ever before. If you’ve got some experience, or looking to level up your 3D design skills, this is the perfect 3D software for you.
Vectary
- Price: Free, with Premium features $12/month
Founded in 2014, Vectary calls itself the most accessible 3D and AR design platform — and it’s a completely web-based free 3D modeling software.
Usefully, Vectary offers templates with pre-rendered and lit screens that you can place your 3D models in front of for product shots and other aesthetic uses. The simple workflow makes for easy lighting, modeling and sculpting with their toolset, and you can seamlessly export your finished design or scene as an AR model.
The free package includes access to Vectary Studio to create and design models, as well as the ability to export your creations in OBJ or STL file formats, though for other formats you’ll need to upgrade. Within their free offering you can create up to 25 projects, and you get access to Vectary’s library of 3D assets, materials and icons. Upgrading gives you access to their AR preview tools, and have project and team sharing features for better and quicker feedback between multiple people.
SelfCAD
- Pricing: $14.99/m, or $599 perpetual license. There are discounts for educators.
- Accessibility: Browser-based as well as downloadable versions
SelfCAD focuses on being the best browser-based free 3D modeling software for students all around the world, allowing people to design 3D files without having to download anything. This has made it a popular choice in the US for schools looking to teach students 3D design. There’s also a PC and Mac downloadable version however for those who prefer it.
Focused on simplicity and ease of use, SelfCAD offers all the necessary tools to create whilst still retaining a short learning curve that beginners can use. Built with 3D printing in mind, SelfCAD also includes browser-based slicing tools for preparing your STL or G-code files for 3D printing.
Overall, SelfCAD is a simple 3D design software program with a clean layout that doesn’t scare you off. It includes all the tools necessary for students and beginners to create amazing 3D models to print, without the steep learning curve involved in some other 3D software tools. There’s a reason it is becoming increasingly adopted in schools worldwide.
Conclusion
It’s really hard to get a hold of the best free graphics design software. There’s a lot of programs out there, but hardly any of them are worth your time. We’ve made it our job to find the quality ones that won’t waste your time and money. Leave the marketing to others, we’re just focused on quality results, simple as that. So if you are seeking for some great software for creating graphics for your website or other purposes then this is the list for you.