If you are a beginner toying with graphic designing software, then you may already know that most of the first-rate tools available - including those of Adobe - are not easily affordable. To get the hang of good graphic designing, it is always advisable to go for free designing software. Free graphic designing software can offer you custom designing with features ranging from basic to advanced and without tearing your pockets.
Free graphic designing tools are a great option to create cost-effective yet aesthetic web pages or marketing collateral. Below are the top 8 free graphic design tools that are user-friendly and deliver quality work for designers and marketers.
Vectr
Empowered with a short learning curve, Vectr is a powerful cross-platform, cross-browser desktop-and-web tool to create stunning vector designs for your website as well as for product designing. Vectr allows information exchange between various devices easy, making collaboration between team members extremely convenient. The easy-to-navigate interface also helps you export files in real-time.
To begin with, you can make use of multiple tutorials available on Vectr’s website. You needn’t be concerned about saving your work as the tool facilitates saving projects automatically. You can create brochures, cards, presentations, logos or any 2d graphics of your choice with crisp and blur-free results.
EDITOR’S RATING 5/5
Link to download the software: https://vectr.com
Pros: Cross-platform, low learning-curve, simple & user-friendly, project sharing
Cons: Need to be connected to the internet throughout the process; does not facilitate local storage of projects.
Canva
One of the best and free online graphic design software that helps you design whatever you want and publish it anywhere. A highly versatile tool, Canva is an extremely good tool for editing images. You can design graphics for your blogs, presentations, email headers, business cards, brochures and much more. Canva also helps you create images and graphics for online ads and banners without requiring any professional skills.
So that is with a vision to empower all to use graphic design software to create stunning graphic designs with default templates and easy-to-use drag and drop function. It is a popular graphic design software among amateurs as it helps them create online graphics or images for social media pages. You can use Canva from any device and it is supported both on android and IOS.
EDITOR’S RATING 5/5
Link to download the software: https://www.canva.com/
Pros: Easy to use, access from any device, default templates
Cons: Needs high internet speed
Lunacy
Lunacy is a cross-platform web design tool to create vector graphics. It offers real-time collaboration for a single project regardless of the platform you use. It requires minimal hardware required to operate and has a great response time. The best thing about Lunacy is that it enables you to work on both online and offline projects and you can switch between them easily. It has built-in graphics and tools that are AI-driven. You get to use version control properties such as Simplie, Abstract, Avocode, and Zeplin. It runs perfectly on Linux, Windows, and macOS.
EDITOR’S RATING 4.9/5
Link to download the software: https://icons8.com/lunacy
Pros: Cross-platform, short learning curve, AI-driven functions, minimal hardware requirement
Cons: less popular, lacks plugin option
Inkscape
Inkscape is a vector graphics editor and is a great substitute for Adobe illustrator. An open-source editor, It has a variety of features and is used to create logos, schematization, flowcharting, cartoons, etc. Unlike other graphic tools, Inkscape offers to render at a very high resolution and that creates very sharp images. It supports SVG format which is supported by browsers and many other applications.
Moreover, Inkscape offers you bitmap tracing, node editing, complex path manipulations, and path-based text. Since it provides you with a lot of filters and effects tools, you can create a project of any complexity. Inkscape is supported on Linux, Windows, and Mac OS.
EDITOR’S RATING 4.5/5
Link to download the software: https://inkscape.org/release/inkscape-0.92.4/
Pros: Multiple filters and effect tools, Open source, ample educational content
Cons: Rather slow with large projects
Gimp
Gimp is a free image editor that works on all major operating systems. It is a well-developed design software with some of the advanced tools to manipulate images or create graphics. Its modern graphical user interface is like Adobe Photoshop and any content creator would be happy to work on this tool.
You may also avail of third-party plugins and enhancement tools to customise your project. It supports various formats but is not limited to PNG, JPEG, GIF, or TIFF. You can avail of other formats using a plug-in. You can save and export your work to XCF format. It works seamlessly on Linux, Mac OS, and Windows.
EDITOR’S RATING 4.6/5
Link to download the software: https://www.gimp.org/downloads
Pros: Easy to use, modern GUI, use of third party plugins
Cons: Contains bug, photoshop plugins not supported
Gravit
Gravit is a designer software that is intuitive and has diverse functions that are available generally in digital asset management tools. It has a large library of vector assets that has templates for emojis, forms, and badges. Gravitsupports SKETCH, JPEG, PDF, SVG, and EPS format. You can create layers, curves, edit paths and transfer data between desktop and online versions smoothly.
Gravit works on all platforms and gives you precision, flexibility, and power to showcase your creativity. Gravit is good for both beginners and professionals as it helps transition to multiple devices. Along with Gravit designer pro, a portable version of it is also available and is suitable for any content creator.
EDITOR’S RATING 4.5/5
Link to download the software: https://www.designer.io/en/download
Pros: Cross-platform, a large library of vector assets, portable version, intuitive workflow
Cons: Lacks a few features, expected to become paid software in the future
Visme
If you are looking for an online tool to create graphical assets like slideshows, charts, or storyboards, Visme is for you. It has a library that stocks numerous graphic resources and templates. One of the best features of this tool is to allow multiple people to work on the same file. Hence, it is suitable for projects that require multiple technical people to work on the same file. You can use various applications to extract data stored somewhere else. Visme preserves the original design aesthetics of your brand, be it images, logos, or color palettes.
EDITOR’S RATING 4/5
Link to download the software: https://www.visme.co/
Pros: Best for the teamwork, preserves color pallet, many graphics resources, and templates,
Cons: Limited free service, large learning curve, default templates are generic
Daz 3D
It is one the best free 3D design software that creates animation and characters which look realistic. If you are a designer, animator, or illustrator, DAZ 3D is for you. Design platforms like Genesis 8, Hexagon, and Daz studio collaborated to develop software that can design 3d models, animations, and rendering capabilities. Daz 3D offers various tools to morph, custom scenes, design facial expressions, and body movements. The tool has a large library that offers various 3D contents like vehicles, creatures, characters, etc. It is compatible with Windows and macOS.
EDITOR’S RATING 4/5
Link to download the software: https://www.daz3d.com/get_studio/
Pros: Realistic characters, 3D creation tools, 3D content modeling, rendering, and animations
Cons: Needs powerful hardware, no update for a long time
Conclusion
With free graphic design software, one can produce aesthetically rich and creative designs and animations. You need to choose the software that is appropriate for your requirements. If you do not have any experience with graphic tools you may go for simple tools that take care of most behind-the-scenes work. Someone with a graphic design background may go for tools that offer customization.
If you are looking for fresh ideas or creatives for your website, social media posts, blogs, or marketing, ThePendits helps you with stunning and relevant visuals as well as content to go with your marketing goals and brand identity.