16 Graphic Design Software Options to Use in 2026

Searching for the best software for graphic design projects, collaborations, and artwork creation?

We've compiled a list of the top apps and online tools for editing images, creating vector files, collaborating with others, and finding the best high-quality media for your project.

Expert Tip: Note

Where AI is used in creation, we reviewed each suggestion in this article and, to the best of our ability, can confirm that it conforms to common standards at the time of this writing.

01 of 16

Casual Graphic Design: Canva

What We Like

• Lots of free templates.

• AI tools for editing images and writing text.

What We Don't Like

• The amount of features can feel overwhelming.

Launching back in 2013 as one of the first web-based graphic design platforms, Canva has since expanded its offerings to include even more templates for a wider variety of formats, stock photos, video editing tools, and even AI-powered image editing and text writing.

As always, Canva is a good choice for designing PDFs, business cards, and posters, but it's also now a solid choice for creating more ambitious design projects of various sizes.

Featured Link: EXTERNAL: Visit Canva

02 of 16

Industry Standard Graphic Design Tools: Adobe Creative Cloud

What We Like

• Every tool you'll need for your design project.

• Supported by most industries.

What We Don't Like

• The recurring monthly subscription is a pain.

It's impossible to talk about graphic design apps without mentioning Adobe's suite of products. Most design professionals have likely used at least a couple of Adobe apps, and many clients and companies require their use.

The main four Adobe apps are Photoshop for creating and editing images, Illustrator for vector artwork, Lightroom for organizing photos, and InDesign for creating print media, though there are several niche services that many people use.

Access to these apps is available with a monthly Adobe Creative Cloud subscription. However, you can also obtain individual apps with solo app-specific subscriptions.

Featured Link: EXTERNAL: Explore Adobe Creative Cloud

03 of 16

Best Tool for Royalty-Free Stock Photos: Unsplash

What We Like

• Over 6 million royalty-free photos.

• Lots of variety and styles to choose from.

What We Don't Like

• Search function is hit-or-miss.

If you're working on a graphic design project, you'll likely need high-quality stock photography, and it's hard to beat Unsplash.

Unsplash is completely free to use, web-based, and boasts a library of over 6 million photos taken by professional photographers.

All photos are royalty-free, meaning you don't need to pay or ask permission to use them. Various resolutions are available.

Featured Link: EXTERNAL: Visit Unsplash

04 of 16

Best Free AI Image Creator: Microsoft Copilot

What We Like

• Completely free to use.

• Easy access to GPT-4 and DALL-E 3 AI tech.

What We Don't Like

• Saving an AI image can be clunky on mobile.

There are numerous AI image creation tools out there, but Microsoft's Copilot (previously Bing AI) is by far one of the best. You can also access Copilot within the official Bing smartphone apps as well.

High-quality images can be created within seconds of typing a prompt, and several AI-powered edits and filters can also be applied after the fact.

Featured Link: EXTERNAL: Visit Microsoft Copilot

05 of 16

Best App for Collaborations and Pitches: Microsoft Whiteboard

What We Like

• Completely free to use.

• Easy for non-tech savvy people to use.

• Numerous templates for different projects.

What We Don't Like

• The templates can be intimidating for new users.

Microsoft Whiteboard is one of the best apps for brainstorming and communicating with teammates and clients. This app lets you quickly sketch a design concept in a meeting. You can also import image files allows for more detailed presentations when needed.

The main appeal of Microsoft Whiteboard is its focus on collaboration. All changes made to a digital board upload to the cloud and sync to other devices in real-time, which means that you and your client or colleague can use it to visualize thoughts while talking on the phone or via a chat service such as Zoom.

Official apps are available on Windows, iOS, and Android devices. A web app is also available, which can be accessed in a browser on any device.

Download For:

iOS

Android

Windows

06 of 16

Social Media Templates: Adobe Express

What We Like

• Free templates and tools.

• Adobe Firefly AI integration.

What We Don't Like

• Only 25 AI credits with free access.

Adobe Express is an all-in-one web-based graphic design app that boasts a massive range of image and video tools for all kinds of projects.

