Those who want to launch themselves into the world of graphic design, digital illustration, or photo editing have before them a vast array of possibilities and programs to choose from to get the job done. The Adobe suite, for example, is certainly an excellent choice for professional work. Whether Photoshop for photo editing or digital drawing, Illustrator for vector graphics, or Lightroom for post production, the Adobe package is one of the most widely used paid choices for graphic designers, illustrators, and photographers.
Not everyone, however, can afford to pay for a monthly subscription to one or more of Adobe’s Creative Cloud programs, especially if you are new to design, want to start a new career in design and practice, or simply need a free tool to complete specific projects. There is a wide range of free graphics programs available on the web, but it is undeniable that you have to select the free resources well, otherwise you risk wasting your time and taking it away from learning and practice, which are essential if you are serious about it.
We therefore offer a selection of free graphics programs useful for getting the job done. Next to the name is the download link, then the supported platforms.
1 – Gravit Designer – Download or use Online
Platforms: Online (Browser), Windows PC, Mac, Linux, ChromeOS
Formerly known as Gravit, Gravit Designer is a very comprehensive vector drawing suite suitable for different types of work, from icon design to presentations, illustrations and animations. As soon as you enter the program you will be able to decide on the size of the work area but also on standard formats such as Blog Cover, Facebook Cover or graphics designed to perfectly fill the iPHone X screen, so the program is definitely up to date.Example of the Gravit Designer interface – Credits: Gravit Designer
The interface is very simple and intuitive and offers an interesting set of tools for building complex non-destructive vector images, including diagrams. For example, among the tools offered are the pen, cutter and selection tool. Simple shapes can also be created and there is also a system that completes them automatically, as well as vector composite shapes by joining different objects.
This is one of the most versatile online graphics programs around, suitable both for those who are starting out now and for more experienced designers. Files can then be exported to PDF, SVG or bitmap and there is also the Gravit Cloud service that allows you to have access to all your work wherever you are.
2 – Inkscape – Download
Platforms: Windows PC, Linux, Mac
Inkscape is always part of the list of vector graphics programs and is very versatile and powerful, considered one of the best free and open source solutions that can be used as an alternative to Illustrator. It focuses on SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) formats, but many other formats can be imported and exported. Inkscape offers maximum compatibility with several proprietary formats (notably AI, EPS, PDF, JPEG, GIF, and PNG).
Although it doesn’t have all the myriad features of Illustrator (such as external plug-ins and filters), Inkscape still gets the job done-from the most basic ones like creating and editing complex shapes to working on layers, editing text and importing raster images or creating gif animations. The developers themselves, but also the large community around Inkscape, have provided or even several tutorials to familiarize yourself with the program.
The real limitation of Inkscape is the fact that it does not allow to work in CMYK (essential to create jobs for print) but only in RGB (usually used for jobs intended for the web). Support for the CMYK color method will probably come with future updates. In the meantime, you can finish drawing your subject on Inkscape and import it into Scribus (another free program that supports CMYK) by following this tutorial. A bit cumbersome, but that’s the price you pay for getting everything for free.
3 – Krita – Download
Platforms: Mac, Windows, Linux
This is a truly versatile digital drawing program, in development since 1999 and designed by artists in the fields of concept art, texture and matte painting, illustrators and cartoonists. It already arrives with a number of brushes suitable for different types of work and styles but there are also many plug-ins available to insert advanced filters and advanced perspective guides to make life easier for artists.
The possibilities offered by this program go even further, such as a brush stabilizer that allows you to draw soft lines even for those with shaky hands, easy creation of patterns and textures, and a pop-up color palette to quickly choose the one that best suits the drawing you are working on. Yes, Krita supports CMYK color mode (as well as RGB, of course) but it also has advanced features that are hard to find in other free, online graphics programs, such as drawing in HDR.
4 – Pixlr – Download for iOS – Download for Android
Platforms: Android, iOS
This is a photo editing app for both Android and iPhone smartphones. The app is free (but includes advertisements) and has more than 600 filters to apply to newly taken images or photos. You can alternatively add borders, stickers, create photo collages that you can then share but also use real-time filters on images framed by your smartphone camera. Usage is very simple: once started you can decide whether to take a photo (which you can edit later), edit an existing photo, or make a collage. It is not really an advanced graphics program, but a handy tool for editing photos and images from mobile.
