Are you looking for graphic design software free download? Well, you don’t need to spend hours scouring Google for the best design software. As a graphic designer myself, I always test out new graphics programs. In those tests I have come across several that are both useful and easy-to-use. Here’s some of my personal favorites.
If you’re a beginner or experienced in graphic design, these days you have lots of choices to choose from when it comes to software. I was confused with which one to choose. So I did some research and compiled this list of Free Graphic Design Software that can help you in your work.
Canva
Best for: Social media graphics
Platforms: Mac, Windows, Android, iOS
Canva launched in 2013 and has since become a very popular online design and publishing tool. In fact, this is the software that Team Clark uses to create a lot of the graphics we post on social media!
Canva offers a free version that includes everything you’ll need to start designing. With it, you’ll get access to more than 250,000 free templates and more than 100 design types including social media posts, presentations, letters and more. You’ll also be able to use hundreds of thousands of free photos and graphics, collaborate on projects with members of your team and save your work with 5GB of free Cloud storage.
You can create a free account to begin using Canva online directly in your web browser. You can also download the desktop app for your Mac or Windows device. Canva also offers highly-rated apps on The App Store and Google Play for your iOS or Android device.
Vectr
Best for: Collaborative projects
Platforms: Windows, Linux, Chrome OS, Web Browser
Vectr is a free graphics software that lets you create vector graphics using a simple platform. Vectr is available as a downloadable program, or you can use the software online in your web browser.
The website includes a variety of helpful tutorials ranging from how to get started to creating beautiful professional presentations. You can also use the software to create business cards, typographic logos, social media headers, memes, resumes and more. In addition to the tutorials, you can also check out Vectr’s user guide for a more comprehensive description of how to use the software.
Perhaps one of the best features that Vectr provides is real-time URL sharing. You can send anyone a Vectr document for real-time collaboration online. You can create and edit designs live from both the web app or the desktop version. This makes it a great tool for collaborating with others on projects.
Gravit Designer
Best for: Corel users
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Chrome OS
Gravit Designer is a great free resource for building graphics. It’s owned by the same company as Corel Draw, so if you’re a fan of Corel digital design products, Gravit Designer is definitely worth checking out. While there’s a “PRO” version of the software available for $49 annually, the free version of Gravit Designer should have everything you’ll need to create quality graphics. Plus, you can try the PRO version for free when you first sign up. Just select the free trial period for PRO.
Gravit Designer works online, but you can also download a desktop version of the software. You’ll just have to be connected to the internet to use it for free. When you first get started, you’ll be prompted to create a free account using your email address, name and a password. You won’t have to enter any payment information to use the free version of the software or to try out a trial version of the PRO software.
With the free version of Gravit Designer, you’ll get 500MB of Cloud storage and the ability to export PDF files. Unfortunately, the free version of the software doesn’t allow you to work offline, it doesn’t include touchscreen support or advanced export options, and you can’t see your projects’ version history.
Inkscape
Best for: Professional quality vector graphics
Platforms: Linux, Windows, macOS
According to Inkscape’s website, the software was created for designers of all kinds including those in marketing and branding, engineering/CAD, web graphics, cartooning and for individual uses. You can get started by downloading the software to your Linux, Windows or macOS device.
When I first downloaded Inkscape, the interface reminded me of Microsoft Paint. This made it really intuitive to use, and all of the features are available for free. According to the website, those features include object creation, object manipulation, fill and stroke features, operations on paths, text support, rendering and a variety of file formats.
There are tons of resources available on Inkscape’s website under the “Learn” tab including an FAQ section, tutorials, books/manuals and a guide to how to use Inkscape for animation. Users also have access to Inkscape’s community which includes user support and discussions in the form of chat, forums and more.
GIMP
Best for: Free Photoshop alternative
Platforms: GNU/Linux, OS X, Windows
If you’re looking for a free alternative to Photoshop, GIMP is a graphic design software worth checking out. While you can’t use the software online, it can be downloaded to Linux, OS X or Windows computers.
GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It’s a free software that was designed for photo retouching, image composition and image authoring, according to the website. The interface is really similar to Adobe’s Photoshop, so if you’re already familiar with the tools and shortcuts, using GIMP will be easy.
You can get started by checking out the tutorials online which include beginner basics, photo editing tips, painting guides and more. If you’re ready to try out the software yourself, you can download it here.
SVG-Edit
Best for: Basic online editing
Platforms: Any web browser
SVG-Edit is a web-based drawing editor that works in any modern web browser. The code to the program is completely open-source, which means you can download and edit the program’s code itself, embed it into your own website and more. Of course, even if you aren’t interested in coding, you can just visit this website to use the basic editor online for free.
As you can tell from the program’s title, the editor specializes in creating and editing scalable vector graphics (SVG) images. This is one of the most popular graphics formats. Still, you can export your finished images as PNG, JPEG, BPM, WEBP or PDF files as well.
SVG-Edit looks a lot like Microsoft Paint, and it’s great for similar simple tasks. You’ll find basic tools that allow you to create and edit images including a digital pencil, shape tools, text tools, a color picker and more. You can use the tools to create a basic graphic from scratch, or if you need to make simple edits to a graphic or image, SVG-Edit may be the best basic online editor. Of course, if you have a more complicated project, this editor may not be enough.
Blender
Best for: 3D creation
Platforms: Windows, Linux, macOS
Blender is unlike many of the free graphic design software listed here because it’s focused on open source 3D creation. It can be used for rendering, modeling, sculpting, animation, 2D concept design, visual effects, simulation and more.
If you’re interested in making 3D graphics or clips, this is the free graphic design software for you. To check out a full list of the features available for free with Blender, visit the company’s website.
Blender is completely open-source, which means it’s free to use for any purpose. You can learn more about the software’s license online. If you’re ready to download Blender and try it out for yourself, visit the download page here. Unfortunately, the program isn’t available in your web browser, which means you will have to download the software in order to try it out.
Krita
Best for: Drawing
Platforms: Windows, Linux, macOS
According to the Krita user manual, Krita is a sketching and painting program designed for digital artists. If you’re an illustrator looking for a free digital tool, Krita is one to check out.
You will have to download the software to try it out because there is no browser version available. To download Krita, visit this page. Be sure to check the system requirements before downloading because you will need the right version for your operating system as well as a good amount of storage on your device.
Once you download Krita, you’ll find that the interface is intuitive and customizable. You’ll also find a variety of free tools available including a selection of brushes and brush stabilizers, vector and text tools, a wrap-around mode for seamless textures and a simple 2D animation tool. For a full list of Krita’s features, check out the company’s website.
Pixlr
Best for: Mobile editing
Platforms: Web browser, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Pixlr is another great free graphic design software worth checking out. There are different editors available including Pixlr X for quick and easy graphic design and Pixlr E for advanced photo editing. When I tried out Pixlr, I used Pixlr X. It included all of the basic features you’d need for graphic design including layouts, templates, text, effects, filters, additional elements and more.
One feature that stood out to me about PIxlr was the “Remove Background” tool. If you need to remove the background of an image, you can visit this page to use the tool. PIxlr’s templates are definitely another one of the editor’s highlights, and you’ll find plenty available for free. Pixlr’s templates include YouTube thumbnails, Instagram stories and other social media elements. You’ll also find PowerPoints, resumes, business cards, newsletters, invitations, photo collage templates and more.
You can use Pixlr to create or edit images in your web browser or you can download the desktop version of the software. If you’re more interested in using your mobile device for creating and editing graphics, you can also check out Pixlr Mobile. The app has a 3.7-star rating out of 1.1K reviews on The App Store and a 4.3-star rating out of 1.2M reviews on Google Play.
Conclusion
All software will have their quirks. Even the highest-end professional apps are rarely perfect and will cause you to stumble regularly. The key is knowing when to put down one piece of software and try something else, and that’s what we hope is detailed in this list of free graphic design software programs. We did our best to pick out all the underutilized gems and showcase them for everyone to give a try, but we are nowhere close to being finished with the list.