Numerous templates are available that let you quickly dive in and begin producing image or video posts for social media or other online platforms. Many are meant to help you create traditional PDF files and posters.

The user interface is straightforward, with most of the main features available for free.

Adobe Firefly, Adobe's AI tool, can generate images in-app or edit existing images with text prompts, though prompts are limited to 25 credits per month for free users. Credits are required for each AI task.

The Premium monthly membership unlocks 250 credits, AI video editing tools, and content scheduling.

Featured Link: EXTERNAL: Visit Adobe Express

07 of 16

Best Collaborative Vector App: Vectr

What We Like

• All basic functionality is free.

• Works entirely within a web browser.

• Others can watch you work without installing any software.

What We Don't Like

• Free accounts limited to 30MB.

• Occasional ads in free version.

Vectr is a robust image editor dedicated to the creation and editing of vector images . The entire service is web-based and works in most major web browsers, so you don't need to download an app to use its features.

This web-focused approach also allows for Vectr's collaboration feature, which lets you share your workspace with others so that they can watch your progress in real time. Some basic AI image editing tools are also available.

Vectr is free, though you'll need to pay a Plus or Premium monthly fee to unlock all elements, including more AI credits and storage, and remove ads.

Featured Link: EXTERNAL: Visit Vectr

08 of 16

Easiest AI Logo Creator: Looka

What We Like

• Incredibly easy and fast to use.

• High quality logos in a variety of formats.

What We Don't Like

• Logos aren't free.

Looka is an AI-powered logo creator tool that lets you make and customize a professional-grade logo for your brand within minutes using only your web browser.

After choosing your industry and aesthetic, Looka generates many high-quality logos, which can be further tailored to your specific tastes.

Unfortunately, Looka's logos aren't free, but they can be purchased with a one-off fee of around $65. Several file sizes and formats are available to choose from.

Featured Link: EXTERNAL: Visit Looka

09 of 16

Professional Stylus Drawing: Autodesk SketchBook

What We Like

• Entire app is completely free.

• Designed with stylus users in mind.

What We Don't Like

• The UI is a bit confusing for first-timers.

• Mac version is paid only.

For those looking for an excellent app to draw with, it's hard to beat Autodesk SketchBook. This app used to be a premium paid app, but it's since gone entirely free with its numerous features and tools unlocked. You really can't ask for a better deal with drawing apps than this one.

SketchBook supports touch, mouse, and stylus for drawing, and there are loads of brushes, inks, rulers, and more to help you create the digital artwork you envision.

Download For:

iOS

Android

Windows

Expert Tip: Note

The Mac version is called Sketchbook Pro , but it doesn't have a free version.

10 of 16

Best Subscription-Free Illustrator Alternative: Affinity Designer 2

What We Like

• Can be bought without a subscription.

• Large number of file export options.

What We Don't Like

• Can't save files in the common AI format.

Affinity Designer 2 is a solid rival to Adobe Illustrator regarding vector creation software. Designer 2 matches almost all of Illustrator's features, is less intimidating, and requires fewer system resources.

The main downside of Affinity Designer 2 is its inability to save projects in Adobe Illustrator's AI file format—which is incredibly common in the graphic design industry.

You can export finished files as PNGs and a host of other file types, though, so this is only an issue if collaborating with someone who requires AI files.

Featured Link: EXTERNAL: Explore Affinity Designer 2

11 of 16

Biggest Memes Resource: ImgFlip

What We Like

• Easy to access in any web browser on any device.

• Has all of the popular memes.

What We Don't Like

• Must pay for membership to remove watermarks.

• Need to pay to remove ads.

When you need to jump on a viral meme trend for a design project, few places are more reliable than ImgFlip.

The popular meme images are available to view, download, and edit with just a few clicks, while the built-in text tools let you insert your message without switching apps.

However, you'll need to shell out a monthly fee to remove the watermark from any created meme. A Basic or Pro membership also gets you AI creation and an ad-free experience.

Featured Link: EXTERNAL: Visit ImgFlip

12 of 16

Interactive Graphic Design: Genially

What We Like

• Loads of high-quality graph and chart styles.

