Vectors are one of the best ways to present your ideas and illustrations in a clear and professional way. They can be scaled to any desired size without sacrificing its quality. There are a few free vector graphics software around which allow you to create vectors graphics for free.
These are the best free vector graphics software for creating awesome images, icons, sketches for your tablet and phone. If you have a android device you should have these programs as part of your digital design arsenal.
Xara Designer PRO
Xara Designer PRO X or Xara for short is an advanced but easy to use graphic design tool available on Windows. Xara Designer is built for both bitmaps and vectors. That means it can handle DTP (desktop publishing), graphic design, illustration and photo manipulation tasks in a single tool.
The graphic design software provides you with hundreds of template layouts, design elements, and over a million archive photos to get you started quickly. While drawing any shape, lines, or curves using vectors, you would not face any loss in quality when you scale it up. You can create custom design elements and use them in any of your designs. Tools like gradients, outlines, and transparency in the software will give your artwork a special touch.
It has tons of features that make it an amazing graphic design tool and it is available at affordable prices .
PROS:
Easy to use.
Drag and drop features.
Anti-aliasing features that speed up the editing process.
Can zoom up to 25,000% and more.
Capable of syncing files with Dropbox and Google Drive.
Supports importing and exporting Adobe PSD files, including layer support, alpha channel, and 16-bit color and CMYK layer conversion.
Array of tools for drawing, 3D extrude, text handling, blends, page layout, live effects, transparency and feathering, and shadows and contours.
CONS:
Only available for Windows.
Its advanced features are sometimes hard to use.
The masking feature is cumbersome and difficult to understand.
Sketch
Sketch is a Mac-only vector graphic design program that focuses mainly on digital design. These digital designs are used to create websites, apps, and interfaces. Unlike Photoshop, Sketch isn’t built for photo editing or print work.
With Sketch, you can create a prototype by collaborating with other designers on the platform itself. The program has a smart layout feature in which the component will automatically resize based on the content. There are hundreds of plugins in the software which will let you do vector editing and other design work with precision down to the pixel.
Digital icons are another thing that can be created through this software. Sketch, on the downside, is not great for print design or illustrations.
Sketch is focused on screen design, specifically creating the icons and interface elements for websites and applications. And, as the software is exclusively available for the Apple Mac, mostly designers working on iPhone, iPad and macOS applications are going to find it useful.
That said, it can be used more generally, but its strength is creating slick user interfaces.
Serif DrawPlus
Serif DrawPlus is a 2D vector graphics editor and animation software. Whether it’s banner ads or rollover-graphic web-buttons, you can embed them with HTML no problem.
What makes the software interesting is the interactive, easy-to-use interfaces. Serif DrawPlus has a variety of tools that allow designers to create logos, animations, posters and much more. Serif DrawPlus is available for Windows only.
Serif DrawPlus provides realistic, natural brushes with vector editing capabilities. The program offers a good array of painting “techniques:” charcoal, pastel, watercolor, and even spray-brushes let you augment photos or create something from scratch.
DrawPlus also lets you add a touch of 3D to your drawings; you can apply surface effects and lighting effects to make your creation come to life.
Vectr
Vectr is free, intuitive, simple,yet powerful to perform vector graphics editing tool. It is used by bloggers, digital marketers and website designers. It can be business cards, logos, posters, brochures, etc.
Available both as a browser-based web app and as a stand-alone desktop app, Vectr is a free editor for creating 2D vector graphics. With all the vector features you’d expect, plus a wealth of options for using filters, shadows and fonts, it’s versatile enough for day-to-day design tasks.
Its live collaboration and synchronisation options are particularly handy, as they essentially enable anyone to watch you design, live, meaning it’s really easy to create in tandem or send feedback.
PROS:
Handy and easy for new users of vector
User friendly interface
CONS:
Limited templates for users
It’s mostly best for simple tasks and small projects.
SVG-Edit
SVG-edit is the grandfather of browser-based vector editors having been around since the mid-2000’s. It has no server-side functionality, running solely in the browser – you can’t save your work without adding your own functionality to the app.
It is a cross-browser javascript graphic design tool. SVG-Edit consists of two interfaces, which include svgcanvas.js and svg-editor.js. These two components work mutually to create effective vector graphics.
Nevertheless, for an editor that began life as a fairly limited and unremarkable vector paint program, SVG-edit’s functionality has continually improved over time.