5 – GIMP – Download
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
When talking about free graphics programs, one cannot fail to mention GIMP, a more widely used alternative to Photoshop. The name stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program and originally debuted on Unix platforms. GIMP’s interface differs from Photoshop’s in several parts, although there is a version that echoes the look of the Adobe program. It offers a long list of tools for drawing, coloring and enhancing photos and images, compatible with different formats without any problems whatsoever, as well as integrating a file manager similar to Adobe Bridge, which is always very useful.
6 – Canva – Use Online – Download for iOS – Download for Android – Download for Windows – Download for Mac
Platforms: Online (Browser), Windows, Mac, Android, iOS
Canva has become in recent years the first choice for those looking for one of the best free graphics programs. It is also used by novice designers, or simply by those looking for an online graphics program alternative to Photoshop.It is obviously not comparable to Adobe’s software, which is much more complete and feature-rich, but it is still useful for designing and publishing graphic content.
Canva is a tool that can be used via a browser, on a desktop or smartphone to edit images or add graphic elements to selected images. It also offers a whole range of predefined templates for creating an eBook, an infographic, a business card, a poster, a banner to use as a header for a newsletter, and more. It is also used extensively by those who own a blog, or to create cover images for social networks such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.
There are several paid versions of Canva, suitable mainly for agencies and professionals. The free version in any case provides more than 250,000 predefined templates, access to more than 100 templates for social posts, presentations and much more. Projects can also be saved to a cloud storage space, free up to 5 GB.
7 – Adobe Express – Download for desktop – Download for Android – Download for iOS
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS
Formerly known as Adobe Spark, Adobe Express is basically a free alternative to Illustrator, the ultimate vector graphics program. Clearly, Adobe Express is less complete than the paid programs, but it certainly ranks among the excellent free graphics programs especially for beginners.
In fact, it supports integration with other Adobe programs and can be used to create content for social media, logos, posters and more. Among other things, it offers very intuitive tools for removing backgrounds, animating text, resizing content for posting on social media such as Instagram, and sharing your creations with your work team.
There is both a free version and a paid, monthly subscription version. The good news is that the free version of Adobe Express does not end after the classic 14-day trial, but can be used for free forever.It contains inside thousands of templates, royalty-free photos and basic photo effects, as well as 2 GB on the cloud to save your projects.
8 – Genially – Use Online
Platforms: Online (Browser)
Genially falls into the category of free graphics programs for creating or editing visual content such as presentations, video presentations, infographics, Curriculum Vitae or graphics for use on social networks. It is generally used as a tool to create graphics in a short time from several predefined templates.
As with previous online graphics programs, there is both a free version and a paid subscription plan. To access the free version of Genially, which among other things places no limit on the number of projects you can create, all you have to do is register and in a few seconds use the different templates available.
On this platform, you can also create interactive games of various kinds, inserting links, text and images into the slides that turn presentations into interactive experiences. It is therefore a very useful tool for students as well.
9 – Photopea – Use Online
Platforms: Online (Browser)
Photopea is a free alternative to Photoshop, to be used online in the browser, so it does not require any kind of installation (but does include advertisements). It is one of the best free graphics programs because, unlike many other solutions, it requires no registration to use.
Photopea in particular is very interesting because it replicates the interface and many of the functions of Photoshop: those who have already used Adobe’s program will feel almost at home. Just as in Photoshop, the left column contains the tools for drawing (Brush tool), cutting, selection, eraser and many others. On the right, on the other hand, there is the history of file changes, layers, brushes.
The last big advantage is the supported extensions: from PSD to SKETCH, via XCF, JPG and GIF. With this program you can import or export just about anything.
10 – Infogram – Use Online
Platforms: Online (Browser)
Infogram falls among the best free graphics programs especially for those who want to create eye-catching infographics in a short time. The free version, accessible upon registration, offers more than 37 interactive graphic templates (including pie charts and tables) that you can edit to your liking. There is also the ability to use up to 10 different designs.
It is not really an online graphics program for editing images, but on the other hand it offers the possibility of having preset templates to create impactful infographics.
Online graphics programs: other free alternatives
There are certainly not only ten free graphics programs on the web, some times it also depends on taste: since they are all free it is worth trying them out to identify the one that comes closest to your needs. Online you can find other well-developed software such as the vector graphics programs Vectr and SVG Edit to basically have free vector images. For image editing there is also Photo Pos Pro,, while for photo editing on mobile there is VSCO.