• Incredibly easy to customize each template.

What We Don't Like

• A monthly fee is required to export projects as files.

Genially is the best software for graphic design projects requiring professional-looking graphs, charts, maps, and interactive games. The web-based interface boasts an enormous library of free templates, each of which can be fully customized, from the fonts and colors to the images and data behind each chart.

You can upload your images, but Genially also has its built-in library to browse, plus a solid selection of high-quality animated GIFs for when you want to make a presentation a bit more fun.

All projects made with a free account can be shared online via a unique URL, but you'll need to pay for the monthly Pro membership if you want to export your creations as images, movies, or code for offline viewing.

Featured Link: EXTERNAL: Visit Genially

13 of 16

Best Subscription-Free Photoshop Alternative: Affinity Photo 2

What We Like

• No monthly subscription required.

• Rivals Photoshop in functionality.

What We Don't Like

• Not as many plugins as Photoshop.

• Lacks AI tools.

Affinity Photo 2 is undoubtedly the best alternative to Photoshop. Affinity Photo 2 has all of the primary features found in Photoshop and can be used for any graphic design project you'd typically use.

It also supports the importing and exporting of Photoshop's PSD file format , so there's no issue using it when working with a client who's a Photoshop loyalist.

Affinity Photo 2 lacks some of Photoshop's newer features, such as one-click object selection and AI asset generation. However, if you don't need those tools and want to avoid an ongoing Adobe subscription (a one-time fee is all that's required), Affinity Photo 2 is a no-brainer.

Featured Link: EXTERNAL: Explore Affinity Photo 2

14 of 16

Free Image Editing For Beginners: Paint.NET

What We Like

• Has all the basic image editing tools.

• Completely free to download and use.

What We Don't Like

• Lacks more high-end features.

• Not for more advanced users.

Paint.NET is a free image editing app for Windows that comes with all of the tools one would need for doing some basic photo editing or graphic creation.

In Paint.NET, you can adjust levels, install custom brushes , and use the Magic Wand to select areas. This program also supports layers, cropping, and resizing.

It's basically Adobe Photoshop from the early 2000s, but it is free and continually updated with bug fixes and improvements.

Expert Tip: Note

This is not the same as the Paint program included with Windows.

Paint.NET isn't for everyone, though. If you're a pro graphic designer or photographer who needs to manage large numbers of files and requires more advanced features, you'll likely be better off with an Adobe or Affinity app. For beginner and casual use, though, Paint.NET is ideal.

Featured Link: EXTERNAL: Visit Paint.NET

15 of 16

Testing Tattoo Designs: InkHunter

What We Like

• Large library of tattoo art to experiment with.

• AR feature works well.

What We Don't Like

• Unable to rotate tattoos in AR mode.

InkHunter is a free app for iOS and Android devices that lets you preview tattoo designs on yourself or others via augmented reality. You can select tattoos from the app's large library of designs, create custom text tattoos, or design your own by uploading an image.

While InkHunter lacks the ability to draw or paint a tattoo, it does feature a conversion tool that removes colors and enhances outlines from images. This features lets you turn any image into a tattoo design, though the results will vary depending on the image used.

Download InkHunter

16 of 16

Best Subscription-Free InDesign Alternative: Affinity Publisher 2

What We Like

• Works faster than InDesign on slower computers.

• No subscription required.

What We Don't Like

• Lacks support for InDesign INDD files. 

• Lacks popularity at industry level.

Affinity Publisher 2 is arguably the best software for graphic designers looking for something like Adobe InDesign that doesn't need a monthly subscription.

Publisher 2 features all of the main functions found in InDesign for creating magazines, books, and marketing materials. It also tends to load and run faster than InDesign too.

However, unlike Affinity Photo 2, which can be used seamlessly with Photoshop, Affinity Publisher 2 doesn't support InDesign INDD files , which can make collaborating with large clients who use InDesign difficult. For smaller teams and freelancers, though, Publisher 2 is worth considering.

Featured Link: EXTERNAL: Explore Affinity Publisher 2

Related: How to Use Text as an Image Mask In Adobe InDesign

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