With SVG-edit you can draw the standard shapes (lines, rectangle, circles, polygons, freehand, etc.), use paths, layers, and gradients, view and edit SVG source, export to PNG, JPEG, BMP, WEBP and more. and provides a range of editing tools to select from, such as shaping tools, pathing tools, a text editor, as well as hand drawing tools.
Inkscape
To start, we have Inkscape, which is an open-source free vector graphics editing software that’s about as powerful as Adobe Illustrator. Inkscape is not only free, but it’s also available on multiple platforms such as Windows, Mac, and Linux.
It comes with various features ranging from object creation and manipulation, fill and stroke, path editing, and text support. In addition to that, it comes with a few more features like anti-aliased display, transparency, and it’s able to import and export various file formats, including SVG, PNG, DXF, and much more.
Inkscape has quite a large community, with developers constantly creating plugins to extend the software’s functionality. In addition to that, there are many tutorials on YouTube where you can learn a lot of tips and tricks to help you improve.
With all that being said, you can use Inkscape to create logos, illustrations, and graphics for social media. It’s also possible to convert a raster image to a vector image by using the Trace Bitmap tool found in the software.
Additional Resource
Freepik
- Freepik is one of the best websites for downloading free vector art in a few clicks.
- They have more than 2000 free vector images available for free download, they have a great graphic design in various style, infographics,patterns&labels.
- It is easy to download in various formats AI/EPS/JPG.
FreeVectors
- Freevectors have more than 10 years’ experience & they build great vector graphics, images & create new ideas in short inspiration.
- They have a great feature like you don’t need to create an account or log in to download images, they have online editor & free download.
- It is a fully licensed website & there is resize & customize images right on the website.
Free Vector
- Free Vector is premium quality design & its free to the community, they have more than 20000 vector graphics available & free to download.
- From animals to the 3D icon, Business, Vintage Design elements to engaging logo templates, you can find & download different types of vector graphics on Free Vector.
- It is easy to download in various formats PDF, AI, EPS, SVG.
Vecteezy
- Vecteezy is one of the most talented designed websites & easy to discover & free download whatever you want.
- They have unique features like online editors, customize images, sizes, font & changing color before you download.
- They have fully Licensed images for commercial & personal use.
Vector Portal
- Vector Portal is one of the world’s biggest free vector website since back in 2005.
- They have many great graphics & features by category like animals, flags, maps, templates, etc. or see popular & latest images.
- They have lots of collections in vector images, there are many selections of brushes, swatches, styles, etc.
Vexels
- Vexels is one of the best high-quality vector images for download free. They have a good collection & great design for subscribers.
- They have an online editor with the best ready-made design like website graphics, invitations, greetings cards, etc.
It is easy to download vector graphics in PNG, SVG PSD, and EPS.
Dry Icons
- Dry Icons is specialized in creating great icons they have more than 6000 vector graphics available & free to download.
- They have a great feature as you can searching for a dog that gives you quick links to the searches for a cat, pets, animals among others.
- Dry Icons has an uploading graphic element like business images & logos.
Flat Icon
- Flat icon is the best icon site download for free, they have more than 8000 free vector images available for free download.
- They have well-organized features you can search by category & filter result for animal or cat and dog icons only as well as the main search functionality.
- They have many choices of EPS, SVG, PSD&PNGformats when you download.
Vectorian
- Vectorian is the only one website they have only focused on premium icons & they have high-quality mockups, icons & illustration.
- They have more than 150000 free vector images available for free download, Vector Stock has an online pattern maker & match icon so you can download from the website.
- They have many choices of AI, PDF, EPS&JPG formats when you download.
Freepik
- Freepik is a great resource for free vectors with more than 300000 images of downloads for free.
- They have a great graphic design in various styles, infographics, patterns & labels. You can search for images by category, filter or by keyword.
- It is easy to download in various formats PDF, AI, EPS, SVG.
Conclusion
Ultimately, there are a variety of free vector graphics software programs that can be utilized to help with the tasks listed above. These programs range from free to costly, but they all have their pros and cons. For example, Inkscape is great for creating logos and buttons, but it’s not so great at creating basic shapes like rectangles. Vectoraster has the ability to create simple shapes that can be modified later on, but it isn’t very good at creating logos or typography. There are also other programs out there, some more affordable than others. With all of this in mind, we hope this list has helped you to better identify which program best fits your needs.